All around, endless darkness was like a thick curtain, rapidly splitting open with cracks from every direction.
Light seized the chance to shine through, driving away the remaining black.
Whoosh!
The pitch-black shadows surged back toward the center, returning to that eerie smile on Vega's face.
The shadow beneath Vega began to shrink, and in the blink of an eye, returned to a simple crow-shaped silhouette.
The mirror's eyes were now extremely dim, tightly shut.
The mirror surface was completely shattered, starting from the very center and collapsing outward. Cracks spread across the mirror's entire body like rippling waves.
Crack!
The mirror surface, covered in fractures, flashed with a glimmer of light. Then, piece by piece, it peeled off and crashed into the dried, shriveled ground below.
Before long, it was as if the mirror's soul had been stripped away, leaving behind only a lonely mirror frame standing on the earth.
Viktor stood there with his hands in his pockets, calmly watching all of this happen.
Vega stood on his shoulder, giggling happily.
"See? You really can't do without me."
Viktor couldn't be bothered to respond.
Even without Vega, he had already prepared a way to defeat this demonic mirror.
It was just that the most effective method happened to be Vega.
Once the mirror completely lost its light, it would become nothing more than meat on the chopping board.
So Viktor let Vega gloat for a while, so as not to ruin its mood.
By the way, he asked, "Where did you go just now?"
Vega flapped its wings and said with a grin, "Went to check on your little girlfriend."
"Oh, by the way, she's quite worried about you."
Viktor wasn't surprised by this.
The Mirror Demon possessed an ability, it could erase other people's memories of those trapped inside the mirror.
However, this power could be weakened by various factors.
For example, if someone was stronger than the mirror, the influence they suffered would be much less.
Almost nonexistent, even.
But the Mirror Demon was level fifty, and very few people could surpass it.
Of course, the key point was that the Mirror Demon's ability could only affect the memories of people in reality. It couldn't alter reality itself.
For instance, things that truly happened in reality, the Mirror Demon couldn't rewrite history.
And it wasn't able to affect everyone's memories either.
For example, passersby.
Passersby had nothing to do with Viktor to begin with. Unless someone mentioned him, they wouldn't randomly think of Viktor's name at all.
The ones truly affected were those familiar with Viktor, even those who knew him well.
They would forget Viktor's name, or even memories related to Viktor.
But as long as they were given a chance to be reminded, and thought carefully about it, they would notice the gaps in their memories.
Because in reality, traces of the mirror-bound person's life still existed.
And those traces were like pieces of a memory puzzle, allowing those with missing memories to feel as though their souls were being filled back in.
Gwen possessed the longsword and armor Viktor had given her, and she rarely parted with them.
So the moment Viktor entered the mirror, she would immediately feel a strange sense of dissonance between her memories and her daily life.
Thinking about this made Viktor feel a little amused.
"Then let's finish this quickly."
"We should leave this place as soon as possible."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of white light lit up the surrounding world, spreading out from beneath Viktor's feet and sweeping across everything.
The white turned into a vast ocean, completely submerging all things within it.
Everything began to blur, transforming into flickering afterimages like digital lines.
Viktor stood in the chaotic world, facing the shattered mirror frame.
"Still hiding?"
"Marey Dim?"
At that moment, ripples appeared within the empty mirror frame, gradually spreading across the void-like mirror surface.
Marey Dim pulled half of its body out from the ripples.
With a slap, its entire body was yanked out and fell onto the ground.
Its body was like a layer of glowing liquid, shimmering endlessly under the boundless white light.
Its form gradually faded until its facial features could no longer be distinguished.
Even the external organs slowly withered and disappeared.
It looked just like a simple mannequin, with no discernible gender.
Yes, this thing was Marey Dim's true appearance.
In reality, it was never some handsome man.
The story of that handsome man was indeed real, but the protagonist of that story was not Marey Dim.
It was a pitiful person.
He truly fell in love with the reflection of himself in the mirror, or rather, with the body that "Marey Dim" transformed into from the mirror.
As a result, he was devoured by the Mirror Demon, by Marey Dim, that monster inside the mirror.
In the end, he became nourishment for Marey Dim.
Because so much time had passed, even the Mirror Demon itself gradually forgot this story.
Then, from the transparent humanoid mass, an ethereal voice rang out.
