The rain hadn't stopped for three days.
Liam Gray sat on his bed, staring at the flickering bulb above him like it might give him answers. It didn't. Just like the mirror across his room didn't — that strange antique thing left behind by the old tenant, framed with symbols that almost looked like runes. Weirdly, he liked it. It made him feel like something might actually happen in his painfully normal life.
He sighed, dragging a pen across his job application form for the third time that week.
"Name: Liam Gray. Age: 22. Skills: breathing."
He chuckled dryly, throwing the pen on his desk. "Nailed it."
Outside, thunder cracked. Then… something else cracked.
He turned. The mirror.
It didn't just crack — it split, a thin glowing line forming vertically like a jagged scar. Liam stood slowly. No earthquakes. No drafts. And yet, the room felt alive.
He stepped closer. The light from the mirror pulsed. Then hissed. Then—
FWOOOSH!
A gust of wind burst from the glass, knocking over his fan and scattering the loose papers from his desk. Liam stumbled back as the mirror glowed brighter — until a shadow formed in the light.
A foot stepped out.
A booted foot.
Liam's jaw dropped. "Okay. Nope. Dream. I'm definitely asleep. That's sleep pizza talking."
But he wasn't. Because next came a woman — tall, with sleek black armor, windswept silver-blue hair, and a cold glare sharp enough to slice glass. She pointed a blade at him.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
Liam blinked. "Uh… the guy who lives here?! Who are you, sword lady?!"
The woman didn't lower her blade. "This isn't right. The coordinates— This place wasn't supposed to have someone like you."
"Well sorry I ruined your GPS."
She finally eased the weapon down, eyeing him like he was a bug. "What's your name?"
"Liam. Liam Gray. Again: who are you?"
She turned away, scanning the room instead of answering. "This portal wasn't supposed to open again. Not yet."
"Portal?!"
A low hum began to grow from the mirror behind her. The scarred line of light — it was pulsing. Alive. Angry.
She cursed under her breath. "Damn. They followed."
"Who followed?" Liam asked, already half-hiding behind his bed.
Suddenly, dark shapes burst through the mirror. They weren't human. Shadows in the form of beasts, writhing and shifting with clawed limbs and smoking maws. Three of them.
The woman spun, blade ready. "Stay back!"
"No problem!" Liam squeaked.
She moved like lightning. Her blade struck one creature across its neck — not flesh, but smoke, writhing with malevolent energy. She dispatched another with a glowing pulse from her palm — magic — before turning to face the last one as it lunged straight for Liam.
"NO—!"
But Liam had already moved on instinct. He grabbed the mirror's edge — glowing with some strange power — and held it between him and the creature.
CRACK!
There was a flash — not from the mirror, but from him. His hand glowed. His vision blurred. And the creature froze in midair… then exploded into fragments of shadowy dust.
Liam gasped. So did the woman.
"…Impossible," she whispered.
Liam fell to the floor, panting. "I don't know what just happened… but that was awesome and also terrifying!"
She slowly approached him, eyes narrowed. "You're… you touched the mirror? And it responded."
"I didn't mean to! I panicked! There were claws involved!"
"You're not supposed to be part of this. You're not even supposed to see it," she muttered, backing away and sheathing her sword.
"See what? What was that? Who are you?!" Liam finally snapped.
"…Aeris," she said after a pause. "Aeris Virelle. I'm from the other side of the mirror. The realm you didn't know existed."
He stared. "Of course you are."
Aeris sighed, glancing at the mirror. "It's unstable now. The surge of energy… it reacted to you."
"Why me? I'm nobody!"
Aeris looked at him again. This time, not like a bug — but like a puzzle. "Maybe not."
Liam didn't like that look. Not one bit.
"What happens now?" he asked quietly.
Aeris took a breath. "Now? We run. More will come. And whether you like it or not… you're bound to this now."
She held out her hand.
Liam hesitated… then took it.
And so, through the cracked mirror, he stepped into a world of shadows, secrets, and the fate he never asked for.