The festival noise faded quickly behind him.
Con ran through narrow streets, guided only by sound.
Footsteps.
Light.
Fast.
The girl in the hood moved like a shadow through the crowd.
He could hear her sandals striking the stone road.
Left.
Then right.
Through a quieter street.
Into a narrow alley.
Con followed without hesitation.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
Why?
He didn't understand.
He had never met her before.
But something inside him screamed that he had to reach her.
If he didn't—
Something terrible would happen.
His chest tightened painfully.
The feeling was strangely familiar.
Like a wound he didn't remember receiving.
The girl's footsteps suddenly faded.
She had turned a corner ahead.
Con hurried forward—
And crashed straight into someone.
A solid shoulder slammed into his chest.
"Hey!"
A rough voice snapped.
Con staggered slightly.
He could hear several men standing in the alley.
Three… no.
Four.
The smell of alcohol and cheap tobacco lingered in the air.
One of them grabbed his arm roughly.
"Watch where you're going."
Con quickly bowed his head.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was polite but hurried.
"I need to pass."
He tried to move around them.
But the man stepped in front of him again.
"Hold on."
Another voice chuckled.
"Well look at this."
"Pretty boy's blind."
The men laughed.
Con's hands clenched slightly.
"I'm in a hurry," he said calmly.
"Please move."
The men didn't move.
Instead, one of them stepped closer.
Con could hear the man circling him slowly.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
Another man said mockingly,
"Maybe he's lost."
"Maybe he needs help finding his way."
Their laughter echoed in the narrow alley.
Con's heart beat faster.
The girl's footsteps had stopped somewhere ahead.
Not far.
He could still faintly hear her breathing.
She was hiding.
Waiting.
And something inside him screamed louder.
Go.
Find her.
Now.
"I need to pass," Con repeated.
This time his voice was firmer.
But the first man suddenly shoved him.
Hard.
Con stumbled back a step.
"Didn't you hear us?"
The man sneered.
"You're not going anywhere."
Something inside Con snapped.
A strange heat spread through his veins.
His heart pounded harder.
Louder.
For the first time in his life—
He felt anger rising inside him.
Not the calm irritation he sometimes felt during academy duels.
No.
This was something deeper.
Something boiling.
Something dangerous.
The men continued laughing.
One of them grabbed his collar.
"Maybe we should teach the blind boy some manners."
That was when Con's chest tightened painfully.
A sudden sharp ache.
Like something breaking deep inside him.
And a thought flashed across his mind.
Clear.
Desperate.
I have to reach her.
If I don't—
I will die.
He didn't know why he felt that way.
But the feeling was overwhelming.
Con's breathing grew uneven.
"Move," he said quietly.
The man holding him smirked.
"Make me."
The alley went silent.
For one brief moment—
Something stirred inside Con.
A strange sensation.
Like an old door opening.
A skill.
One he had never consciously used before.
His body moved instinctively.
His hand lifted slightly.
A quiet word slipped from his lips.
Not a language he recognized.
But his voice spoke it anyway.
"—Sever."
The air suddenly exploded.
A violent shockwave blasted forward.
The stone wall beside the alley shattered instantly.
BOOM.
Dust and debris burst outward.
The men were thrown backward in shock.
Bricks collapsed.
Wood splintered.
Part of the wall simply disappeared.
Silence followed.
The men stared in horror at the massive hole now blown through the building.
One of them stammered.
"W-what the hell—"
Con stood frozen.
His own heart pounded wildly.
What did I just do?
He didn't understand.
But something beyond the broken wall caught his attention.
Inside the destroyed building—
A shop.
Judging by the scent of polished wood and metal frames.
And directly in front of the shattered wall—
Standing upright against the back of the shop—
Was a mirror.
Huge.
As tall as a grown man.
The smooth glass surface reflected the lantern light from the alley.
For the first time in his life—
Con felt something strange when facing it.
Not sight.
Not sound.
Something deeper.
Something ancient.
Something inside the mirror felt…
Familiar.
Behind him, the men slowly backed away in fear.
"W-we're leaving."
"No need to mess with this guy."
Their footsteps quickly disappeared from the alley.
But Con didn't notice.
He stood there quietly.
Facing the giant mirror through the broken wall.
His heart still beating fast.
His chest still hurting.
And somewhere deep in his mind—
A strange feeling whispered.
You've been here before.