Chapter 31: The Mirror of Choices

The forest was still around them, but Ivy felt like she had stepped out of time. The woman who stood before her wasn’t just a vision. She was flesh. Bone. Real.

And identical.

Killian instinctively stepped in front of Ivy, while Aiden slowly reached for his concealed weapon.

But Ivy raised her hand. “No. I need to hear her.”

The woman’s smile was eerie, like looking into a darker version of herself. Her eyes sparkled, not with warmth—but with power.

“I go by Isolde now,” she said calmly. “You can call me… your shadow.”

“My what?” Ivy asked, breath catching in her throat.

Isolde tilted her head. “You don’t know what they’ve hidden from you, do you?”

“Enough with the riddles,” Aiden growled. “Speak plainly or vanish.”

“I’m her,” Isolde said. “From another timeline. One where I chose the Syndicate. One where I embraced Isla’s legacy instead of fighting it.”

Ivy staggered. “That’s impossible.”

“Is it?” Isolde’s eyes gleamed. “You ever feel déjà vu? Dreams that weren’t yours? Memories that didn’t belong?”

Ivy’s heartbeat quickened. She had.

“You’re lying,” Killian snapped.

“No,” Isolde said, her voice deadly calm. “You all lied. She was never carrying just one heir. There were always two. One is Isla reborn. The other…” She turned to Ivy. “Is me. Preserved through a temporal rift. Anchored to your DNA. Brought back… for balance.”

“Why now?” Ivy asked.

“Because your blood has awakened,” Isolde said. “And the Blood Moon is nearing. Only one of us can survive it.”

Killian pulled Ivy back. “We need to leave.”

Isolde didn’t stop them. “Run if you want. But know this—every choice you make now opens a door… or shuts it forever.”

They escaped deeper into the woods, reaching a hidden outpost—a safehouse Killian had used in past missions. Inside, Ivy sat trembling, her arms wrapped around herself.

“She looked exactly like me,” Ivy whispered. “What if she’s telling the truth?”

“She’s manipulating you,” Aiden said.

“Or she’s warning me,” Ivy replied. “Killian?”

He looked conflicted. “I’ve heard rumors… whispers of Syndicate timelines, created through failed rituals and bloodline manipulation. But it was considered myth.”

“What if it’s not?” she asked. “What if I’ve been living two lives all along and just never knew?”

“Then we need answers,” Killian said grimly. “The vault in Prague has more than the bone fragment. It contains Isla’s research… and a record of every experiment, every subject.”

Including Ivy.

They arrived in Prague three days later, using falsified passports and an underground route that only Killian knew. The vault lay beneath an abandoned cathedral, protected by biometric locks and ancient wards.

“Only blood can open it,” Killian said.

Ivy looked at him. “Mine?”

He nodded.

She pressed her palm to the old metal disc embedded in the floor. A pulse shot through her, hot and sharp. The ground trembled—and a spiral staircase opened beneath them.

They descended into darkness.

Rows of sealed canisters, old notebooks, and glowing vials lined the chamber. The air smelled of metal and forgotten spells.

Aiden moved quickly. “Find the bone fragment. We’re not alone down here.”

Ivy’s eyes caught a file with her name on it. Subject V-88: Viable Host, Project Mirrorbound.

She opened it—and her heart sank.

There were ultrasound images. Dozens of them. Not just one pregnancy.

Two. Always two.

Twins.

But in one set of notes, it was written:

“Twin A: Receptive. High emotional fluctuation. Potential carrier of Isla’s essence.”

“Twin B: Resistant. Memory echoes from former host—Isolde.”

“Split confirmed. Temporal bonding successful.”

Ivy nearly dropped the file. “They weren’t just cloning… they were merging.”

Killian found the canister, labelled “Remains of Isla: 018-A.” Inside it was a charred sliver of bone, still pulsing faintly with energy.

“We’ve got what we came for,” Aiden said.

“No,” Ivy said. “We’re missing one thing.”

She turned to the vault's last chamber—sealed by a symbol of the moon.

She pressed her hand again.

The door slid open.

Inside stood a tall, glass pod.

Within it floated… herself.

Or rather, another version. Eyes closed. Face peaceful.

Aiden stepped in. “What the hell is this?”

Killian’s jaw tightened. “Backup host. In case Ivy failed.”

“But this one’s incomplete,” Ivy said. “She doesn’t have Isla. She doesn’t have… anything.”

“No,” said a voice from behind.

Isolde stepped into the room, blade drawn.

“She has me.”

“Step back,” Aiden said.

Isolde chuckled. “You think your bullets will stop me? I’ve lived a hundred lives before this one.”

Killian moved closer to Ivy. “She’s here for the bone.”

“I’m here,” Isolde said, “to offer her a choice.”

Ivy looked up.

“Come with me. Accept who you really are. Or destroy the one person who truly understands you.”

Ivy’s hand shook over the bone fragment.

“Why me?” she whispered.

Isolde’s expression turned soft—for a moment.

“Because we were never meant to be split. You were born to hold darkness… and light. But they broke us apart to make us weaker. Reunite us, Ivy. And we’ll burn them all.”

Ivy stared at the pod… at her own sleeping clone… at the bone in her hands.

And then she whispered something only she could hear.

A word Isla had screamed in her dreams.

“Velari.”

The room trembled.

The pod cracked.

The clone’s eyes fluttered open.

Isolde smiled.

“Too late.”

And then everything went dark.