Luke heard the faint leathery clack of his feet moving against the stone. The sound of water as it rushed by was pleasant to him. The air was full of moisture on account of his moving close to the two waterfalls. He looked up at the right corner of his vision, hoping the reminder would be gone the next time he did so.
[00:40:11]
His heart had already started to pulse with weird palpitations erratically.
He’d moved past the last set of mirrors now. As such, he took off the blindfold and then sent a look at Sooty. “Ready, my bird buddy?” he asked.
Sooty hadn’t a trace of fear in her and only kept her gaze fixated on the two gigantic stone doors before them.
“Xera, Wayfinder, it’s been a bumpy ride with the two of you at times. But I’m glad to have two more minds to try and come out of this place alive. Thanks.”
“You bet. The outside world is going to be fun! Keep me around, and it’ll be all fine!” Xera said.
“Just don’t go throwin’ me back in the pond after this spectral fancy plate dies,” Wayfinder stated.
“Deal to the both of you,” Luke said.
Looking back, Luke saw the radiant beam connect with the crystal above the minotaur realm they had cleared. The last crystal acted as some amplifier, becoming white-hot in color, almost like under a raging furnace. The beam split into a radiant dawn, enclosing around the two ancient stone doors.
Dust and dirt shifted, and a creaking noise filled the hall. The two waterfalls increased in water volume. Small streams leaked past the abyss they fell into naturally, making the white-red stone slick. A rumble grew vastly more intense as the doors gradually opened. A soundless pressure burst blasted past Luke, emptying each mirror it passed.
Luke turned his head, glancing behind. Every mirror was empty. Only a silver frame remained. The sole exception was the untouched black mirror on the opposite side of the hall. He snapped back to the doors, and they swung utterly open. A foreboding twilight mist wafted out.
[Quest Complete: Clear Mirror Realm Hall. Your companion is awarded 2 skill points]
After reading the notice, Luke spoke to Sooty, “That means you’ve got three points now, right, Sooty? Pour them into whichever ability you think is best for you.” He paused in thought, “Best to do it now. You may not get a chance later.”
Sooty nodded, and then a bit of darkened light fluctuated near her throat. Luke pulled up her Interface window; Essence Screech had gone up a rank. A particular sentence in its updated description stood out, ‘Increased damage per rank.’ with Essence Screech reaching the fourth rank, Sooty had her three primary attacks maxed.
“Figured you do that. You’re always the type to go on the offense when possible,” he commented.
“The imposing big door opens again. This time will be the last I see them,” Xera said.
“Willing to open up about what we’ll face?” Luke asked.
“It’s been decades, so who knows what changed, just be alert, that Spectral Bastard can move real fast when he wants to.”
“Anything else, lass?” Wayfinder tried to push for more.
“I’ve faced him only once, with a Reaver that didn’t last long. I could tell she didn’t manage to withstand all of his skills.” Xera responded, lacking the usual energetic flair.
“Ack, the over-armored numpty of a tomb keeper has a few secrets still then? Figures, trials are never the type to reveal too much anyway,” Wayfinder said.
“It’ll have to be enough. The pillar depicted a sort of summoning skill, too. So, fast movement periodically, and summoning of wraiths probably.” Luke began to walk past the two fully swung open doors, “We’ll just have to figure out the rest as we go. Just as we always have.”
The radiant beam refocused, and the solid streak of light faintly illuminated the path before the group. On instinct, Luke began to apply Infusion, placing it on every available target, including Whispering Edge, repeating the process until everyone had their charge at full.
A light source was welcome to Luke, even if he could see near ideally in the dark by now. The vision stat of twilight vanguard and funneling essence to his eyes made his night vision only slightly worse than it was during daylight. Entering into a new unknown, Luke reformed Xera into a wand.
The radiant beam curved along the path in a twisted series of directions. Above the light was a solid twilight mist that couldn’t be penetrated to see further. Mist gathered in front of Luke, leaving water droplets on his skin.
