The surroundings burst into a thousand violet fragments before falling back into place. The world began snapping into crystalline clarity as they step into a chamber of stone.

  The silence was sharp, as if held tightly in the crevices of the walls.

  The torches lit up one by one, as if guiding them through the long tunnel.

  It settled unease within Sol's chest. They were being led somewhere surely by the wraith they had encountered, weren't they?

  Marguerite guided them through the maze effortlessly, using a spell, that she referred to as cartography, to avoid any unwanted traps, and tracing sigils in the air. She really resembled a storybook mage, from her appearance to her attitude; it wasn't exactly pleasant.

  The rhythm of their footsteps fell into a pattern. After sometime, Loen broke the lingering silence, asking why and how long she had been here for. Sol stayed quite as he observed the surroundings.

  "I've always been curious, what lies in the distant ancient domains of Solthar," she said, not looking away from the tome, "This place has a sort of unrest as if it’s holding on by the threads. I guided it with my spell, to allow it to stabilize. Otherwise, it would have been devoured by itself already."

  Is that not quite a feat? Just who is she!? Sol wondered in awe.

  "There are countless artifacts to explore, but I have not found anything of interest, yet," She continued.

  As they entered the chamber, their gazes fell upon the central platform, three branching paths leading to a tall shimmering shard. It floated like it was a portal to somewhere like liquid light, a broken mirror.

  "So that is the end of the domain?" Marguerite muttered. "Great. Let's hurry and see what it's about."

  Loen, reckless as ever, bounded ahead towards the shard. The final puzzle should allow them to return to the waking world, or so he hoped. The boy haltd, hand hovering over the glass, glancing nervously at his own reflection, which already seemed off.

  "These mirrors—they are weird," he said, appearing so childish in the witch’s purple eyes, who scoffed at him. "I don’t like this."

  Marguerite stepped onto the platform after him, and began reading the runes etched along the glass, muttering it's patterned chant. As Loen placed his hand, the reflection smiled back unbeknownst to him.

  "Sol, now you," Marguerite said, not looking up. Yet, Sol stood in his place, watching with squinted eyes. He had made his way after them, over to the shard of a mirror, and his eyes continued to trace the runes and writings that do not match her words, all written in the language of Solthar.

  Atleast they are familiar, he thought.

  Her image blinked towards him, but Marguerite did not look at him, herself. Sol’s heart pounded at the sudden realization.

  "…No," he breathed out, furrowing his brows in confusion and worry.

  Loen blinked. "What do you mean, ‘no’?"

  "Ugh, just hurry up, boy…"

  "Wait." He stopped them, in a wavering tone. They both looked at him expectedly. "This isn’t a puzzle. I don’t think this domain is a part of the mission!"

  Marguerite blinked this time. "What are you talking about?" She asked with curiosity.

  "That thing’s not the puzzle! That is not your reflection! It’s something else entirely!" He pointed at the delayed reflection. It is vivid, a blur and Marguerite realized it has slipped past the reflection to intervened her hands firmly. "It’s a portal sure, but not an exit."

  She attempted to pull but it does not let go.

  "The moment all three of us complete the ritual… we’ll be done for sure! We are not getting out of here," Sol added. "We could be food for a wraith!"

  "Food?" Loen echoed. "I don't like being food, thanks!"

  Marguerite’s composure broke, "Get off!" She cried, pulling her hand back until the glass broke and spilled, and the void beyond was pulled into the room with them. Sol immediately pulled his gun, loaded and ready, and shot it. It dispersed but did not die. The boy clicked his tongue.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The demon within Loen’s reflection grinned and lept out. Loen swung his axe, cleaving nothing but vapor.

  "It’s like hitting smoke!" He exclaimed.

  Black tendrils burst out, and the mist surged into the room. The air grew heavy, temperature dropping, and something whispered.

  When Sol looked up, the shards that broke, now floated above them. From the scattered mirror shards, dozens of red eyes opened, observing them like they are sure to be it’s next meal.

  It's the same demon that was chasing them before in the labyrinth! The recognition clicks in the boy’s mind. So, it did not die there…

  The shards shoot out towards the three. Marguerite quickly summoned circular barriers to block each attack. She sneaked in a burst of energy at it’s center but it was blocked. The shadows recoiled, dispersing violently, but they did not die, like how they survived her attack before. Instead, they reformed into something hungrier than before.

  The three assemble before it, ready to strike.

  Loen dashed forward, and swung his axe, cutting through the phantom but the blade passed through again, uselessly.

