Merlin didn’t know how long it took him to realize that he could give himself similar powers by using the mirror in his hand. He simply had to look at the mirror and visualize what he wanted. Then he could be free of the crystal prison and break the curse on his friend.

What should he think of, however? He wasn’t sure. It would need to be something that could break out of the crystal prison. He would also need to be able to withstand all the powers Arthur had gained. Merlin would also need to be able to force Arthur into looking into the mirror and see what Merlin wanted him to see.

If that happened though, would he want to give up his power? Already, he had been making excuses for not giving up his powers. For example, what if the seven short guys came back and tried to get revenge? Why should he give up his powers? He wasn’t acting like the others. Maybe his curse was having to face danger. He was willing to do that if it meant keeping his powers. Could he trust himself with that much power?

All these thoughts raced through Merlin’s mind. Finally, he knew what he had to do. Gathering up his willpower, he forced a picture of himself that he wanted to see firmly in his mind. Concentrating on that image, Merlin gazed upon the mirror.

If Ruth had been able to give her power to someone else, and Ms. White had broken her curse without a spell, maybe he didn’t need a spell to activate the mirror. After all, he had mostly just told the others to look at the mirror. While he had used the spell to make them see what he wanted them to see, it was them seeing what they wanted to see that made the mirror work.

Believing in this, he forced his will into the mirror, making his imagination turn into reality. It was magic, not science. There were no rules. Imagination was the only limitation on what he could do.

Merlin thought of this as he gazed into the mirror piece. After the image was fixed in his mind, he closed his eyes and imagined the crystal shattering around him. Less than a second later, the crystal fell away from him. Smiling, he realized his idea had worked.

Just to see if he could, he imagined himself drifting toward the direction Arthur had left. Just in case, he also imagined an invisible bubble that would stop every attack, whether physical, mental, or anything else. He also imagined that his protection would stay even when he wasn’t thinking about it.

Hovering through the mansion’s halls, he soon found Arthur looking out a window in his room. Arthur slowly turned around, a suspicious look on his face. “How did you get out of the crystal cage?” he asked.

“I had one trick left up my sleeve,” Merlin said. “I hadn’t planned on using it, but it turned out to be necessary.”

“Why don’t we agree to go our separate ways? After all, I could have killed you and didn’t,” Arthur said.

“You know, I was tempted at first to let you go,” Merlin said. “You might even have been able to talk me into it if you hadn’t done one thing. I can’t really hold imprisoning me in the crystal cage against you. After all, I did come to take away your powers.”

“What changed your mind?” Arthur edged away from the window and looked around.

“I know you’re stalling, but that is fine,” Merlin said, imagining an invisible field around Arthur that would suppress any powers he tried to use. “What decided the matter for me was the fact that you refused to let me use the mirror to break the curse on the others. You risked their lives. Had you used the mirror to get the powers, and still let me break their curse, I could have seen leaving you alone. I probably would have even given the piece of the mirror back to you.”

“I couldn’t take that chance,” Arthur said.

“I know,” Merlin said. “For what it’s worth, I wish things had turned out differently. Once all this is over with, I hope we can be friends once again.”

Arthur didn’t say anything for a moment, then made a gesture. When nothing happened, he seemed confused. He tried another gesture. Again, nothing happened.

Merlin could see the hope die in his eyes. Seeing this, Merlin regretted what he had done. Why hadn’t he simply broken the curse instead of talking to Arthur? Well, he could fix that.

Once again, he used his imagination and saw the link between the mirror and Arthur breaking. With that thought, a wave of pressure swept over him, letting him know once more he had broken one of the mirror’s curses.

Arthur responded as if the bones in his legs had been broken. He fell to his knees and placed his hands over his face. Tears seeped through his fingers as his large body was wracked with sobs. Shaking his head, Merlin imagined himself somewhere else, somewhere not so sad.

Looking around, he found himself on a beach. Listening to the ocean waves lapping up against the shore, he watched the sun rise in the distance. So pretty. He wondered if he should try to imagine a place of his own. Maybe he could create his own private land away from it all. Then again, why create somewhere new when he could change what was already made?

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

After all, there were a lot of things wrong with the world. With his new power, he could change the world into a utopia. He could imagine away all the pollution. He could change the environment so that global warming was reversed. Merlin only needed to imagine a better world, and he could make it happen.

He could force the politicians to be honest so there would be no corruption. He could make every police officer obey every single law they enforced so there was no hypocrisy anymore. He could create homes for every homeless person so there would be no more Franks living in shacks. He could visit prisons and alter the personality of every criminal so they wouldn’t commit another crime ever again. He could make the world the place it was meant to be.

