[Volume 5: Anchor of Worlds]

  The man with silver eyes, identical to mine, stared at me. I couldn’t see him clearly as my eyes threatened to close from the strain.

  “You look confused.”

  ‘He’ spoke with an amused look on his face.

  “I would also have been confused if I looked at me. Hmm, No—actually, I suppose I’m still confused if you are.” ‘He’ chuckled at his own dry humor and shook his head.

  My pupils shook uncontrollably and my heart skipped a beat.

  Then ‘he’ sighed.

  “I don’t have much time. Luck was on my side as always since my arrangements worked out just fine this time.” ‘He’ smiled faintly with a sad look.

  But not long after ‘he’ suddenly frowned.

  “You are losing consciousness. Hmm, I will keep you awake as long as possible till they arrive.” ‘He’ turned to look up; the floor has not started to recover yet.

  As ‘his’ words settled in the darkness. My body froze. The pain vanished and the red blood dripping below came to a halt.

  My mind, which had been losing grip over the reality, was forcefully pulled back.

  ‘Ah’

  I tried to gasp as I found myself floating in the darkness.

  However, it was not possible.

  ‘I… can’t move.’

  I tried to move my muscles, even a single twitch of my fingers, to help my mind come to terms with what was happening.

  It was as if… I was frozen in time.

  “You have completed the ritual and have already begun the accession process. I am halting it so you can hear me for now.”

  ‘He’ ignored my eyes covered in red staring resentfully at ‘him’.

  ‘Who are you?’

  I thought about it but couldn’t bring those words out.

  The man standing ahead paused and gave me a gentle smile. One holding warmth that wasn’t humane in any sense.

  “I am you and you are me.”

  ‘Wh-’

  “No need to be shocked. You will understand everything eventually.”

  The silver hue in his eyes made my heart shrink back with an unknown sense of dread.

  “Now, listen carefully to what I am about to say to you. You coming here means my other arrangements had failed. And it also means all the future plans regarding them have also been sabotaged. That’s why we need to take a more arduous path.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He inhaled sharply.

  “But it’s going to be alright.” ‘He’ spoke hopefully but I could see the distrust in his own words.

  Then with a serious look over his face, ‘he’ turned his head toward me.

  “‘They’ have already begun to move their pieces; that’s why we also need to hurry.” He raised his hand and showed me his finger wearing a silver ring with a star pattern over it. It was simple yet beautiful that held my eyes captive for a moment longer than needed. “I have some instructions for you. First, I need you to find this ring before you begin your ritual to reach resonance. Don’t think of ascending without it. Second, I want you to destroy this. No matter how many of them exist, destroy each of them without fail. You will see them eventually.”

  ‘He’ stepped aside, letting my eyes fall over a pitch-black mirror that seemed to consume all kinds of light.

  “It’s a part of something evil and terrifying. I have been using this as a medium to speak to you and keep this place from crumbling with time. But there is no need for it anymore now that you have been here. I have destroyed as many of them as possible but some of them still exist in this world. Get rid of them before it’s too late.”

  His eyes tore away from the pitch-black mirror as he turned back to look at me with a cold gaze.

  “You can’t remember ‘them’ yet. ‘They’ pollute the soul itself. That's why I have tried to keep your thoughts away from ‘them’. The seal has weakened because of their actions. I will reinforce it so you won’t remember the past anymore. You can open the gate when the time is right.” He added as if reading my confusion over his peculiar existence.

  I shuddered as my mind was thrown into another turmoil.

  The terms regarding ‘resonance’, ‘mirror’ and ‘they’ felt oddly uncomfortable.

  Yet I had an inkling about who ‘he’ was talking about. Those thoughts made my blood run cold

  Even with no pain my heart sank and head pounded loudly for me to hear.

  “Don’t think too much. It’s simply not the time yet.”

  ‘He’ again sighed as his eyes burned with a much brighter radiance than before.

  “Go north and you will find your way out. You will meet another friend there. Treat him with patience and he will guide you.”

  All his words were borderline absurd and didn’t make sense.

  Scratching the back of his head, he then added with a sheepish smile.

  “Lastly, it’s a personal request and for your well-being as well.”

  I listened carefully; even if I couldn’t speak, my mind was more focused than ever.

  ‘What will I be told now?’

  “Apologize properly next time you meet her. In the best case she will give you a hug and in the worst, beat you to a pulp.”

  ‘Huh?’

  Creak!

  With that said, the pitch-black mirror cracked with a thunderous roar.

  The light that followed blinded me.

  “Grit your teeth; it’s going to hurt a lot.”

  That was the last thing I heard before I fell with a loud thud; my senses came back and pain swept in. With my bones broken and skin burned, the pain only intensified. Every breath felt like swallowing shattered glass, and the metallic taste pooling in my mouth confirmed I’d bitten through my tongue. Above me, the sky flickered between swirling black and jagged streaks of silver—like a cracked mirror refusing to fully shatter.

  Then it hit me.

  “Argh!”

  I groaned as something shifted inside me.

  My insides were burning—not from the injuries, but from something else, something entirely different.

  The pain was familiar, like waking from a nightmare you swear was real. Except this wasn’t sleep. This crawled under my skin, rearranging my bones while I was still breathing. My fingers twitched first, then my toes, as if my body was stitching itself back together one nerve at a time. The metallic taste of blood still lingered, but the wounds had stopped bleeding halfway through. In their place, my skin pulsed with a faint silver glow, like moonlight trapped beneath the surface.

  “Asher!”

  A scream tore through the darkness as someone fell from above.

  My vision blurred. An arm wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me close, and something soft brushed my lips.

  Then darkness finally took me.