"It's okay, Meera," Onyx said, putting on a brave face, but Meera was sure he was doing his best to stop himself from breaking into sobs. After all they'd been through, Meera knew one thing—the horse was terrible at hiding his true emotions.
"I can't just leave you here, Onyx. To spend eternity all alone."
"I'm sure eternity cannot be that long," he replied, sounding upbeat.
Meera had to hold herself back from telling him how true that could be, given all the prophecy nonsense surrounding her brother.
"You should get out of here," Onyx said. "It won't do you any good sitting there. Besides, I'll get used to this…eventually."
Meera wept into her hands. "You saved me…but I couldn't…" she sniffed loudly. "But I couldn't save you."
"You saved me from that room. If not for you, I would still be locked there in the dark."
"I would use the Crystal of Darthin, but—"
"I know you need it for information on your brother. I do hope the witch accepts it like this." He motioned to the cracked green crystal.
Meera picked it up with shaky hands and opened her Belt. She couldn't be sure if it were her blurry vision, but she saw a gray crystal twinkle in her Belt. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, placed the Crystal of Darthin inside the Belt, took out the gray crystal, and grinned.
"Onyx, there is a way I can get you out of there," she said.
The stallion clopped his feet nervously. "How?"
"With this." She held up the crystal. "This is the Crystal of Soul Binding. With this, I can bind one soul to myself and call upon them as needed. So, would you like to bind yourself to me permanently?"
"If it means I can get out of here, I'd be your slave."
Meera laughed and focused on the crystal and passed her Mana through it. The crystal shone with a dull light, which grew brighter as Meera passed more Mana through it.
*ding!*
[Please designate a soul you would like to bind to yourself.]
Meera looked to Onyx. The crystal shone brighter as Onyx's form condensed into a shiny bluish-white ball and floated towards the crystal. There was a slight push from Onyx's ball as it tried to pass through the curse barrier, but it didn't take long for him to pass and come to rest in the crystal.
There was a sharp ringing sound as the crystal burst into tiny shards. There was a searing, burning pain on the back of her hand. Meera cried out. Before she could activate Vitalize to stop the pain, it was gone, and in its place was a tattoo of a stallion with long, flowing hair.
*ding!*
[Soul Bond-Onyx the Stallion – Level 1]
[The soul you call Onyx has been bonded with your soul forever. You can call upon him at any time by using your Mana, but you will have to expend Mana to maintain him in the physical world. Once your Mana empties, the stallion will return to its resting place.]
Onyx? Meera tried tentatively. Can you hear me?
She waited for a long time and nothing. So, I guess we can't talk to each other like this. She ran her Mana to the tattoo, and just like that, Onyx flowed out of her hand to stand before her. A black stallion that looked more real than before. There wasn't even much smoke coming off him. From afar, he could even be mistaken for a regular black stallion with white hair.
Meera threw her arms around the horse's neck. "Oh, thank god, you're out of there."
"And in your soul."
Meera raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to go back to the cursed cave?"
"No, no. That was not what I meant. Your soul is a much nicer place."
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Meera's eyes accidentally fell on her hand, and Onyx's tattoo was gone. "Say, what did you see when you were in my soul?" Meera asked.
"Honestly, nothing. It was like I was sleeping."
"Okay, good. Not sure, I want a horse poking around in there."
Onyx neighed. "So, should we get out of here? I cannot wait to see the outside world again. It's been literal years since I've done that."
"Sorry, Onyx, I must ask you to return. I feel a certain guest will be waiting for me, given all that commotion we caused in our escape."
Onyx's head fell as he sighed. "You're the boss. But don't leave me in there for too long."
"I promise." With that, she called him back, and he returned to rest on her hand. Her tattoo returned to her hand.
Meera had one final thing to do before she went on to face the witch. She had to allocate her stat points. She put most of her points in Constitution, Endurance, and Focus—her three key stats, Health, Stamina, and Mana. She put the remaining in Dexterity and Agility, which were vital in the last fight.
Meera drew a deep breath, activated Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity, and exited the cave. It was evening, and Mirithia began shining brighter in the sky as the sun dipped towards the west. After being in the dark for so long, even this much light was blinding. That was until she saw what was waiting for her.
Standing in the treeline was a Mirror Golem. Once it caught sight of Meera, it stepped out of the trees and strode towards her.
