Life was good.

As strange as it sounds to tell myself that now, back on the day it all started, my life was going okay. I had food on the table, good friends to keep me company, and a roof over my head. Luxuries I took for granted.

On that day, which began like any other, I brushed my hair. It was a dark shade of brown, a little over chin length and smooth, although its sheen made it look greasy sometimes. I haphazardly threw on some clothes. They mattered little for what the plan was today, so I went for a simple t-shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts. It was summer, so socks were neglected indoors.

Then, I brushed my teeth, ate breakfast with a cup of coffee and read the newspaper. Finally, it was off to work, and I stepped through the mirror.

The first time had been weird. Feeling the glass wrap around my chest, my arms, my face. I held my breath; getting a nose full of liquid portal glass had not been fun, neither the first time nor the fifth. My eyes were shut tight. I was decidedly not looking at the inside of the mirror again.

It felt like the walk took an eternity, yet after only a few seconds, I stepped through to the other side, immediately stumbling and leaning against the walls of the entry hallway. I retched for a moment, and swallowed heavily. Taking in deep gulps of air, I let my stomach slowly settle.

Once again, I was glad this wasn’t my first time. After the entrance ceremony, the hallways were flooded with newbies and their vomit. This one was private, and kept absolutely pristine. I gasped some more before I steadied myself and raised my gaze. Every time, I still felt it was strange drinking the air.

Everything on this side was so much… clearer. Like the other side was what was wrong, distorted. The air was crisp and clean, not full of the smell of smoke and ash. I gazed down at myself, the shorts and shirt gone, replaced with a suit of flexible leather armor. I smiled lightly at it, then extended my hand forward, letting my spear appear in it.

The wood felt good in my grip, its metal tip sharp as ever. I took another deep breath, then stepped forward, out through the hallway and into the welcoming stone walls of the summoning area. Always full of warmth.

And also full of people. The latest entry window had just passed, so dozens of newbies crowded the stone tiles. Some of them were in less than pretty shape. I recognized the distinctly glassy, yet miserable look many of them had. Seemed like no one told them to hold their breath during the walk.

Shaking my head at the younglings, I shuffled through the crowd of hunched bodies. A couple were full on strewn across the floor, making me click my tongue. They would not last long. One poor sod got smacked in the face by the butt of my spear, but I pitied him little. My eyes were already locked on the exit.

As I set foot outside, I smiled. The sun felt so good on my skin, the Qi swirling through the air rich and welcoming. Back on the other side, the sky was covered by smoke and dust, an eternal haze clinging to the wretched cities. No wonder so many people decided to spend their entire lives here now.

Again, I shook my head, clearing away the idle thoughts. Today had begun normally, but it would be important. I had my first hunt out with the new members. Up until now, I had made my way across the monster-strewn plains of Eden with a tight-knit team, but once you got closer to the upper echelons, that freedom faded. We’d needed new members.

It couldn’t quite keep going the way it had been. Grimacing at the memory, I clutched my left shoulder. The gash had taken a long time to heal, almost too long. Staying on the other side for that long felt like crap. But I was finally back.

Closing my eyes, I indulged in the sunlight for a moment. No one was going to step out of the temple for now. Not with the current situation. Maybe once the newbies were no longer vomiting. Most people came late on days like these, but I wanted the exhilaration of the first morning light.

A smile wormed its way onto my face as my core began to roar in my soul. The Qi in the atmosphere vibrated at it, a golden radiance enveloping my skin. I looked over the city, my eyes picking out details much too far away. Then my smile twisted into a grin, as I leapt off the hill, then stepped forward again.

My foot found purchase in the air, a thin golden sheen wrapping around its sole. I knew I wouldn’t have slipped, even if I’d worn something much different from my combat boots.

With huge excitement on my face, I ran forward, step after step having me soar through the air. The wind blew my hair back, almost certainly undoing all the work I had put into brushing it and I couldn't care less, a laugh bubbling forth from my throat.

I had missed this. Missed this so very, very much. Feeling my golden aura blaze forth from my soul core, I ran, and ran, then ran some more, until I saw a small, marble building beneath me. I cancelled the Technique, and let my momentum carry me forward as I descended, stopping in front of the door with a roll, laughter still spilling forth from between my lips.

