The watcher's mark burned faintly on the shattered stone.
A single glowing letter:
K.
Lina's heartbeat pounded in her ears. She turned slowly to Kai — guarded, confused, afraid to even ask.
"Kai…" Her voice was barely a whisper. "If you didn't write this… then who did?"
Kai didn't speak at first.He stared at the mark like it was a ghost from his past.
Finally, he said quietly:"I don't know. But someone wants you to think I did."
Reyon stepped in, expression sharp. "Someone mimicking Kai isn't just risky — it's impossible. Shadowsteel signatures can't be copied."
Kai's jaw tightened. "Unless the Veilbound are involved."
A cold dread spread through Lina's chest. "The Veilbound…?"
Kai nodded grimly. "They specialize in corrupt resonance mimicry. They can steal pieces of someone's magical signature — just enough to forge marks, break seals, or frame someone."
"That means one thing," Reyon muttered. "They marked the path on purpose. They want Lina to lose trust in you."
Lina's pulse stumbled.
Kai looked at her then — really looked — and the tension in his eyes softened."Lina… you need to hear me. I did not betray you."
Her throat tightened. "I know. I believe you."
Kai exhaled softly, like he'd been holding that breath forever.
But the moment didn't get to last.
Because the tunnels changed.
Not slowly.
Not subtly.
All at once.
CRACK.A wall behind them sealed shut.CRACK.The passage ahead splintered, closing like a mouth.
Reyon swore. "Oh, that's comforting — the tunnels are eating themselves."
Seren cried out suddenly, grabbing her head. "No—no—no—"
Lina rushed to her. "Seren?!"
Seren's voice trembled, eyes unfocused. "They're whispering—dead voices—warning—run—run—run—"
Kai tightened his grip on his weapon. "The Veilbound are near. They trigger Soul Echo distortions."
Reyon's eyes went glassy for a moment. "Lina… don't move."
Lina froze. "What? What do you see?"
Reyon inhaled sharply."I see… someone behind you."
Kai lunged—
—but found only shifting shadows.
The shadows laughed.
A low, distorted echo.
Lina's flame flared instinctively, golden light pushing the darkness back.
And that's when it stepped forward.
A figure peeled itself from the wall — its body flickering between solid and smoke.Its face — blank.Its shape — familiar.
Lina gasped. "It looks like—"
"Kai," Reyon finished.
Seren sobbed. "It stole his outline. His magic."
The mimic tilted its head — a perfect imitation of Kai's movement. Then the shadows rippled across its false body, forming a cracked, twisted version of Kai's face.
Kai stepped in front of Lina immediately. "Behind me."
The mimic copied his voice — perfectly.
"Behind me."
Lina's stomach dropped.The mimic's resonance felt wrong — cold, hollow, rotten.
Kai's voice darkened. "Veilbound mimicry. Stay back — it mirrors power and instinct."
Reyon's knife flew through the air — the mimic dissolved and reformed instantly.
"Oh fantastic," Reyon muttered. "It also cheats."
The mimic raised an arm — and shadows thickened around its hand.
Kai's eyes widened. "Lina, that's my—"
The mimic released a strike of corrupted Shadowsteel.
A wave of crushing darkness tore through the tunnel, hurling Reyon and Seren backward.
Kai barely held his footing.
Lina slammed into the ground, breath knocked out of her.
Kai sprinted to her, catching her shoulders. "Lina! Look at me—are you hurt?"
She gasped, shaken. "I'm okay—Kai—your power—"
He looked at the mimic — eyes burning.
"Shadowsteel isn't supposed to fall into enemy hands."
Then Lina asked the question he didn't want voiced.
"Kai… how could it copy your resonance?"
Kai froze.
Reyon's expression soured. "Yeah, Rhen. Care to explain?"
Kai's voice dropped to a whisper."It can only copy a resonance that's… corrupted. Marked. Broken."
Lina's eyes widened."The Oathbreaker mark."
Kai didn't deny it.
He looked at her — pained, haunted — as the mimic's laughter echoed through the tunnel.
Reyon cursed. "You mean the council cursed you in a way that lets the Veilbound steal pieces of your magic?!"
Kai's jaw clenched. "They made me vulnerable on purpose."
Lina's breath shook. "But why? What did you do?"
Kai met her gaze — no mask, no walls, no distance.
"I swore to protect someone I loved… and I failed. The council punished me for breaking a sacred oath."
Seren's voice cracked. "Who did you lose…?"
Kai looked away. "Someone the council wanted gone."
The mimic screeched — its body distorting, preparing another corrupted Shadowsteel strike.
Kai pushed Lina behind him. "I won't let it use my power to hurt you."
Lina's flame burst to life, blazing gold. "Then we fight it together."
Reyon stepped forward, illusions swirling around him. "Fine. Let's take down Kai's evil twin."
Seren raised a trembling hand — Soul Echoes shimmering. "It's afraid of Lina's flame…"
Kai smirked slightly. "Then it chose the wrong girl to imitate."
The mimic lunged.
All four of them moved.
Flame.Shadow.Illusion.Soul echoes.
Light and darkness collided, shaking the ground beneath them.
When the dust settled—
The mimic was gone.
But on the wall where it had stood…
A fresh watcher's mark burned.
The signature:
K.
But beneath it—a second mark, almost invisible…
L.
Two signatures.
Side by side.
Kai exhaled shakily. "Someone wants us confused."
Reyon nodded grimly. "Someone wants Lina isolated."
Seren whispered, voice hollow—"No… someone wants her to doubt everyone."
Lina's flame flickered nervously.
Because now…
she didn't know which was worse:
A traitor among them—
or someone framing all of them at once.
To be Continued© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.