By the time school ended, Takeshi's head was full.
Not with homework.
But with that line.
Still floating in the mirror like a silent threat.
Rei had left early, saying nothing more.
Asami didn't even look at him again after lunch.
But Takeshi felt her watching.
Every time he turned, she was already looking away.
---
He walked home alone.
Clouds were thick today. Sky grey. The air felt heavy.
Like a storm wanted to start but hadn't made up its mind.
---
At home, the mirror waited.
He stepped into his room and shut the door.
And there it was.
Still there.
Still blue.
Still cold.
He stood in front of it for a while.
Then pulled the curtains closed. Switched off the lights.
The only glow in the room was the line.
---
> "Alright," he muttered. "Let's find out."
He reached out again.
This time, he didn't stop when the cold hit.
His whole hand slipped through.
Then his arm.
Then his face.
---
He didn't fall.
He floated.
Soft, like drifting in water.
Then—he landed.
---
His shoes hit stone.
But the ground wasn't flat.
It curved, like standing on the inside of a giant bowl.
The sky above him was black with a thin ring of light spinning in circles.
It wasn't Nehvarra. Not fully.
It was something under it.
Older.
Darker.
And quieter.
---
> "You're not supposed to be here."
Takeshi turned fast.
Asami.
She stood a few feet away.
Not in school clothes.
She wore a black jacket with silver lace. A blade was strapped to her thigh.
And her eyes—
They glowed the same pale blue as the mirror line.
---
> "You… what is this place?"
> "A reflection," she said. "One Nehvarra doesn't show unless you force it."
> "You knew about the line."
> "I see more than I let on."
She stepped closer.
> "And so do you."
---
A soft sound rang from above.
Like glass humming.
The air twisted, and a shape slid out of the sky.
Long. Thin. All arms.
A Watcher.
---
Takeshi's Drift mark sparked.
Not a lot.
Just enough to burn.
Asami didn't flinch.
She pulled the blade from her side.
The metal shimmered with tiny symbols.
> "We're not alone."
---
The Watcher floated down, arms unfolding like wings.
Takeshi raised his hand, but the pain in his mark was worse now.
His breath hitched.
His vision shook.
Asami grabbed his wrist.
> "Not here. Not like this."
She pulled him back—hard.
They fell together—
And landed in his room.
Back through the mirror.
---
Takeshi hit the floor.
Asami landed on her feet.
The line in the mirror was gone.
Just glass now.
> "You said Nehvarra is shaped by the mind," Takeshi whispered.
> "It is," she said. "And your mind?"
She stared at him.
> "It's opening too fast."
---
She opened the window and jumped down like it was nothing.
Gone.
Just like that.
---
Takeshi sat on the floor.
His hand still burned.
His heart still raced.
And now, he knew two things for sure:
1. Asami wasn't normal.
2. Neither was he.
---
End of Chapter 18.