Adrian stood before the massive pit for a few moments before sitting cross-legged on the ground and lowering his head.
Silence settled around him until it seemed as though even the wind had stopped.
After a few moments, a cold smile crept across his lips.
It was a smile that did not belong to Adrian.
He raised his head.
When he opened his eyes, the blue was completely gone.
They were filled with a thick, unnatural darkness, as though something else had taken control of him.
His voice came out calm, yet carried an eerie weight that made the air around him feel colder.
“The time has come…
to open the gates.”
Adrian closed his eyes and raised his hands before him.
He began moving them in a strange, synchronized pattern, as though following a rhythm no one else could hear.
At that very moment, deep within the Mirror Realm, Ildar stood before the vast void and performed the same movements.
Their bodies existed in two different worlds, yet the mind guiding them was one and the same.
Both began chanting the same words in an ancient language long forgotten by the world.
With the final word, both worlds trembled.
But nothing happened.
Everything remained still.
Ildar smiled and slowly raised one finger.
Suddenly, every mirror in the world began to tremble.
The surface of every pond rippled.
Reflections in windows, polished metal, and even raindrops began to distort, as though something was moving behind them.
Then, a black hand burst through one of the mirrors.
A dark spirit followed, slipping into the world through its surface.
The moment it emerged completely, the mirror’s surface turned black and began to crumble away until it vanished as though it had never existed.
In a nearby lake, spirits began emerging from the surface of the water one after another.
With every spirit that emerged, the darkness spread farther across the lake until it covered the entire surface.
Then the water disappeared.
Nothing remained but a motionless black surface, as though the lake itself had never existed.
Ildar watched the scene with a calm smile.
At that same moment, the darkness filling Adrian’s eyes vanished, and the cold smile disappeared from his lips.
His body staggered slightly as he slowly shook his head, as though waking from a deep sleep.
He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.
The trees, the massive pit, and the darkness surrounding him all seemed unfamiliar.
Adrian frowned.
“What am I doing here?
And where is the village?”
Before he could find an answer, a wave of horrifying screams tore through the silence of the night.
His eyes widened as he spun toward the source.
They were coming from the village.
Adrian sprinted at full speed, leaping between the trees without slowing down.
But the moment he reached the village gates, he looked up and froze.
Black spirits were roaming through the village.
It took Adrian a few moments to process what he was seeing before shock widened his eyes.
“Those…
those are the monsters I fought with Malcar!”
The Nerathions rushed out of their homes after being awakened by the victims’ screams, but they barely had time to understand what was happening.
The monsters lunged at them, tearing through their bodies without mercy as the village descended into chaos.
Suddenly, Adrian heard the violent sloshing of water beside him.
He spun around and saw a metal pot filled with water shaking violently, as though something was moving inside it.
A black hand burst from the water.
Then the monster’s head emerged, followed moments later by the rest of its body.
The water turned pitch-black before evaporating before Adrian’s eyes.
The monster released a horrifying screech and lunged at him.
Adrian ducked at the last second, its claws slicing through the air above his head.
He immediately turned and sprinted toward the nearest house, slammed the door shut behind him, and leaned against it as he caught his breath.
His eyes darted around the room, searching for anything he could use as a weapon.
The house was empty.
Then his gaze finally landed on a long iron rod lying beside the fireplace.
He picked it up and tightened his grip around the iron rod.
He carefully opened the door and glanced outside.
Black spirits were everywhere, but Adrian didn’t hesitate.
He charged into the chaos, cutting down every monster that stood in his way as he pushed forward at full speed toward Valdrin’s house.
The moment Adrian burst through the door, he found Valdrin fighting several monsters alone.
His sword tore through the air with blinding speed, each strike sending another creature crashing to the floor.
Valdrin glanced toward Adrian and shouted, “Watch out!” The source of this chapter is g.com.
At that moment, one of the monsters lunged at Adrian.
But Dan rushed out of the room, gripping a wooden stick, and stepped beside Adrian, ready to fight.
Valdrin gave him a quick look.
“That stick won’t do you any good.”
He reached behind his back, pulled out another sword, and tossed it toward Dan.
Dan barely managed to catch it.
“Use it,” Valdrin ordered.
“And stay alive.”
Without another word, the three of them charged into battle.
As Adrian blocked an attack from one of the monsters, his eyes caught the mirror hanging on the wall.
It was shaking violently, as though something was trying to break through from the other side.
Adrian’s eyes widened.
Suddenly, a black hand burst through the mirror’s surface, followed by an entire monster crawling out of it.
The moment its feet touched the ground, the mirror’s surface turned black.
Cracks spread across it before the glass crumbled away and vanished completely.
“Valdrin!” Adrian shouted.
“They’re coming out of the mirrors!”
Valdrin stepped back after severing a monster’s head and shouted, “What’s making them come out?”
“I don’t know!” Adrian answered while struggling against another creature.
“But…
I think it has something to do with reflections!”
For a moment, Valdrin fell silent.
His eyes widened.
“You mean…
every reflection could have become a gateway?”
Adrian knocked the monster away with a powerful kick and answered, “That’s what I think!”