Maybe that was his destiny. Maybe that was how gods were created. Maybe they created themselves. Perhaps there had been a Zeus. Maybe Ra and Set had really existed. Perhaps even Thor had been real. In fact, maybe they were still out there. If so, they needed to be taught how to do things right. They had let the world turn upside down.

There was so much he could do with the power. Already he could do anything he could imagine. What if there was more? What if he looked at the mirror one more time and imagined himself being one of these gods? In fact, what if he imagined himself as being more powerful than all those gods combined? His every whim would be made real.

He couldn’t even imagine everything he would be able to do. Just looking into the mirror one more time could change that, however. He could imagine himself being all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful. His name would live forever. In fact, he would live forever. He could usher the world into a new age of enlightenment. Forget the Renaissance.

Merlin sat there in the sand, just thinking of all the things he could do if he wanted. All he had to do was focus his imagination and will it to happen. It would be so easy. Once he looked in the mirror, he wouldn’t even need to do that. Taking out the mirror, he held it up into the light. One simply looks into the mirror, and he would truly be the ruler of all that he surveyed.

He lost track of how long he sat there. The sun was high overhead when he placed the broken piece of the mirror back into his pocket. He focused his imagination and willed himself home. Nothing had changed. His parents were already at work even though it was only six in the morning. His sister had apparently spent the night with one of her friends. The house was empty.

Empty, he thought. So many people out in the world lived empty lives. They went to work to earn barely enough to survive. Then they went home and slept. Maybe they said hello to their kids. Maybe they didn’t.

Other people wanted what someone else already had and figured out some way to take it. Some people sold these dreams to others. Wasn’t that what advertising was? It was what the civilized countries used to steal the money of ordinary citizens. The rich got richer and the poor stayed poor.

Why bother? Life was fleeting and could be stolen away in an instant. He had certainly learned that the hard way. If you lived long enough, even your friends would turn against you if they saw something they wanted badly enough. It was as if the world was full of people drowning. They clutched at everything as if it were a life preserver. Things, relationships, everything...they were simply the way humans tried to survive the flood.

Flood. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. A great big flood to wash the world clean. After all, even when given everything they could ever want, it would never be enough. Arthur was the perfect example of this. He had almost everything, but he wanted more. It didn’t matter that this would mean less for others. He had been willing to sacrifice the lives of his friends, despite having so much already.

Maybe people didn’t deserve to be helped. Maybe they were the problem. Perhaps there really wasn’t anything he could do. Even if he created a new house for Frank, the government would say it was built illegally. They would ask for taxes or bulldoze it. Someone would notice and Frank would then lose what little he had.

If he used the mirror, however, he could change that. He could be in the mind and heart of every person in the world and make them do the right thing. Merlin could sit on both of their shoulders instead of a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other and ensure that they did everything in their power to make the world a better place for everyone.

Then again, maybe everything he was thinking was from the mirror. Could he trust his own thoughts? Concentrating, he focused his thoughts and imagined his thoughts being crystal clear. Merlin looked into the mirror and concentrated on what he wanted to see.

A wave of pressure swept over him as the mirror disintegrated in his hands, taking his power and the curse as well. He had been tempted to do so many other things. He could have done many great, or many terrible, things. Instead, Merlin had chosen to embrace who he had been and let everyone else be themselves.

Maybe he should have done something with the powers but giving them up was for the best. If he had changed Frank’s house or created a gold mine under his own house, he would have continued to find some other reason not to give up the power. Eventually, he would have been corrupted just like Arthur and the others.

Instead, he was normal once more. Yes, maybe the seven men who had created the mirror would create another. They might even decide to come after them all. Maybe he had lost Arthur as a friend. Still, he had gained friends as well. Ms. White and Mr. Prince were together again with both their curses broken. The mirror was shattered as were the curses of all who had gazed upon it.

Tomorrow might bring some new problems, but he would find a way to meet each challenge. After all, he had faced the greatest challenge in the world. He had the chance for ultimate power and had walked away. While he might never do anything else as important as what he had done in the last week, he would still know that he had made a difference. He had saved the lives of his friends and made friends of his enemies. Maybe there was hope for everyone after all.

Yawning, he smiled at the thought that he didn’t have to go to school. Instead, he could lay in bed and rest. Maybe in his dreams, he could reclaim the power he had given away. Maybe tomorrow, he could start writing a story where he could create the world he wanted and share it with everyone in the real world. After all, he was only limited by his imagination.