"Reflections of fear taste the sweetest."
The air of the arena thickened, heavy enough to crush the chest if one breathed too deeply. The frost beneath their feet began to sweat, pooling into liquid mirrors that reflected not their faces—but memories.
Lucilla's reflection blinked before she did.
Asura's reflection… smirked when he didn't.
The monster stood between them, half in shadow, half in their minds. Her spider legs clicked rhythmically against the stone as her dragon wings curled in tight like an executioner's cloak. When she spoke, her voice was not one—it was two.
A woman's tone overlapping Asura's own.
"You've stood like this before, haven't you, little prince? Next to a girl you swore you'd protect…"
Asura froze, every muscle stiff. His golden eyes widened—then dimmed.
The creature smiled knowingly.
"And just like last time… you'll fail again."
The words cut through his chest like invisible wire.
He blinked once—hard—his breath catching. The echo of fire and ash flashed behind his eyes.
Fragments surfaced—hands reaching for him, laughter layered with fire, a sky drowned in red.
Lucilla noticed his silence first. Then his trembling hand.
She opened her mouth to tease, but stopped dead when she saw the single tear trail down his cheek.
"Asura…?" she whispered, soft, cautious.
He didn't answer. He wasn't here anymore—his mind was locked behind a memory so heavy even the dungeon air grew colder with it.
Lucilla's chest tightened. She turned to the monster, her usual calm replaced by a quiet fury.
"What did you do to him?"
The mimic smiled, tilting its head—its human torso shifting subtly, the skin rippling like liquid silk.
"One down," it said sweetly. "One to go."
Lucilla's fangs extended. "You shouldn't have said that."
Her eyes glowed red, her aura flaring like blood mist—but before she could move, the mimic's laughter pierced the air again, splitting the room with a sound that wasn't sound but memory.
Lucilla blinked—and the world shattered.
✦ The Mind's Feast
She stood somewhere else now—no dungeon, no Asura.
Instead, the cobblestone streets of her old kingdom stretched before her. The smell of fire. Screams. Blood. The air reeked of the slaughter of her people.
She looked down at her hands. They were smaller.
A child's hands.
Covered in blood she knew too well.
Lucilla's breath caught. Her fangs retracted, trembling. "No… no, this isn't—"
The mimic's laughter echoed from behind her.
"Every drop of guilt. Every ounce of hunger you hide… let me taste it."
Lucilla's knees hit the ground. She clutched her chest, breathing hard. The world flickered again—past and present merging.
✦ The Second Battle
Elsewhere in the dungeon—on a parallel floor illuminated by molten veins in the walls—Mary and Rhazor faced their own reflection of the beast.
This version of the mimic had reshaped itself grotesquely yet elegantly.
Upper body: a twisted blend of Asura's sharp lines and Lucilla's ethereal grace—masculine shoulders, feminine curves, red eyes that mirrored both.
Lower body: eight spider limbs dripping mana, and behind them, dragon wings that twitched with predatory rhythm.
Rhazor's jaw dropped.
"Okay, I'm just gonna say it—" he started.
Mary groaned. "Don't."
"It looks like Asura and Lucilla's kid!"
Mary's eyebrow twitched.
"Like—like if they had a baby who majored in nightmare fuel—"
A sharp mana pulse snapped between them. Mary's aura flared—musical runes spinning around her like glowing treble clefs.
"Focus, you idiot."
"What? I'm coping with humor!"
The mimic hissed, baring fanged teeth that were a perfect match for Lucilla's. "Shall I kill the funny one first?"
Mary didn't answer. She was already in motion.
✦ The Duel of Sound and Fire
Mary's Melody Core thrummed—mana manifesting into bright red staff lines beneath her feet.
Each step she took produced a note, each note a spell.
"Allegro Fortissimo!"
Mana condensed around her, sound waves folding into shields and bolts of pure harmony. She swung her hand—
and a wall of sonic force boomed across the room.
The mimic dodged, vanishing mid-motion—reappearing above with dragon wings spread wide. A volley of obsidian feathers rained down—each feather humming with stolen elemental power.
Rhazor countered, flames erupting from his sword.
"Let's crank up the tempo then—Infernal Fang!"
He slashed through the feathers, each stroke leaving a blazing trail. The mimic shifted midair, one of its spider limbs extending and striking toward him like a spear.
Rhazor blocked, but the impact launched him backward, his boots digging into stone.
Mary twirled midair, her mana forming a Resonant Bow around her hands—each arrow a chord of sound.
"Symphony Volley!"
Dozens of musical bolts launched, piercing through the mimic's wings. It screeched, falling back—but twisted as it landed, its human torso reforming into something horrifyingly familiar.
Mary froze for half a second. "Wait… are those—"
The mimic now wore Asura's grin.
"Cute," it mocked, voice a perfect imitation. "Wanna duet?"
Mary's lips twitched. "I'm gonna enjoy breaking you."
Rhazor charged back into the fray, his sword roaring like a dragon. He swung at the mimic's leg—
but the creature moved like Lucilla, flowing out of reach, pirouetting around him with serpentine grace.
A crimson aura burst from its hand.
A blood-thread construct—familiar, but wrong.
Blood threads lashed out, slamming Rhazor into the wall.
Mary's eyes widened. "It's using their techniques—!"
"And their rhythm," the mimic purred. "I wear it better than they do."
Mary smirked. "Then keep up."
She pressed her palms together.
"Symphony Domain — Fortissimo Crescendo!"
The entire arena vibrated—the air itself becoming a concert hall.
Waves of sound rippled outward, turning the battlefield into pure resonance.
Rhazor stumbled to his feet, shielding his ears. "Could've warned me, teacher!"
"Don't complain—just add percussion!"
Rhazor roared, his sword igniting white-hot. "Gladly!"
He lunged—his flames merged with Mary's sonic bursts, creating an orchestra of fire and sound.
The mimic countered with multiple arms of frost and lightning—Asura's dungeon skills copied and unleashed in wild fury.
Fire met ice. Sound shattered lightning.
For every attack they threw, the mimic adapted—its body flickering, reacting faster with each strike.
Rhazor's breath came short. "This thing's learning!"
Mary's eyes narrowed. "Then we'll teach it pain."
She stomped her foot—mana rings exploded outward, collapsing the ground beneath the mimic.
It caught itself on its wings mid-fall—but Rhazor was already there, flames spiraling around his sword.
"Dragon's Roar—!"
He brought the blade down. The mimic crossed its spider legs to block, but the impact detonated, shattering half its limbs and forcing it back.
Mary floated above, eyes glowing white.
"Let's end this duet!"
The mimic looked up, smiling even as its body cracked apart.
"End? Oh no… it's only intermission."
And with a deafening shriek, the mimic tore itself unevenly in two—
one half fleeing toward Asura and Lucilla's side of the dungeon,
the other half reforming midair, laughing with Asura's voice.
Mary landed, panting, staring at it. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
Rhazor wiped his brow. "Great. Now there's two of 'em. I hate sequels."