The Empty Mirror

Chapter 11: Candyfloss

Thus I conclude my tangled tale, where the threads of fate intertwine with sinister mastery. My eyelids rose again, enclosing me within the imposing walls of this fortress. Although it appeared to be a repetition of past incidents, I resisted the veil of déjà vu that threatened my perception.

Despite our limited progress, something momentous changed in this macabre game. Contrary to our last encounter, the man did not present himself to me upon awakening. The air was filled with an oppressive silence, his presence palpable in the shadows, still distant...

After a brief moment of bewilderment, I stood up and held the delicate wrapper delivered the night before. Its texture hid a promise of shelter in a dangerous world. I decided to return the garment in an execrable choreography, following the capricious threads of fate.

My eyes rested on the stony windows of the ancestral castle, where the sun's rays struggled courageously to break through the oppressive darkness. The brightness barely illuminated the horizon, revealing a harbinger of a gloomy day that whispered eerie, barely perceptible promises.

Cautiously, I descended the steps and ascended to the first floor, guided by a visceral instinct towards the room where our first meeting was born. Something dark, inscrutable to the human mind, was pushing me towards that cursed corner, prisoner of a condemned rhythm from which I could not escape, the mysterious paths that destiny traces, like an intricate tapestry woven on the loom of the uncertain.

As I crossed the threshold of the room, my being was seized by an indescribable shudder. The darkness, like an insatiable beast, reigned with implacable dominion, snatching the sunlight from me and plunging the space into a suffocating gloom that caressed the limits of madness. The cracks in the castle walls, which in other rooms were portals of hope, here became vain attempts at clarity, confronted by the fierce darkness, as if it were imbued with a malevolent will of its own.

The atmosphere in this room was saturated with a gloomy, dank atmosphere, as if the walls themselves exhaled the breath of despair, whispering gloomy ciphers in the ear of those bold enough to venture into its gloomy domain. There he lay, seemingly asleep in the stratum, his gaze eclipsed, like a beacon lost in the darkness of the ocean. He seemed to keep a restless vigil, though his eyes were mere mirrors without reflection, empty, devoid of life and wholeness. As I approached, each step I took revealed a deeper enigma, as if I was entering an insatiable abyss, ready to engulf my own sanity.

The figure that stood before me had an imposing air, shrouded in shadows that seemed to dance around him, like restless spirits yearning for the light. And his voice, serene but charged with a sinister magnetism, urged me to delve into the hidden recesses of his mystery. This being seemed to know the darkest secrets residing in the abysses of my soul. With an unsettling, almost supernatural calmness, he asked: "How can I be of assistance to you? - his words hung in the air, impregnated with an ancestral echo that resounded in the confines of my mind.

The cloak resting in my hands, a seemingly insignificant object but imbued with a strange essence, trembled slightly, as if its subtle threads were vibrating in unison with the hidden forces of the cosmos. With great care, I drew the cloth a few inches closer to it, seeking to decipher the reason behind its ominous magnetism, the spell that drew me inexorably to it. "I longed to give it back to you," I replied cautiously, my words floating in space, as my fingers brushed the silky texture of the fabric, as if trying to penetrate the secrets encrypted within its intertwined fibres.

The tarnished uncertainty reflected in his eyes, and his question echoed in my mind like a haunting echo, whispering in the depths of my being: "Was it beneficial to you? Those words, carrying a transcendental meaning, reverberated through the corridors of my consciousness, leaving behind a trail of uncertainty and a giddiness at the unknown.

My lips, restless as the dancing leaves of autumn, barely managed to articulate a faint but truthful reply: "Yes, indeed, its temperature is exceptionally comforting. A shiver, like the rustling of ancient parchment, ran through my being as I felt the comforting embrace of that garment, while an uneasiness, like shadows weaving through the darkness, seized my spirit. It seemed that the cloak, woven with threads of enigma, concealed unfathomable secrets, as if behind it unfolded an unsuspected abyss, a dimension of forbidden mysteries.

In a clear and resolute voice, the mysterious being, shrouded in the mist of the unknown, surprised me by saying: "If this contributes to your convenience, I beg you to keep it temporarily, to be returned at an opportune moment" - the words echoed in the air, leaving an unsettling trace in my mind. Accepting the gift seemed to be the beginning of a journey into the unknown, where the paths became entangled in a tangle of uncertainty, whispers of the unseen caressing my consciousness like whispers of ancient myths.

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My words, imbued with gratitude and caution, floated into space: "But... it is not feasible for me to assent to your proposal. It looms as an article of considerable worth and, moreover, seems to hold a singular relevance in its appreciation. Its altruism goes beyond anticipation". The realisation that this cloak held a deeper meaning, a veiled purpose, crept in like a whisper from the abyss, revealing unknown secrets and placing upon me the weight of an undiscovered responsibility, like the weight of a knight's armour in pursuit of his destiny.

