The world rippled around us like heat rising off the sand.
One second we were standing atop the Great Pyramid, the three-pointed crown glowing in my hands beneath the blood moon. The next, everything was gone — the stars, the chill of the desert wind, even the ground beneath our feet. My body felt weightless, like I was falling, even though I wasn't moving at all.
And then… I landed.
Not hard. Just sudden.
I blinked and found myself standing in a place that should not exist.
The air here didn't feel real. It was cold — not just in temperature, but in feeling, like something ancient was watching from every corner. Walls of polished stone stretched up into darkness, etched with hieroglyphs that shifted when I wasn't looking directly at them. A dim silver glow pulsed from the cracks between the stones, like moonlight trapped underground.
We were inside the temple.
The Mirror Temple.
Alice stepped forward, her boots echoing faintly against the black stone floor. She didn't look confused at all. If anything, she looked... calm. In control. Her white hoodie was slightly torn at the sleeve from the climb, but she stood tall, her eyes scanning the corridors like she'd been here before.
Maybe she had.
"Don't trust what you see here," she warned, not turning around. "Not everything is real. Not even each other."
I glanced at Arisa and James. They were standing behind me, silent, eyes wide. For a second, I couldn't tell if they were really them.
Alice reached into her coat and pulled out a silver chain — a necklace, the same one she'd given me before we split up. She held it out toward me again. "Take this," she said. "If you find the real mirror, say my name. I'll come to you with these two idiots."
James made a face. "Hey—"
"I called you an idiot lovingly," Alice replied flatly.
I took the necklace. It was cold in my hand, almost pulsing like it had a heartbeat. I closed my fingers around it, nodded, and stepped into the shadows.
The temple was a labyrinth — endless hallways lined with mirrors, pillars, and doors that led nowhere. Some mirrors reflected me. Others didn't. Some were warped, showing me with black eyes, twisted smiles, or bleeding shadows dripping from my skin.
I didn't flinch. I just kept walking.
Alice's voice echoed in my mind — "The real mirror has both a reflection and a shadow." That was my clue. That was what I needed to find.
I don't know how long I wandered. Time didn't seem to exist in this place. The deeper I went, the stranger it got. Whispers slithered down the hallways, calling my name in voices that sounded like my mom, my friends, even Alice. My chest tightened, but I forced myself not to answer. They weren't real.
They couldn't be.
Then I saw it.
At the far end of a silent corridor, past rows of broken statues and shattered glass, stood a single mirror. It was tall, framed in obsidian and gold, and for the first time — it showed my reflection. My real reflection. I moved, and it moved with me. But more than that… there was a shadow behind me. Mine.
This was it.
I stepped forward, holding the necklace up. My lips moved without thinking.
"Alice."
A second later, footsteps echoed behind me — fast, familiar. Then her voice: "Were you going to kiss my necklace?"
I turned and saw them. Alice, James, and Arisa — real this time. Arisa burst into laughter. "He's in love!"
"Shut the hell up," I groaned, feeling my ears burn.
It was the first time I saw Alice smile. Not the smirk she usually gave, but a real smile — soft and human.
"Give me the crown," she said quietly.
I handed it over.
She stepped toward the mirror and raised the crown into the moonlight spilling through the cracks above us. As the silver rays hit the three stones embedded in the metal, they started to glow — red, blue, and black. The light swirled, twisting toward the mirror like smoke caught in a wind tunnel.
The mirror trembled.
Then — flash.
White light exploded from the glass, swallowing everything.
When the light faded, we were no longer in the temple.
We were back.
But not to California.
No.
This was the Shadow Valley.
The sky above was pale and sunless, stretched with long streaks of crimson clouds. Jagged mountains loomed on the horizon. Forests of blackened trees clawed at the sky. The ground beneath us was a field of cracked marble, as if we stood on the bones of some forgotten god.
I looked down at my hand.
The ring — the one I bought in the Cairo market — was glowing. A soft violet light pulsed from the eye carved into its center.
James and Arisa gasped.
Their items were glowing too.
Alice raised her voice, her tone sharp and clear. "Listen carefully. What you have… it's not just decoration."
She turned to me first. "Alex. The ring you have isn't just a ring — it's a sword. Press the eye, and a shadow blade will appear. It's not physical. It cuts through illusions, through shadows… and through fear."
I stared at the ring, feeling its weight shift.
Then she looked at Arisa. "Your mirror — it's a compass. It'll glow when you're near danger. It'll tell you what's real… and what's not."
Arisa's hands trembled as she held it tighter.
"And James," she said, pausing. "Your chain holds the essence of all three stones. You can channel their power — but only one at a time. You'll have to choose wisely depending on the trial."
James looked down at the chain. "This… is insane."
"No," Alice replied. "This is reality. The one you forgot."
She stepped back and faced all of us.
"You've read the book. You know what comes next. The trials aren't just games — they're traps. Each one is built from your mind, your fear, your guilt. You fail, you die."
None of us spoke.
"The Hall of Echoes is first," she said. "After that, Reflection Roulette. Then the Shard Game. The Identity Switch. And finally… the Mirror Trial."
"And after that?" I asked quietly.
"You meet Oruun," she said. "And he'll ask you a question. Just one. Your answer will decide everything."
A chill slid down my spine.
Alice turned away. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I have to go now. But if you need me… call my name."
And just like that — she walked into the mist, vanishing without a sound.
The wind howled.
A door opened in the stone before us — black and shining like the surface of a still lake.
The first trial waited beyond.
The Hall of Echoes.
And I… I stepped through.