Kael didn't hesitate.
His gaze hardened instantly.
Storm aura surged like a full thunderstorm breaking loose.
He pivoted—And struck the Crown.
The serpents screamed.
Their forms twisted violently, coiling around his blade as if trying to consume it—but Kael pushed through, lightning tearing across them.
One strike.
One clean arc.
A serpent split apart.
Energy exploded outward.
But Bloomfall was faster.
A shard of obsidian mirror shot toward Kael—sharp, precise, lethal.
Impact.
Sparks burst where it collided with his storm aura.
Kael blocked it—but just barely.
"Too slow," he muttered, eyes narrowing at her, lightning flickering dangerously within them.
Elaris moved again.
This time—Different.
Her pulse aligned with the Mirror Engine.
She reached out.
Her wings glowed brighter.
Energy streamed from her into the fractured prism.
Light met reflection.
And something changed.
One of the mirrored Kaels—Faltered.
Glitched.
Distorted.
Like a warning from a future not meant to exist.
The entire chamber trembled.
Violently.
Mirrors cracked further, splitting into endless shards. The reflections multiplied—overlapping, breaking, reforming.
In one—
Bloomfall stood victorious.
In another—Kael fell.
In another—Elaris stood alone.
Breathing.
Breaking.
Reality itself began to feel unstable.
Kael and Elaris looked at each other.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
Trust.
Defiance.
And something deeper—Unspoken.
Unbreakable.
Together.
The Crown pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then It exploded.
A violent burst of green-silver energy tore through the chamber, blasting everything outward.
Bloomfall arched back, evading the wave with impossible grace, her wings slicing the air like blades.
The Mirror Engine cracked.
Shattered.
Fragments rained across the floor like falling stars.
The serpents recoiled, retreating into the broken crown, hissing as they dissolved into smoke.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Burning.
The chamber was ruined.
Glass shattered everywhere.
Neon lights flickering weakly.
Smoke curling through the air.
Elaris's wings dimmed slowly.
Her runes cooled
But not completely.
Kael lowered his blade.
Storm aura fading
But still present.
Still dangerous.
And in the shadows
Bloomfall hovered.
Watching.
Smiling.
Untouched.
"Blood will bloom…" she whispered softly.
Her form began to fade into fractured light.
"…and the crown will choose."
And just like that
She was gone.
Leaving behind only silence.
Chaos.
And tension that refused to fade.
Elaris stood still, her breath uneven, eyes lingering where Bloomfall had disappeared.
Something had changed.
Not just the battle.
Not just the artifacts.
Something between them.
And she knew it.
The next fight…
Wouldn't just be against enemies.
It would be against reflections.
Against destiny.
And maybe
Against her own heart.