We are not reflections

You know those shows? The ones where the quiet kid finds out he's "chosen" and suddenly he's saving the world? Cue dramatic music, slow-mo explosions, and a heartfelt speech about destiny?

Yeah. This isn't that.

I didn't ask for anything. I didn't touch a glowing artifact. I didn't fall into a portal. I didn't even cheat on a test. All I did was exist. Breathe. Look into a mirror one too many times.

Now the world knows my face. Strangers see me in their dreams. Cults whisper my name like I'm some god they forgot to worship. And me? I'm stuck in an underground bunker with a bunch of weirdos, trying not to pass out from an existential panic attack.

This is not a story about a boy saving the world.

It's about a boy watching the world glitch around him... and choosing not to run.

---

The bunker was dim, lit only by low strips of blue LED running along the walls, like veins glowing under skin. Kael sat hunched on a beat-up couch, head in his hands, like he could squeeze the headache out if he just pressed hard enough.

He was still trembling. Still sweating. Still hearing his own name in whispers from nowhere.

The reflection had stepped out of the mirror.

And now the entire world knew his face.

Noelle slammed a newspaper onto the table in front of him, the headline bold and terrifying:

WHO IS THE MIRROR BOY?

"Explain," she said. Her voice was sharp. She wasn't yelling—but she didn't need to. Noelle had the energy of someone who could set a room on fire just by glaring at it long enough.

Kael looked up with dead eyes. "I don't know."

Ziv snorted from across the room. He was perched on a desk, upside down, feet planted on the wall like gravity offended him. "Didn't know you could project into people's skulls worldwide, Kael. That's a fun skill. Got any more apocalyptic powers you've been hiding?"

"I said I don't know." Kael's voice cracked. "I'm not—I'm not trying to be anything."

"Too late for that," muttered Mara. She was sharpening a blade against her own arm—because of course she was. Her skin healed as the metal passed, like it didn't dare leave a mark. "You glitched the planet. People are locking themselves in their houses. The Cult's got eyes everywhere now. You made a psychic broadcast. In high-def."

"Enough," said Echo.

His voice didn't rise. He didn't need to.

He stepped out from the darker part of the room—Kael hadn't even noticed him standing there. Always watching. Echo moved like silence given shape, his cloak dragging shadows behind him that didn't match the lighting. His eyes were unreadable, but Kael felt the weight of them.

"You awakened something. Not randomly. Not by accident," Echo said calmly. "You cracked the veil between the false world and what lies beneath."

Kael opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally: "...What?"

Renji swiveled his chair around from a wall of glowing screens. "Translation: You're not just in the mirror mess—you are the mirror mess."

Kael groaned and sank back into the couch. "That doesn't even mean anything."

Renji shrugged. "Welcome to being an Echo-Born. Nothing makes sense, everything hurts, and your reflection might kill you."

"Cool," Kael muttered. "So I'm a cosmic mistake. Got it."

Noelle finally sat beside him, more gently now. "Kael... this isn't a joke. Your image appeared in people's minds. Not on screens. Not through tech. Inside. Like some buried memory unlocking across the globe."

"Like they already knew me," Kael whispered. "Like I was something before."

"Maybe you were," Juno said softly, leaning against the wall with arms folded. Her voice was calm, but her eyes flickered with that distant knowing Kael had started to associate with pain. "The cult thinks this world is a prison. A layer hiding the Mirror Realm—the true reality. And they think you're the one who can tear the walls down."

"Why me?" Kael snapped. "I didn't ask for any of this! I was trying to survive high school, not start a cosmic revolution!"

"You didn't choose this," Echo said, stepping closer. "But the mirror did."

Kael looked up. "I'm not a savior. I'm not a prophet."

"No," Echo said quietly. "You're a memory. The world forgot you once. It won't be able to again."

Ziv slid off the wall and landed with a soft thud. "So, what's the plan? Lock him in a vault? Hope the Cult doesn't eat us for breakfast?"

"We train him," Noelle said firmly.

"We show him how to use it," Mara added.

"We figure out what's in him," Juno murmured.

"And I'll keep an eye on the news feeds," Renji muttered. "Spoiler alert: It's already a disaster out there."

Kael closed his eyes. He could still hear the echo of voices whispering his name. Still see his own reflection staring back like it knew more than he did.

He opened his mouth and said, almost too quietly: "I don't even know if I'm human anymore."

Echo didn't flinch. "Then let's find out."