The bells of Königsberg had barely finished their last echo when the world shifted again.
Not violently—no tremors, no explosions. Just a silent nudge, like the earth exhaling.
And Rei knew.
"This wasn't the end of the convergence," he said. "Only the center."
Karasu fluttered to his shoulder. "The resonance Ilsa left behind—it's a key. But it opens more than it guards."
Ilsa, now bound to the Spirit Registry, nodded. "The memory it unlocks is not mine. It belongs to a Sovereign whose domain is reflection itself."
Destination: Venice — The Mirror Between Flames
Venice shimmered beneath the moonlight, its canals unnaturally still. The city had always felt like it straddled two realities—but now, the divide was literal. Every surface reflected more than light. Some showed possibilities. Others showed regrets.
The team walked in silence through shadowed alleys. Tourists were absent. Locals, asleep. And yet the city watched.
Mireille touched the water. It responded.
Eirenne checked her sensors. "The leyline here isn't fractured. It's split—like two mirror versions running side by side."
System Prompt:
[Echo Reflection Site Detected: Venezia Speculari]
[Threat Class: Unknown – Sovereign Presence Confirmed]
Rei's eyes narrowed. "We're not just walking into a convergence. We're walking into ourselves."
Mirror Vault — Basilica of Dual Flames
They found the entrance beneath the ruins of a church claimed by both fire and water. Inside, everything was reversed. Their footsteps echoed before they stepped. Their words came back to them in question.
In the center stood a being with no face—only mirrors.
"I am Nerei," it said. "Sovereign of Reflection. Keeper of the If."
Noira drew her blade. "If what?"
Nerei gestured.
The room dissolved into paths.
Mireille was suddenly alone, standing in a version of her life where she never awakened the spirit within her. She was still a maid, unnoticed, unloved.
Eirenne was in a world where she remained a soldier—cold, efficient, but devoid of conviction.
Noira saw herself in chains, still a weapon of the Church.
Rei…
He saw a world where he never died.
Still human.
Still ordinary.
Alone.
System Prompt:
[Challenge of the Mirror Sovereign — Initiated]
[Requirement: Personal Truth Acknowledgment]
One by one, they broke through the illusions. Not with power—but with choice.
Mireille whispered, "I am more than the girl who served tea."
Eirenne shouted, "I chose this flame!"
Noira growled, "I shattered my chains!"
Rei simply said, "I am me. Because I changed."
Nerei clapped, soundlessly.
"You have passed."
The Mirror Shatters
As the vault cracked, reality stitched itself together. But Nerei did not vanish.
Instead, he stepped forward. "Few pass the test. Fewer still choose to remember what they saw."
He handed Rei a shard of mirror.
System Prompt:
[Item Acquired: Fragment of the Sovereign Mirror]
[Effect: Truth Resonance / Grants clarity in future convergence sites]
Nerei bowed. "You walk toward the flame that sees all. Beware. The next Sovereign does not question you. He judges."
With that, he vanished into reflection.
Outside the Vault – Sunrise in Venice
The city returned to normal—almost. Some reflections still flickered, holding fragments of the tests they'd faced.
Eirenne turned to Rei. "Where to now?"
He looked at the mirror shard.
"To a place where justice burned itself hollow: the ruins of the Golden Tribunal."
Noira frowned. "Spain?"
Rei nodded. "Madrid. The next echo waits in judgment."