In her office, sitting calmly as she listened to Jest and Anvil argue, Cassie suddenly flinched in her chair when Anvil addressed her and told her to stop looking through his eyes. How long did he know? More importantly, why did he not say anything sooner? Surely it wasn't because he wanted her to hear, right?
Nephis, who was still sitting in front of her desk, looked at Cassie with concern."
"Cas? What's wrong?"
"Anvil knew that I was watching him the entire time."
"Is he coming over here?"
"No, he's sitting on his bed, staring at a picture of his family."
…
Three weeks passed, and the night of the full moon in Bastion was approaching. It was nighttime in Raven Heart, while it was still the afternoon in Bastion. On top of that, Kai was busy preparing with Cassie in Bastion while also waiting with her and a vessel of Mordret. So, Sunny was in the kitchen putting away the condiments and foot so after he was done closing for the night, he could go to the nameless temple to retrieve Saint and let his friend meet her when they arrived in true Bastion. Sunny left the kitchen and began wiping the tables, but frowned when the bell rang again, and someone opened the door, and Mordret walked into his Emporium with a smile.
"Why do you always show up here, and why does everyone show up right before I close? Why can't you all come earlier in the damn day?!"
Mordret shrugged.
"Because I have no friends, I can't speak for anyone else."
Sunny frowned.
"Don't you have Seishan?"
"Not at the moment, she's in the middle of scouting out an unclaimed citadel with Lightslayer."
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"So you came to me?"
"That's right, you're the closest thing I have to a friend, well done with Song Eunbin by the way, a kiss on the cheek is great progress."
"What do you care?"
Mordret sat down at a table and clasped his hands with a smile.
"I'm a sucker for any slow burn romance, and I also like noir novels. I have a few I can recommend should you want to read any. I have my own book club with my vessels, which I attend each week in the waking world. You're welcome to join at any time. I won't even take your body; that's how much I like you."
"I don't care,"
Mordret shook his head.
"I know, it's unfortunate, I want someone other than myself to talk about the books I read. As entertaining as it is to talk with my vessels, it's also sad because it's just me talking to myself. Except it's not really sad because I don't get sad anymore, and that in itself is sad, right?"
"Yeah, it is, you're a damn weirdo,"
The prince of nothing laughed.
"I know, I actually came here to inform you that Cassia and Nightigald are ready and waiting for the full moon and you. I want to join you to go retrieve the daughter of Nether."
"Find, let's go,"
"Now?"
"No, not now! Can't you see I'm busy?"
Mordret laughed.
"You have multiple bodies for a reason; take advantage of that. I'm sure Song Eunbin definitely will at some point."
Sunny threw the rag at his face as his cheeks heated up.
"Shut the hell up! Go away!"
…
Sunny shadow stepped Mordret to Godgrave and inside the nameless temple after Sunny closed the emporium for the night and left Serpent with Aiko to possibly protect her and Rain before leaving with Mordret. He retrieved Happy from Rain's shadow and didn't leave Gloomy with Rain because Sunny now trusted Eunbin enough to look after his sister. Sunny brought gloomy as he didn't know what to expect after they reached the hall of imagination. He was also going to be retrieving crazy, haughty, naughty, and creepy from his avatar in the nameless temple, just in case. Sunny wasn't worried about the temple being attacked due to Fiend and the invisible temple guardian protecting, along with Nightmare, even though he was busy lulling Nightmare creatures to sleep.
They walked to the entrance where Saint and Feind stood guard. They raised their weapons when they saw Mordret, but Sunny stopped them.
"He's an ally,"
They lowered their weapons and nodded as Mordret walked past Fiend and approached Saint, staring at her with a curious expression, while Saint lowered her head to look at him.
"Oh my, it's been awhile since we last saw each other here, hasn't it? The last time I was here, I was in negotiations with your master."
Saint silently stared at him, and Mordret turned to Sunny.
"Where did you find her?"
"In the ruins of hellish place, now come on, we have to go,"
"Hmm, alright, did you know that Nether made the stone saints in the storm god's image? In fact, he was so infatuated with her that he tried to make their faces look exactly like hers."
"What?"
Sunny knew of Nether's complicated relationship with the storm god, but he didn't think it was to that extent.
"Yes, but of course, it's impossible to copy a god's face, so he kept getting it wrong; that's why there were so many to begin with. A lot of them were what the demon of destiny deemed to be failed creations, but she is proof of his succession. I thought she would be wearing a mantle of the underworld. It's one of seven identical armors that Nether made himself and gave to the children he favored, but I guess she wasn't one of them."
Sunny wasn't surprised by the abundance of information Mordret had about the demon of destiny, since the former Prince had known a lot about the demon when Sunny first met him after falling into the sky below. The prince of nothing likely knew a lot more about the others because of his powers and affinity to nothingness.
"We'll wait here until Cassie tells us it's nighttime in Bastion.
"
…
Hours passed as Sunny sat on the dais staring at the torches along the wall with Mordret sitting beside, when Cassie spoke in his head.
[Sunny? It's time, we're at the lake, we need you two to hurry up and get here before someone notices.]
