Meera stood at the end of the crowd in the village square as more than a hundred people ate, sang, and danced the night away. When the innkeeper had mentioned celebrations, she had pictured a somber affair, but this was something else entirely.

People were playing a flute-like instrument along with a single-string instrument as a couple sang what were most likely folk songs about a pair of lovers who ran away from home. Even though she knew nothing about the culture of this place, the song was beautiful. It reminded her of this folk song from back home about another pair of lovers who were so in love that they died for it, as the world was not ready to accept their love.

Once again, she was thankful that she could understand their language and enjoy this. She was about to leave and find someone willing to talk to her when the singing stopped, and the announcer came on stage—or center of the square.

“After that wonderful performance, stay tuned, my brothers and sisters, because next is the play you’ve all been waiting for—the slaying of Aetheron.”

The crowd cheered, and Meera’s grip tightened on her earthen cup. She leaned forward with intense eyes. She had to see this. The more she could learn about this prophecy, the more information she would have on saving his brother from this nonsense.

The announcer left after introducing the actors, which got some cheers from the crowd. Apparently, the actors were famous around these parts. The actors took center stage. There was a man who wore rags, and he looked around as if lost, and his clothes were eerily similar to earthen fashion.

“Where am I? What is this place? Am I in a different world?”

Then they rolled out a cut out of an oval mirror, with another actor who wore the same clothes as the first, which was meant to be his reflection.

“You’re not lost, Champion. You have come here to fulfill your destiny. You will be the savior of these worlds. You will face many trials and tribulations but conquer them all to face your greatest foe. The devourer of worlds, the Great Dragon Aetheron, and after an epic battle, you will slay him.”

There was a loud clap and cheer from the crowd, along with lots of hooting and whistling. While all that was happening, Meera wondered if this was how it happened for Neel. If this was what the mirror told him back home. She had been trying to figure out why he would enter the mirror. Tell that to a sixteen-year, and chances are he will jump in to be the hero.

The play goes on to show Neel walking into the mirror and realizing his powers. One of which she knew was the world-hopping powers, that he didn’t need mirrors to travel. Then something clicked as to why the mirror couldn’t keep track of his movements because he didn’t need to use them to travel anywhere. But he also had other powers, like a glowing sword, and could shoot light beams from his hands. She found all that a little far-fetched, but anything was possible in a world governed by an all-seeing system, where skills had to be earned, and chakrams magically appeared on your arms.

After several harrowing scenes of Neel slaying monsters and men alike, they finally arrived at the finale—the slaying of Aetheron. Meera was impressed at how well they executed this scene. A big round, white planet with a ring was shown, which meant a man walked on stage wearing a replica of Mirithia with Aetheron wrapped around it.

Mirithia ripped off ‘Aetheron,’ and a man in a white dragon costume ‘emerged’ from it, meaning he came running out to the square from behind. Then came the three moons.

“I am hungry, and I have awoken to eat you all,” Aetheron said in a fake heavy voice.

Meera cringed at the dialogue while some kids gasped. I guess this is as good as it gets here.

Then ‘Neel’ or the Champion jumped between the dragon and the worlds to defend them. He wore golden armor and held his signature glowing sword. “Not so fast, dragon. I am here to slay you once and for all. Your reign of terror ends today.”

Then they do a great battle—more like a slow-motion version of one, where one attacks and the other defends. It was honestly quite dull, but the people loved it. Eventually, the Champion slays the dragon by driving his sword through the dragon’s heart and saving the world. Ultimately, she learned nothing new from what Silas and Cossus had told her, nor had she learned which direction Neel had ventured off from this village.

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After the play, there was more song and dance. She didn’t stay for that. She needed to find someone who could tell her about Neel’s whereabouts.

She approached this man with gray hair and tanned skin. “Excuse me, but would you know—”

“Move off, Varshan. I got nothing to say to your kind.”

Meera’s shoulders slumped, and the man spat on the ground as she walked off. She felt she should take offense at the gesture, but it was so uncommon in her world that she simply didn’t care. She tried another older person, a woman this time, who was talking with a group of other elderly women. But once again, she was brushed off, and most of them turned away as she approached.