The Edians were looking at me with a mix of confusion, fear, and distrust. I ignored them, as I always did. They never grew comfortable around us, and we were told to never grow comfortable around them. It was one of the first lessons of avoiding addiction.

If you grew too attached to this side, you wouldn’t go back. ‘Rule number one: The mirrors can’t eat you, but attachment can.’ I smirked as I remembered the words of my mentor, then knocked on the thick wooden door, the pairs of eyes fixated on my back disappearing one after another as things returned to normalcy.

I had to hold back rolling my eyes, keeping my vision focused on the wooden slab in front of me as I heard shuffling behind it. Soon after, it was opened by another woman, one slightly taller than me and positively decked out in shiny metal armor. My grin widened even further, threatening to spill off my face as I wrapped her in a hug.

“Emilia, it’s so good to see you,” I muttered into her dark hair.

She returned the gesture, the plates of her armor poking my back slightly, but I didn’t care. “Just as happy to have you back, Fio. Is your shoulder alright?” she asked, after pushing me away just far enough to look into my eyes.

“Better than ever,” I grinned, rotating the arm. “Almost feels well oiled. Whatever the gatekeepers do when we’re in stasis, they sure know how to fix you up.”

Emilia grinned at my jab. She’d been in this situation many more times than me, and had the scars to prove it, too. You could choose to keep them, the gatekeepers allowed that much freedom, and she prided herself in showing the wounds she took for others. The most prominent one on display right now was probably the one that ran from the middle of her forehead over an eye and down across her cheek, a pale line standing out against her dark skin.

“Come in, come in,” she said instead of retorting, “the others are already waiting for you.”

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I smiled and half jumped in after her. It’d been ages since I’d seen the others. Months, to me. Perhaps simply weeks, to them. But I missed one more than the others.

As soon as I saw her, my arms were wrapped around her neck and my lips met hers. It wasn’t an addiction as long as it wasn’t an Edian. I could technically meet her back on the other side as well. With a small effort I pushed away the nagging voice of my mentor. I’d never liked rule two.

‘Rule number two: The mirrors can’t eat you, but love can.’

Instead of focusing on the wording, I pressed myself more tightly against her. Against my lovely, lovely, Annabelle. She responded in kind, her arms holding me tight even as we spiralled across the room and fell onto a couch.

Perhaps I should have gone for a softer hug, but I regretted nothing. After a few moments of breathlessness I pulled away, then squished my face into her cheeks. “I missed you so much, Ann,” I whispered, making her giggle.

As she did so, her fiery locks tickled my nose, her melodic laughter dancing through the air. “I missed you too,” she replied, then pushed me off gently. “But you have the others to greet as well.”

I didn’t miss that her hand still rested on my back, but met her scarlet eyes for a few moments, taking in her entire face, from the petite nose to her pale lips. I smiled, then drew my gaze away, and let out a long, wistful sigh. “Fiiiiiine,” I said, getting back up, and sweeping over the crowd.

I recognized most people there. Emilia was grinning, wagging her eyebrows at me, and Matt was massaging his face as he sighed. Liam didn’t seem to even spare us a glance, the sound of his whetstone grinding across knives nothing but a whisper in the background, yet requiring his whole focus. And of course, my Ann, still sitting on the couch.

Our guild master and team leader, Marie, seemed less excited at my antics, a frown creasing her face, but I recognized the glint of mirth in her eyes. She couldn’t hide it. Then, I found unfamiliar faces. Two of them, in fact; twins. I looked them up and down, but they were almost wholly unassuming, dressed in loose white and gold robes.

I took a deep breath. ‘Rule number three: The mirrors can’t eat you, but distrust can.’ Right, I could work with them. Just had to take my time. I gave them a nod of acknowledgement, then greeted everyone else.

A pat on the back and brief hug with Matt, even as he seemed frustrated with me. A nod and fist bump with Liam, a sprinkle of aura flashing between us, and a much longer hug from Marie. Then, I faced the twins again.

“Hi. I’m Fiona, Fio for short, the team’s spearwoman. I was gone for a while because of an injury. You are…?” I extended the question to them.

The man answered. He had brown hair which shone gold in the morning sun, curls of it almost but not quite covering his darker brown eyes. “I’m Eric, and this is my sister Reya. We’re clerics of Lurelia, and have been with the team for about a week now,” he explained, a crooked smile on his lips as he extended a hand.

