Three hundred years ago, the world as we knew it shattered. No, I'm not talking metaphorically; I'm talking literally. All of reality as we knew it was torn asunder.
We had towers made from glass and steel, stretching far into the sky, a shiny fucking beacon to the world of our pride. Those from back then thought themselves gods, rulers of the land, sea, and sky. Oh, how wrong we were. That pride we felt as the apex species, the tyrants amongst the beasts? It was all hubris in the face of the true creator.
Even the gods we worship today, the ones we cling to like a lost babe seeking shelter under their mother's skirt, are mere children to the Weave. It looked at our hubris and wrapped it in a shell of transcendent energy so fucking pure it split our world into two realities. Can you imagine, standing on top of our towers with shiny metal and pointy sticks proclaiming to the heavens that we were the superior beings? To believe in the delusion of being the ultimate lifeform given flesh.
Now? Now we hide in walls of stone and dirt, afraid of our reflection. From a lounging dragon to a shivering rat, forced to cower in our corner. We soil ourselves in the dark, crouched low, hands to our ears to block out the sound of tapping behind our walls.
And no matter how high we climb or how strong we grow, the reflection in the mirror will show you the truth of the world.
And it is a ravenous thing that will smile as it devours your corpse.
-Delve Captain Ottmar during his lecture to the Shattered Recruits.
Nil held his breath and remained utterly still. Even as his tired muscles begged for relief, he remained frozen, unwilling to so much as twitch. The whimpers from the people huddled behind him made him want to scream in frustration. The idiots were going to get them all killed.
He couldn't really blame them for their fear, not when his own thumping heart pounded in his ears. But they knew what they were getting into. Every single one of them signed a contract nine pages thick before they could even consider joining the expedition. They made their choice to come out here and put themselves in this situation.
Gritting his teeth, Nil stared forward and kept his eyes focused on the back of their leader's head. Almost instantly, Delve Captain Collins turned around and focused his glowing silver eyes on Nil. Nil's eyes widened in surprise. The legend of the man's perception talent held true.
Collins' mouth twitched with the barest hint of a smile, and he nodded once before turning back around to survey his surroundings. The entire exchange happened within less than two seconds, but it was enough to help steady Nil's nerves.
His safety wasn't guaranteed, but it would be counterproductive for the guild to let potential prospects die. Captain Collins would save them if anything things got dicey. He just wasn't sure if the captain considered a few missing fingers or limbs as acceptable losses.
A loud, piercing scream came from the southwest corner. Nil covered his ears, but it did nothing to block the sound. It clawed into his ears and licked his brain, sending a paralyzing static through his body. The sound was otherworldly, horrifying, and inhuman.
Nil bit into his lip to the point he tasted iron. The scream made his legs weak, but with the pain, he could cut through the static and force himself to stand. When the scream ended, he staggered but managed to halt his fall.
Around him, out of all seventeen recruits, only two others remained on their feet. Captain Collins glanced back at the group before turning back around with his head shaking in disappointment.
"If you can't keep your composure here before we reach the mirrorgate, then you should kill yourself. Go. Drag your feet to the nearest monster and throw yourself into their jaws," Captain Collins called out, his voice filled with anger. He turned around and gave the fallen members of the group a baleful stare. "The guild will not suffer spineless cowards who piss their drawers the moment something screams at you. Now. GET. UP!"
Those who were still shivering on the ground stood up on shaky legs. The captain's eyes narrowed, and a snarl grew on his face when one of the girls refused to move. Luckily for the girl, one of the bigger boys beside her grabbed her under the armpits and lifted her to stand. She didn't fall over, but neither did the boy remove his hand from the small of her back. Captain Collins didn't comment, yet his anger was expressed openly on his face.
Nil could only shake his head. Such chivalry had no place here in the deadzone. That girl was now deadweight, and the boy who helped was equally useless. He would have to make sure they didn't drag him down with them if something attacked.
After another minute of waiting in silence, the captain issued the orders to move out and follow him. He led the way, with us following behind in a close huddle.
The landscape was littered with broken, abandoned buildings that had long since succumbed to the environment. As they continued to trek their way through the destroyed city, a particular detail caught his attention. It wasn't the claw marks wider than his body that disturbed him, nor was it the metal trees with bark made from iron. No, it was the missing reflection.