People from three villages were here, and none were willing to talk to her. She smashed her earthen cup on the ground and wanted to scream in frustration. Not only is it hard enough to earn skills for me, but now I must deal with discrimination just for my looks.

After facing more rejection and having her spirit crushed, she decided to head back to the inn and hoped to meet with the somewhat nice innkeeper. At least, he talked to her, well, to Silas, but maybe he would speak with her too.

She pushed through the door to find the inn empty. Of course, it’s empty. Everyone’s outside getting hammered.

She sighed and headed for her room when she heard a rumbling sound. She snapped her head to it and found the errand boy from before, who had shown her to her room. He was rolling a barrel of what she assumed was beer, wine, mead, or whatever these people drank here.

“O-Oh, you’re back already,” he said.

“Yes.”

“Did you not have fun?”

“Seeing as how no one is willing to talk to me. No, I did not have fun.”

He scratched his head and gave a shaky laugh. “Uh…I’ll talk to you.”

Meera squinted as a lone torch was burning in here, so it wasn’t terribly bright, but she could swear he was blushing. Maybe he can tell me something.

“What is your name?” Meera asked, and she wanted to ask after his age, but he was around her brother’s age, maybe a little older.

“I am Eppie, and you are?”

“Meera.”

“That’s a pretty name.” He smiled and blushed even more. “Are you from Varsha?”

Meera sighed. “For the last time, I’m not Varshan.”

The boy winced. “Sorry.”

She let out a deep breath, she couldn’t very well antagonize the only person willing to talk to her. “Eppie, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be completely honest with me.”

“Sure, whatever you need.”

She pulled out her phone from her pocket, which surprisingly had survived all the chaos of the jungle.

Eppie gasped. “You carry a black mirror too?”

Meera raised an eyebrow. “Who else had one of these?”

“Well, the Champion did, and he showed me all sorts of images on it, even moving ones.”

Meera hurriedly clicked her phone on, making Eppie gasp some more, but she paid him no mind as she frantically waited for the phone to turn on, which it did, after taking too long.

She went to her gallery, opened a picture of Neel, and showed it to Eppie. His expression was more than enough to confirm what she wanted to know. Neel had been here.

“Is this the Champion everyone has been talking about?”

Eppie gave a slow nod while keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

“Where did he go?” Eppie kept staring at the picture like he had seen a ghost. She turned off the phone. “Please, I need to know where he went from here or if you know his whereabouts, anything.”

Eppie swallowed. “H-He went to the village of Ebonton.”

“Is that one of the villages here for the celebration?”

“No, they were supposed to come, but no one showed up. It’s been the talk of the town. It wasn’t like them to not show up.”

“Why did he go there specifically?”

Eppie shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is he went that way. Maybe he went off to one of the big cities after that. I cannot be sure.”

“Have you heard any news of him ever since he left here?”

He shook his head. “We don’t get many travelers around here, miss. So, the news is scarce.”

“Which way is this, Ebonton?”

“West,” Eppie replied. “Though everything is west of here. To go to Ebonton, you need to only go over the hill that comes on the main road and then take a left at the crossroads. You cannot miss it.”

“Thank you,” Meera couldn’t help smiling. She had a direction to head in, and the Champion they spoke of was Neel. So, even if her phone’s battery died, which it would soon, all she would have to say was Champion, and they would be talking about the same person.

She headed for her room to turn in for the night, but Eppie said, “Wait, Miss Meera.”

She turned to him. “Yes?”

“That black mirror…the Champion had one, too,” he paused and swallowed. “The prophecy states that the Champion would carry a black mirror…”

Meera froze for but a moment. “But doesn’t the prophecy also states that the champion has world-hopping powers? That he can go wherever he pleases without using a gateway mirror.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, I can assure you, I do not have those powers.” Or any remotely as handy as those.

He breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. “I did not want to tell everyone we got the champion wrong.”

“Besides, where I’m from, everyone carries one of these black mirrors.”

“Uh, Miss Meera, if you don’t mind me asking…who are you?”

Meera grinned. “I’m the Champion’s sister.”