The mirror rippled. For a moment, Lena thought she saw tears in the glass—but they were her own. She was crying for Kaelen’s victims. That was the cruel trick of being a Reflector: you borrowed someone else’s blindness, and in return, you carried their sight.

The mirror held the image for a long second, then went dark. Somewhere above, Kaelen would feel a flicker—a ghost of guilt, quickly suppressed. But the Proxy had done its work.

She understood then why the job was called “Reflect 4 Proxy.” It was not about serving the powerful. It was about holding a space for the truth they had abandoned. And in doing so, she learned the deepest lesson of all:

Lena turned from the fourth mirror and climbed the 144 steps back into the sun. Above, Kaelen signed another order. Below, the mirrors waited, patient and hungry.