Every window was shattered, without a shard of glass in sight. And the metal frame from which the buildings were made was unpolished, blemished to the point where there was no shine.
Growing up, all you heard about the time before the shattering was how the cities would reflect the sun back into the sky. Wherever you looked, you would have been able to see a reflection of yourself whenever you wanted. Of course, the history lesson was filled with thrice the number of lectures about how humanity's hubris was our greatest sin.
Nil didn't care about the lessons' religious and moral philosophy aspects. What he cared about was the disparity between the image from those stories and the reality he now stared at.
And as he briefly ran his hand across the smudged metal of a nearby building, he couldn't help but think that it wasn't time that dirtied the material.
Thirty minutes of walking later found the group of recruits standing before a small, single-storied building with no windows. The journey so far had been surprisingly peaceful, with not a single monster in sight. Sure, roars and screeches echoed through the buildings as they walked, but the monsters were strictly heard and not seen.
Captain Collins stood next in front of the door with his arms crossed. His eyes were filled with disgust as he examined the recruits. Once the final two, the girl who couldn't stand and her would-be knight reached the group, he dropped the frown from his face and replaced it with a devilish grin.
To get the recruits' attention, he slammed his gloved fist on the metal door behind him, making a loud boom echo across the yard. The resulting flinches from the recruits made his smile widen. "Now that I've got your attention, listen up! Through this door is the mirrorgate. It's the hellpit, the breach, the portal to the otherside, the same otherside filled with the same monsters and creatures that keep humanity up at night."
His words spawned an onslaught of whispers and commotion. Before the sound got too loud, the captain banged his fist on the door. This time, a deep, guttural roar called out. The sound was wet and muffled, like something was stuck in the monster's mouth.
The roar had come from the southwest, and it sounded too close. With his heart beginning to thump, Nil looked towards Captain Collins, but the man kept smiling back. While everyone was freaking out, he caught sight of two people who weren't. They were the same boys who remained standing during the monster's scream from earlier.
The vibration of something heavy started, and the sound of screeching metal followed. Nil slowly positioned himself near the back of the group and moved to the outside. Even if he genuinely believed the captain would prevent them from coming to harm, it was better to be safe than dead.
A half-collapsed building a hundred meters out exploded in a hail of metal shrapnel. The shrapnel was too far away to reach the group, but that wasn't what made people scream in terror.
Barreling at us in a maddened charge was an abomination of silver flesh and muscles. The monster was ten feet tall and ran on four limbs, the over-enlarged arms punching into the ground with each step, cracking the stone beneath its fist.
Somebody screamed at the captain, begging him to do something. "S-stop it! It's coming at us! Help! Do something!"
Although the creature was flying at him like a living battering ram, the captain remained unbothered and slowly moved to meet it with a calm smile, moving at a glacial speed that was in sharp contrast to the creature's speed.
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Nil's eye darted to the two from before; one of the boys looked almost bored while the other leaned forward in interest. The more he studied the two, the more he felt they knew something the rest didn't. Shaking his head, he refocused on the captain and the monster nearly within reach.
"I guess I'll do my job. Scythe would pop a vein if I don't bring you back alive. Still, it doesn't mean I have to give you to him in one piece," Captain Collins muttered.
His words were confusing but quickly disappeared from Nil's mind a second later. The captain raised his arm, and Nil felt a weird energy come from the man. What little light that shined from our glowstones dimmed around the captain's body.
As the hulking behemoth launched into the air, both fists raised high, a small plane of liquid silver appeared next to the captain's fist. Before the monster could land, the captain lazily threw a punch into the sheet of silver, and a weird chiming sound rang through the air as the sheet shattered into five pieces.
The captain stepped to the right and dodged the now limbless monster. Without limbs to break its fall, it collided with the stone road like a heavy meatball, spraying the ground in a coat of silver blood.
The monster roared in pain and squirmed on the ground, its noseless, misshapen face lashing at the air. Captain Collins reached down and picked up the massive arm of the beast like it weighed nothing. He thumbed the scaled ridges along its flesh and tapped his index finger on one of the claws.
Before the monster could move and bite into the captain's leg, he chopped downward and smashed the monster's skull with its own fist. More cracks shattered the pavement below, and he put a booted foot on its skull, effectively smooshing it into the ground, unable to open its jaw.
Nil could only stare in slackjawed amazement at the sight. A quick look around revealed that everyone else, even the two boys, had similar looks.
