Arin Veyra didn't scream.
Even as the lights vanished and cold breath swept down her spine, she stood her ground.
The robed figure approached, their voice a low hiss.
"You weren't supposed to survive Project Abyss Vessel, Arin."
Arin's eyes widened. "You know who I am."
"I know what you are," the figure said. "The daughter of failure. A vessel that rejected the spirit meant to possess her. But that won't happen this time."
The shadows behind the figure split open—
And from them emerged the Mirrorborn.
A spirit unlike anything Arin had seen. It had no true face—only fragments of others'. Dozens of mirrored shards floated around it, reflecting her face, Jin's, Kael's… even her mother's.
It remembers everything.
Arin's fists clenched. Blue sparks crackled from her hands.
"Stay back," she warned.
The figure chuckled. "You still think you have an affinity."
She charged.
The fight exploded between the shelves, books flying, magic crackling.
But the Mirrorborn moved like liquid glass, its shards deflecting every strike, every flame. It whispered with every movement—
"You're not real. You were made."
It slammed her back with a wave of psychic force. She hit the wall hard, gasping.
Her hand reached for her pocket—
The obsidian charm Kael had given Jin.
She'd stolen one too.
Arin crushed it.
Elsewhere in the academy, Jin jerked upright in bed, drenched in sweat.
His mark flared. Pain. Fear. Arin.
"She's in danger," Noctis growled within his mind.
Jin didn't hesitate. He grabbed his coat and sprinted.
Meanwhile, Kael reached the Verdant Hollow clearing.
Empty.
Only the afterimage of a summoning circle remained—still warm.
He narrowed his eyes. "They're inside the academy."
And worse… they weren't hiding anymore.
Back in the archives, Arin lay on the floor, bleeding, her energy spent.
The Mirrorborn hovered above her, preparing to strike the final blow.
Then—
The wall behind it exploded.
Jin burst through, eyes burning red, Noctis's shadow flaring behind him.
"You chose the wrong person to hurt," Jin growled.
The Mirrorborn turned its many faces toward him—
And for the first time… it hesitated.
Because it saw something deeper in Jin's eyes.
Something waking up.