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It used to hum.
That soft, low vibration in the air whenever he entered the chamber — the mirror’s way of recognizing him. The connection between soul and reflection. Between guardian and those he swore to protect.
Now it was silent.
The shards lay scattered across the floor, glittering faintly in the dim light of the torches. Malleus stepped carefully among them, his boots crunching on glass, the sound painfully loud in the stillness.
He knelt, green fire flickering faintly at his fingertips, and reached for a fragment no larger than his palm. His reflection stared back — split down the center, one half solemn, the other warped. For a heartbeat, he swore he saw them instead. Their face. That gentle, trusting look he’d sworn he would never let fade.
And then it was gone. Just his own reflection again, blurred by the fracture.
“It was not meant to be this way,” he whispered. “I was supposed to protect you.”
His voice echoed off the stone walls — soft, uncertain, heavy.
He’d replayed the moment endlessly. The surge of power. The shattering. The scream that wasn’t really a scream, but the breaking of magic itself. He remembered reaching through the light, calling their name, feeling the world twist and collapse before his eyes. When he opened them again, there was only ruin.
He searched every mirror. Every realm that would still answer him. Nothing. Their reflection was gone. Their soul, perhaps, too.
Now, all that remained were shards.
He touched one again, tracing the sharp edge with his thumb until it cut the skin. A droplet of blood slipped down, bright and red against the silver surface. It spread slowly, covering the face that was no longer there.
“Would you forgive me,” he murmured, voice breaking, “if I could find a way to bring you back?”
The chamber said nothing. The magic did not stir.
He stood, the torchlight casting long shadows across his face. For the first time in centuries, Malleus felt small — a king among ruins, haunted by the echo of someone he could not save.
He turned to leave, closing the great doors behind him. The sound reverberated through the chamber like thunder, then faded into quiet.
Inside, one shard pulsed faintly — a weak, flickering light — before going dark.
And that was how it ended: not with fire, not with fury, but with silence.