Captain Collins scratched his chin with his other hand and looked to the building holding the mirrorgate. Without reading his thoughts, there was no way to guess what the man was thinking.
The captain shrugged and tossed the severed arm away. Reaching down, he grabbed the monster by the neck and clamped it firmly. Lifting it in the air with a single arm, he steadily walked back to the building.
Nil closed his mouth and carefully moved closer to the Captain. He should have wanted to stay as far away from the thing as much as possible, but his curiosity got the better of him.
It had a short, thick neck and a chest wider than his arms spread akimbo. Instead of smooth skin, it had dark-red scales covering the monster's body. The monster's jaw was open, biting at the air with long, blunted fangs. To round off the monstrous look was the lack of a nose and ears, and instead had small circular holes to replace them. Crazy silver eyes danced from left to right, each filled with rage and pain.
The captain put a hand on the door and paused. Turning around, he addressed the group while the monster swung uselessly in his grip. "I'm going to open this door, and you will all line up to enter. We'll do this one at a time, and you may only go in when I say so. Once inside, you will have ten seconds to enter the mirrorgate. If you don't, and I can't make myself more clear than this, I will kill you. Plain and simple, you all signed the contracts, and you knew what you were getting into. And if you didn't? Then pray to whichever god you favour the most because it'll be the last thing you do."
His tone was deadly serious. And while he held no weapon, one look at the limbless monster being held like a sack of meat was all the proof you needed to know he was capable of following up on his threat. Nil gulped, a twisty feeling settling into his stomach, but he pushed it down. There was no backing out now. He was here for a reason, and may the Seven damn him before he failed now.
The captain nodded and began to turn away before the girl from before called out. "But why?! Why kill us? We're scared out of our minds, and you threaten to murder us? That's.... that's... that's twisted, you're crazy!"
Nil sucked in a breath and stared at the girl in disbelief. How could she possibly think antagonizing the man who punched a monster's limbs off was smart? She was either insane or stupid, possibly both.
Silence reigned the air above the recruits, the only noise coming from the snarls and grunts of the monster in the captain's hands. The girl looked around nervously but defiantly stood her ground and crossed her arms. The boy from earlier had his mouth pressed into a thin line with his eyebrows furrowed.
The captain had a dead look on his face as he regarded the girl. "Name. Tell me your last name, girl. Tell me now, or I'll feed you to this graveling," he whispered.
The girl hesitated, but she quickly glanced back to the boy behind her and nodded her head. " Sophia Draylen. Daughter of-" She tried to continue but was cut off.
"I don't give a fuck who you are a daughter of, Sophia. Right now, you are a prospective recruit for the Delver's Guild. If you interrupt me again and question me one more time on this expedition, your bodyguard can return what remains of your corpse to your family. Now get up here. You are going first." Captain Collins pushed the stone door open and stepped inside, pulling the monster with him.
Nil glanced at the girl, Sophia. Anger, indignation, fear, all of those emotions flashed across her face, and he couldn't help but shrug. One of the first lessons you learn at the orphanage is to know when to shut your mouth. Piss off the wrong person, and your loved ones will find your corpse at their doorstep. Obviously, little daddy's girl never learned that lesson.
The rest of the recruits stared at her as she stood, unmoving, in front of the building. Those closest to her backed away slowly like she was diseased. Nobody wanted to attract the ire of their captain.
Finally, after the boy, who was supposedly her bodyguard, put a hand around her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze, Sophia walked to the doorway. She paused next to the captain, who was standing there with a look of annoyance on his face, but he pointed to something deeper inside the room.
Her bodyguard tried to enter, but the Captain stopped him with his foot blocking the doorway. Sophia turned around, another look of fear and anger creasing her face, but she waved the bodyguard away and disappeared from sight.
Captain Collins addressed the boy. "Tell Marcus that if he ever pulls this shit again, I will personally come to him and rip off a limb or two. Do I make myself clear, boy?"
The boy nodded his head but kept his focus solely on Sophia. "Will do, sir. Would you like me to tell him word for word or use an approximate translation?"
Captain Collins grunted and waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever you want. I'm done with assholes like him."
Thiry seconds go by, and the captain grunts again. He pulled his foot back and let the bodyguard enter. This process repeated two more times, the two boys from earlier being the next to enter the building.
