"Again!" echoed Kalrina's voice in the dungeon.

Meera huffed as sweat dripped off her brow. She glared mildly at the witch, but the one who really got on her nerves was Aksha's clone. She sat with a smug smile as she enjoyed watching Meera's fail repeatedly.

Meera was trying to recreate a knife, and for half a day, she had all but failed to put anything together that seemed remotely like a knife. It was like putting together a Lego set, but the pieces were all wrong, and nothing fit together.

The problem wasn't even the mirror shards. It was the concentration it took to move each piece individually in a coherent manner so it looked like they were working together. Whenever she would try to lift the next piece to fit into the 'knife' that she held in the air, the knife would fall apart and drop, shattering all the pieces. Thus, Meera would have to begin again and look for more pieces.

She searched the ground for more pieces to form a knife and began the fruitless exercise again. Thanks to her Mirrorstrike Vision, she could see in all directions, or it would take much longer. Not to mention, she would have cracked her skull open by now.

"Faster," Kalrina snapped. "You won't get this time to deliberate on the battlefield, dearie."

Meera grunted in annoyance, picked up pieces left and right, and smashed them together, but nothing came off it. She used too much force, and the mirror piece shattered and fell.

"Again!"

She had never seen this side of Kalrina. Mostly, she was calm or flirty and rarely threatening, but this was something else. It was like she had turned into a strict teacher who either wanted Meera to do good for Meera's sake or because she had something to prove.

Meera tried again and failed miserably. The next half a dozen tries yielded the same results and the witch's constant harping and Aksha's constant snickering were getting on Meera's nerves.

"Again!"

"Shut up!" Meera snapped and whipped a hand in her direction. Inadvertently, the mirror shards responded. A wave of Mirror Shards launched towards her and collided against the clouds, creating sparks.

Kalrina smiled. "Do that again."

Meera whipped her hand towards the witch again, and this time, fewer of the shards responded, but still enough to have Aksha sit up and frown.

Meera furrowed her brow. "Why did fewer shards respond this time?"

"Because you're letting your head get in the way," Kalrina responded. "Don't use your head, and just listen to me. There's not much up there anyways."

Meera glared at her. "Keep talking like that, and there won't be much left in yours either."

"All this training is pointless," The daughter said. "You two are never getting out of here."

"Want to make a bet?" Kalrina asked. "Oh, but I'll have to kill you when I make my eventual escape, so how will I ever collect."

"Take a look at yourself," the daughter responded. "You're only getting out of here when you go for your trial and then to your eventual death."

"Tell me what did you do that Aksha shoved you in here to watch over us," Kalrina prodded, making Meera frown.

Where are you going with this? She wondered.

Aksha huffed and looked down the length of the dungeon. "I did nothing. Mother ordered, and so I am here."

"No, you did something." Kalrina nodded in contemplation. "You see, dearie, Aksha never does anything without reason, and this acidic creature couldn't bear to hear the deeds of her mother—her actions last night. The real Aksha doesn't have such a heart." She rubbed her chin. "Almost makes me believe that Aksh's daughters have a part of her personality that she either wants to be rid of or train her weaknesses to be more heartless."

Meera squinted as she tilted her head. "So, you're saying she bears the compassionate side of Aksha, which she wants to harden and so, made her the jailor."

"That's precisely what I'm saying, dear pupil. It's why some display more leadership abilities and some are more timid. There's only a minuscule hint of such things, but when you've been dealing with Aksha and her so-called daughters for so long, you tend to pick up on such things."

The clone huffed. "You both could not be more wrong. We're all the exact image of our mothers."

"Even the mirror doesn't show an exact image. Believe me, I would know." Kalrina smirked, but the daughter did not reply or meet Kalrina's gaze in defiance.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Meera squinted at the witch and wondered if this was part of her plan to escape. But could she really turn what was essentially Aksha herself? Then something clicked. Is training me part of her escape plan as well.

Before last night, Meera would've been content with letting her rot in here, but now, a small part of her wanted to see her bring about the fall of this place. The more she learned about it, the more she wanted it gone. However, it would be a task of Olympic proportions.

I'm overthinking things. I won't get involved with matters that don't concern me. I did that—or rather was forced to enough in Azeria.

But if she hadn't done that, she wouldn't have met the Wardens, Dirik, Narikas, and Numheia, the literal goddess. And not found out that the great prophecy that she knew was incomplete.

The more she traveled, the more her problems grew. Right now, she was wasting time in this cell, but the problem was that she didn't know which way Neel went.

One thing after another after another. But I can't be sure that Firaan told me everything. Meera sat up straight. Did she find out about my class ability?

