Leon paced his dimly lit room, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. His breath came in sharp bursts, fury burning in his chest like wildfire. His hands trembled at his sides, fingers curling into fists as his golden eyes locked onto the mirror before him

No. This can't be happening. His thoughts pounded against his skull. He wouldn't dare sell it. He wouldn't have a death wish to do something so reckless.

But he had.

The mirror was never meant to be found again. Never meant to reach her. He had ensured it was buried in obscurity, placed so far out of Venus's reach that she would never even glance in its direction. Yet, despite everything, she had found it.

Not just found it-she bought it.

A violent surge of rage crashed over him, his breath coming faster, harsher. His fingers curled so tightly that his nails bit into his palms, thin crescents of blood welling at his skin. With a growl, he grabbed the nearest object-a crystal paperweight-and hurled it at the mirror with full force.

CRACK.

The sharp impact echoed through the room. Yet the glass didn't shatter. It trembled, a subtle ripple disturbing the surface. Not from the force of the throw... but as if it was laughing at him.

Then, he saw it.

Not his own reflection.

Something else.

A shape. A shadow. A face.

His pulse hammered as his vision blurred with fury. His breathing stilled, his body locking in place as his brother's smirking face stared back at him. Those familiar eyes gleamed with amusement, dripping with something cruel.

Mocking him.

"You failed, Leon."

The voice wasn't real. It couldn't be. And yet, it rang inside his head-crisp, clear, undeniable.

"No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to keep us apart... we will always find our way back to each other."

Leon's breath hitched. His grip tightened on the edge of the table, knuckles turning white. No. No, this wasn't real.

This was just a reflection.

Just a damn mirror.

But then-his brother's lips moved.

"You can't stop fate."

Leon's body tensed, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. The air grew thick, suffocating. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to look again.

The smirk deepened.

A mirror doesn't smirk.
A mirror doesn't move.

Something cold slithered down Leon's spine, but his rage swallowed it whole.

"She's going to get me out soon," his brother taunted, his voice curling with amusement. "And then we'll be together-just like we were always meant to be."

A low, taunting laugh followed, slithering through the silence like a whisper of smoke.

Leon's jaw tightened until his teeth ached. His grip on the table turned lethal. The mocking voice coiled around his mind like a noose, suffocating, relentless.

"You can't stop it, Leon. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight... she will bring me back."

The words dripped with certainty, sinking into him like fangs.

The smirk in the mirror sharpened, his brother's eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction.

"And when she does... what will you do then?"

Leon's chest heaved, rage roaring inside him. His nails dug deeper into his skin, his fists trembling at his sides. The room felt too small, the walls pressing in on him.

"I won't let you meet again." His voice was a low growl, venom lacing every word. "I haven't wasted my life just for you to be reunited." His nails pressed harder, the sting of blood grounding him. "And now?" His teeth gritted, his golden eyes burning with fury. "Now, I definitely won't spare Venus's life for this."

His gaze darkened, shadowed with something dangerous, unrelenting, absolute.

"This time She is mine. It will remain that way. I won't let anyone take her-not even you."

The mirror flickered, just for a second. The room dimmed, a sliver of unnatural darkness slipping through.

Leon refused to move. Refused to show weakness.

But somehow, he could still hear it.

Laughter.

Soft. Cruel. His brother's voice echoing in the silence.

His hands trembled, but he forced himself to turn away. He had wasted enough time on this.

But just as he reached the door, a whisper-so faint, so bone-chillingly close-brushed against his ear.

"Leon."

His body went rigid. His breath caught in his throat.

Slowly-too furious-he turned back toward the mirror.

The reflection was normal again. His own face staring back.

And yet, deep in the glass...

That smirk was still there.

Waiting.

.........

Venus had just returned home, her mood dampened by disappointment. She had convinced herself that the mirror wasn't coming, that the shopkeeper had tricked her. Maybe she had been foolish to believe she could get something so rare for so little.

But as she reached her house , she froze.

There, outside her door, wrapped carefully in thick box , was the mirror.

For a second, she simply stared, her mind struggling to process what she was seeing. Then, a bright smile crept onto her face, her earlier frustration vanishing in an instant.

It's here! I thought it wasn't coming. She rushed forward, excitement bubbling in her chest.

She bent down, running her fingers over the packaging, searching for a barcode or any details for the payment. But there was nothing-no receipt, no transaction details, no sender information.

