Anima, Ch.50: Mirror, Mirror

--01-- [Scene: Calida Lake] <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
We traveled through the mana tunnels and emerged in the only green part of the northern wastes.
I think I'll let him handle this...

"Maybe you should go ask by yourself... I'll just cause problems."

--02-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
Me? Well...after what happened back there in Filia, maybe you're right...
Fine. How hard could this be?



--03-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
Merlin went over to the three roughly built kiosks staffed by a man, woman, and a boy.
I waited by the mana tunnel, just within earshot, and watched from hiding.



--04-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
Hey, kid. Are you Kelpie?




--05-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Kelpie)
Yeah. What of it?




--06-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
You had amnesia, a while ago, right?




--07-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Kelpie)
Yes, though I had some help in recovering from it...
Why do you ask?



--08-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
Like...the Mirror of Memory? Do you happen to know where it is?
Someone I know is...kind of in need of it.



--09-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Kelpie)
Oh, that? I think I still have it around here, somewhere.
One moment; let me look for it... I'm certain I put it in one of these boxes...



--10-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
The young man turned and rummaged through a crate under his kiosk,
producing a small item wrapped in cloth after a minute or so.
He unraveled the cloth to reveal a hand-held mirror.


--11-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Kelpie)
Here. I don't need it anymore...
I guess your friend needs it more than I do.
My sister comes by from time to time, and she's helping me sort through my old memories.
Now if only we could go home...

--12-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
I know what you mean...
None of us can go back to Uladh, with the way things are now.
Thanks for the mirror. Take care.


--13-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
I'm glad someone reunited those siblings...
A bit of karmic balance, for a different pair of siblings I permanently tore apart...

Merlin returned, with the mirror in hand.

--14-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
He still had it. Lucky us!
That was way easier than I thought it would be, and I didn't even need to call on that money-grubbing jerkass.



--15-- <BGM: Lost Memories at the World's End>
(Merlin)
He'd have just stood around doing nothing, insulting me constantly, and then
charged me 100,000 gold for a 'finder's fee' at the end!
Well, let's get this thing back to Akule.


--16-- [Scene: Herba Jungle]
We returned to Courcle through the mana tunnels, and when we got back to where I'd met the shaman
and his students, I was greeted with a...strange sight.



--17-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
Some kind of metal table had been set up like an altar. It was surrounded by four primitive-looking
standing torches burning with blue flame, and...no smoke...? How does that work?



--18-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
Akule was reading some text from an old scroll to Millia, holding it in one hand, gesturing with the other.
Is he...wearing a different mask?|Hearing us approach, he turned back to us.



--19-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
(Akule)
Ah, back already? That was quicker than I thought.
Well, I think I've figured out how to do this.
Yes, definitely. You have nothing to worry about. Ha ha!


--20-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
(Millia)
Why do I have to do this? I don't want anything to do with...that *thing!*




--21-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
(Akule)
Put your prejudices aside for a moment, Millia.
My power alone isn't going to be enough.
This is important, for all of our sakes.


--22-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
"...so what do I do...?"
Well, I don't see anything sharp or pointy, so whatever this ritual involves hopefully doesn't
involve me getting stabbed...
I shuddered uncontrollably at the thought.

--23-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
Just lie up there, and look into the mirror when I tell you.
Oh, right, your wings... This might be a little uncomfortable.
Well, it can't be helped. It's part of the ritual.


--24-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
"Well, it's not that I can't, I just can't do it for long."
Carefully, I sat on the old metal table, pulled my feet up, then laid back,
trying to shift my wings so they wouldn't be crushed under me.


--25-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
(Akule)
As for you, Merlin...just...stand by.
(If she fails, it'll be the other one that comes out...you know what to do.)



--26-- <BGM: Mischievous Soul>
I'm pretty sure he hadn't intended me to hear his whispering, but my hearing is as sharp as ever.
Akule handed me the mirror. I took it, but didn't look into it.
Not until he tells me to, right?


--27-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Akule)
Now, before we begin, let me tell you what you'll have to do, and what I suspect you'll find in there...
We are going to subsume your will into the depths of your mind.



--28-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Akule)
There, you will have to confront your inner self, in its full glory, in a world of its making,
and I don't know what it will do to you...
But you cannot remain divided, at odds with yourself.


--29-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Akule)
You must either bring your other self into accord with you...or eliminate it.
You will not wake until you do so.
Expect it to try to do the same to you...
Stay focused. Don't lose sight of yourself.

--30-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Akule)
Don't give up on what you want, and what you believe in.
If you're not completely prepared, this will end badly for you...for us all.
Are you ready?
If you think you are, gaze into the mirror.

--31-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
"I killed my fiance, ruined my friendships, alienated the kingdom, turned red, grew wings and horns,
then ticked off a goddess. Things can't get much worse.

...I'm ready to end this."

--32-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Akule)
Then let us begin.
Millia, follow my lead.



--33-- [Scene: none] <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
I gazed into the mirror. As I did so, Akule and Millia, in unison, both cast a spell I couldn't recognize.
My senses went dead, as if the world around me had ceased to exist.



--34-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
Suddenly, I felt as if I was falling through a void...
Fear overcame me, the primal fear of the void between worlds...The void of death...that I had spent so long trapped in...



--35-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
It was probably only seconds, but it felt like hours.
Forms and shapes came into being around me.
It seems like...I'm inside? A hallway...?
But if it is, it's a hallway of epic proportions...

--36-- <BGM: Palace of Shadows>
The floor was made of tiles of finely polished obsidian, engraved and inlaid with gold strands,
each tile perfectly fitted together without gaps.
The walls were also obsidian, engraved with images...


--37-- <BGM: Palace of Shadows>
...scenes of events I didn't recognize.
The high vaulted ceiling was covered in gold, exquisitely engraved with maddeningly complex
patterns of lines and shapes, and studded with precious gems.


--38-- <BGM: Palace of Shadows>
The sheer opulence of this place was overwhelming.
A lifetime of work had gone into just this one hallway, and this structure felt...massive.
It was as silent as a tomb, though. At least it was warm.


--39-- <BGM: Palace of Shadows>
I took one step, and the sound of my footstep on the stone faintly echoed through the hall.
"Hello?" My voice echoed as well, slowly fading away.
Something...shifted, a subtle movement in the air.


--40-- <BGM: Palace of Shadows>
From behind, I heard a woman's laugh, and then a voice called out, "Welcome home."
It echoed down the hall.
...It was the same as *my* voice...and I'm not in the habit of talking out loud to myself.


[end of chapter]