Chapter 16: Echoes Beneath the Seals
"When you peer into the mirror of echoes, be ready to see the version of yourself that never should have existed."
Scene 1: The Mirror Stirs
Lira led Ren deep into the Forbidden Annex, down a narrow passage of rune-lit walls. At the end lay a dark mirror—still, obsidian-like water encased in glass and runes.
"The Echo Mirror reflects not your present… but echoes left behind by fate."
Her voice trembled. "This is where I saw you… before we ever met."
Ren touched the surface.
The mirror pulsed.
And in it—he saw himself, not as he was now… but cloaked in black fire, eyes aglow with void script, commanding an army of chained gods.
"That's not me," he whispered.
The mirror answered with silence—and a single word carved into its frame:
Aetherion.
Scene 2: The Forbidden Pact
Elsewhere, in the Academy's Hollow Sanctum, Kael Veylor knelt before an altar. Flames circled his body—unnatural, green-blue in hue.
He plunged a dagger into his palm, dripping blood onto a cracked seal.
A voice hissed out of the air:
"You call upon the Bound One. Speak the pact."
Kael smirked.
"I offer name, lineage, and glory… for power unspoken. Grant me the Cradle of Thorns."
A vortex of chains erupted, wrapping around his body. A black crown shimmered into being above his head—and then shattered.
He rose—changed. Eyes ringed in runes. Voice layered with another's.
Scene 3: The Decree
In the upper sanctum, the Envoy of Sealed Flame, garbed in ash-colored armor, stood before the Council.
"Ren Kamizuki is no ordinary student."
"He is not mortal. He is not even cursed."
"He is a sealed paradox. A glitch in the divine order."
"He must be erased."
The council chamber fell silent. Chancellor Viridelle finally spoke:
"Then let the chains break. And the hunt begin."
Lore Drop: Aetherion
Aetherion was once a deity of forbidden knowledge—believed erased.
He commanded legions that challenged the gods.
His grimoire, Codex Nullum, was sealed into a mortal host… now known as Ren Kamizuki.
Order of Sealed Flame
A faction within the academy tasked with identifying and eliminating divine-level threats.
Ranks:
Envoy (Leader)
Flamebearers (Executioners)
Chainbinders (Sealers)
Watchers (Surveillance mages)
Their symbol: a burning chain wrapped around an hourglass.
Kael's Forbidden-Class Weapon: Cradle of Thorns
A crown-shaped relic that pierces the mind and roots into the soul.
Grants twisted forms of prophecy and combat enhancements.
Slowly corrupts the wielder with "ancestral wrath."