Chapter 62: The Mirror Labyrinth’s Twisted Reality

Stan stood at the edge of the magic circle. As he extended both hands over the design, the circle soon began to glow with a crimson light. A storm of red mana immediately erupted, swirling around its center.

His cloak billowed wildly, and his hair became disheveled. Lorelai clutched at her coat, which nearly flew off in the gale.

The crimson mana storm, which had surged towards the ceiling, eventually subsided, settling downwards.

A circular portal then materialized in the air, within which an unpleasant silver light swirled ominously.

Stan turned to his companions, extending a hand towards Lorelai.

Lorelai stepped to Stan’s side, taking his wrist, then gripped Renki’s wrist with her other hand.

“Renki, take my wrist.”

Renki, still somewhat dazed, firmly grasped Lorelai’s wrist in return.

This time, Hay took Renki’s other wrist. Stan then spoke.

“You absolutely must not let go until we arrive. If you do, each of you could end up in a completely different place. Don’t let go if you don’t want to become lost in the Mirror Labyrinth.”

With that warning, Stan stepped into the magic circle.

“What happens if we get lost?”

Renki asked. Lorelai answered with a bright smile.

“You’ll wander the labyrinth forever, just like everyone else.”

Renki, his face etched with fear, stared at the swirling portal.

The moment Stan stepped into the portal, a wave of silver light surged from within, instantly engulfing Stan and then sweeping over Hay, who was at the very end of their chain.

Immediately after, his vision turned black, and he felt as though he were plummeting down an endless abyss.

His stomach churned, a sensation as if all his organs were being pulled upwards. He kept his eyes open, yet could see nothing at all.

Hay consciously tightened his grip. He held his staff in one hand, and Renki’s slender wrist tightly in the other.

How many seconds passed?

A whisper-like sound reached his ears.

He initially thought it was the spirits whispering, but it wasn’t. They were the screams of beings whose very existence was unclear.

The screams seemed to hurl curses and maledictions.

Listening to those sinister and wicked sounds, Hay felt his insides twist unpleasantly.

It was repulsive, making him feel as though he might vomit.

Just as he thought he might truly be sick, his vision changed.

Light seemed to appear, and then, in an instant, Hay found himself standing on solid ground.

Still feeling his stomach churn, he braced himself with his staff, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Master?”

“Looks like that bastard’s getting motion sick.”

Renki’s worried call was followed by Stan’s taunting remark.

“Are all portals like this?”

“No, the portal to the Mirror Labyrinth is particularly tough.”

Stan replied indifferently to Hay’s question.

He seemed completely unaffected. Hay sighed and looked back at his companions.

Lorelai, like him, seemed to have suffered from the journey, covering her mouth with a pale face.

“Are you alright?”

Renki asked. Hay was still gripping Renki’s wrist. He released it, revealing a distinct handprint on the boy’s skin.

“Are you okay?”

“I was better than I expected.”

“Really? That was a truly unsettling portal.”

“The portal isn’t the only unsettling thing, is it?”

Stan commented.

He casually surveyed their surroundings.

“Looks like it’s summer today.”

“Summer?”

Hay frowned. His words rang true.

It was undeniably winter, yet they stood within a lush, verdant forest.

The sun blazed brightly, yet its warmth was imperceptible, and there was neither heat nor cold to be felt.

Most bizarre of all, the entire world was rendered in monochrome.

Not a single thing possessed color. The only vibrant hues belonged to the four individuals standing there. And there was something else strange.

“Didn’t you say this was the Mirror Labyrinth?”

“Yeah.”

“But I don’t see a single mirror.”

“Raise your right hand.”

“Huh?”

“Just raise your right hand.”

Hay didn’t understand why he was suddenly being asked to raise his hand, but he complied, lifting his right hand.

“Look at your hand.”

“My hand?”

“Doesn’t it seem strange?”

Hay looked at his right hand, bewildered.

He couldn’t grasp what was supposed to be odd about it. Just then, Renki let out a soft gasp and spoke.

“Master, isn’t that your left hand?”

At his words, Hay’s brow furrowed sharply.

“What are you talking about? This is my right hand—”

Hay’s voice trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Renki’s observation was correct. Hay had been certain he raised his right hand,

but it was his left. He hadn’t even registered that he was holding up his left hand.

“It is his right hand. Renki, your insight is better than I expected. Most newcomers don’t notice that. This kid won’t be easily hypnotized or brainwashed.”

Stan’s words left Hay feeling a little confused. Yet, he soon realized the truth.

“Is this place, by any chance, a reversed space, like a mirror?”

“Yes. This is a magical land where space, time, and dimensions are twisted. Moreover, this land doesn’t exist anywhere on the three continents of Hasaphon. It once existed but vanished, and now it only remains in this inverted world. That’s why it’s called ‘Mirror’.”

Stan brought his hands together, beginning to form a series of hand signs.

Hay had never seen him form hand signs before. Stan usually conjured magic with a mere flick of his wrist or a snap of his fingers.

Not only that, but he also chanted spells under his breath.

Soon, crimson light streamed from beneath his feet, beginning to draw a magic circle on the ground.