Melancholy, like a shadow intertwining with dusk, rose in his voice, intertwining with the icy reply he uttered: "It is irrefutable, however, at this very moment, I lack the need for its utility. I wear this garment merely as an extension of my own being, devoid of a clearly defined function. It would be of more benefit to you, however, as it is a delicately woven cloak, warm and comforting, which you could use to shelter you during the cold nights that plague the castle and defy the changing weather conditions of the forest."

My emotions danced in a whirlwind between gratitude and bewilderment. I expressed my sincere thanks for his kindness, though I could not help feeling that accepting the gift would be tantamount to immersing myself in a bond with the unknown and the unsettling, like an intrepid adventurer entering a forest of enigmas.

"I fully understand... your kindness is of singular distinction.... I thank you sincerely" - I whispered in a trembling voice, as my inner being was flooded with an inscrutable gratitude and, at the same time, an overwhelming disorientation, like the echo of an echo in the corridors of the castle, resounding in the recesses of my consciousness.

"There is no foundation for any uneasiness that might be aroused..." - he replied coolly, yet his voice let out a subtle yearning, as if he knew the hidden dangers that lay beneath the unfathomable shadows of the castle, like the sage who scans the stars for answers in the darkness of the firmament.

In the brief lapse of my hesitation, I was compelled to embrace the inexorable resolution to leave the room. I lacked the dexterity to articulate words, as I plunged into a bewildered perplexity that robbed me of my voice. The man, unperturbed, remained impassive, giving no sign that he had anything further to add to our painful exchange.

Aware of the tension that had permeated the air, I opted to leave the place in a silence imbued with sumptuous subtlety. It was at that precise moment that an obvious revelation, which had hitherto gone unnoticed, manifested itself with overwhelming clarity: the door was already open when I entered and remained open after my departure.

He did not know whether the threshold had remained impassive through the ages, or whether it was he himself who, in some recent past, had left it ajar. At this moment, however, his eyes transcended the scrutiny of the old and dilapidated door, and rested more closely on the castle as a whole. Every detail of its architecture was the object of his appreciation, and every dark corner exuded a haunting beauty.

Moreover, I sensed that the man was immersed in a complex thought, a tangled skein that escaped my comprehension and that no one would take the trouble to unravel to reveal its meaning to me. It was an enigma for him alone to solve.

With an ostentatious disdain for any perspective or opinion outside of his own, I descended the steps majestically and returned to the main hall of the castle. There, with flawless dexterity, I draped my shoulders in that imperial purple robe, whose graceful drape gave my attire a distinctive refinement, with only one additional garment.

As I advanced towards the imposing main gate, my steps seemed to dance to a sombre and mournful melody. That cloak, guilty of this unexpected change, lent my figure an eerie air, a distinction that seemed to amalgamate elegance with decadence in a disturbing juxtaposition.

Yet I was in the deepest perplexity at the way the delicate garment and dress were intertwined in an off-key fusion that had been stripped of its former radiance. My appearance increasingly resembled a creature spawned in the abysses of imagination, with an ivory hair that I constantly chose to ignore or preferred to be ignored myself....

I was transformed into an evil entity, a kind of yokai risen from the dark depths, capable of sowing woe and loathing in those unfortunate enough to dare to cross my path.

Standing before the imposing gateway of the ancient castle, I found myself in a state of uneasy hesitation. My thoughts were tangled in uncertainty, unable to find a clear path to approach what lay beyond.

The urgency of escaping the ominous hooves of the shadowy forest seemed an inescapable and pressing objective. However, the enigmatic anomaly that enveloped him made this undertaking a daunting task, seemingly insurmountable at the present moment.

First and foremost, my top priority, above all other considerations, lay in the preservation of my existence. Survival was becoming a peremptory necessity, while hunger was devouring my insides without concession, a constant reminder of the anguish that enveloped me after nearly three days without satisfying my appetite. I was on the verge of reaching my limit, both physically and mentally.

In the midst of my despair, I pondered how I could obtain sustenance in such a dreary setting and what strange creatures or substances were nourished in such an enigmatic environment. I categorically rejected the idea of returning and pleading for help, for I was well aware that the lord of the castle had no desire to allow further intrusions into his domain. I deeply doubted that I would get a straightforward and enlightening answer to my questions.

There was therefore only one option left to me: to go back into the forest and search for any resource that would alleviate my insatiable need for food.

With unyielding resolve, I exerted a determined pressure on the weathered wooden door and stood in the open air, even though a constant restlessness coursed through my veins like an incessant shiver. I closed the door behind me, sensing the world slipping into darkness and uncertainty.