An hour or two later, the group reached their destination. They had seen it coming for a while due to the level topology of the grassland, but only the last few minutes had they been able to actually make out details.

Grant, Ki said suddenly, turn around, slowly.

What’s wrong? Grant asked, suddenly tense as he turned around and surveyed the grassland. He frowned, noticing something. Hey… wasn’t it just gone dawn when we arrived? Why is the sun in the west?

Memory loop, you arrived here three days ago, but only I remember, said Ki rapidly. That is not important right now. Focus on the grass, and use your second sight.

Hang on, what do you mean we got here thre-

The grass! Now!

Fine, fine, Grant grumbled. He squinted slightly and brought his second sight to bear.

Now what exactly am I meant to se-

Grant froze.

A huge, jet-black creature stood just a few metres away, staring at him with bright yellow eyes. It… no, it wasn’t black. It was a shadow. A living, moving shadow resembling a cat the size of a bus, with paws as big as hubcaps and sharp feline eyes. The only difference was that instead of a normal tail, it had what looked like a human arm six feet long, with an extra joint. Grasped in the hand of the arm was a long, sharp shadow-sword, dripping slowly with black mist. The creature could tell that Grant had seen it, and remained frozen in front of his gaze.

What… what the fuck is that thing? Grant asked shakily.

Truthfully? I do not know, Ki said grimly. I suspect it is an invention of the woman Estelle, and she placed it here as insurance against the possibility of pursuit from those she feared. Why she suddenly grew so fearful, I don’t know, but it matters not. Luckily, you always had your second sight active at the end of the loop, so when you began to move away from the cabin last time we spotted it just in time. Though it was a lot further away, even though that was only a few seconds ago.

Ok, so… why isn’t it eating us?

I… think that it can only move between memory loops. It… I cannot remember, but I feel that a similar such creature existed on Earth. It was a trap hunter, like this one, but not made of shadow. I believe it was a spider that created a similar memory-trap, only in its case, it would subtly alter the loop each time, manipulating its victims into turning on each other. It fed best on the feeling of betrayal, you see.

Okay. Okay, that’s fucking great. Thanks for putting that image in my head. How do you know this isn’t doing the same?

Because I was watching every previous loop, and none of them have deviated from each other in any significant way. Watch, Fyodor is about to say ‘I was picturing two doors side-by-side’.

Fyodor rubbed his chin. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “I must admit, when Estelle wrote of multiple doors, I did not expect this. I was picturing two doors side-by-side.”

See?

Okay, great, said Grant, eyes still locked on the shadow cat. But how does that help?

Well, that is the reason I believe it can only attack between loops, when your memories are being reset. Any creature that has to expend enough energy to create such an elaborate and powerful trap must do so for a specific reason, after all - merely feeding on its victims bodies is not enough sustenance to offset the expenditure the trap requires. Something about that moment when your memories are lost is what drives this creature to attack.

Okay, so what’s the solution?

Sadly, there is only one choice. We agreed on one of the first loops to merely let the scenario play out over and over, while I tried to think of a way to break the loop. Though you do not remember, at the time I promised you that you were not in danger from being stuck here, and for that, I apologise. I did not expect an unknown creature to be the perpetrator of the spell, and I have not had enough time to foil the trap. Thus, there is only one option - you must go through a door.

What do you mean, a door?

Ah, apologies, you did not have time this loop to properly observe the cabin. The cabin has four, identical sides, each with a door. Each is a portal, and - do not look - each door has a magical crack in it, letting some of the power shine through. Do not look yet though, it will blind you.

Okay. Well, I mean… that sucks. I guess we just pick a door and hope?

You are forgetting the largest problem - your companions. In previous loops, I observed that the memory reset occurs as soon as any of you move a sufficient distance away from the cabin. So you must somehow convince all of them to follow your lead in picking a door, based on no information, without them ever wandering far enough away to get you all killed. Quite a conundrum.

