Inside the Mirror realm:

In the stark white space, a lonesome figure stood, surrounded by black runes that revolved around her like bugs. Aria had calmed down by now, understanding that she could only wait for her friends to rescue her now. After all, without her backpack she could not do anything. The backpack was her lifeline, what allowed her to perform all kinds of magic. Even though she probably had one of the best understanding of rune language, without magic channeling the runes, they were just scribbles.

And despite her attempts at training, Aria was not a mage. She lacked the huge reserves of magical energy that mages had within. Which is why her backpack was so important. It not only had a large space that could hold almost anything, but it was also fitted with arrays to recharge itself from magic in the air. And it could charge all he scrolls with magic too.

The backpack was like a reactor that allowed her to play on equal footing with mages. And without it she was just any another apprentice mage, incapable of forming even a 1st grade magic circle.

She continued to stare at the black runes constricting her movements, hoping something would click in her mind, help her escape perhaps. In fact she had not resigned herself completely yet. Her over-confidence might have landed her in his predicament, but that did not invalid her skills. Looking at the black runes, she was sure that there was a way to crack them. There always is a way. No rune formation is perfect.

The basic law of rune studies clearly stated no combinations of runes was unbreakable. Why was that so? One could only guess as no one had ever proven the law otherwise. Some stated that a perfect formation would be a paradox, resulting in breaking the balance of nature. Others said that perfect combinations required understanding of magic at mythical level. But the truth till today was that no formation had remained unbreakable.

This didn't mean that Aria's situation was any better. The more runes that were involved in a formation or array, more complex the process of breaking it would be. If she were a mage, could have attempted to forcefully break this cage. But she wasn't. But if she could find just one fault in the revolving runes around her, even a single fault would allow her to widen the space enough for her to escape from here.

But there were just so many variables, so many thoughts revolving in her mind, voices blaring around her, weird colors floating, mist changing into snakes, mirrors twisting in the air? Faces morphing in agony?

'Wait.... What is happening?'

Aria's thoughts cut through the chaos as the once-blank space around her descended into a nightmarish kaleidoscope. She didn't understand what was happening, nor why it was happening. But the weird scenes affected her mind, as if chipping away at her insanity. She sat down, hugging her knees closer to body. Burying her face between her knees and covering her knees with her arms, she tried her best to be as small as possible. A strange fear was taking root within her being, as she tried to defend herself from the invisible. As if a lonely boat trying to reach the shore in a thunderstorm in the sea, Aria tried her best shield herself from something even she did not understand.

It felt as if the world were ending, as if all hope had been devoured. Like she had been abandoned by the world to fend by herself. All the negative thoughts of despair and grief started rising within her.

Just when the boat was going to collapse and topple, a voice brought her back.

"Do not lose yourself yet, you have taken the duty to protect the villagers from the Ancient Evil, so you must deliver on it."

The voice was unlike Apollo's warm and jolly or like Thalia's which made her think of wild flowers in the forest. Instead it was powerful, like an arrow piercing the storm. It was rough and made one think of joining the military. But the voice raised her up from the nightmares that surrounded her. As if a gong had been struck, the visions around her disappeared. But not only the mirrors and the voices, but even the black runes around her vanished.

She slowly stood up from the ground, looking around her in astonishment. Even though she had not been in this place yet, she could recognize where she was.

The seven shards floating around her, the damp ceiling above and the roots spread around the chamber. But most importantly the glowing purple crystal in the center. Now barely glowing.

This was the prison of Kor'moros. The prison of infinite reflections built by mage Sylas to hold the Ancient evil that had terrorized countless people. Built under the great banyan tree, its entrance shielded by magic.

'But how was I transported to here? Weren't I in the mirror realm?'

Before she could answer her own queries, noises from behind her alerted her as she turned around to face the intruders. Only to be flabbergasted.

"Apollo? Karthis? How are you two here so quick? Wait what is happening?"

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The trio was also confused at finding Aria within the prison of the entity. No one said anything yet, confusion and caution guiding their mind.

"Thalia can you hand me Aria's backpack, we will know if this is really her quickly."

Suddenly Apollo requested, stretching his hand to take the bag. Although still confused, Thalia agreed and took of the backpack, handing it to the blond blacksmith. Before he could pull out whatever he wished to use, Karthis spoke out, "I used your lightning transformation scroll to arrive here immediately after an SOS was received."

When Aria heard him, without rationale she jumped at him like a cat looking to scratch. Looking at her reaction, Apollo laughed out, "Its her alright so I think we should clear any confusions now first."

Karthis also smiled lightly as he hugged his sister who was still trying to claw his back, her mind only registering the words that one of her forbidden scrolls had been used just like that.