Sooty flapped her wings in annoyance. The crow had a better spot to sit now that Luke’s shoulder armor gave her a more solid landing area. As Luke paced slowly but briskly, he noticed silver mosaic tile enclosed around the path as walls.
A story was depicted, this time, of a small girl growing up. Pieces were missing, and while her story started well enough, it soon became tragic and tense. The girl was now a woman. Increasingly frightening monsters were slain by her, but at a cost. Luke didn’t see a conclusion. The tile was purposely ruined.
The mist was perpetual around his feet as he walked past that section of the walls. His steps began to make a crunching sound, switching from the tap of solid stone to something less uniform. A stench of decay blasted his sense of smell. In a new reveal, Xera could smell as she commented, “I remember this now, how unpleasant, the chest smelled better than this,” She said.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The path continued to wind, curving in a downward spiral; they were descending. Luke began to jog, refusing to let an extended walk be the reason why he lost his heart. The cold, harsh wind cut into his exposed skin, especially along his face.
With the frost resistance and recent experience with Essence Feedback, the cold almost made him feel at home. The lowered temperature let him exert more without worry of the heat it would generate. He jogged fast, breaking into a near run.
Twilight mist above him turned into clouds, and twinkles of light were barely perceivable. Luke began to hear the echo of deathly wails. As the path continued to veer and twist, Wayfinder talked with Luke.
“You’ve not had much experience with the ability, and often, I’m apt to let my wearer figure out for themselves, but I’ll make the exception this once.” Wayfinder paused, making sure Luke was paying attention, “Use Polar South at the most critical moment, lad; it will help you perform your best when it’s needed most.”
Luke had already begun to notice that aspect of Polar South. The skill would give him insight. Something like that was a gift from above for someone as inexperienced as him. He was initially skeptical, but the ability already let him gain information from Veronica and significant expertise in using essence.
“I’ll keep it in mind, Wayfinder. Let’s go out into the wider world together, buddy. You too, Xera, and of course, I don’t need to mention it to you, right, Sooty?”
Sooty answered with a resolute caw. She had no doubt Luke would take her whenever he would go.
“I get included too? Great! Let’s conquer the world and become overlords of reality!” Xera became excited again.
“We’ll see. The final obstacle between us and freedom is more the focus for now,” Luke said.
The mist would form and deform, showing faces, scenes, and an unfamiliar history. The majority would resemble people Luke knew back on Earth. The enlisted friends taken too soon, the ruined cities, even the mushroom cloud he once saw in the distance.
Most of that shook him slightly, but a graphic swirl of his dad in chains, blood pumped out by a magic ensemble, agitated him the most. Sooty gave him a wing slap. The slight shock got him to stay stoic when it was needed most. Luke ignored whatever else the path tried to throw at him.
“Thanks, Sooty, I guess the Spectral Lord is getting desperate,” he said.
Luke saw a solid wall of mist cut the path off before him.
“We’re here then, aren’t we Xera?” Luke asked.
The sword wand spoke lowly, “This was the same as last time. Yeah, he’s behind that wall, step in, it won’t stop you,” Xera said.
Luke took a deep breath, steeled his eyes, and steadied his step. The next twenty minutes would decide the rest of his life.
[00:20:05]
The literal ticking down of his life no longer bothered him. The goal was before him, one final obstacle between him and greater control over his fate. Luke bounded through, flicking Xera out to the side and rushing essence to his eyes.
Once he passed through the mist wall, Luke entered a circular area. There was a gray soil beneath him, almost white, as if all life was sucked out. Two pillars were opposite each other. The beam of light had fused into one on the right. The other was a nether-like mix of green-black.
The bounds of this strange place were a scene straight out of the underworld. Dark souls wandered about, pressing against a transparent boundary. Devils observed Luke, bones danced, and what looked like a court inspected him to the right side. None of the beings in this place were alive. At least in the traditional sense, all of them were in various states of undeath.
