The entrance to the third anchor was neither loud nor imposing. No monsters. No waves. No flickering red sky.
Just... silence.
The city stood still under a strange pale sky, its buildings coated in reflective glass, warped like heat mirages. Every surface shimmered—not with light, but with memory.
Kael stepped forward, his boots crunching over cracked obsidian tiles.
A reflection followed him, mimicking his every move, but... subtly wrong.
Mira muttered, "This place creeps me out."
Elena cast a scan pulse. "No signs of life. No mana flow. Not even static."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Exactly. It's not dead. It's watching."
Then a voice echoed—his own voice.
"You think you're the hero. But you forgot what you sacrificed to win."
Everyone froze.
Greg turned. "What the hell?"
Kael took a breath. "Welcome to Naros—the City of Mirrors."
---
Dungeon Mechanic: Reflection Sync
Every mirror in Naros is linked to a timeline Kael could've chosen. Every step further in forces him—and his allies—to confront alternate versions of themselves.
If any party member hesitates, they get absorbed.
Permanently.
Kael frowned as they walked deeper. "This isn't just a dungeon. It's a trial."
Mira stared into a window, visibly shaken. "I see myself… with my parents still alive."
Greg's voice went flat. "I never left the army."
Elena touched her reflection—only to see a version of herself holding a black staff, drenched in blood.
Kael didn't speak.
His own reflection didn't show him as a hero.
It showed him as a world-ending tyrant.
---
Sub-Boss: The Archivist
In the center of the city stood a massive tower, spiraling like an infinite staircase.
A figure awaited them at the base—cloaked, featureless, holding a book that constantly rewrote itself.
[The Archivist – Lv. ???]
Passive: Timeline Prediction
Special: Memory Seal
Kael's eyes narrowed. "He's not real. He's data—an echo of the System."
The Archivist spoke without emotion. "To pass, you must surrender memory. Choose: your first spell, or your first death."
Kael didn't hesitate. "Take my first death."
The book flipped open. "Confirmed."
Immediately, Kael staggered.
He forgot how it felt to die.
The pain, the fear—the raw edge that kept him sharp—gone.
Mira grabbed his arm. "You okay?"
Kael smiled thinly. "Not really. But I'm still me."
Seraphina nodded. "Then we keep going."
---
Inner Core – The Mirrorwalker
The team reached the heart of the city: a grand hall lined with mirrors on all sides. A single throne stood at the center.
Sitting atop it... was Kael.
Or rather, a version of him.
Smiling.
[Mirrorwalker – Lv. ???]
Boss Type: System Lord (Reflected Avatar)
Skills: Absolute Mimicry, Emotional Reversal, Tactical Echo
"Hello, me," the Mirrorwalker said casually. "So many choices. So much... wasted potential."
Kael's jaw tightened. "I'm not here to argue philosophy. Move."
"Oh? And what if I refuse?" Mirror-Kael stood, conjuring an identical hourglass. "I know every thought you've had. Every plan you'll make. Every weakness you won't admit."
He vanished.
Instantly, chaos broke out.
Mirrorwalker duplicated the team's moves with pixel-perfect accuracy.
Greg's charge was countered with the exact same hammer blow.
Elena's spell was unraveled before it finished forming.
Seraphina's divine shield reflected back onto her.
Mira couldn't even see her mirror self—until she was bleeding from a wound she hadn't noticed.
Kael closed his eyes.
He thought. Not acted. Not reacted. But calculated.
"Everyone—invert your roles!"
Confusion. Then understanding.
Greg stopped attacking and began casting shields.
Seraphina started throwing knives.
Elena pulled out her melee dagger.
Mira used Seraphina's divine glyphs to stealth.
Kael smiled.
Mirrorwalker hesitated.
The mimic logic failed. The pattern broke.
Kael activated Zone Recode.
Rule Instated: "Mirrors show potential, not certainty."
The walls shattered.
Mirrorwalker screamed—not from pain, but from loss of identity.
Kael approached his alternate self, staring him in the eye.
"You were me," he said quietly. "But I'm not you anymore."
Blade. Pulse. Silence.
Boss Defeated. Third Anchor Broken.
---
Post-Battle Reflection
As the city collapsed behind them, the sky rippled. For the first time since the Merge, the weather normalized over a 200-mile radius.
Kael stood at the edge, watching the reflection of stars return to a broken sea.
Mira whispered, "What did you see in your mirror?"
Kael didn't answer.
But his fingers clenched tighter around the fused shard in his hand.
---
Character Sheet Update: Kael Vaelorian
New Passive Gained: Mind Fortress
Immune to reflection-based psychic damage and memory theft.
New Trait Unlocked: Ego Fracture Stabilized
Gains insight into alternate tactical paths. Once per battle, can simulate an alternate version of himself for 10 seconds.
Corruption Risk: Extreme.
Entity Genesis Prime has marked Kael as Rogue Catalyst. Observation initiated.
---