Her smile faltered slightly.

How am I supposed to pay? she thought, frowning.

Pulling out her phone, she quickly dialed the shopkeeper's number.

No answer.

She tried again. Still nothing.

A third time-this time, he picked up.

"Hello, how do I-"

Before she could finish, a furious voice cut through the line.

"You got it! Now what do you want?" the shopkeeper shouted.

Venus flinched, startled. "Why are you yelling? I just called to ask how I'm supposed to pay. There's no information on the package."

A tense silence followed, then his voice came again-low, bitter, and laced with something that almost sounded like fear.

"I don't want your money. Keep that cursed mirror to yourself and never call me again."

And with that, he hung up.

Venus pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the screen in disbelief.

Cursed?

She scoffed under her breath.

"Hello?" she tried again, but the call was already disconnected.

Slowly, she turned back to the mirror, her fingers tightening around the edges of the wrapping.

Cursed? Really?

She let out a sigh and opened the door.

The mirror was Toll and heavy .Dragging it inside was no easy task, but somehow, the weight didn't bother her as much as it should have. It felt... right in her hands.

Finally, she unwrapped it completely and placed it carefully against the wall in her room .

She took a step back, admiring how perfectly it fit into her space.

"You look perfect here," she murmured, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

But then-that feeling returned.

A strange pull, a whisper in the back of her mind, urging her closer.

Without thinking, she reached out, her fingers brushing against the glass.

It was cold at first, a shiver crawling up her arm. But as she kept her palm there, a warmth spread through her skin-subtle, familiar, as if the mirror was responding to her touch.

"Why did he call you cursed? " her fingers tracing the delicate carvings on the frame. "You don't seem cursed to me... You're just so... drawn to me."

She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but the words slipped from her lips effortlessly.

She lingered, her palm pressed against the glass, as if she were waiting-waiting for something, someone, to touch back.

---

beyond the glass... he was watching her.

He had been watching her since the moment she touched the mirror, his presence trapped within the reflective surface, unseen yet always there.

And he felt it too.

That same pull. That same strange, desperate need to be near her.

Why? Why do I feel this way?

His golden eyes fixed on her hand, the way she touched the glass with such quiet curiosity, as if she could sense something-sense him.

He lifted his own hand, pressing his palm to the other side of the glass.

The warmth spread instantly.

The same warmth he had felt that day. The day she first touched the mirror.

I feel the same way about you he thought, his voice barely a whisper in his own mind. I'm drawn to you... just as you're drawn to me.

A shiver ran down his spine. He had never felt this before. Not in all the time he had been trapped here.

And yet, now-with her-it was different.

She received a call, so she moved away to answer it, standing near the window.

A hunger he didn't understand. A longing that grew stronger every second.

I want to talk to you.
See you.
Not through this world of glass. But in reality.

The thought had barely finished forming when something shifted.

A pull-violent and unstoppable.

The air around him cracked, the familiar walls of his prison disappearing in an instant. His surroundings blurred, twisted, shattered-

And then... nothing.

The suffocating darkness faded, but something was different.

His breath came in sharp bursts as his golden eyes darted around. His world had changed.

The grand halls, the looming shadows of his prison-gone.

Instead, he saw her.

Not just through the mirror. Not just in her world.

She was in his world in reflection .

Or at least, it seemed that way.

His surroundings had morphed, the dim, eerie reflections of his world melting into a distorted imitation of hers. The furniture, the walls, the soft glow of the window-everything mirrored her room as if his prison had reshaped itself to match her reality.

His breath caught in his throat.

This had never happened before. He never saw the reflection of outside world in his .

For a fleeting moment, her figure lingered in his world-as if she existed in both places at once. His gaze flickered between her reflection and the twisted version of her room around him.

How is this possible?

His fingers twitched at his sides, his heartbeat pounding so loud it nearly deafened him.

Was this an illusion? A trick? Or had his wish to see her-to be closer-altered the very fabric of his reality?

His chest tightened.

It didn't matter how. All that mattered was that she was here.

His lips parted, a shaky breath escaping him.

She doesn't know.

She stood near the window now, unaware that he could still see her, not just through the mirror-but in the very reflection of his world.

She was inches away, and yet... she had no idea.

he  watched her .

Not through the glass.
Not through a cursed prison.
But as if she was truly part of his world.

His golden eyes darkened.