⋱⌘⋰ Lore Scrap ⋱⌘⋰
"Guardians aren't born. They are broken and rebuilt by duty."
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The scry mirror did not lie. It didn't show futures. Only echoes. The reflection of something already unraveling. Cael stood before it, gloved hands resting on either side of the frame. The silvered surface rippled with light — not water, not glass. Ink-light. Alive with memory. And in it: Eira. In the Mirror Wing. She stood rigid, breathing too fast. Her reflection had already fractured. Cael had warned her. The mirror pulsed again — not her now, but her then. A younger girl curled on a rooftop, whispering lullabies to the rain. Then again — another echo — not her. Her brother. Julian. Cael flinched. He had seen him before. Not in the Mirror Wing. Not in the Sorting Room. In The Unbound Wing. Years ago. A breach, wild and rotting with memory. Something had slipped through. Something that had shape but no name. And in the heart of it — a boy with storm-grey eyes, clutching an unbound locket. "Let me go," the boy had said. But the Library had chosen differently. Cael had sealed the wing. He told himself it was the only way. Now, he watched Eira inch closer to the false reflection. She didn't know what it cost to look too long. He touched the edge of the scry mirror. "Don't become a ghost," he murmured. "I've kept too many." Behind him, the shelves rustled — books murmuring like a funeral choir. He didn't turn. The scry shimmered. Her image darkened. Ink threaded through her aura like vines. "You're resonating," he said quietly. "Too much. Too deep." Cael stepped back. He extinguished the scry. There were ghosts one could not banish. Only stand beside. He reached for his coat, already turning toward the Mirror Wing. This time, he would not arrive too late.
⋯⋱⧉⋰⋯ To be continued…
⸻ ❖ Archive Fragment ❖ ⸻ Some Keepers seal doors. Others open them with regret.
⋱◈⋰ End Chapter ⋱◈⋰