Salome stepped into damp whiteness.

  With each step she took, wrapped in dense layers of cloud, the light around her grew steadily brighter. She could barely see her surroundings. When she stretched out her hand, her fingertips blurred as though dissolving into vapor.

  Yet, gradually, colors gained vibrancy. Tiny droplets of rain brushed against her face as she glimpsed the white glow of the sun hidden behind the misty veil. Then a strong gust of wind swept past, scattering the damp white cage that held her captive. In an instant, brilliant sunlight flooded the world again, as it had that morning and the day before. Salome squinted, momentarily blinded, her eyes used to the dimmer light. She watched as shreds of cloud drifted off, blending into towering formations that gradually concealed the palace ruin behind her.

  Kiran sat cross-legged on a rock that jutted from the ground nearby. Resting his chin in his hand, he watched Salome and Van with a gaze that seemed almost glowering.

  “So, where’s your boat anchored?” Van asked, wiping moisture from the corners of his eyes. “You did come here by boat, didn’t you?”

  Kiran twisted his mouth into a mocking smile, and Salome thought he was about to laugh at Van, but instead he jumped lightly off his rock, saying with amusement, “Follow me.”

  They continued along the same path Van had taken earlier, following the island’s edge. Van attempted conversation several times, but the mysterious gray-haired boy remained mostly silent, answering only briefly. Eventually, Van gave up and walked with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

  Salome remained quiet as well, observing Kiran. Something about his upright posture, stern proud gaze, and the purposeful way he moved reminded Salome of home, back in Fundament. There, only a few individuals carried themselves in such a manner, mostly within the city—recognizeable by their dark coats and gleaming pins: the Ministry’s enforcers.

  Salome had rarely interacted with them, but their smug arrogance was unmistakable. They knew exactly who they were and how much power they wielded, and people bowed their heads in their presence. They always evoked disgust in Salome as they passed with noses held high, like an unpleasant aftertaste everyone endured. Nobody liked the enforcers, and neither did Salome—except for one single exception.

  Yet, Kiran was different. He radiated confidence without making it seem as though he considered himself superior. His disdainful glances and arrogant demeanor weren't hurtful, rather, they made him seem… more genuine. Maybe that was why Salome found it so easy to trust him. Since meeting him, it had never occurred to her that he might harbor ill intentions.

  After brief hesitation, she quickened her steps to catch up with Kiran.

  “That courtyard…” she began hesitantly. “What kind of place was it? And what exactly happened to me there?” Memories of the courtyard with the ancient tree kept slipping away from her, as though recalling a very old, indistinct dream.

  “What courtyard?” Van asked, joining them, curious.

  “There was a strange courtyard in the palace, just beyond the small gate opposite the entrance,” Salome explained. “A giant oak grew there, and the sky—”

  “You should never have found that courtyard,” Kiran interrupted sharply. “It's a miracle you even entered that ruin, let alone the sanctuary within. Oblivious, blind fools like yourselves are supposed to pass by without ever noticing it. Yet, for some reason, you stumbled upon it.” He shook his head.

  “What’s the deal with that ruin anyway?” Van asked. “Something there isn't right.”

  “Firmament has many such places, but of course, you wouldn't know that. Some things must remain hidden from the world.”

  “But that still doesn't explain what exactly happened,” Salome insisted. “It felt so strange… like stepping into another world. I wasn’t myself there. Even now, when I try to recall it, everything's blurred, as if the memories belonged to someone else! How is that possible?” She looked questioningly at Kiran.

  “Enough questions!” he snapped irritably. “You should be thankful I was there to guide you out. Without me, you'd still be wandering lost inside, tomorrow, the next day, and who knows how long. Show some gratitude and spare me your ignorance!” He huffed loudly, quickening his pace. Salome was startled by his sudden irritation. What had gotten into him?

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  They spent the next hour mostly in silence, continuing towards an unknown destination. Clouds drifted timelessly over the grassy hills, occasionally revealing ruins before concealing them again behind a curtain of white. They discovered a narrow brook trickling gently through a shallow channel, tumbling over the island's edge into the void, dissolving into swirling mists that sank into the cloud sea below. Salome wondered if the rain showers back home originated from such water.

  They followed the landscape’s gentle rises and falls for a while, until finally, Kiran stopped for the first time.

  “We’re here,” he announced simply, pulling his hood back over his head. Salome looked around curiously.

  Clouds, meadows, and the silhouettes of distant ruins. Nothing else unusual caught her eye. Yet, according to Van, Kiran’s boat had to be here somewhere.