As he spoke, the girl gave me a small wave and a warm smile. Perhaps they wouldn’t be so bad after all, I thought. I took his hand, and noted his grip was sloppy, as it was for most clerical folk. Except for paladins. I shook his hand before the thought made me shudder. I would not be shaking hands with paladins again.

“Right, pleasure to meet you, Eric. Reya. I hope we’ll work together well,” I said, and received a small nod.

“You’ll have a chance to see about that today,” Marie interjected, laying down a map on the centre of the table. A spot was already marked for today’s expedition and my eyes went a little wide as I followed the trail of red. Apparently, we were heading for the black sands.

I grimaced a little, and it didn’t get past Marie. “Some of us have bad memories with it, so I would like everyone to be extra careful, and kind to each other.”

It made me crack a small smile. Nothing ever got past her. There was good reason she was our scout. Everyone else nodded along, and the bright-eyed guildmaster continued. “We got a quest from the nobles to collect some monster parts. Should be a simple one-day mission. Nothing too bad. Always remember to communicate, rely on each other, and play things safe.”

‘Rule number four: The mirrors can’t eat you, but the monsters can.’ I repeated dryly in my head. I never quite got why it was rule four, and yet here I was, with them aligning with my schedule. I suppose you usually met people first and went out to hunt some monsters second.

I steered my mind to the mission as Marie explained more. We’d be collecting bits of the sands’ local wildlife, mainly from the scorions. A strange mix of scorpions with humanoid lions at the front of the bodies. They would hold you down with claws, spray acid from their stingers, and swing massive weaponry from their backs. The memory of them made me disgusted for a moment, but I calmed the feeling with a radiant burst of Qi from my core.

Marie was going over more of our plans. I enjoyed watching her speak. She had much more charisma than anyone else in the group, and listening to her was always a treat. When it wasn’t about the monsters we would be going up against, that was.

But eventually, the talk was completed. We all packed up.

The feeling was strange, almost surreal, but I went along with practiced motions. My spear was deposited in my inventory alongside the essentials that I couldn’t afford to break. Potions, mainly, but also a few emergency rations in case we got separated.

Most of the general stuff was deposited in a pack slung over my shoulder. I found myself smiling again. It felt so light, like I was carrying only feathers.

Then, once everyone was ready to set out, we did a last status check, calling up the windows the gods of this world gave to us.

[Name: Fiona Bellum

Class: Spearwoman (6)

* + Techniques

* + Stats

* + Disposition

Current Status: Healthy]

I smiled at the last line. It had been very long since I’d last seen it. Then, I quickly called up my disposition. If anything had changed, it would be there.

[- Disposition

* - Covenant

* - Familiarity (Kind to the known, distrustful to the new.)

* - Temperament

* - Impatient (Time ticks and you wish to be ahead of it.)

* - Disciplined (Your command over yourself is admirable.)

* - Hardened [New!] (You persist through hardships, your mind unbroken.)

* - Talent

* - Slight Edge (Average is below your standards. Go above, even by a little.)

* - Single-Minded (Your focus is your strength. Once your mind is set, nothing will shake you out of it.)

Emotional State: Nervous Excitement]

I smirked. Hardened, huh? Yeah, I sure had gone through quite a bit of trouble there. Once again, I rubbed my shoulder. The skin there was so smooth, so much smoother than it should have ever been.

I shook my head and focused on the road instead. We took a carriage to the edge of the city, but we wouldn’t find transport much further. The warding formations on the walls did a good job holding the monsters at bay, but no Eldian wanted to risk even the chance of encountering smaller critters that would cause hardly any trouble for us.

Once we crossed through the center gate, I felt the static electricity of the Qi barrier pass over my skin, and then we were outside.

The air beyond the walls was charged. It almost prickled as I drew it in through my nose, and I could feel my soul core pulsate as it already tried to draw in strings of Qi, but I calmed its excitement, then took another deep breath.

Beyond the city walls, the roads turned to dirt paths, carving through the landscape. Obelisks were placed sporadically as markers; with a bit of Qi they’d point you to the nearest settlement and inform you of some of the local wildlife. Some checkpoints even had mirror gates, but those were few and far in between. None close to a frontier city like this one.

I grinned, as my gaze swept over my party, the electricity in the air giving me goosebumps. I’d missed this, I’d missed it very much. And off to adventure we went.