Thalia was outright confused at their behavior now, wondering if they were mentally challenged. And as if sensing her confusion, Apollo turned to her started explaining.

"I can tell that you are very confused, but the situation is resolved now. There is nothing more to worry about. You can go and check that purple crystal for any more doubts, I bet the entity is on it's last stages before dissipating into oblivions."

"But how do you know? I have sensed it before, but your behavior almost makes it feel like you know about this monster more than us." Thalia stated her confusion.

"Ah yes I forgot to mention. When we contacted the Silver tribe about the predicament that our sister had informed earlier, they had replied with only two words. 'Elfish Rite' That should give an idea what is going on. Which is why we were not exactly worried.

No, which is why I was not worried. Karthis clearly did not care and decided to rush here immediately when he received the SOS. Who would have known that it was you who crushed the bead." He laughed loudly towards the end.

Thalia was shocked at hearing the reply, even Aria who was fighting with her brother looked surprised.

"You mean to say that this all was staged? That the monster we thought was going to corrupt all the villagers was just a prop to test Thalia?"

Even Thalia looked appalled at the idea of putting the lives of countless innocents at risk for a testing rite of passage. It just didn't sit well with her that elves would do that.

"That is not how Elvish Rites work. The situation here was very much real. In fact your tribe should have a second elder placed amongst the villagers to monitor and assess you if I am right. Thalia, you must have very recently cleared your coming of age rite and given the title of Guardian of the forest and rivers of Aranya. For Guardians, a special rite is conducted to assess you in secret. Aria's involvement may or may not have nuked the rite though. You will have to contact your people to know more about it. So let's take care of the stuff here now and get going."

Aria and Thalia still didn't seem bought on the idea. If the Tribe knew about this ancient evil, then why were they waiting to weed it out. They could have never known when the entity suddenly tried to go crazy and do something very bad to the villagers.

"Alright, its resolved now. Do not worry to much about it. What your comrade has said was all true. As for the entity ever going out of control? It wouldn't, not with me keeping a watch over it."

An unfamiliar voice resounded within the cavern, interrupting the groups thoughts. Aria immediately jumped, recognizing the voice. It was the one from before, which had made her fight off the effects of the illusion before.

And before their eyes, a hooded person appeared, right beside the dim shard that was the prison for the ancient evil. A white beard that reached past his chest gave him the appearance of a old and wise sage. His face was hid behind the hood, and in his right hand he held a staff.

The group was again on caution as they judged the newcomer. But Aria did not immediately reach for her backpack. Instead she held back her brother and asked the old guy, "Are you perhaps the Mage Sylas? The one who imprisoned the entity?"

A slight chuckle escaped him as he nodded his head, "I am indeed the mage who imprisoned this evil. For the past few hundred years, I have been within the mirror realm, exploring its mysteries. I was acutely aware of all its actions, but no real harm was done. The villagers will all be up in a jiffy once the elf elder from her tribe arrives. A single blessing from her would reset any trauma that they might have suffered, and they will continue to protect the village for the next millennium. Even if the monster had gone crazy at some point, I would have been able to react in time, just like I did at that moment to help you escape its illusionary prison in the mirror realm."

The group looked at her as she agreed with the words. Now they knew how she had appeared her out of nowhere.

"Well your adventure ends here young people. At dawn the silver tribe will be here, and I can conclude my watch over this village finally. Ho ho ho"

With that, he disappeared. None of them tried to inquire any further information from him, as they all understood senior ranked mages often acted strangely like this. But finally they could now put aside all their worries and help the village.

The four walked out of the cavern after they had securely sealed the shard. The tribe would be responsible for what happened with the entity as Mage Sylas had made no intention of wanting the monster for research or anything.

Once outside, Thalia hugged Aria for a minute, expressing her relief. The past six months had been building up the tension within her and finally she felt that she was free. After that, she left in a hurry to take a look at the villagers, ensuring they were alright.

......

"So, what now? Do you wanna return or are you going to venture to some other village for adventuring?" Apollo asked Aria, seated in the tavern surrounded by the bustling crowd that seemed to have revived.

"I have learnt some new runes and have some ideas about a few new types of scrolls, so I will have to return. What about you? This should be the first time you're out of the city in months. How about you follow us back to the city, as we pass by villages and tribes on the way? It can be a mini-adventure of sorts."

Karthis had no opinion as he would stick by his sister until she was safely back in the city, so he was definitely going. Apollo also agreed in the end, with nothing else to do, might as well have some fun for a while.

Aria cheered as she raised her mug high. Apollo followed her cue, while Karthis could only sigh and give in. It was going to be another troublesome adventure. He could feel it.

.....

And with that, Aria's adventure with the mirror's of Serenbrook came to an end.