[Alright,]
Sunny dismissed Saint into his soul and grabbed Mordret by the shoulder to begin shadow stepping.
"Come on, they're waiting,"
Mordret silently nodded and disappeared as Sunny shadow stepped out of the temple. The clouds were covering the sky, so he didn't have to worry about being turned into a pile of ash. They arrived at Bastion after two minutes, and Sunny shadow stepped them to the lake, where Kai was standing, looking obnoxiously handsome as ever. Sunny let go of Mordret's shoulder and approached Kai with a smile.
"Hey,"
Kai smiled back.
"Hey,"
Mordret nodded at him.
"Nightingale,"
Kai's smile dimmed in an instant as he nodded in return.
"Mordret,"
Mordret walked in between and grabbed both their shoulders.
"Are you ready, friends?"
"Yeah, we're not friends."
Mordret wordlessly smiled, and they traveled through the reflection of the lake. A moment later, they ended up on the other side of it, in true Bastion. He let go of Sunny and Kai's shoulders, who stumbled forward in a daze.
"You get used to it,"
Sunny held his head and waved him away.
"You said that last time when you took me to the grocery store so I could get eggs after joining me in the mall."
Kai stared in confusion as he put his hands on his knees.
"You what?"
Mordret shook his head.
"It's a story for another time,"
Kai tried to stand up and immediately turned around, then doubled over and threw up into the lake from being nauseous. Mordret grimaced at the sight and walked towards Cassie, who stood on the stairs waiting for them, while Sunny patted Kai's back and watched Mordret approach Cassie.
"Cassia, did you take care of the knights?"
Cassie looked over at him and nodded.
"Yes, they're knocked out already. I wiped their memories of me ever being here."
"Excellent, let us go after Nightingale finishes being dramatic."
The four of them soon made their way through the castle, with Mordret acting as their guide, since he knew shortcuts that Cassie didn't. It didn't take them long to reach the mirror maze. Sunny summoned the shadow lantern, making Mordret look at his palm with recognition. The prince of nothing summoned the reflection of Sunny and began walking through the maze, using Sunny's ability to see in the dark to his advantage.
"That's the same lantern you used to scare the knights when we attacked the supply wagons of Valor. I assume you did that not only to scare the knights but because being in such ancient shadows makes you stronger, doesn't it?"
Sunny shook his head as he opened the gate of the lantern, and the shadows filled the maze, covering the mirrors.
"No, it doesn't, I take you think that because you can do that with nothingness as it's your source element, right?"
Mordret smiled.
"Correct, I make myself stronger while erasing those with weaker wills from existence. Just as you can make weapons from shadows, I can make weapons from nothingness and erase someone's existence with them. But I never do, as it takes a lot of concentration and effort, especially when the person has too much will to live."
Kai took Cassie's hand in his hand while she used his vision because of his ability to see in the dark, just like Sunny, to navigate through the maze. Cassie eventually asked.
"Why not travel the maze through reflections? It would make it much faster, wouldn't it?"
Mordret's smile disappeared at the question, and his expression became uneasy.
"Because the others will know, while I am familiar with them and they see me as one of their own, truthfully, I still don't like being around them; they make me uncomfortable. And because I want people to talk to, I get bored too, you know?"
If the others made someone like Mordret uncomfortable, then Sunny would be wise to trust his words just this once. They eventually reached the hall of imagination and stopped at the edge of the mirror maze, where Sunny summoned the shadows back into the lantern, and Mordret walked in front of them, turned, and faced them.
"I won't say what happens if you think about something because then you will just imagine the possibilities, even now me telling you this is risky because you could fill in the gaps and make up whatever you want. Don't do that at all. Think about nothing, well, no, don't even think about that, keep your mind blank."
"Won't telling us not to imagine anything make us want to imagine something more?"
"Yes, it will, which is why I'm saying you must make a conscious effort to keep your mind empty. Cassia, could you perhaps temporarily wipe our memories to leave us in a blank state long enough for us to go through the hall without thinking about anything?"
Sunny hated to admit it, but it was a good idea, that was, until Cassie shook her head.
"It's a good idea on paper, but you three would be immobile and dazed. Besides, I can only fully wipe someone's memories. As much as I'm used to my powers, I'm not nearly as skilled yet to wipe memories temporarily, and I wouldn't have any eyes to look through because they would be closed after I'm done."
Mordret frowned.
"I see, well then, we are doomed,"
Sunny pondered for a moment before an idea struck him.
"Could we think about imagining the hall being shorter? I mean, if we can imagine it being longer, then it should work in reverse, right?"
Mordret considered his words and slowly nodded.
"Perhaps, there is only one way to find out. But we all have to imagine a singular distance and nothing else. If we imagine a different distance, then it will change while we are walking."
Kai's eyebrows knitted together in thought.
"Alright, what distance are we going with?"
Sunny thought for a moment and answered.
"Seven meters, is that agreed upon?"
Kai and Cassie nodded.
Mordret nodded too, and Sunny took a step forward with Cassie, Kai, and Mordret moving beside him.
"Then everyone only keep that in mind, seven meters is the distance."