Grant swallowed. The cat remained exactly as it was, unmoving and unblinking since he first laid eyes on it. But the eyes themselves had changed. At first, they had been filled with hunger, but now, as he locked eyes with the creature, he could see that the hunger was beginning to be replaced by anger. Anger that the predator had been spotted by its prey. Anger at the possibility that, now it had been noticed, its prey could… escape?

Grant frowned slightly, cocking his head a little as he studied the beast, his panic starting to fade. Somehow, he was sure the emotions he had just read were correct. This creature, this terrifying, fearsome beast, was furious that its trap had been spoiled. The question was… why? Did it know that the doors were a possible escape route? Maybe, but that wasn’t what Grant’s gut was telling him. No, for some reason, his instincts were screaming at him that the creature was angry because, now that he had seen through its trap… that it was easily broken.

Grant’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what he could do. There must be some kind of weakness to this trap, or else the beast wouldn’t be so worried that he would break free.

Ki? Are you picking up on my thoughts?

Yes - in a situation such as this, I will always pay close attention. For the record, I agree - the beast is scared you will escape. But I cannot think of how - and I have been working on this problem for three days straight.

Does it help now that you’ve seen the one who made the trap? Like, is it somehow related to the fact it’s a shadow beast? Maybe light?

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No, it is not that simple. After all, there has been plenty of sunlight, and that had no effect. But I suspect you are correct, and the answer lies in the knowledge that the spell was created by this specific predator.

So, something to do with the fact it’s a cat? Maybe we need to get a laser pointer and reflect it off a mirror or something.

Ki was silent for a moment.

I am an idiot, he muttered.

Wait… are you serious? If I make a laser, it’ll go away.

No, no, nothing like that. Ki sighed. You said ‘reflect’. It is a shadow cat. Or, more precisely, it is not a shadow cat - this is the cat’s shadow.

What do you mean?

The reason why you cannot hold new memories is because you are not you. Not your true self. This is a mirror world.

A mirror world? That… sounds like something I’ve seen in a horror movie or something.

Indeed. Another example of true magic being reflected in your popular culture. Look at your hands.

Are you sure? I don’t feel like taking my eyes off of this thing is safe.

You are perfectly safe, I assure you. That is merely a shadow, after all.

Grant looked down, studying his hands. Barely any time had passed as the conversation had been telepathic, and he heard Tamiko speak.

“It is,” Tamiko agreed. “It’s hard to say why, but it just… feels wrong. It is far from the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen but… it disturbs me more than anything else. Does that even make sense?”

I don’t get it? What’s wrong with my hands?

Raise your right hand, Grant.

Grant raised the hand on his left.

See?

Grant stared at his hand, blood pounding in his head. It was his right hand, he was absolutely sure of it… but it was on the left side of his body.

He turned around, looking at his companions. He looked closely at them, studying their right hands… that were on their left sides.

Holy shit. That… that’s breaking my brain. I know that the hands are wrong but… they’re right.

Yes, Ki agreed, a most subtle spell. It reflects not only the body, but also the brain, masking the effects incredibly well. It smothers the cognitive dissonance you feel, but does not remove it entirely. That is why you all find the cabin so disturbing - it is back to front. You have no way of knowing that it is back to front, but your brain can sense it regardless. It was trying to alert you to the fact that something is wrong. Ki sighed. Truthfully, I likely would have noticed it immediately, except that we do not share physical senses unless I am fully possessing you. As it is, I could not notice the differences. This also explains why the cat is not attacking - it cannot. This is just the shadow, after all - the real cat awaits you, in the real world.

But… why did it trap us in a reflection then, if it can’t eat us while we’re in here?

As I stated, creatures such as this require specific, usually incorporeal food. In this case, there is a moment, just when you leave the mirror world, when your reflection is your real body. During that moment, it pounces, and eats your reflection, while leaving your body alone. Of course, the spiritual shock will kill you regardless, but that is merely a side effect of its feast.

Damn. That’s… kinda cool, actually. But also terrifying. So how does that help us? How do we escape a mirror world without falling prey to the cat?

