Alice froze.
"She?"
Glamiea slowly looked back at her. "Did your serpent never tell you?"
"No! She tells me literally nothing!" Alice exclaimed. "I didn't even know spirits could date humans until like two hours ago!"
A faint smile tugged at Glamiea's lips. "That sounds like her."
Alice's chest felt strangely tight. She didn't know why. Maybe because for the first time, the serpent spirit suddenly felt... real. Not just some terrifying ancient creature with too much money and emotional issues.
"She was human?" Alice repeated more quietly.
"Yes." Glamiea's golden eyes drifted toward the mirrors again. "A warrior. A very famous one."
One of the mirrors rippled softly.
Then images began appearing across its surface like moving water.
Alice startled. "Oh come on, do all spirits do creepy visual effects?"
"Be grateful I am showing you history." Glamiea replied lazily.
In the mirror, Alice saw fire.
Massive flames swallowing forests and temples beneath a crimson sky. Humans wearing armor fought against monstrous spirits in the middle of ruined battlefields. Blood stained everything.
"The Great Divide." Glamiea murmured softly. "The war that separated the spirit world and the human world forever."
Alice stared silently at the images.
The war looked horrific.
A woman appeared in the mirror then.
Tall. Human. Long dark hair tied behind her head, armor stained with blood. A sword rested in her hands. Even through the mirror, Alice could feel how terrifying she must have been.
"She was called General Akene." Glamiea said quietly. "The strongest human warrior of her era."
The mirror shifted again.
Alice saw the serpent spirit next.
Not in human form this time.
A gigantic crimson serpent towered over the battlefield, ember flames pouring from her scales like lava. Soldiers ran in terror beneath her shadow. Spirits bowed their heads as she moved.
Alice's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
"She was worshipped as a calamity." Glamiea continued. "Humans believed she would destroy the world one day."
"But she didn't." Alice said quietly.
Glamiea looked at her carefully. "No. She didn't."
The mirror showed another scene.
The warrior and the serpent standing beside each other in the middle of battle. Fighting together instead of apart.
Alice felt something twist painfully in her chest at the look in the serpent spirit's eyes.
She looked... happy.
Actually happy.
Not amused. Not calm. Not lonely.
Happy.
"They fell in love during the war." Glamiea said softly. "The great serpent spirit and humanity's strongest warrior. Spirits despised their union. Humans feared it."
The mirror darkened.
Then the images became uglier.
Humans screaming traitor. Spirits whispering monster. Temples burning. Blood on snow.
"The war should have ended after they united both sides." Glamiea's voice became quieter now. "But humans fear what they cannot control."
Alice swallowed hard.
"What happened?"
For the first time, Glamiea hesitated.
The mirrors around the room trembled faintly.
Then finally-
"Akene died."
The room fell silent.
Alice looked back at the mirror automatically.
The image showed the serpent spirit kneeling in the middle of a battlefield, covered in blood and ash. She held a dying human woman in her arms.
The expression on the serpent's face made Alice feel sick.
Grief.
Pure, unbearable grief.
"She was betrayed by her own people." Glamiea whispered. "Human generals feared her bond with the serpent. They believed she would eventually side with spirits completely."
The mirror flickered violently now.
Alice watched Akene cough blood weakly while touching the serpent's face one last time.
Then the image shattered.
Every mirror in the room cracked slightly.
Alice jumped. "Jesus Christ."
Glamiea closed her eyes briefly. "The serpent spirit lost control after Akene's death. Entire armies burned in ember flames."
Alice slowly looked down at the glowing mark on her wrist.
"She really loved her."
"Yes." Glamiea opened her eyes again. "Enough to destroy kingdoms for her."
Something about that sentence made Alice's stomach twist strangely.
But then-
"...Wait." Alice frowned suddenly. "You said the spirit she seeks."
Glamiea's expression darkened immediately.
The room temperature dropped again.
"She should have died." Glamiea said quietly. "Instead... the hatred of the war corrupted her soul."
The mirrors began moving unnaturally around them.
And in one cracked reflection-
Alice saw something standing behind her.
Tall. Human-shaped. Covered in darkness.
Watching.
Its eyes glowed deep crimson.
"She came back wrong." Glamiea whispered.
Alice whipped around immediately.
There was nothing there.
"Oh hell no." She backed away from the mirrors instantly. "Nope. Absolutely not. I did not sign up for haunted ex-girlfriend problems."
Glamiea actually choked on air a little.
"You speak very strangely for someone involved in ancient spirit affairs."
"I worked customer service for two years. Nothing scares me anymore." Alice muttered.
But that was a lie.
Because her hands were shaking now.
"She became something beyond spirit and human after death." Glamiea continued quietly. "The resentment of thousands fed her soul. The hatred of the war twisted her love into obsession."
The mirrors rippled again.
Alice saw flashes now.
A battlefield.
Black fire.
A woman standing in the middle of corpses with crimson eyes and blood running down her hands.
And always-
The serpent spirit reaching toward her.
"Akene believed the worlds should never have been separated. That the reason she got killed is because of the war itself." Glamiea said softly. "Even after death, she still seeks to tear open the barrier between humans and spirits."
Alice frowned slightly. "Would that really be so bad?"
Glamiea looked at her sharply.
"You have seen only fragments of our world, child."
The mirrors darkened further.
Alice suddenly saw cities burning.
Human figures running through streets while monstrous shapes crawled over buildings. Massive spirits swallowing entire villages in ember flames and shadows.
"Spirits are not gods." Glamiea whispered. "Most of us are dangerous. The barrier exists because both sides nearly destroyed each other."
Alice's mouth slowly closed.
Right.
That made sense.
Unfortunately.
"The serpent still loves her, doesn't she?" Alice asked quietly after a moment.
Silence.
Glamiea's expression softened with something painfully close to pity.
"Yes."
The answer came too quickly.
Too honestly.
Alice looked down at the pin on her dress.
For some reason, hearing that bothered her more than it should have.
Which was ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
She had known this woman for like three days.
"She seeks Akene not to destroy her," Glamiea murmured softly, "but to save her."
Alice laughed weakly. "That sounds incredibly unhealthy."
"You are beginning to understand their relationship."
"Great."
The mirrors trembled again suddenly.
Harder this time.
Glamiea's head snapped toward the far wall instantly.
Her expression changed.
Not amused anymore.
Afraid.
Alice noticed immediately. "What?"
One of the cracked mirrors slowly filled with black liquid.
Then a hand pressed against the inside of the glass.
Alice stopped breathing. Another hand appeared. Then a figure. Tall. Armor covered in darkness. Crimson eyes glowing through the reflection. And despite the corruption twisting her appearance-
Alice could still tell she had once been beautiful. The dead warrior tilted her head slowly. And smiled directly at Alice through the mirror. The entire manor shook violently.
"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Alice whispered.