Got it — thank you!
Let's continue with Chapter 2, updated with Kisa as a gir
Footsteps echoed down the corridor — heavy, measured, final. Whoever they belonged to walked like they owned the world.
A moment later, the iron door creaked open.
The room tensed.
A tall figure stepped through. Cloaked in dark grey, with a black sigil stitched across his chest like a brand. His face was shadowed by a hood, but his voice — deep and carved from stone — filled the space.
"Remove the restraints."
Ephi stood and saluted, one fist across her chest. Kisa followed with a more casual, hesitant motion.
"Are you sure, Warden?" Ephi asked. "He's unmarked."
"And yet... he lives," the Warden said quietly. "Bring him to the mirror."
Kisa knelt and began unfastening the iron cuffs. "Don't worry," she whispered to the boy. "The Soul Mirror's just a test. Painful, but it won't kill you. Probably."
He looked at her, confused.
> "Just breathe. And try not to scream too loud. Ephi gets annoyed."
Ephi rolled her eyes and turned away, already walking toward the corridor.
---
Minutes later , they stood before it.
A slab of obsidian, taller than a man, embedded in the wall of a chamber lit by blue flame. It didn't reflect their bodies — only their essence. Their truth.
The Soul Mirror.
One by one, each initiate stood before it to reveal the nature of their soul — whether they were marked by strength, madness, purity... or shadow.
Kisa gave his hand a quick squeeze and stepped back.
Ephi just nodded toward the mirror.
"Go."
The boy hesitated.
His legs were weak. His mind, scattered. His heart... loud.
He stepped forward.
The moment he crossed the line of light, the mirror reacted — glowing, swirling, pulling the room into itself. A low hum filled the air. The flames flickered and dimmed. The boy's breath caught in his throat.
And then — it happened.
A shape flickered on the surface of the mirror. Not a face. Not a symbol. But a shadow.
It twisted. Shifted. Took the form of a beast — tall, terrible, horned and winged — and then it broke apart into shattered glass.
The chamber went still.
The flames died.
Ephi took a step forward. Kisa gasped.
The Warden, however, simply bowed his head.
"So it begins," he whispered.
"What… what does it mean?" Kisa asked.
The Warden turned to leave.
"He is soulbound. And cursed."
"But what is he?"
"He…" the Warden said, eyes glowing faintly beneath the hood, "…is the end."
---