By far, the most attention-grabbing aspect of the place to Luke was the moon. It had the same color as the Earth’s, except it was immense, with visible cracks infesting the surface. A sword crossed with a wand outline imprinted itself onto the moon.
A familiar hooded figure, this time only as a head, peered at him above the sword and wand. The eyes were visible, a heterochromatic white and red. The usual black shade still covered the other features.
The radiant light beam dissipated, absorbed into the pillar to Luke’s right. The faint glow from that same pillar became his new source of light.
Luke tried to guide the frost essence within to Xera, but he was having intermittent results. The sword wand would glow white-blue for one second, then return to normal the next. At least he kept the regular essence flowing to his eyes without interruption. Progress was always welcome.
Goosebumps spread throughout his body, and the hair on the back of his neck electrified his awareness. Luke flowed Essence Bond through Xera. White runes lit up the wand. He began to dart his eyes. He was being watched, and not by those unimportant bystanders.
No, the Spectral Lord was here. He could feel it, more importantly, that plate-wearing monstrosity was close by.
Sooty flew up to the hellish sky. The bird only managed about fifteen feet above Luke before she was forcibly stopped. She clicked her beak and circled near the maximum allowable altitude, observing the area.
The Spectral Lord had ghostly wisps cling to his towering figure as he stepped out, effortlessly passing the transparent barrier. The light around him was sucked in. The serrated great sword was no longer hefted over his shoulder. Instead, the boss creature casually held it out to the side in one hand.
Death wails screeched out from its armor, and a portal ripped open behind it. The ghastly pale blue dots for eyes stared directly at Luke. Flowing white hair and a newly formed crown decorated the Spectral Lord.
Its familiar, unearthly, and nonchalant voice echoed in Luke’s ears, “I see you’ve found your way, young Reaver,” It said.
Dozens of specters floated out of the portal behind it. An endless amount of ghostly creatures pressed against the transparent barrier between Luke and the rest of this hell.
“Not called the Spectral Lord for nothing, I see,” Luke muttered.
Three runes emblazoned themselves on the door behind the Spectral Lord, carved by green flame.
Pointing its great sword at Luke, the Spectral Lord spoke, “Steal from me, and you pass the trial, young Reaver.”
Sparing a glance over to Sooty, the Spectral Lord vanished. Luke couldn’t sense or see a thing as to where the Spectral Lord had gone. Instead, he listened to the well-honed survival instincts over the years.
He aimed Essence Lance at the ten-foot mark to the most direct path in front of him. The frosted ability blasted into a cone, and ice shards struck into a hard ghost-plated figure, only denting it at the most concentrated strike zone.
Ruinous echo took effect, just as Luke planned for. He overlaid Essence Bond onto the area, and by calculated guesswork with the ice shards, he targeted the Spectral Lord. The Bond circled the trial boss.
The effect seemed weakened, which didn’t surprise Luke. A similar situation happened when they first met, but he’d thought the gap had closed more. However, Essence Bond was still partially effective.
Disembodied blue eyes stared back at Luke, and then the Spectral Lord took a step. Before Luke could think, he rapidly shifted Xera into a sword and ducked. The Spectral Lord instantly appeared at his side, and its great sword screamed against the air and ripped past where Luke’s body had been a quarter of a second ago.
Sooty crashed down with perfect timing. Her Reaver Beak smashed into the breastplate of the boss monster. A single crack was all that came about. Not so easily disheartened, Sooty flapped, avoiding a counter.
She maneuvered into an optimal position, catching the Spectral Lord and its half army of wraiths into her Essence Screech. The Essence Bond spread to every enemy on the battlefield.
Amidst those two actions, Luke sliced Xera into the thinnest armor areas, namely the joints, but he had limited success. Simultaneously, he commanded the Interface to appear, aiming to glean any information he could.
[Spectral Lord] (Trial Boss, Heavily Sealed)
Tier: 1
Level: 25
HP: 5000/5000
Taker of many Reaver’s lives. Yours will be next at this rate.
“Fuck.”