Meera would be lying if she wasn't scared because of the dying part. Neel was always close to their mother, and he took her death hard, but when she died, he and Meera grew quite close. In these worlds, there should not be anyone else that he loves more than me.

Meera couldn't help but sweat, but she didn't let her facial expression change. She couldn't let the witch know how much this had shaken her. She almost wished she hadn't known about the prophecy. But in a way, it was good that she had. Because now, to save her brother and herself, she needed to find him and get out of these worlds.

"I'll give you credit for not showing any outward signs of fear," the witch purred.

Meera was almost done with her. She needed to do one more thing, and then she was out of here, and she knew just the way to get out of this game. She tightened her fist on her chakram.

"Hmm…" Kalrina tapped a finger on her lips. "That is a nice tattoo. I don't believe you had it the last time we met. How did you get it?"

Meera shut her eyes. I had hoped she would not find out about this. She will want to know about all the other crystals I got from the cave.

Meera sighed and told her about the Crystal of Soul Bonding. She left the part about Cinders and Shade and all the other crystals she obtained. She kept her answer focused on how she used the crystal to bond Onyx to her soul.

"I see. Can I see this stallion?" the witch mused.

"No."

"So, stingy. Why, I'm inclined to believe you found more of these crystals in your adventures in the Cave of Wraiths."

"You're inclined to believe whatever you want," Meera stated. "My turn. What is the quickest way from here to Azeria? And don't tell me to travel by a Gateway Mirror."

Kalrina raised an eyebrow and snorted lightly. "I could tell you, or I could make you a compass that will point the way to Azeria." She held out a hand and played inviable strings with her slender fingers. When she was done, a compass, if you could call it that, appeared in her hand. It had a flat bottom, with a glass globe attached to it, and inside, a thick needle made of a mirror was hanging from a thin thread. The needle pointed to the door.

"This will always point to Azeria," Kalrina said. "And once you're there, the needle will shatter."

Meera eyed the suspicious compass. She knew the witch was telling the truth because of the lack of bleeding, but she had difficulty trusting that she would give Meera such a gift.

"Why are you just giving me this?" Meera asked.

"I'm answering your question, and giving you all those directions is going to be exhausting, as there are so many twists and turns. Not to mention, I can't even remember half the names of all those towns and villages that come along the way. This makes the job easier."

Meera took the compass and dropped it in her Hoard Belt. "You still haven't freed the men like you said you would."

"Oh, right." She snapped her fingers. "There, done." She motioned to the window. "Take a look."

Meera looked outside the window and saw the men coming out of a shed that was half the size of the house. She wondered how they even fit in that small building. Most of them only wore underwear, like the last time she was here. They looked around, confused, and talked amongst themselves. Meera couldn't hear and regretted not having the Gem of Echoes on her.

A Mirror Golem stomped his way to the confused men. They stumbled away and into the shed in terror.

"Listen, my lovelies," Kalrina spoke, and Meera was sure she was speaking through the golem to the men. "Your service has been greatly appreciated. I will miss you, but a deal has been struck, and its terms must sadly be obeyed. You all run along home now."

The men stared at each other and back at the golem, but no one dared move for fear of the golem.

"You promised to free all the men," Meera said. "Then you must free the ones you trapped in those golems as well."

Kalrina shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm going to have to move soon anyway." She snapped her fingers again, and the golem outside shattered, and a man fell to the ground from within. Meera heard three other distant sounds of mirrors popping, and so she knew that the other men trapped in the golems had been freed.

"There, all done."

Meera watched the men shoot fearful looks towards the house and then run as if the witch would come for them again. If Meera were strong enough, she would make sure that Kalrina never preyed upon these poor people or anyone ever again.

"Now, I feel you're not just visiting Narikas' dungeons or…is that precisely where you're going. Tell me, dearie, will you see dear old Narikas, the one they call the Shadowsteel Warlord?"

Meera was done answering her questions. She was done playing her game. She had everything she needed. She drew a deep breath. "Screw you."

Her hand flashed, and a chakram zipped out of her hand and smashed both the Mirrors of Dorheia. She recalled the chakram right before it touched the witch.

"Now, that wasn't very nice," Kalrina said, face impassive.

"The game is over, and I'm gone." Meera readied to throw her chakram out the window, but the witch rose and blocked the window.

"That was my prized possession," Kalrina said through gritted teeth. "The only thing left from my dear old teacher before she died because of her pride."