She thought back to her brief conversation with Firaan and couldn't think of any instance that would make her think of her ability. She was sure, she didn't even think about stealing her ability, even when Aksha showed up. Another reason she knew she was safe was that Firaan hadn't shown up since then. If she had figured out Meera's class ability, she would have hovered around her like a blood-sucking mosquito.

This planet really is the worst. I haven't met a single person worthy of my trust yet. It's like I used up all my trust back in Azeria. She looked at the tattoo on her hand. At least I have you, buddy.

She had half a mind to bring him out, but there was no reason to, and she would give Aksha another thing to be wary of. The sorceress might even increase the guard or add fortifications to her cell.

Kalrina snapped her fingers. "Where are you lost, dearie? Where are my blades?"

Meera rolled her eyes and got back to getting frustrated again.

----------------------------------------

A dozen or so jagged pieces trembled in the air as they rubbed against each other, threatening to shatter if Meera pushed a little harder. She had been trying this all day. If she didn't get this together now, she was giving up on this all together.

"Focus," Kalrina said.

"Shut up, witch. Every time you speak, it causes me to lose focus," Meera replied through gritted teeth.

Kalrina chuckled and must've thought of placing a finger on her lips, but thanks to her broken fingers, she thought otherwise.

Meera's full attention was on the shivering blade before her. She carefully picked up a shard that should fit with the piece in the hilt. The shard hovered over the hilt just as she was about to place it. A shard in the blade's tip rubbed with another shard a little too hard, and the whole thing shattered.

Meera screamed in frustration, and they all shattered, creating a mini Mirror Blast and launching shards everywhere.

"That's it. I'm done with this pointless exercise!" Meera raged.

Kalrina was up out of her seat. "Do that again!"

"Are you mad?" Meera barked. "I'm not wasting any more time and brain cells putting together another—"

"No, not the knife. That!" The witch pointed at where her blade was. "Make more shards explode."

Meera squinted her eyes. "Why?"

"Stop asking questions and just do it!" Kalrina barked, clearly losing her patience with her.

Meera lifted more shards off the floor, clenched her fist, and then let it go. The shards exploded outwards like a blast. She didn't even have to think about it much. Her Mirror Wing did the work for her. It pulled each shard in every direction with such force that they broke apart into tiny pieces and launched outwards.

Her eyes widened. "Why was that so easy?"

Kalrina chuckled. "You see, my dear, this is what I've been training you for. All that making blades was training your Mirror Wing to the point that you could do this easily. Of course, this place helped, too."

Meera frowned and remembered Kalrina telling her that a dragon's corpse was a strong conduit for magic, and raising one's magical skills here was easy.

Just try to it out more. Meera raised more shards and made them explode one after another until the floor of her cell shimmered in orange-white light as it reflected the floating torches.

She laughed as applications of this new move ran through her head. She could carpet the ground with mirrors from her mirror skills, and even if her enemy dodged her initial blow, she could make the shards explode wherever they stepped. She could raise the mirror shards behind them and explode them behind their heads or necks. She had essentially created a new skill without taking a skill slot.

"Ready to take this to the next step?" Kalrina asked.

"Oh yes, I am."

"Good, but first check your notifications."

Meera frowned but complied.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror Wing has gained 14 levels and reached Level 140]

Meera stared at the 14 levels. That many in just a day? She couldn't help but grin. This place really is something else.

"Saw the fruits of your labor, eh," Kalrina noted.

Meera nodded. "I'm ready for the next part."

The witch chuckled, but before she could reply, the sound of stone grinding on stone echoed through the dungeons, which could only mean one thing. Some of the other prisoners shuffled to the corners of their cells, while others looked down and trembled.

The daughter looked at Kalrina. "I'm sorry, but I had to report what you two were trying to accomplish here."

Kalrina smiled. "Why are you sorry, dearie? What would Aksha say if she learned you were apologizing to one of your prisoners?"

The dim light made it hard to tell, but Meera was sure the daughter paled slightly. Aksha's boots announced her arrival. A few moments later, the monster in the form of a woman stepped into the light. As always, there was no emotion on the sorceress's face. She gave one look at the numerous tiny shards littered the floor of Meera's cell and turned towards Kalrina.

She looked at the cast on Kalrina's hands. "Are you willing to confess before the Conclave?"

"Confess to what? I haven't done anything."

Aksha motioned to her clone, who took out the massive key ring. The clouds parted ways as she fitted the key in the lock and promptly opened the door to Kalrina's cell.

"You will confess to your crimes, or you will suffer unimaginable pain." Poison dripped from Aksha's fingers.

"My existence has been pain since that night," Kalrina seethed. "You can do nothing more to me."

Then Aksha did what she did best.

Meera went to lay on her cot, faced the wall, turned off her Mirrorstrike Vision, and cupped her hands over her ears. For she couldn't bear to witness Aksha work.