Chapter 2

2.

Caleb felt sorry for her, thinking she had suffered so much during her years of wandering.

He started sending a constant stream of rare artifacts and healing potions to her quarters.

When I expressed my frustration, Caleb snapped at me. "You're a high-born spirit fox. You're tough and resilient. How can you even compare yourself to Evelyn?"

I told him Evelyn had hidden motives, but Caleb thought I was being petty and cruel.

"You really are just an animal, aren't you? You have no empathy. Evelyn was mistreated by the world; it's my duty to look after her."

So, when Evelyn accidentally fell into the Mirror of Souls, he ignored my pleas and dove in after her.

Inside the mirror's illusions, he lived out an entire lifetime as Evelyn's husband.

I eventually used my newly grown tails to shatter the mirror and pull him out.

But the process left Caleb's mind a mess. He forgot who I was entirely.

All those years we spent struggling together were replaced in his mind by Evelyn. He thought she was the one who had stayed by his side.

Evelyn mocked me, saying I brought this on myself. She convinced the rest of the Order to help her hide every piece of evidence of my life there.

Even my son, Leo, helped her. He directed the servants himself, making sure not a single one of my belongings remained.

He even used the magical core I had given him to force me into my animal form.

His smile was both wicked and innocent. "I know exactly who my mother is."

"You're a bold monster, trying to impersonate my mom. If you try it again, I'll kill you myself."

I never imagined that the Order I rebuilt with my own blood and the child I raised with my own soul would want me dead.

After hundreds of years among humans, I finally learned a hard lesson: humans can never be trusted.

In the end, I dragged my broken body away in shame.

I thought the past was buried forever. I never expected them to stand before me again.