Zain slid out of the first mirror and landed in a crumbling stairwell inside CC-2.
Concrete dust clung to the air. Old pipes rattled overhead.
He didn't stop moving.
He just turned to the nearest mirror, a cracked panel of glass above a control box.
He phased through it.
Inside the mirror world, everything twisted. Shapes blurred.
Echoes of reflections spun in impossible directions.
He had 4—maybe 5—seconds at most. That's all.
His eyes darted.
Where's the exit mirror?
He aimed for one.
Out.
Wrong room. An empty hallway with a shattered window.
"Damn it."
Back in.
Through again.
Another wrong one—this time a broken office with no signs of life.
"She's too fast..."
Zain gritted his teeth and dove into the mirror again.
Every time he emerged, he was just a few steps behind.
She'd already moved to the next. Even farther than he thought.
He hit the mirror again. Phased through. Another dead end.
But still—despite the frustration—he was getting closer.
This ability let him move quieter than any footstep, faster than sprinting through the land.
And she didn't know he could follow yet.
"Keep running, Mirro," he muttered as he stepped into the next mirror.
"I only need to guess right once."
He emerged into a corridor choked with smoke and rubble.
A sudden ripple to his left.
Mirro.
She froze mid-step, turning sharply as Zain stepped fully out of the mirror.
Her eyes widened. "What the—?! How—how can you use Mirror Step?!"
Zain didn't blink. "You don't need to know."
He took a step forward, voice sharp.
"Just tell me where my sister is."
Mirro slowly tilted her head, then grinned.
"She's probably with my boss by now," she said.
"He likes to break new toys in before handing them off."
Zain's face twisted. "Damn you."
Flames erupted across his right hand.
He vanished in a flash—Quick Step activated.
Mirro barely had time to curse before Zain blurred toward her with a blazing fist aimed at her skull.
But she kicked backward, pivoted, and launched herself toward a shattered shard embedded in a wall panel.
"No you don't—!" Zain lunged.
Too late.
She vanished into the mirror.
Above, on the rooftop, the surface of a cracked skylight pulsed.
Mirro slipped out silently, crouched low, and reached beneath a loose steel plate.
Her fingers wrapped around the grip of a long-barreled sniper rifle with a custom scope.
She aimed.
Grinned. "Goodbye, Demon."
CRACK—!
The sniper fired.
But the shot hit nothing.
Below, a mirror shimmered, and Zain emerged at the edge of the rooftop behind a rusted ventilation pipe.
He exhaled. "Damn it… this ability's still a mess to use."
Mirro spun, eyes narrowed. "Tch. This'll be annoying."
Zain raised his hand, flame flickering again. "You started this."
Mirro cocked the rifle and stepped toward the rooftop mirror again.
"And I'm gonna finish it."
---
Zain darted behind a vent stack just as a bullet ripped through the corner of the rooftop.
CRACK!
Another shot missed him by inches, kicking up sparks from a metal panel as he rolled across the gravel-strewn roof.
He dove into a nearby mirror fragment embedded in an old skylight.
The moment he entered the mirror world, the twisted reflections and dizzying flashes disoriented him again.
"Left or right—? Shit," he muttered.
He guessed—stepped out of a mirror set into a rooftop exhaust fan.
CRACK!
A bullet skimmed past his cheek.
Zain winced. "Damn it… how the hell is she nailing my exit every time?"
He ducked again, used Mirror Step to phase through a cracked pipe's reflection.
He popped out behind a rooftop sign.
Another shot passed by, grazing the edge of the sign.
"I swear if I didn't have this ability I'd be a corpse already…"
Zain brought up the system. "Scan her. Now."
---
[Name: Mirro]
[Rank: C]
[Stats:]
[Str: C]
[Vit: D]
[Agi: C]
[Int: C]
[Low-Tier Ability:]
[Sharp Eye: enhances the user's vision, allowing them to see distant details, track movement, and read fine text with ease.]
[Mirror Step: Allows short-distance teleportation by entering and exiting nearby reflective surfaces like mirrors or glass.]
---
Zain's eyes narrowed. "No wonder. She's got Sharp Eye. Every shot is boosted."
"Catch on a little slow, huh?"
Mirro's voice rang out from across the roof.
She stood atop an old water tank, rifle slung over her shoulder, smirking.
"You've known about my ability, sure—but you move like a drunk first-timer."
"Mirror to mirror, all wrong angles. I could shoot you with my eyes closed."
Zain crouched, scanning the rooftop for another reflective surface.
"I'm still standing."
She loaded another round with a click before calling him out.
"For now, just keep dancing, Demon. I'm enjoying the view."
He launched into another mirror, only to stumble out two rooftops over.
Another shot fired.
This one chipped the ledge beside him.
Zain snarled. "Tch. She's not missing. She's predicting."
Mirro laughed.
"Come on! You're supposed to be terrifying, right? 'Heavenly Demon?' Please. You look more like a lost puppy."
Zain tightened his grip on the edge of the mirror and growled.
"You like taunting? Good. Keep talking. I only need to land one shot."
He entered the mirror again.
Inside the mirror world, time thinned.
Reflections warped around him like stretched shadows.
Zain didn't rush this time. He slowed his breathing. Focused.
I'm not some rookie… I was the Heavenly Demon. The strongest cultivator of my world.
I don't get outplayed by some rooftop sniper with a smug smile and a lucky rifle.
His vision sharpened.
He didn't think—he sensed.
A flicker of glass at just the right angle, the same one Mirro had used earlier.
She always came back to it. Always had a fallback route.
Zain lunged.
He emerged from the mirror with a quiet shrrk of sliding glass.
He landed just a few meters behind her, crouched beside the water tank.
Mirro blinked. She felt it—turned fast.
Too late.
Zain stood tall, flame coiled across his hand.
Her eyes widened. "What—?!"
"I stopped playing." Zain's voice was cold and steady.
Mirro scowled, stepping back with her sniper halfway raised.
"Tch. So you finally figured it out."
"I'm done chasing."
Zain stepped forward, cracking his neck. "Now you run."