The four of them began walking quickly, keeping only the distance they set for the hall in mind. The hall changed before them and a few seconds later, they reached the end of the hall without incident and saw a wooden door ahead. Sunny sensed no shadows behind the door, and Kai didn't see anything behind it. Cassie slowly opened the door, and all of them stepped inside, and Kai closed it behind him. That was when Cassie, Sunny, and Kai sighed in unison at what they saw.
"Damnation,"
In front of them were three identical great mirrors covered with the sheets; they all stared at the mirrors with frowns. Sunny groaned and manifested hands that pulled the sheets off the mirrors in unison.
"Of course it wouldn't have been this easy, as if going through that damn hall and mirror maze wasn't enough already!"
Kai frowned and walked towards the mirror, then reached out to it with his right hand before Mordret calmly smacked it away.
"I don't recommend doing that."
Kai frowned and retraced his hand.
"Why not?"
Mordret grimaced.
"Because if you choose the wrong one, then you will be replaced by your reflection, and then he will take your place."
Kai stepped away from the mirror with wide eyes.
"Well, they're all real, so my ability to see through illusions is completely useless here. Mordret, which one do we go through?"
Mordret frowned and turned to him.
"Oh yes, Nightingale, go ahead and ask me because I totally already know which mirror to go through. I'm only standing here like a bump on a log because I'm simply enjoying staring at my reflection, that's a lie by the way."
Kai scoffed.
"No need to be a smartass,"
Mordret scoffed as well.
"Stop asking me such foolish questions, then. Besides, the mirrors constantly shift whenever someone is here, and if I use my powers to see which mirror is the right one, the others will know. It won't be a matter of if they find us; it will be a matter of when, and it will be frighteningly quick.Now, about the mirrors in front of us: one of them is a mundane mirror. If we choose that one and go through it, we will be replaced by our reflections and be trapped inside the mirror. We will only be able to look out at the outside world, with no way to contact anyone. We will be able to see them, but they won't be able to see us. We will also have no way of escaping because our others will have our powers."
Sunny stared at him in shock.
"Mundane mirror my ass! What kind of mundane mirror works like that?!"
Mordret shrugged with a sheepish smile.
"The kind that Mirage made for any trespassers. As for the second mirror, if we go through that one, then we will be swallowed by nothing, well, you three will. I will be perfectly fine, but then I would have no idea how to reach supremacy, so all we have to do is choose the right one."
Kai gaped at him.
"You can't be serious,"
Mordret shook his head.
"I wish I weren't, Nightingale. There were actually seven great mirrors here a long time ago; one is the great mirror in the false Bastion, and the other is in the place we are going to, called Mirage City. Unlike all the others, the one in Mirage City is the real great mirror, it is also the first one Mirage made, and it presumably holds whatever you're looking for, Sunless. As for the remaining two, no one knows where they are."
Meanwhile, Cassie remained silent throughout the interaction before pointing at the first mirror.
"It's that one."
Mordret raised an eyebrow.
"You're sure?"
"I am, it's the only one we survive through."
Sunny nodded until his eyes caught something in the reflection. He turned around to see a torn dark mantle lying on the ground several meters away, and his eyes widened at the sight.
"Hey, what is that?"
Mordret turned around with an amused smile.
"That's always been there, why?"
"You're telling me a mantle of weaver has always been here?"
Mordret nodded.
"Yes, even when my father first explored the true Bastion along with the mirror maze, this has always been here. When I was still a child, Uncle Jest told me that it was always here, that no one knew whose it was. No one does to this day. My guess is that a priest of the nightmare spell was here for something and never left because they went through the wrong mirror. Or perhaps it was Weaver themselves or both. I assumed you knew who it belonged to, considering you're wearing an identical mantle that you presumably stole from a corpse."
Sunny went wide-eyed.
"I- what? How can you accuse me of such a thing?! More importantly, how did you know?"
Mordret smiled.
"From what I have observed, it seems like something you would do."
Sunny scoffed.
"Whatever,"
A million questions ran through Sunny's mind, but he eventually focused on the main questions. Who could it have been? Anake? One of the other high priests of the nightmare? Did Weaver personally send them, or did the priests come here themselves? Or did Weaver themself come here to leave a piece of their lineage behind?
Sunny would likely never find out, so he instead focused on his reflection in the third mirror and reached towards it; his companions copied his movements and did the same.
"Is everyone ready?"
They all nodded.
"Yes,"
Sunny nodded too.
"Then let's get my inheritance, shall we?"
Sunny put his foot into the mirror and was in awe when it passed right through. It felt like he was stepping into- well, he didn't really know how to describe it. But if he had to, it would feel like stepping into cold water while being in the middle of a whirlpool trying to pull him in. As they all stepped through the mirror, their bodies were halfway through when Mordet suddenly cleared his throat.
"Actually, I should warn you all that you won't remember who you are or be able to use your powers."
"What-"
Sunny didn't get to finish his question as they were all forcefully pulled through, disappearing into the mirror. None of them ever noticed that their reflections stayed in the mirrors and blinked in unison before taking a step forward.
End of Volume 1 The Sound of Peace
The next volume won't start until next Friday. :)