Nil stepped up, his hands were clammy, and he clenched down on his jacket. It was time; once he entered the gate, he'd join the ranks of the shattered and gain his talent. All the training during the last seven months was for this one moment.
He didn't know the exact details of what would happen once he entered the gate, but he could guess. In the end, none of it mattered if he didn't have enough willpower to cross into the otherside. All knew the fate of those who failed, and nobody wanted to become another lost.
Stepping into the doorway, he watched as the girl in front of him entered the building and walked inside. The room was dark, but several orange glowstones lined the walls giving off a faint light.
Inside was barren, empty of all furnisher or objects except the mirrorgate. The mirrorgate was a large glass mirror stretched from the floor to the ceiling and was three men wide. It glowed a silver light with motes of blue dust fading in and out of existence. It didn't look much from afar, but Nil could feel the wrongness from outside the building.
As the girl hesitated in front of the mirror, she slowly reached out a shaky hand to its surface. Before he could see what happened, there was a scream cut short, and something pulled her inside the gate. Gulping, Nil slowly moved past the doorway.
Firming his resolve, he took a step forward and was halted by a large hand grasping his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw the captain staring at him with silver eyes. Eyes that looked like a mirror polish this up close.
"Uh, sir? Is something wrong?" Nil asked quietly.
"You were one of the few who kept your ground during the Scritter's scream. And I saw you prepare yourself when the graveling charged. Some may call your actions cowardly, but I saw someone who was prepared and made careful decisions against an overwhelming threat," Capin Collins said.
Nil struggled to focus solely on the captain, with him holding a still-flailing monster in his other hand, but he did. When the words settled into his brain, he regarded the captain curiously. "Thank you, sir. I'm glad I didn't disappoint."
Captain Collins nodded his head like Nil had just said the wisest words he could ever say. "I like you, boy. You know not to run your mouth. That's good. Here's a hint before you approach the gate. Let it in. Don't struggle against something and tire yourself out. It'll only damage you further. So, let it in and wait until the last moment. When that moment comes, you'll know, and you'll need to use every negative emotion you got. I don't care what you have to think about to achieve it, but craft your rage into a pick and stab it into its fucking brain. You understand?"
Nil nodded his head despite the growing confusion. "Yes, sir. I do. Thank you for the advice."
Captain Collins returned to looking at the gate and didn't comment anything further. With a deep breath, Nil walked deeper into the room. Each step brought him closer to the gate, and the feeling of wrongness increased. It scratched at his skin and bit into his thoughts. By the time he was within touching distance, he wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave.
Shaking his head, he straightened his spine and forced himself to stare at the mirror. His reflection showed, and he couldn't help but stare. As a kid, it was drilled into every child that using a mirror was taboo. It was a crime punishable by death if anyone was caught using one. Even failing to report if one found a reflective object was met with a public execution. So for Nil to be staring at the largest mirror he had ever seen, with his reflection staring back at him, it almost short-circuited his brain.
He reached up and touched his cheek and examined himself. His grass-colored eyes stared back, and he couldn't help but think he understood why all the matrons in the orphanage said they were pretty. Combined with his black hair, the colour of onyx, they stood out like two gems amongst his pale skin.
A grunt from behind him forced his thoughts back to the moment, and he pulled his hand away from his face. With a deep breath, he mastered his nerves and reached to touch the mirrorgate.
A split second before his fingers touched the mirror's surface, alarm bells flared in his head.
His reflection in the mirror smiled, a look of happy innocence that quickly morphed into horror. His image distorted and turned into a twisted reflection, more monstrous in appearance. A single white horn grew out of his head, curving into the air six inches long, where it ended in a broken stub. Nil's beautiful green eyes had fragmented into seven parts, a streak of shiny silver separating the pupil.
And the most terrifying was his smile. Instead of regular teeth, they were sharpened fangs like broken glass. He tried to pull away, but it was too late. What happened to the girl before him was obvious now, and he couldn't help but feel betrayed by the captain.
His twisted reflection grabbed his wrists with a strength of a man three times his size and pulled him into the mirror. He swore he could almost feel Captain Collins' eyes stare at the back of his head as he was dragged kicking into the otheside.
Before Nil's soul was plunged into a twisted world made of nightmares and broken screams the old saying ran through his head, the one that described life in their new world perfectly.
Mirrors can't eat people...but, reflections do.