  "Sol! Use your fire!" He ordered over his shoulder.

  Marguerite began to cast, flipping her book open as her magic circles flared up on the floor.

  "Fire? How flashy." Marguerite scoffed, "Hurry up, boy."

  Sol dodged tendrils, tearing them apart with each bullet. It was a futile effort despite the fire that they had hoped to burn the abyss away. The monster was immune to everything.

  "No flame. No light. No sun to hide behind." It cackled in his mind, and he winced.

  "Hey! You talk too much, you bastard!" Sol retorted with a glare flashing in his flaming irises.

  With no more words, it surges towards him. Sol stumbled back, but his eyes caught the mirror shards, still gleaming on the floor. One was angled, catching the demon in it's distorted reflection.

  The tendril in that reflection shattered with one shot of his gun. Gone, burned to ashes, not simply dispersed.

  "Don’t brute force it!" Sol yelled.

  Marguerite sneered, summoning barriers to protect herself from incoming attacks. "Then what do you suggest, boy? It brushes off fire, it—"

  "Break the mirrors!" He exclaimed over the shoulder. "Don't go wasting time on the illusion!"

  The shards that circled around them reflected all that was happening in the reality.

  Loen skidded to a halt for half a second, "Break what—oh! Got it!" then charged. He hurled his axe into the nearest one, and it shattered with a shriek, and the demon recoiled, part of its form tearing away.

  Marguerite’s eyes widened in awe, "You saw that—?"

  "No time!" Sol barkef, dodging another strike. "Help him out! I’ll keep its eyes on me!"

  Sol dove towards the largest mirror. The two boys took either sides of the chamber, running along in harmony to the central platform. The demon dud not falter, it aimed to stop them with a roar.

  Marguerite snapped her grimoire open, her book flickering with violet ripples. "I can amplify!" She calculated power, reciting a spell and mocking Loen in the same breath.

  Sol yelled, "Now!"

  Loen dragged his axe into the reflecting mirrors with all his weight, wrapped in violet energy of Marguerite's spell, it amplified the slash, shattering the domain.

  "If it wants to eat us… it can choke!"

  The chamber exploded in purple light, and the demon cried, torn apart by their killing blow. It was then followed by a complete silence once the shards fluttered onto the ground.

  The remaining mirrors went dark.

  "We beat it." Marguerite sighed in relief. "Aren’t you good at this?"

  "No... I’m trusting the part of me that says I’ve seen something like this before." He replied sincerely. But I was going to piss myself!

  "A seer?" She chuckled.

  They share a silent nod amongst themselves and walk to the door that reforged itself from shattered glass. Sol moved forward slipping a hand through the rippling portal. He closed his eyes and walkd through, followed by his companions.

  When the reality appeared, he noticed the moon first: the everlasting waning crescent in the night sky. He recalled how long had it been since he last saw the clear sky.

  "You three!" Sophia hurried to them, taking in their ragged and bruised appearance. "Are you all okay?" She asked.

  They nodded in response. Marguerite summoned a book with a flick of her hand, handing it over to the grateful lady. She thanked her first, yet her worries doesn’t cease completely.

  "Well, we didn’t expect the first job to be this… tough," Loen saif nervously but the woman was simply quite, and grim.

  "No." She replied, confusion appearing on her face, "It’s not supposed to be any difficult. We had already confirmed the ruins to be a simple search job. Just… what did you go through in it?"

  The are stunned and Marguerite spoke honestly to her. "A corrupted domain." She said, and, it drained the color from Miss Sophia’s face.

  "That shouldn’t be possible," she murmured. "The domains are protected by the blessings of the Sun. No demon could infect them."

  The three widen their eyes at that.

  "So that abyssal-wraith…?" Sol muttered.

  "So…" Marguerite gulped, before uttering, "So it cannot be a… demon." She concluded. "Perhaps, it was a remnant of something greater."

  In a sudden second, Sol felt a spike of pain shoot up in his head, he dropped to his knees as his companions panicked. The heat under his skin surged, he gripped his head tighter, wincing in immense pain. His eyes sealed shut, as he braced for the pulsating pain to slow down.

  "Sol!" Loen grabbed his shoulder, concern lacking his tone. "Hey! What’s wrong?!"

  But Sol’s eyes were distant, in a space between one heartbeat and the next.

  Before Sol can speak, respond, his mind was pulled away again. Just for a flicker of a thought not his own.

  "The threads are fraying."