"What is this?" I frowned, gazing at the ground as it turned mulchy. It had been solid concrete a second ago, but now it morphed in an instant into a muddy texture.
I glanced towards the door—it was sealed.
It seed I had finally fallen into its trap. Well, let's just get this over with.
I just hope, hope that the creature will be edible. If not, I've wasted valuable ti.
-SQUELCH-
I squinted at the floor around and noticed silhouettes of figures crawling out of the ground. They erged in no ti—more and more humanoid shapes, surrounding in place. Without hesitation, I released a barrage of icy bullets at one of the figures, and it collapsed to the ground. However, in the next instant, two more crawled out to stand in its place.
Wait...
… Don't tell .
I shot down another. It fell easily, but just like before, two more figures replaced it imdiately.
This is a problem.
The more of them I killed, the more they multiplied. And the more they multiplied, the more disadvantageous my situation beca. I stopped attacking altogether, but sensing my hesitation...
… They attacked instead.
"Damn it," I grunted, channeling ether throughout my body.
The more I wielded ether, the better I beca at controlling its flow. At this point, I could manipulate it properly, but what I was about to do wasn't sothing I was confident in. This could backfire spectacularly if I made even the slightest mistake.
Still, given the dire situation I was in, I had no choice.
In the gas, there was a technique everyone used to boost their physical attributes. That technique was called cloaking.
That's what I needed.
The space here was cramped, restricting my movent, and I wasn't strong enough to dodge every attack as I was.
I felt the ether encase , its warmth soft and steady.
When I opened my eyes, I barely sidestepped in ti as one of the muddy creatures lunged at with trendous speed.
Okay, this is hopeless.
I dashed forward toward the door. The figures rushed after , but with my body coated in mana, my physical abilities had shot up trendously. Still, they were fast—fast enough to reach just before I could reach the door.
Damn it.
I stretched out my hand and erected a huge barrier of ice between us. Without wasting a mont, I froze the door and kicked it to splinters.
"What the hell?"
I stumbled into another room, but…
… It wasn't the kitchen anymore.
I walked slowly, looking around.
The room was enormous, but all I could see were mirrors. There were no windows, no way out. It seed the creature wanted trapped inside this house with no chance of escape.
Damn it.
I swear, if that creature turns out to be poisonous, I will torture it.
Everywhere I looked, all I saw were reflections—but this reflection…
It wasn't … I think.
White, long hair and athyst eyes.
Even the face looked a bit different from mine—more sculpted, imposing, and undeniably good-looking.
Or… could this really be what I look like now?
Creak…
Huh?
I heard a strange noise and turned to find one of the mirrors trembling.
Wait a minute.
That reflection.
One of the reflections in the mirror was strange.
I wasn't standing at an angle where it should see clearly, yet my reflection was at the center.
I walked towards it, keeping my eyes on the reflection at all tis.
It seed I was right.
It wasn't even mimicking my movents at all. It was just… there, staring at .
But at the mont I reached it, sothing strange happened.
I was about to slice it when the reflection suddenly grinned.
A nasty grin.
It reminded of the corpse in the other room, the one that had taken on Lily's face.
I tightened my grip on my sword. I was about to strike it down in anger when I felt… sothing.
No.
I don't know why, but…
… sothing told not to shatter this reflection.
I can't explain it.
But I felt like sothing was wrong.
It was as though the creature itself wanted to destroy this reflection.
Perhaps it was acting strange on purpose, to bait into destroying it, but…
…why?
Sigh.
I sighed, then turned back—only to find the reflection of soone else staring back at …
…Christina.
An imnse rage bubbled up inside . I was barely holding back the urge to destroy it, but that feeling… that strange feeling inside stopped .
It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.
That strange power… the one I could feel but couldn't use.
Every ti I tried to destroy them, sothing gripped hold of .
I couldn't tell what it was, but my very own mind rejected the idea.
A slithering whisper at the back of my mind—like a gut feeling taking control.
"I can't stay here," I decided, realizing it was only a matter of ti before I snapped.
I began walking, but at the next mirror, I saw the image of a boy.
A boy I had almost forgotten at this point—a boy I once was.
Erin.
I saw his mouth move.
I couldn't see his eyes; they were hidden behind overly long bangs.
But I read the words he spoke from the movent of his lips.
"You killed them."
"Haah…"
I took a deep breath to calm myself and kept walking.
The next mirror showed a girl.
Seeing her stirred sothing deep within .
I felt… guilt.
Casse.
Bloodied, light brown hair curled with ash-blue eyes.
She stared at , and then her mouth moved.
"There was no other way. You started it all… You killed us all."
I looked away, walking faster, trying not to see more.
But when my eyes turned, what I saw next filled with anger—not anger from Amael's emotions, but anger from my past self.
Erin.
Anna.
There she was.
A small smile, filled with sadness.
I was barely holding on at this point. My hands trembled, but I didn't shatter the mirror.
Her mouth moved.
"I didn't have a choice. I had to do it. There was no other way."
"Haah…"
I breathed deeply, trying to calm my racing thoughts.
Then, as I turned and spotted the door, my blood rushed.
The door itself was a mirror.
My hands quaked as I reached to push it open.
It was Lily.
She was knelt down, crying.
Crying bitterly.
I knew it wasn't her, but…
… I couldn't help but look her in the face.
And, just like the others, her mouth moved.
"I loved you, but you never loved . You promised everything, but you took away the only thing I had. You used . You're a liar. I hate you."
"Haah… hah… ahha… haa…"
I panted, then reached out to touch her reflection.
However… I stopped.
No.
This isn't real.
She's not real.
I cald myself and pushed the door open, only to find myself…
…in my room?
BAM!
The door slamd shut behind as I walked inside.
It was the sa as I rembered…
…at least before that lunatic killed .
The ga.
I muttered, walking forward to hold the ga's casing.
On the front was the protagonist surrounded by multiple heroines:
Christiana, Angelina, Diana, Everlin, and many others I had yet to encounter.
"The TV," I muttered, staring at my prized fifty-inch LED true-black display. The one that had helped through countless gas.
I walked towards it and tapped the button.
The red light at the bottom corner turned green, signaling it was about to turn on.
But before it could—
BAM!
I turned to see soone.
The bastard!
He was holding a gun.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
I erected a barrier of ice, intercepting the bullets, then rushed forward and slashed his head off.
But the next thing I knew, the world around morphed.
"This place… it's… it's the plane…"
Yes.
The plane from my childhood as Erin.
The one that crashed and destroyed my life.
But…
This wasn't just the plane—it was the crashed plane.
Blood.
Various faces on the seats.
All of them were dead.
I walked through the rows, keeping my gaze forward, until my eyes fell on sothing that made freeze.
My teeth clenched. My eyes watered.
Mom.
Dad.
There they were, holding a little boy tightly.
But… sothing wasn't right.
I knelt down and gently pulled the boy from their grasp. Then, I saw his face.
No.
Sothing isn't right.
This face.
This…
…this.
I know this child.
But…
…this isn't .
This wasn't Erin.
What the hell is this?!
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