Arthur stared at the woman.
His expression didn't change. Not a twitch of fear, not a flicker of emotion. But Luke had known him long enough to see the truth behind those cold eyes.
That single moment of hesitation?
It wasn't fear.
It was recognition.
"You know her," Luke said quietly.
Arthur didn't answer.
The woman smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "He knew me once. When he was younger. Before he learned to forget."
Her voice wasn't fully human—soft, melodic, but layered with something ancient. Echoes of pain woven into every word.
Luke turned toward Arthur. "Who is she?"
Arthur's gaze dropped, just slightly.
"…My sister."
The room went silent.
Luke's mind reeled. "You never said you had a sister."
Arthur replied flatly, "I don't."
The woman took a slow step forward. "He let them tell him I never existed. That I disappeared on my own. But he remembers. I screamed. I begged. The mirror took me. And he—"
Arthur spoke, cutting her off.
"—I was ten."
His voice was sharper now. Quiet but edged like a blade.
"I watched her vanish. Into a mirror just like this. My parents said it was trauma. Said I imagined it. But I never forgot. That's why I came to Blackridge. To see if this place was real. To see if she was still here."
He looked up at her again.
"But you're not her."
The woman blinked slowly.
Luke looked between them. "What do you mean she's not—"
Arthur stepped forward. "The mirror took her. But it didn't keep her whole. It made something else out of the pieces. Just like it's trying to do with us."
The woman's face twitched.
Just once.
Then she laughed.
It was wrong. The sound echoed off every mirror in the chamber, warping, stretching. The glass trembled.
"You're clever, little brother," she said softly. "But you still haven't made a choice."
Luke felt the floor grow colder beneath his feet.
The mirrors around them began to pulse.
One of them now showed him.Standing alone. On the edge of the forest.His face blank. His eyes… not his.
Arthur looked at it. Then at Luke.
Luke stared back. "You're not trading me. You know that, right?"
Arthur's reply was almost too calm.
"I wasn't going to."
Luke exhaled.
Arthur added, "But the mirror might."