Ayush and Aarya stood frozen.
Before them, stepping out of the shattered rune circle, was a creature unlike anything seen in a system dungeon.
It was tall. Human-shaped… but wrong.
Its skin reflected the room like a warped mirror. Its face twisted and melted with every movement — constantly changing, as if mimicking every person it had seen.
Then it spoke.
Not with a voice, but with hundreds of overlapping whispers:
> "ThE tHroNE ReJeCtS You…"
> "YoU… dRew tHe WrOng wEapON…"
> "WhAt Is A kINg WitHoUt A CoURt…"
Aarya took a step back, dagger raised. "Ayush… what the hell is that?"
Ayush didn't answer.
His chest ached. The Nexus Core was burning — not in pain, but in recognition.
This creature wasn't just a threat.
It was connected to the Nexus.
Somehow.
"Stay behind me," he muttered, veins glowing faint green.
Aarya didn't argue.
The Mirrorborn raised a flickering hand.
Reality bent.
The dungeon twisted — walls rearranging, gravity flickering sideways.
It lunged.
Ayush met it head-on.
His palm struck the creature's core. A burst of pure pressure erupted — the same raw pulse he once used to crush monsters effortlessly.
But this time…
It didn't break.
The creature absorbed the energy.
Reflected it.
Ayush flew backward, smashing into the dungeon wall.
Dust. Silence.
"Ayush!" Aarya ran toward him, sliding to his side. "Are you—"
Before she could finish, the creature appeared behind her.
Too fast.
Its hand reached toward her back.
Ayush's eyes snapped open.
> Nexus Core — Surge Lock.
🔓 Limit Release: 0.8%
BOOM.
The ground cracked.
Ayush appeared in front of her — green light blazing from his arm. He caught the Mirrorborn's strike with his bare hand.
It screeched. The whispers turned to roars.
> "YoU… sHouLd nOt bE hErE yET!"
Ayush's voice was low, steady. "I go where I choose."
He channeled the Nexus Core again — but this time, not to destroy.
To read.
To remember.
To connect.
The creature froze.
Just for a second.
That's all he needed.
Ayush plunged his hand into its chest — past the mirror flesh, past the echoes — and touched something beneath.
A shard.
A message.
It pulsed in his palm:
> 🟢 "You were not meant to return yet. But we... are still watching. The system is not what they believe. And soon, even the gods will bleed."
Ayush yanked his arm out.
The Mirrorborn screamed — not in pain, but in panic.
It shattered into shards of memory. Like broken mirrors, floating and fading.
Gone.
---
Afterward – Dungeon Collapse Point
The dungeon began to shake.
Cracks spread across the floor. Purple sparks filled the air.
Aarya pulled Ayush toward the exit. "Come on! We don't know what happens when one of these unregistered dungeons breaks!"
They jumped through the gate seconds before it caved in.
Back in the dusty basement, silence returned.
The Gate was gone.
---
Outside – School Boundary Wall
Both of them sat, breathing hard.
Night had fallen. The city was quiet.
Aarya looked over.
"You're not normal," she said finally.
Ayush didn't answer.
"You're not just non-awakened. You're something else entirely."
Still, he said nothing.
"Are you going to tell me what that was?" she asked.
Ayush turned to her — eyes glowing faint emerald in the dark.
"One day," he said. "When I know you're ready to hear it."
---
Elsewhere – Unknown Plane
A ripple crossed a still lake.
Devarion opened his eyes.
He sat alone in a world without time.
He smiled faintly.
> "So… you've begun to stir, Nexus King."
His fingers glided through the air — creating runes no human had ever seen.
> "Let's see how far your fractured soul can go… before the multiverse wakes up."