Meera quickly checked all the mirrors in the room. She found one. It was a little decorative mirror about two meters from the door. She didn't wait for any threats from the witch and jumped to the mirror. The mirror dissolved into sand and fell to the ground in a little mound, as did all the mirrors in the room.

Meera's eyes widened. She still had her chakrams, so she threw the one in her hand to the door. She teleported to it, but so did the witch. She appeared in front of Meera, blocking her escape.

"Interesting, I don't have any control over these mirror circlets," Kalrina purred. "But if the Lady handcrafted it, they would be special." Her focus shifted to Meera. "Now, to get even."

She flicked a finger towards Meera, and before she could react, a tiny, almost imperceptible mirror needle ripped through her left cheek.

Meera screamed as her hand shot to her open cheek. Blood seeped through her fingers. She activated Vitalize, and relief spread through her face.

"Oh, you have a healing skill." Kalrina smiled. "This will make it even more fun."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Meera's anger wanted her to get even, but the logical part of her brain said she couldn't fight this witch. She turned and threw her chakram at the window, only for the witch to raise a series of mirror shields. Her chakram crashed through the first couple but lost momentum after the third and fell to the ground.

Kalrina raised an eyebrow. "Now, that is truly interesting…Three shields in one throw. No wonder you survived the Cave of Wraiths."

The witch dissolved her mirror shields, but Meera Stepped to her chakram, as did the witch. She appeared before Meera once more and flicked her fingers in rapid succession, pummeling Meera with her tiny needles.

Meera raised a Mirror Sheild. It stopped a few, but they broke through and pummeled Meera all over. Even with Vitalize active, it could only do so much. Her armor closed around the wound, but internally, she was still bleeding until Vitalize did its magic. Meera remembered her armor's ability, and she shot out a blast of mirrors all over the room. Then, all at once, they turned into dust.

"Tch, tch, tch, when will you realize that any mirrors aside from your divine weapons are in my domain? I can do with them as I please." Kalrina stepped closer. "There is no escape from me, dearie."

Meera activated Shroud of Shadows and found that she was still mostly visible. Unlike in the cave, her form was translucent, thanks to the morning light. Meera cursed inwardly as she remembered this skill only made her invisible in dim or dark areas. She shut it off.

Kalrina chuckled. "Was that intended to make you invisible?"

Meera backed up a step. She recalled her chakram from the floor and punched at the sorceress, but she disappeared, only to reappear behind her. Before Meera could even turn, Kalrina stabbed her with a mirror knife between the ribs. Her armor did little to protect her.

Meera gasped. Her breath became ragged. The pain was terrible, but she had faced worse. She raised her hand to throw the chakram.

"Don't you dare throw that out the window," Kalrina whispered in her ear. "If you so much as move an inch, I will break the mirror knife into tiny pieces inside you, and well, you can imagine what I can do with mirrors inside your body. Now, you don't want that, do you?"

"N-No."

"Good, girl." Kalrina let go of the knife and came around to face Meera. "I'm mad at you for breaking my precious mirrors. They truly were one of a kind. Since you broke something that was one of a kind, it's only fair that I get something of yours that is one of a kind." Her eyes flicked to the chakram in Meera's hand.

"No…"

Kalrina snorted. "Don't worry, I don't want all of them. One should suffice. After all, I think that is fair payment for my mistress' mirrors, or you can try to run and see how far you can get while I ravage your body from the inside. Trust me, there is no healing skill that can put you together fast enough."

Meera sweated, and not from just the pain. What if I give her a chakram, and new ones stop coming to me when I level up? This was her chief concern, but she also knew she couldn't fight the witch, nor could she escape with the knife embedded in her. The pain was making it hard to think. Given what she had seen of her skills—which were not many—Ambush Tactics failed to come up with a scenario where she could overcome the witch.

"In the end, the choice comes to whether you want to give up a chakram or give up the quest to find your brother," Kalrina said, raising her hand.

Once she put it like that, Meera had no choice. She dropped a chakram in the witch's hand and prayed Midiea didn't turn from her.

"Good girl." Kalrina ran a finger along its edge and winced. "Sharp."

Meera heard a notification bell and resisted the urge to smile because the chakram was still hers.

"The knife," Meera said.

"Oh, right." She flicked a finger, and the mirror knife flew out of Meera, making her cry out.