Well, that is rather simple, really. The true worry before was that whatever actions you took now would be remembered by your comrades once the spell faded. However, that is no longer the case. This world - the you I am talking to, even - is not real. So whatever actions you take will not be remembered. Except by me, I suppose.

So… what, I just… blast it?

Blast away, Ki confirmed. Any form of light-based attack will penetrate the mirror and impact the beast’s real body, which, I now suspect given its modus operandi, is actually rather fragile.

Grant grinned widely. Fuck yeah. Laser time.

Raising his hands, he concentrated his energy. His Source, Ki’s power, rushed through his arms. He tensed slightly, his tender muscles protesting the energy even though he was not actually directly imbuing himself. Gritting his teeth, he worked through the pain, and focused on gathering his energy between his palms.

“Grant? What are you doing?” He heard Fyodor exclaim in alarm.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “just taking care of a minor problem. Just… a second…”

He stepped forward, making sure that his companions knew he wasn’t doing anything too crazy. His power was still coalescing, and he squinted slightly, forcing it to manifest in the form he desired. While he had not ever actually launched a laser attack, his practice during the week had made him familiar enough with different manifestations that he was sure he could do so - yet the energy was fighting him slightly. For some reason, creating light was harder than fire.

But… why? he suddenly thought. They’re… almost the same thing, after all.

He tilted his head, redirecting his efforts. Instead of trying to manifest a laser, a concept that resisted his efforts, he just made a fire… but with no heat.

Light suddenly shone from between his palms, and he averted his gaze.

Grant! It’s running! Ki shouted, startling him.

He looked forward, towards the shadow cat, and saw that it had indeed turned around and was beginning to sprint full speed away from their party.

“Fuck you,” Grant snarled. He centred his aim, and released.

A thin, bright-yellow beam of pure light burst forth from the ball of energy he was holding between his hands, aimed directly at the rear of the fleeing shadow. The beam hit an invisible wall, a few metres in front of him, causing it to pause for a brief second before there was a loud sound, like shattering glass, and the beam continued straight on through into the real world… but at the wrong angle.

Shit, its refracting, Grant realised in dismay.

Gritting his teeth once more, he looked down at the rapidly fading ball of energy and back to the still-invisible plane that was causing the laser to divert at such a weird angle, trying to work out where he should aim to get the beam to refract to the correct angle to hit the rapidly-shrinking target in the distance.

Fuck, he cursed, and took his best guess.

An hour or two later, the group reached their destination. They had seen it coming for a while due to the level topology of the grassland, but only the last few minutes had they been able to actually make out details.

Before them stood an old, rustic wooden cabin. A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains hanging perfectly symmetrically, and a brick chimney with faint trails of smoke faced them. They all stared for a moment before, as one, walking around the cabin to the right and looking at the new side.

A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains, a smoking brick chimney.

They walked another 90 degrees around the cabin, now at the back from where they first approached. The same sight greeted them, repeated once more on the final wall.

Fyodor rubbed his chin. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “I must admit, when Estelle wrote of multiple doors, I did not expect this. I was picturing two doors side-by-side.”

“It’s pretty nice,” said Kyra, smiling at the rustic, peaceful cabin as though it stirred pleasant memories. “Don’t you guys reckon?”

“It is,” Tamiko agreed. “I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved cabins like this. We didn’t really have buildings like it in Japan, but I would see them in stories of America and dream of retreating to the mountains to live in solitude in just such a place.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty beautiful,” Grant said quietly.

Something occurred to him.

Hey, Ki? Why is it, if you made this place all those thousands of years ago, that so many of these portal buildings look modern? I seem to remember seeing a skyscraper when I first arrived, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have skyscrapers in the BC era.

Grant heard Ki chuckle

What? Grant asked, confused.

Nothing. Just… well done, Ki said.

…Okay, sure. So why are the buildings like that?

It is quite simple… Ki began to explain.