Mirage Incredibles の小説・ストーリー

Scene 2: The Fire Mirror Hours later, they reached a vast cavern cut deep into the mountain’s side. The air shimmered with heat. In the center, a lake of magma bubbled angrily, and above it hovered a strange relic—a polished obsidian mirror framed in gold. Iris approached it cautiously, drawn by the power radiating from it. Her reflection shimmered in the surface, then twisted. She gasped. She saw herself—not as she was, but as she had once been. Nadia. Whole. Untouched by betrayal.

A heavy, metallic thunk. The screen steadied in front of a large, industrial freezer. Mother frowned. “What are you—” The lid jerked open. The camera adjusted. Focused. Filling the screen, crystalized with frost, wide with frozen terror, was my eye. Mira’s tiny, trembling whisper broke through. “Mama… is right here.”

I scurried away, fingers trembling, legs moving fast. “Maggie….” Maverick yelled. His voice chased me, but I vanished without a word. I stopped in the restroom, hands gripping the counter to catch my breath. My gaze darted to the mirror, staring back at my reflection. My eyes had a glow of golden hue, sparking like flames. For a brief moment, it felt like the fire escalated. The mirror cracked shattering to the floor. I stepped back, frightened. I stared at the remaining jagged piece, staring at the destroyer I was becoming.

The second trial comes in the form of a child. Her name is Mira, and she's eight years old with silver eyes that glow too bright and dreams that manifest whether she wants them to or not. She's one of the refugees who arrived with Pyra, and she's been having nightmares. Terrible nightmares that become real. Shadow-creatures that attack anyone nearby. Storms that rage inside buildings. Once, she dreamed the floor was lava, and three people were burned before I could dispel the manifestation. She's terrified of sleeping. Terrified of herself. And she's getting worse.

I thought it was impossible, but my mum’s face got even redder. One guess who the caller is? “I’m sure it’s not impor-” Her phone blared loudly again and I raised a brow at her. “I’ll be right back.” Mira shuffled out of her seat to allow my mum passage. When we were alone, I turned my full attention to Mira. “You were telling me about your experiment.” Or rather, trying not to tell me. “Turning animals invisible is a pretty neat trick. Almost like a magic trick.” “You don’t believe me, do you?”

The people on the beach were still marveling at the beauty of the mirage, sighing wistfully at how short it had lasted. Over on another end, the Aqua Dragon, Orkot, opened his eyes from where he was lying at the bottom of a lake. Delight flashed in his gaze as he said, "That kid made it into the mirage after all! Well, it's up to him from here on out. That mirage is pretty much a middle dimension." Wilbur landed on the shores of Windis in the mirage. He coughed up mouthfuls of blood as he looked up at the sky. The opening in the clouds was growing smaller and smaller before disappearing completely. Wilbur finally heaved a sigh of relief.

It was a charade, a performance masking the treachery that lurked beneath the surface. As the ceremony unfolded before my eyes, I couldn't bear to watch for long. I slammed the laptop shut, the abrupt cessation of the video mirroring the shattering of my illusions. Fighting back tears, I felt a deep ache within, a profound sadness that echoed through my core but I held it in. I wasn't going to continue being a cry-weak baby anymore. "Are you okay?" Mirage's voice, laced with genuine concern, cut through the heavy silence. Her beautiful face wore the marks of worry. She looked so unaffected by everything. Such a healed strong woman.

The flying creature which Lucas recognized them as Manna seemed to be screaming something that he didn’t understand. Irina opened her eyes to find Lucas staring at her. “Look at me!” He said. Making Irina frowned, then her eyes turned wide seeing many hungry eyes behind Lucas’s back. “Don’t look back!” He said again. “It seems we can’t apply your idea on this situation.” Irina nodded. “Why are they looking at me like that?” “Perhaps, because you’re shimmering.” Replied Lucas shortly. “Looks like Edvard had the barrier done.” Looking up from the map, Lucas stared into Irina’s eyes. “Shall we go with my idea instead?” “Alright. Tell me the idea.”

Unraveling the contents felt akin to peeling back layers of time, revealing a world her mother never spoke of. “Let’s dive in,” Kevin said, his fingers dancing across the keyboard as he opened the first document. Clara and Avi peered closer, reading the stark, scientific language that filled the page. Project MIRAGE was no ordinary initiative; it was a biotech experiment focused on human enhancement, aiming to alter cognitive functions and emotional responses through genetic manipulation. “What the hell?” Avi whispered, his brow furrowing in disbelief. “This was supposed to be shelved. Ethics aside, this sounds like the stuff of nightmares.”

My voice trailed off. How do I confess the truth in a way that she would understand? She was too young to go through something as painful as this. “Mommy, you said you’re not going to leave me again. If you leave, what will happen to our team? We are partners, remember?” Mira asked when I failed to come up with the right words. She extended her tiny hand. “I have magic. Take my hand, Mommy. I will take you away from here. And they’ll never find us. I’m strong. I will keep you safe.”