Meera activated Vitalize right away and turned to the door without another word.

"Leaving so soon. You should stay for break—"

Meera slammed the door shut behind her. Anger building up in her with each step. She left the house and kept walking, anger practically steaming off her. Meera didn't stop until she was out of Cliffshield Valley. She looked back, and the cliff was no more. It had been flattened, thanks to Edwyn's explosion.

Meera looked at the smoke rising in the clearing towards the village. She figured the men must've made it back by now. She tried to zoom in as much as she could with her eyes, but she couldn't tell. She collapsed against a tree beside the dirt road. She huffed and opened the notifications.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Mirror Wing. Mirror Wing – Type: Active. You can control the trajectory of a flying mirror. By spending Mana, you can guide and direct the mirror's flight path. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Reflectomancy. Reflectomancy – Type: Active. You can create and destroy mirrors at will, turning these everyday objects into versatile tools for a variety of purposes. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Meera stared at the two skills, and she wanted them both. Kalrina had used them both to deadly effect. To the point that Meera was almost completely helpless against her. Creating mirrors and guiding them to a specific point would be perfect for her because it created so many opportunities for her to vary her attacks, not to mention its synergy with Mirror Step.

But then, as she thought about it, she did have her Armor of Mirrors to create the mirrors for her, and with Mirror Wing, she could guide them to wherever she needed them. Not to mention, she could control the trajectory of her chakrams.

I choose Mirror Wing.

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Mirror Wing – Level 1]

She brought up all her stats and skills to check before she headed off toward Azeria.

[Name: Meera Singh]

[Age: 24]

[Race: Unnatural Human]

[Class: Mirror Image Hunter – Level 128]

[Class Ability: Stalker – Level 21]

Stats

[Health: 969/1010]

[Stamina: 1005/1040]

[Mana: 978/1170]

Attributes

[Constitution: 101]

[Power: 30]

[Dexterity: 73]

[Endurance: 104]

[Focus: 117]

[Agility: 86]

[Perception: 74]

Skills

[Ambush Tactics – Level 35]

[Shroud of Shadows – Level 30]

[Vampiric Chains - Level 1]

[Mirror Step - Level 67]

[Druvis Power - Level 15]

[Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity - Level 53]

[Mirror Shield - Level 32]

[Mirror Blast - Level 61]

[Mirror Shard Barrage - Level 15]

[Vitalize - Level 50]

[Mirror Wing – Level 1]

[Unlocked]

[Unlocked]

[Unlocked]

[Unlocked]

General Skills

[Identify – Level 5]

[Mirror Affinity – Level 94]

[Climbing – Level 20]

[Tree Walker - Level 15]

[Potion Making - Level 1]

[Alpha Aura - Level 13]

[Wild Instincts - Level 16]

[Charred Body - Level 3]

[Shadow Affinity - Level 18]

[Tactician's Gaze – Level 37]

[Prismatic Distortion - Level 9]

[Absorption - Level 20]

[Haunting Presence - Level 18]

[Spectral Resilience - Level 26]

[Blood Magic – Level 1]

[Soul Bond-Onyx the Stallion – Level 1]

Armor

[Armor of Mirrors - Level 24]

Meera smiled at all the skills she had accumulated on her adventures so far. It felt like years had passed since she stumbled out of the mirror and begged Asterion to tell her about where she was.

Speaking of that giant old man, I wonder if he is still sitting out there, staring at the mirror and waiting for whoever, and eating those thorny fruits.

She put aside thoughts of Asterion aside and called on Onyx. The horse appeared with a whoosh and some white smoke. As the smoke cleared, a beautiful and well-built black stallion stood before her.

Onyx neighed and clopped his hooves. "That felt like a long time…" his voice trailed off as he took in the world around him. "I haven't seen the world in so long," he almost whispered.

Meera patted his neck with a smile. "Well, get used to it because you're going to be seeing a lot of it. Up for a ride—a long ride?"

Onyx turned to her, and though horses couldn't smile, she felt he was grinning. "More than you know."

Meera looked to a clearing in the forest where she could almost make out the top of a hut. I will come back for you, witch...once I get stronger. I will come back for my chakram…and your head.

Meera jumped on Onyx's back and brought out the compass that Kalrina gave her. You better be pointing me in the right direction.

"Let's ride." She gave Onyx a little kick, and they sped off toward Azeria and, hopefully, Neel.