Chapter 1: Fractures in the Mirror
The first thing Elyon Kai felt was the weight of the city pressing against his chest. The rooftops of Auremere's Lower District loomed in the haze of dawn, jagged silhouettes etched against a smog-streaked sky. The noise of the streets below—the clamor of machinery, the hollers of vendors, the hum of endless life—rose in waves that made it hard to breathe.
Elyon squatted on the edge of an old warehouse roof, his feet dangling in the void, as he scanned the alley below. His pulse quickened when he spotted Drenner, the rat-faced scavenger who ran contraband runs for Auremere's underground. Drenner always smelled like rust and desperation, but his pockets were deep, and Elyon needed the credits.
He glanced at his reflection in the broken shard of glass strapped to his wrist—a makeshift watch—and muttered, "Two minutes. Just keep it smooth."
The reflection didn't move.
He froze. His own face stared back, but the eyes were wrong: deeper, darker, glinting like polished obsidian. The mouth twitched into a grin that wasn't his. A chill clawed up his spine. He dropped the glass, and it shattered against the rooftop tiles.
Not again.
"Elyon!" The sharp whisper jolted him. Turning, he saw Nara, her braid swinging as she climbed the ladder to the roof. She was breathless, her patched leather jacket dusted with grime. "You're late. You see him yet?"
"Yeah." Elyon forced his voice steady. He pointed to the alley where Drenner shuffled nervously, glancing over his shoulder. "He's there. Let's get this over with."
"You okay?" Nara's brown eyes narrowed as she studied him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Elyon hesitated. "It's nothing. Just tired."
It wasn't nothing. It hadn't been nothing for weeks—not since the first time he'd seen the faces in the glass. It was always the same: distorted shadows flickering in windows, puddles, shards. Whispers that scratched at the edge of his hearing.
He hadn't told Nara. She'd think he was losing it. Maybe he was.
---
The deal went wrong before it even started.
Elyon and Nara dropped down into the alley, their boots splashing into puddles of filthy water. Drenner glanced up, his beady eyes darting between them. "You brought her?" he hissed, nodding at Nara.
"She's with me," Elyon said, stepping closer. "Where's the stuff?"
"Relax." Drenner reached into his coat and pulled out a small metal case. "Five vials of pure Etherium, just like you asked. You got the creds?"
Nara nudged Elyon, her fingers brushing his. He felt the weight of the credit chip in his palm. "Yeah. Show me first."
Drenner sneered but popped the case open. Inside, the vials shimmered, filled with a pale blue liquid that seemed to pulse faintly, like it was alive. Etherium wasn't just contraband—it was raw power, used to fuel everything from Auremere's industrial machines to the black-market tech that kept the slums running. Elyon had plans for it, though they didn't involve machines.
He handed over the chip, but as Drenner reached for it, something flickered in the corner of Elyon's eye—a faint ripple in the air, like heat rising off pavement.
Then it came.
The world twisted. The walls of the alley seemed to stretch and warp, their bricks bending like melted wax. The shadows deepened, spilling across the ground in tendrils that slithered toward them. Elyon stumbled back, his chest tightening as the rippling air took shape—a tall figure cloaked in shifting darkness.
A voice echoed, low and resonant, from everywhere and nowhere.
> "Do you remember me?"
Elyon's heart slammed against his ribs. "What—what is that?"
Drenner screamed, dropping the case as he turned to run. One of the shadow tendrils snapped forward, wrapping around his leg and dragging him back. The contraband dealer clawed at the ground, his cries gurgling into silence as the shadows swallowed him.
"Elyon!" Nara's voice cut through the chaos. She grabbed his arm, yanking him toward the alley's exit. "Run!"
But Elyon couldn't move. His eyes locked on the figure, which now stood fully formed, its face hidden beneath a shifting hood of shadows. Only its eyes were visible—two burning orbs of light that bored into him.
The voice came again, softer this time, almost mournful:
> "You shouldn't have touched the Shard."
Shard? Elyon's breath hitched. He didn't understand. He tried to look away, but the figure raised an arm, pointing a finger at him. Pain exploded behind his eyes, a sharp, blinding heat. His knees buckled, and the world tilted as his vision went white.
---
When Elyon came to, the alley was silent. Drenner was gone. The shadows were gone. Only the case of Etherium remained, its lid cracked open, spilling faint blue light onto the wet ground.
Nara was kneeling beside him, shaking him. "Elyon! Wake up!"
"I—I'm fine," he lied, though his head throbbed like it had been split open. He sat up slowly, looking around. "What happened? Where—"
"You tell me," Nara snapped, her voice trembling. "One second we're making the trade, and then you're staring into space like you've seen a ghost. Drenner's gone, Elyon. Just… gone."
Elyon swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he picked up one of the fallen vials. The faint glow reflected in its surface, and for a moment, he thought he saw a face staring back at him—a face that wasn't his own.
> "Do you remember me?"
The voice echoed in his head, louder now, as if it was part of him.
"I don't know what's happening," he whispered, clutching the vial tighter. But deep down, he knew that wasn't true.
Something had followed him. And it wasn't going to stop.