After a fierce battle, the last monster inside the house finally fell.
Valdrin didn’t waste a second.
He rushed outside, but the moment he saw the village, he froze.
Flames devoured several houses.
Bodies were scattered across the streets, torn corpses and pools of blood covering the ground while the screams of survivors continued to tear through the night.
Valdrin charged into the chaos, fury burning in his eyes.
His sword cut through the air with astonishing speed, and every strike brought another monster crashing down.
At that moment, a squad of Nerathion soldiers arrived, armed with spears, swords, and bows.
Without hesitation, they joined the battle.
Adrian and Dan followed, fighting alongside them.
The battle continued until the final monster fell.
Silence descended over the village.
The only sounds left were the ragged breaths of the exhausted fighters.
Everyone stood covered in blood, staring at their home, which had been transformed into a killing ground within minutes.
Destroyed houses and scattered corpses filled the streets.
Suddenly, the battalion commander’s voice rang out.
“Arrest them.
Now.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Then he pointed directly at Adrian and Dan.
Adrian stared at him in confusion before turning toward Valdrin.
“Valdrin…
what’s going on?”
Valdrin didn’t answer.
He remained where he stood, his eyes fixed on Adrian.
Beneath his controlled expression, however, a fury he could barely contain was burning in his eyes.
Several soldiers surrounded Adrian and Dan, stripped them of their weapons, and began dragging them away.
Dan struggled against them.
“Why?!
What did we do?!”
Then he turned toward Valdrin and shouted angrily, “Why are you letting them do this?!”
Valdrin said nothing.
He simply watched them in silence until they disappeared from sight.
Adrian and Dan were taken to a stone cell inside one of the guards’ camps, while Valdrin began walking through the village.
His steps were heavy, and every time he passed another corpse, the weight of guilt grew inside him.
He had once sworn to protect this village.
But he had failed. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Several Nerathion soldiers accompanied him as they carefully searched the area.
Yet something strange soon caught Valdrin’s attention.
There wasn’t a single mirror left in the village.
Not even a shard of glass.
Even the water containers were completely empty, and the bucket the horses drank from held not a single drop.
Valdrin suddenly stopped.
Adrian’s words echoed through his mind.
“They’re coming out of reflections…”
His eyes narrowed as suspicion began to take hold.
Inside the cell, Adrian sat in silence, lost in thought as he tried to piece together everything that had happened since the previous night.
But Dan’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Why did they put us here, Adrian?”
Adrian raised his head and answered in a subdued voice, “I don’t know…
but I think it’s just a misunderstanding.” He hesitated for a moment before adding, “Valdrin will get us out of here.”
Only a few minutes passed before footsteps echoed toward the cell.
The guards stopped outside, unlocked the door, and opened it.
“Get up.”
They grabbed Adrian and Dan and led them through a series of long underground corridors until they reached a far more heavily guarded prison.
Its walls were thick, and its doors were made of solid iron.
Once the door closed behind them, Adrian stepped toward the bars.
“Is anyone going to tell us why we’re being held here?
And where’s Valdrin?
I want to speak with him.”
Before anyone could answer, the battalion commander appeared.
He approached calmly until he stopped in front of the cell, then fixed his gaze on Adrian.
“What do you know about those creatures?”
Adrian answered, “I only know that I’ve fought them before…
in my world.”
The commander slowly shook his head.
“Those creatures were once human souls.
The Guardian Ildar sealed them inside the mirrors.
As the years passed, their anger consumed what remained of them until they became the terrifying creatures known as the Bemor.”
Adrian’s brows furrowed.
“What does any of this have to do with me?
Why are you holding me?”
The commander stepped closer, his voice turning sharp.
“Because the return of these spirits to our world after all these decades cannot be a coincidence.
And the fact that they appeared at the same time you entered our world only deepens our suspicions.”
Silence settled between them before he continued.
“We believe you’ve been working for Ildar from the beginning, and that your arrival in this world was part of his plan…
to open the gate through you.”
Adrian felt the situation slipping further out of his control.
“That’s not true!
I never worked with him.
I don’t even understand what you’re talking about.”
The commander studied him for a moment before asking, “Then where were you before the attack?
Valdrin told us you left the village and never returned.”
Adrian tried to remember, but his mind offered nothing.
After a moment, he said, “I don’t know.
The last thing I remember is falling asleep.
When I opened my eyes, I was far from the village.”
The commander’s expression remained unchanged.
“Then how did you know those spirits could emerge from reflections?”
Adrian answered immediately, “Because I saw it happen.
One of them came out of a reflection in the water, and another emerged from a mirror inside the house.”
The commander remained silent for several moments before speaking in a cold voice.
“But how did you leave the village and claim you remember nothing?”
Adrian had no answer.
He lowered his gaze and remained silent.
The commander watched him for a moment before turning toward the door.
“We’ll uncover the truth…
soon.”
He left, and the guards closed the door behind him.
Silence returned to the cell, but this time, Adrian couldn’t shake the question the commander had left behind.
He finally whispered to himself, “How did I really leave the village?”