Chapter 8: The Shattered Bond

Arc I – The Possession Begins

Chapter 8: The Shattered Bond

When Mira opened her eyes, she was no longer in her room.

The world around her shimmered—a haze of pale blue and silver. The air hummed softly, like wind trapped in glass. Beneath her bare feet stretched what looked like water but felt like solid light.

“This… is new,” she muttered. “Did I die again? Or is this, like, a magical Wi-Fi dead zone?”

A voice answered, echoing through the vastness.

> “Neither. You’re between.”

She turned—and saw Seraphina.

Only now, Seraphina wasn’t a reflection. She stood there fully formed—same face, same long golden hair, same sad eyes—but she glowed faintly, as if the light itself obeyed her.

Mira’s breath caught. “You’re… real.”

Seraphina smiled faintly. “In this place, perhaps.”

Mira frowned. “So what is this? Purgatory for emotionally conflicted souls?”

> “The threshold,” Seraphina said softly. “Where our bond overlaps. Where his heart reaches both of us.”

Mira crossed her arms. “You mean Adrian’s heart. The guy you cursed because he didn’t send you enough love letters.”

Seraphina’s smile didn’t falter. “You think I wanted this?”

“I mean, you did a full-on gothic ritual, so—yeah?”

Seraphina’s voice turned wistful. “I wanted to be heard. To not vanish like every woman before me who loved a man destined for duty. He heard me, Mira. And now… so do you.”

Mira opened her mouth, but the world around them trembled—blue light cracking like broken glass.

Seraphina looked up sharply. “He’s trying to reach you. But the curse is shifting.”

“What does that mean?” Mira asked.

> “It means,” Seraphina whispered, “you’ll have to choose soon. Between saving him—or freeing yourself.”

---

When Mira woke, she was lying on cold stone. She blinked—the chapel again. The shards of the mirror glowed faintly around her like constellations.

“Okay,” she croaked, sitting up. “Waking up in weird places is officially a hobby now.”

The echo of footsteps made her freeze.

“Adrian?”

Nothing.

Then, from the doorway, came a faint flicker of light—blue, pulsating in rhythm with her heartbeat. She followed it down the hall, calling softly, “Adrian! If this is you, blink twice!”

No answer. But the light grew stronger, leading her toward the old library.

She pushed the door open and gasped.

Adrian was there—kneeling, pale, his hand clutching his chest. The mark of the curse glowed faintly beneath his shirt, pulsing like a heartbeat gone wrong.

“Adrian!” She rushed forward, grabbing his shoulders. “What happened?”

He tried to speak, voice hoarse. “You… shouldn’t be near me.”

“Too late for that,” she snapped. “What did you do—take up recreational dying?”

He managed a weak smile. “The curse retaliated. Every time I reached for you, it drained more of my life.”

Mira’s throat tightened. “Why would you do that?”

He looked at her with eyes that shouldn’t have been that soft. “Because your voice stopped answering. I thought she—took you.”

Her anger cracked. “You idiot.”

“I’m aware.”

She pressed her forehead against his. “Don’t you dare fade again.”

He breathed in shakily. “It’s not my choice. The curse is separating us.”

“I’ll fix it,” she said.

He smiled faintly. “How?”

“I have no idea yet. But if this curse works on emotional drama, then I’m your girl.”

---

They tried every spell in the library—every prayer, every charm. Nothing worked. The bond between them flickered weaker and weaker until Mira could barely feel his voice in her mind.

Then—suddenly—she felt something else. Another voice.

> “You can’t save him that way.”

Seraphina again, faint and distant. Mira gritted her teeth. “Go away!”

> “He’s not dying because of me,” Seraphina said. “He’s dying because he’s choosing you.”

“What does that even mean?”

> “He’s resisting the curse’s natural pull. It’s meant to bind him to my voice—but he’s following yours instead. You’re undoing the tether.”

Mira froze. “Undoing it how?”

> “By loving him.”

Mira’s stomach dropped. “No. Nope. Denying that one.”

> “Deny it all you want. But the magic knows.”

The voice faded, leaving her shaking.

Adrian stirred weakly. “Mira…?”

She swallowed hard. “Yeah. I’m here.”

“Promise me something,” he whispered. “If I… forget you—if the bond breaks—don’t chase me. You’ll be safer that way.”

She blinked rapidly, tears burning. “Yeah, no. I’m a chronic chaser.”

He smiled faintly. “Of course you are.”

---

That night, Mira couldn’t sleep. She sat beside Adrian’s bed, clutching his hand as his breathing grew shallow. The mark on his chest flickered, weaker and weaker.

She leaned close. “Hey. You don’t get to die, okay? I didn’t even get to annoy you properly yet.”

Silence.

“Adrian?”

Then—faintly—his voice in her mind again.

> “You’re… too close.”

Her breath hitched. “Then tell me when it’s okay to be close.”

> “When I stop wanting you.”

“Then we’re doomed.”

> “Seems so.”

A faint chuckle escaped him, but it quickly turned to a wince.

Mira’s panic surged. “Okay, no. I’m not watching you die from magical proximity issues.”

She stood abruptly. “There has to be another way.”

The air around her shimmered again—the same pale light as before—and she realized: the mirror shards. They were glowing, vibrating.

Each shard reflected her—but not just her. Seraphina too.

Mira’s breath quickened. “If the curse connects through reflection…”

She grabbed one of the shards. “Then maybe it can reflect me back.”

The light flared—bright, burning—and then—

Darkness.

---

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the threshold realm.

Seraphina was waiting.

> “You came back,” she said softly. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I’m not leaving him,” Mira said.

Seraphina studied her for a long moment. “You think you’re saving him. But if you keep binding yourself to him, one of you will vanish.”

“Then it’ll be me.”

> “Why?” Seraphina whispered.

“Because he deserves to live without a ghost’s voice in his head.”

Seraphina stepped closer, her expression unreadable. “You really do love him.”

Mira swallowed hard. “Yeah. It’s inconvenient.”

For the first time, Seraphina smiled—genuinely. “Then maybe you can do what I couldn’t.”

“What’s that?”

> “Love him enough to let him go.”

The world around them shuddered, cracks spidering through the light. Seraphina’s voice faded into the echo.

> “If you want to save him—break the bond. Even if it means losing everything.”

Mira’s pulse roared in her ears. “But if I break it, I’ll disappear.”

> “Yes.”

“Then it’s settled.”

---

Back in the real world, Adrian awoke to the sound of glass breaking.

“Mira!” he shouted, staggering from bed.

He found her in the chapel, surrounded by glowing shards, her hands pressed against the mirror’s cracked surface.

“Mira, stop!”

She turned, eyes glimmering with light—not human light. “It’s the only way.”

He reached for her. “Please—don’t.”

She smiled faintly. “You told me once to stop making promises. So this time, I’ll make a choice.”

And before he could move, she whispered one word:

“Release.”

Light burst from her chest—blinding, pure—and every shard in the room shattered into dust.

When the glow faded, she was gone.

Only silence remained.

---

End of Chapter 8