  “What do you mean we're here?” Van asked, bewildered. “There's nothing here!”

  Kiran sighed and casually gestured toward several misshapen rocks jutting up from the ground near the island's edge.

  Salome blinked. She hadn't noticed these boulders at all. No, that wasn't quite true. She had seen them—it was just remarkably easy to overlook them. Her gaze slid past them as though glancing off edges in a dim twilight. Upon closer inspection, she realized they weren't misshapen rocks at all but massive, deliberately carved stones. How had she missed something so obvious? They were arranged in an arch-like formation, with the highest point nearly twice her height. Within the arch, framed perfectly by these stones, was a mirror.

  Next to her, Van audibly gasped.

  “A mirror gate…” he whispered, his eyes widening. He stepped slowly toward the strange formation, as though unable to believe what he was seeing. He licked his lips, excitement suddenly glittering in his eyes.

  “This is a mirror gate, isn’t it?” he asked with nearly childlike enthusiasm. “Incredible! It's been ages since I've seen one! They're so easy to overlook, even when you're standing right in front of them!” He eagerly rushed toward the mysterious gate, examining it curiously from every angle.

  “I'm surprised you've seen one before,” Kiran remarked, stepping up beside him.

  “When I was a kid, my father took me on a trip to a place at the edge of the known world,” Van explained absently. “While he was busy with errands, I played nearby and stumbled across something similar to this. Shame I didn't know what it was at the time.”

  “I see,” Kiran murmured, almost to himself, nodding thoughtfully. “Children find them easier…”

  “What… is this?” Salome asked cautiously, stepping closer.

  The frame must have been ancient, as completely covered with bright green moss as it was. In stark contrast, the mirror's surface appeared flawless, as pristine as new, untouched by nature or time. It seemed so natural, as if the mirror had simply grown from the ground itself.

  Salome suddenly realized it cast no shadow. The sun hovered slightly overhead, casting shadows only from the stones themselves onto the grass.

  Incredulously, Salome stepped to the side and circled the mirror carefully, placing one foot cautiously on the narrow ridge that separated it from the yawning abyss below, examining its backside. Yet even there, she found nothing but another mirror surface perfectly reflecting the world. Astonished, she gazed at the mirrored view of the brightly illuminated cloud ocean. Carefully, she returned to the front, stepping closer to the smooth surface. Her reflection stared back at her, astonishment clearly written on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Van and Kiran. Hesitantly, she reached out and gently touched the surface with a fingertip. It felt cold.

  Suddenly, Van knocked his knuckles against the mirror, startling her. She shot him a glare, which he met with a playful grin.

  “They say these gates lead into a world behind mirrors,” Van said, answering her earlier question. “Supposedly, people once used them to cross vast distances in just a few steps.”

  Salome eyed the structure skeptically. A world behind mirrors?

  “And what exactly are you doing here?” Van asked, turning to Kiran. “You didn’t actually come through the mirror gate, did you?” He laughed at his own joke, but Kiran's expression didn't change. Calmly, he watched Van’s laughter fade away.

  “You actually came through the mirror gate,” Van concluded soberly. All traces of humor vanished. “But—I thought—I thought nobody knew how to use them anymore? That knowledge vanished along with the missing age!”

  “Just because no one reveals certain knowledge doesn't mean it no longer exists,” Kiran replied smugly. “Somewhere in this world lies the key to every secret.”

  He reached into his pocket and withdrew the glass shard from before, briefly allowing Salome a glimpse before clasping it with both hands. She thought she saw faint golden veins threading through it.

  “Usually, our reflection blocks our way. That's fortunate—we wouldn’t want to fall through every mirror like an open window. But if you ask your reflection correctly, it gladly steps aside and allows entry.” Kiran stood in front of the mirror, paused briefly, and then pressed the glass shard against the forehead of his reflection.

  At first, nothing happened, just the quiet scraping of glass against glass. But somehow, Salome sensed a shift in the large mirror. She squinted.

  Kiran's reflection began to flicker, its edges blurring along with those of Van and herself. Suddenly, a sharp ringing sound echoed as hairline cracks radiated from where Kiran pressed the shard, spreading rapidly like an intricate spiderweb until the entire mirror fractured. Alarmed, Salome stepped back as shards broke away, falling to the ground with a crystalline crash. More and more pieces detached until the mirror collapsed entirely, revealing the cloud ocean behind. The fragments formed an oddly neat pile in the grass, almost like a threshold.

  “Great,” Van muttered. “You broke it.”

  Kiran stepped aside, gesturing broadly at the shards.

  “The way is open.”