The glyphs pulsed.
Then they exploded—bright and blinding, like a second sun had bloomed underground.
I stumbled back, covering my eyes. The light seared against my lids even through the thin skin, and when it faded, I almost didn't recognize the chamber.
It was warmer. Alive.
And she… she wasn't on the ground anymore.
The woman floated inches above the floor. Her robes shimmered with threads of starlight, and her hair moved like it was underwater. She looked divine.
And then she cracked.
Thin fissures ran through her skin like fragile porcelain. Light poured from them—soft at first, then radiant, until her entire body glowed from within.
She didn't scream. She didn't fight.
She simply shattered.
Glass-like fragments of her drifted apart into glowing threads, curling through the air like fireflies caught in a breeze. They spun, circled, and collapsed inward—fusing into a single object.
A mirror.
Oval-shaped. Black-silver edges. Ancient symbols etched into the frame like veins.
It hovered for a moment before dropping neatly to the floor.
And just like that, she was gone.
Or at least… she should've been.
Because when I looked into the mirror's, I saw her.
I saw her.
Faint. Flickering. Just a blur of her outline, as if trapped beneath the glass.
Then came the voice—soft, not spoken aloud, but pressed directly into my thoughts.
'You see me….'
Chills ran down my spine.
The system pinged a moment later.
[You have acquired the Relic: Falsifying Mirror.]
I didn't touch it right away. I stared first. Waiting to see if she'd reappear—whole again, smiling, alive.
She didn't.
Just the mirror. Just that lingering presence.
I finally bent down and picked it up.
It pulsed in my hand. Warm, like a living thing.
My throat tightened.
"Rael was supposed to find this," I whispered. "In the novel… this was his."
And he found it later—years later, after an entire subplot arc. Not at the beginning. And definitely not after witnessing a women shattering, in fact unlike just now, he didn't even got to meet the women in the mirror.
But why was it?
Why was this women even here? Why did the Falsifying Mirror appear after she disintegrated?
"Is this because... I got here faster? Not just days but I am years faster than the original timeline. So, this was women dead for a long time when Rael found, hence the reason for her not appearing."
This should probably be the reason.
But when I think deeper I feel getting dragged.
'How will this interaction between this women and me change the world or me myself?'
I clutched the relic.
{Worldline Collapse Eminent}
"Yeah, definitely changed the world." I muttered.
I looked at the mirror again.
The women was no longer, instead it was me, however it was not just reflecting just a part, but instead a miniature version of me was build, perfect, down to the last minute detail.
'Just as I thought.'
This wasn't just any relic.
In fact, this relic was going to change everything.
Should I use it now?... No, I should not. If I use it now I will be sacrificing my future for a short benefit.
I have to persevere.
I tucked the mirror into my inventory, and called up my status screen.
[Name: Leon Ardell]
[Titles: Protagonist Slayer]
[Protagonist's Fragment: Favorability]
[Relics: Falsifying Mirror (Bounded), Akrion Village Token (Equipped)]
"Am I missing something?"
However, I didn't get time to dwell on it. The air in the chamber warped—twisting, humming.
And then it appeared.
A translucent purple arm, the size of a carriage, slithered down from above like a ghost made of smoke. Its fingers clawed through the rock, warping space wherever they passed.
My heart dropped.
"Nope. Absolutely not."
The bracelet Aria gave me pulsed against my wrist.
A small butterfly materialized midair—glowing faintly, flying towards a narrow crack.
"Aria, you're a lifesaver."
I bolted.
The tunnel was even tighter than the last. Dirt smeared my coat. Roots snagged my collar. But I didn't stop—not until the air opened up again into a hidden grove beneath the roots.
...Boom...
An ear deafening sound erupted. Shockwaves so great that I felt my organs rupturning.
"Argh-!!"
I vomited blood and for a second I was deaf and the surrounding sound didn't reach me.
There, I collapsed onto the ground, gasping.
Above me, moonlight trickled through the cracks in the canopy. Soft wind rustled the black leaves, carrying the scent of cold stone and soil.
For a few moments, I didn't think. I just breathed.
Then, in the distance, far past the trees, I finally heard, heard the faint crack of thunder.
No… not thunder.
An explosion, again.
I turned toward the horizon.
Smoke.
It came from Crownfall Academy.
Whatever was happening back there, it wasn't good.
I didn't dare to make assumptions.
But did it matter? No.
I had no choice to make, only a temporarily paved path ahead of me.
Go back?
Not even an options.
I could only run now.