The image of the blind man disappeared in a blink, but it was long enough for Noble's blood to run cold. She had seen him twice before. His sinister smile told her all she needed to know.
She was in trouble.
Noble dropped the cape, covering the mirror to contain it.
But she was too late. Before it could land, a hand reached out of the glass to take hold of it. It draped around the body, covering the slender form as it exited the hand mirror.
The looking glass shrank to human size. Stepping off the polished relic, the figure extended her hand and floated the mirror to it.
"Hello. I don't believe we have been properly introduced."
Noble narrowed her gaze. "I know who you are."
"That's good. I would be surprised if you didn't recognize your own reflection..." The other woman stroked the mirror, a demure grin on her face.
Not just another woman. An Other Noble!
Standing before Noble was an exact copy of herself. The cape clung to the Other's form like a second skin, mimicking the original's armor. The Other Noble copied her pose as well, making it feel like a pane of glass separated the two beings.
Except for that infuriating, ever-present grin–Noble was in no mood to smile, yet the copy was overjoyed.
"He sent you. The advisor..." Noble gripped the Zenith.
"Advisor? A cute name." The Other continued her condescending grin. "I suppose you can think about it that way."
"You are Nothing." Child of Promise denied the creature's existence.
It had weakened Maelys considerably. However, this Other felt different. The copy wavered slightly, but she managed to stabilize herself a moment later.
"I am something, and you can no longer deny it because you know what I actually am..." The copy looked in the mirror at herself.
Noble narrowed her gaze. "And that is?"
The Other Noble glanced up from the gilded frame. "Your replacement."
Noble knew there was no use speaking any longer. The shock of seeing a replica of herself had given the Other too much power.
Child of Promise didn't have the strength just now to will her out of existence. Perhaps she never did. Maybe only a Saint or above could have that kind of influence.
Noble dashed forward, wielding her Zenith. Her eyes were on one object—the mirror.
As long as the Other had it in her control, Noble was at a disadvantage. If the advisor had released her copy. What would he do next?
Noble didn't want to find out.
Her blade aimed for the Other's torso, ready to cut the lady down where she stood. At the same time, Noble sent a pulse of confusion.
The copy gasped at the suddenness of the emotion, her face finally showing an expression beyond amusement.
The moment of weakness passed before Noble could land the hit. The Other moved her chest, floating to one side to avoid the hit.
However, Noble had anticipated the move. She wasn't even sure that her sword could penetrate the cloth of the cloak. And with how completely it covered the Other's body, only the copy's neck and head were fully exposed…
…And her hands—Those were Noble's aim, the right one in particular.
The Zenith swept down with deadly intent. Having no weapon, the Other Noble could only dodge the strike.
And she did…mostly.
The blade made a small cut in the copy's wrist, causing her to hiss. Her grip tightened around the handle of the looking glass as she pushed Noble aside with her other arm.
"Two can play at that game." The Other sneered.
Suddenly, Noble felt the pressure of all the anguish of thousands of years of torment. The Mirror Realm had witnessed many tragedies of countless people, and somehow, this creature had channeled that and poured it into Noble's soul.
Child of Promise reeled back, her mind overwhelmed. She shook her head, pushing back against the emotional assault.
The Other might have just been born, but Noble's uncanny Ability was mirrored in the unconventional soul. So her learning was unreasonably fast.
'Blasted Quick Study!' Noble had enjoyed the benefit of it for so long. Now seeing it in action used against her made her feel a little sorry for so many of her past opponents.
Throwing up an emotional barrier of her own, Noble repelled the Other with a more focused beam of the only thing that can drive out sadness– love.
The feeling broke the attack, shattering it like glass. The Other gasped, unsure of what to do with the foreign emotion.
Noble followed her move up by making the cape heavier than a PTV. The Other might be able to phase through the garment to escape, but she would have to abandon Mirage's protection to do it.
Either way, Noble would benefit from the result. Or so she thought.
The Other touched the ground and screamed. Suddenly, Noble felt a crushing weight upon herself, too. She struggled against it, using her strength to move toward her enemy with her sword.
Noble's feet touched the ground. The heat from below mingled with the searing pain. She pressed her teeth together, determined not to cry out. Her jaw felt like it might break.
Her body had not recovered from her last contact with the earth, and this fresh agony threatened to overwhelm her.
"No!" Noble cried out, releasing her captive by throwing her across the landscape.
The copy slid toward the two dragons, who were too locked in their own death match to notice the puny woman. The Other Dragon ripped at the Prince's throat, tackling him with a spray of fire.
The earth shook, and a small landslide caught the Other Noble up in its avalanche.
Child of Promise heaved a sigh of relief when the pressure lifted off of her. She floated into the air. In a heartbeat, she chased after her mirror image, hoping to retrieve the relic before the Other Master could uncover herself.
'Bel?'
'I'm here. Is something wrong?' Noble could not see the rest of her cohort on the other side of the hill, and she hadn't been closely monitoring their emotions.
'We are fine,' Syrce assured her. 'You are just taking longer than expected. Are you well?'
Scanning the hillside, Noble winced. 'I am fine. I just ran into a bit of a problem...'
Just then, the ash and rock flew in every direction before her. The Other Noble rose from her shallow grave, her eyes swirling with every color of rage.
In her right hand was the hand mirror. Somehow, she had managed to keep hold of it even in the chaos of the rockslide. But that wasn't all. In her left hand, the Other held something long and shiny.
Noble's heart sank. It wasn't just any sword. She recognized the blade. It was the relic sword that Noble had thrown away from the Others in her haste to reach Roan and Aether.
Now it was back in the hand of an Other, and a much more deadly one than that. The Other Noble smiled maliciously at her foe, sending a chill down the original's spine.
'I take it back. I ran into a big problem.'