[Mirage Golem – Level 78]
Meera almost scoffed at the golem's level. It was funny that only a few days ago, she was running and hiding from them, and now, she was strong enough to rip through it as if it were made of regular mirrors. But it was not here to fight.
The golem stomped over to her and stopped. Its seven-foot mass was imposing enough that Meera should have been scared, but after killing a twenty-foot giant, this thing was nothing but cute. She wondered if it was the same boy who the witch was turning when Meera visited her last.
She Stepped up to his shoulder and took a seat. "Take me to the witch."
The golem turned without showing any sign of disagreement and took off at a run down the treeline. Meera erected a Mirror Shield before her to avoid getting slapped in the face by branches.
----------------------------------------
They arrived half a day later when the sun was peaking above the treeline. Meera had passed out sometime in the night by erecting another Mirror shield and leaning on it. Thankfully, she didn't fall. She woke to a rooster's crows and almost went into fight mode right away.
She was on the ground, and four golems stared down at her with their featureless faces. She jumped up with chakrams in hand, but when she activated Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity, she calmed down as the golem delivered her to the witch's doorstep.
Without giving the golems another look, she opened the door and went into the witch's home. It was cozy compared to the morning chill outside. Like last time, many mirror ornaments hung from the ceiling and were nailed to the walls.
Meera went straight for the door at the back. This time, she did not waste time with any other doors. She entered and found the room empty. No almost naked men, no almost naked witch, no one, aside from an empty bed and a neatly organized table.
Meera tilted her head with a frown. She was about to back out of the room when the witch materialized behind her. It took everything Meera had not to jump. She turned around, and then she made a show of flinching.
"Oh, my god—what are you wearing?" Meera exclaimed.
She wore a blue starry dress with ample cleavage and a slit in the gown that went almost to her waist. It was hard not to stare. The witch literally twinkled.
"Thank you for the compliment, my golden child." Kalrina gave her a smile that would make any man sigh.
"I didn't give you any."
"Words are not always necessary. Sometimes, the eyes say more than enough. One but needs to listen." She guided Meera to a chair by the window and sat in the opposite chair, crossing her legs. "Now, my champion, I must say I didn't expect to see you again."
Meera looked the witch in the eye. "You sent me to my death."
"And yet here you are. Stronger than ever. My, you should be thanking me. Because of my wise decision to send you there, you've returned twice as strong."
Meera's nostrils flared, and she saw the true face of this rotten person. She quickly Identify'ed her to see if she could take her.
[Sorceress of Mirrors – Level ??]
Meera cursed silently, reached into her Belt, and pulled out the Crystal of Darthin, and Kalrina's eyes lit up. The green of the crystal matched the color of her eyes.
"My, my, that is a beauty," Kalrina purred. "Marred it might be." Then, the greed on her face morphed into a frown. "It can only be used once more. Why is that, I wonder."
Meera shrugged. "You should ask your boyfriend that question. If you can dig him out from under the mountain, he blew up."
"Yes, I figured it was him." Kalrina leaned in. "And sweetie, he was not my boyfriend. But a sweet soul that proved useful in the end." She held out a hand. "Now, hand it over."
Meera pulled the crystal away. "Not before you free the men and answer my three questions."
"Ah, yes…" She tapped a finger on her lips. "Don't remind me. Something about the prophecy, a Reflectora, and oh, yes, about the champion."
"That's right," Meera smirked, thinking she had the witch where she wanted.
"I also remember I said that I would free the men for the Crystal, but for your questions, you will have to answer some of mine. But I will be generous and give you a choice. You can have your questions answered or have the men sent back home."
Meera gritted her teeth. She had a strong urge to crush the crystal and fight the witch of her answers, but Kalrina was not mad like Edwyn, and Meera would not win. Not to mention, at least four golems were waiting outside.
Even though every part of her wanted her questions answered, she decided otherwise. She held out the crystal to the witch. "Free the men."
"Still as noble as ever." Kalrina took the cracked crystal. "Oh, don't look so down, dearie. I can and will answer your questions, but in exchange, you will have to answer my own." Kalrina clapped her hands, making the stars on her dress twinkle. "Let's make a pact to answer the questions truthfully, sharing no lies."
Why do I feel like she was leading me towards this in the first place? Lying to this witch couldn't be that hard.
Meera sighed. "Fine. But no cheating."
"No, I wouldn't think of it, and these will hold us to our truths." She raised a hand and materialized two mirrors. "Each time we lie, these mirrors will expose our lies."