Its voice seemed to blend male and female tones together, making it impossible to tell its pitch.
"I was already a bit puzzled earlier, Viktor."
The soft body twisted as it stood up from the ground, facing Viktor like a featureless mask.
The transparent liquid began to writhe, and a body started to stretch out from within.
Passing through the transparent surface, it split into countless tendrils, completely engulfing the clear liquid mass.
Soon, amid the twisting motion, a woman Viktor found familiar appeared before him.
It was Liya.
Marey Dim had turned into Liya.
"The Clavenna family, that cursed lineage, has never produced a mage."
'Liya' crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze icy cold.
"So tell me, are you Viktor, or…"
"A monster occupying Viktor's body?"
As she said this, her eyes locked tightly onto the black crow perched on Viktor's shoulder.
Viktor was somewhat surprised.
It seemed the Mirror Demon before him knew more about the Clavenna family than he had expected.
No wonder, it wouldn't have been sealed within Clavenna territory otherwise.
Thinking of this, Viktor smiled and asked Marey Dim, "How did you figure it out?"
At this moment, 'Liya' swayed her hips and walked over to Viktor's side.
She reached out and placed one hand on Viktor's shoulder.
Her body pressed close to his, her arm wrapping around his face.
With alluring eyes, she slowly sized him up, her fingers sliding down from his chest.
"I can't peer into your soul."
"So tell me, who are you?"
'Liya' pressed her lips to Viktor's ear and gently blew a breath.
"I can help you."
"I can fulfill everything you want."
Suddenly, 'Liya' smiled faintly. Her body was once again wrapped in liquid, a new skin spreading over her form as she turned into Gwen.
"I can become any shape you want."
'Gwen' hooked a finger and lifted Viktor's chin.
"What you want. What you need."
Viktor looked at 'Gwen' expressionlessly.
She threw him a flirtatious glance, and then her hair gradually turned golden.
With a twist of her body, she transformed into Erica.
"Isn't this exactly everything you like?"
As soon as the words fell, Viktor suddenly reached out and grabbed 'Erica' by the throat.
"Ugh…"
She felt a wave of suffocation, her eyes showing a pitiful, fragile look.
But very quickly, that pitiful expression turned into mockery.
"Can you really bear to kill me?"
'Erica's golden hair gradually turned pitch-black, her eyes taking on a cold, stern air.
A black trench coat draped itself over her body.
It transformed into Viktor himself.
Its voice slid and shifted, changing from a female tone into something cold and indifferent.
Viktor reached out, gripping 'Viktor' by the neck, lifting him high into the air.
"One warning."
"Don't casually turn into people around me."
With a swing of his arm, whoosh, he flung 'Viktor' away.
The force was immense, smashing 'Viktor' heavily into the white wall.
Pain spread throughout 'Viktor's entire body.
His strength was simply too great.
So great it didn't even seem like that of a mage.
But even so, it was only pain.
"And even then, that still doesn't move you?"
'Viktor' struggled to his feet, meeting Viktor's equally indifferent gaze, and suddenly laughed.
"As expected, Viktor."
"Just like the story that describes me."
"You only love yourself."
In the next second, 'Viktor' stood up again, transforming into the form of an incredibly beautiful woman.
She was stunning, so beautiful it reached an almost perfect level, without the slightest flaw.
She wore a top hat and held a cane, carrying herself with elegance.
Clearly a woman, yet graceful like a gentleman.
The woman bowed slightly toward Viktor.
"Allow me to introduce myself again."
"I am Marey Dim. Of course, you may simply call me Marey."
"As you can see, I should have no gender."
She raised her head, her eyes filled with an irresistible allure as she looked at Viktor.
Or rather, she was looking at the strange crow on Viktor's shoulder.
"I am willing to offer my life to you, to walk in the darkness for you."
Almost the instant her words ended, the pitch-black crow on Viktor's shoulder revealed a horrifying, eerily human-like grin.
Countless mad, chaotic black tentacles erupted wildly from behind Vega.
They sped across the white ground, rapidly approaching Marey Dim, and gradually wrapped around its body.
The crow's single eye flickered with a faint blue light.
Fear as deep and dark as the abyss stretched endlessly toward the pure white sky, as if it could completely stain everything.
The voice was extremely deep and chaotic, chilling to the bone in this world swallowed by darkness, "Swear it on your life."
"Deal."