When the incantation concluded, a magic circle about three meters in diameter was complete.

An arrow-like needle moved back and forth along its perimeter. It seemed to be searching for a direction.

“Oh, this is…”

Finally, the arrow-like needle stopped at a single point.

“We’re about to depart, so don’t stray outside the compass. As I said before, don’t move more than three paces away from me.”

“This is a compass?”

“Yeah.”

Stan responded indifferently to Hay’s question.

“I heard we need a compass to escape the Mirror Labyrinth, so this magic circle must be it.”

Lorelai answered instead of Stan.

As Stan began to move, the magic circle also shifted, centered on him. The group followed his lead.

“Is this your first time in the Mirror Labyrinth, Lorelai?”

“Yes. It’s also my first time going to Arcaviya, just like Mr. Styles and Renki.”

“Weren’t you from Arcaviya, Lorelai?”

“No, I’m from Theapel. Though my mother was a mage from Arcaviya.”

Hay recalled that the Demonic siblings were cousins, not blood relatives.

Now that he thought about it, he realized he hadn’t heard anything about Lorelai’s parents, other than her biological father selling her.

“Enough with the chatter; just follow closely. The residents are catching up.”

“It’s surprising that people live in a place like this.”

“The residents here are neither living nor dead.”

“But you called them residents.”

“We call them residents to be polite. Most of them are criminals sentenced to the Mirror Labyrinth for their sins, doomed to wander here forever. Occasionally, there are mages who couldn’t find an exit and became lost. Anyone who fails to leave in time becomes one of these residents.”

A rustling sound came from nearby.

Renki flinched, snapping his head towards the source of the sound.

A human-like shape was faintly visible among the trees. Hay grabbed Renki’s shoulder, pulling him further into the magic circle.

“Just in time, one showed up.”

Stan said, not even glancing in that direction. With a few gestures, he cleared away the cumbersome obstacles blocking their path.

“It looks strange.”

Renki whispered softly. He was right.

The ‘resident’ peeking at them from behind a large, ancient tree looked bizarre. It was clearly not a proper human.

Both its eyes were flat, as if they had never been formed. It was like looking at the Slenderman.

Yet, its head moved, tracking their party as if it could see them. It was unsettling.

The moment Hay felt as though their eyes met, it grinned, opening its mouth. Its jaw shockingly unhinged, dropping all the way to its chest.

*Kiiiii—*

A bizarre sound even emanated from its throat. It was a grating noise, like fingernails scraping a chalkboard.

Renki, seemingly terrified, pulled up his hood and bowed his head. He appeared to have decided to walk while staring at the ground.

“As I said before, never speak to a resident. Most of them have lost their sanity, but occasionally, some can speak. No matter what they say, you must not answer them.”

“What happens if we answer?”

Lorelai asked.

“They’ll try to make you their friend.”

The thought of befriending such a creature was horrifying. The presence of these beings was steadily increasing around them.

It was as if someone had spread a rumor, and they were approaching one by one.

Perhaps they had landed in a densely populated resident area.

“Do they not attack us?”

Renki whispered his question.

“Why wouldn’t they?”

No sooner had he spoken than a resident, its head twisted backward, lunged at Stan.

Stan, without even looking, waved his hand through the air as if swatting a fly.

*Thwack—*

As if struck by bullets, fist-sized holes appeared all over its body, and it collapsed. It didn’t just fall; the moment it hit the ground, it disintegrated into dust.

“They do.”

At that moment, residents began to charge simultaneously.

They cackled and shrieked. However, before any of them could reach Hay’s party, their bodies were pierced, riddled with holes, and their limbs were severed.

“Oh, how convenient.”

Stan chuckled wryly.

Hay’s Earth, Water, and Wind spirits mercilessly slaughtered the approaching residents.

Around them, piles of monochrome ash began to accumulate.

“Are they attacking us like this to make us their friends?”

Hay asked.

“No.”

Stan pointed at the magic circle with his finger.

“Because they need the compass.”

Just then, an unnaturally long, grotesque arm shot up from beneath the magic circle.

“Aargh!”

Renki screamed. The arm snatched at Renki’s bag. A startled Renki clung to his bag.

*Thwack—*

It happened before Hay and Stan could even react.

Lorelai, having somehow drawn a dagger, slashed at the wrist.

The jet-black blade, sharp enough to cleave through steel, cleanly severed the grotesque wrist.

The severed hand fell to the ground, turning to dust, while the arm writhed uncontrollably.

“Th-thank you, Lorelai.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

Renki hesitantly moved to stand closer beside Lorelai. Lorelai smiled sweetly.

“That was a surprise.”

Stan muttered.

Hay finished clearing away the arm, then inspected the magic circle.

Since it was crafted from mana light rather than drawn on the ground, it showed no signs of damage.

“What does it mean that the residents need the compass?”

“Because they also need a compass to leave this labyrinth.”

“So the residents can leave the labyrinth too?”

“They can leave, but they’ll vanish. They aren’t residents of the world outside the mirror, but beings bound to this place.”

“Stan.”

Lorelai called Stan’s name, her voice tense. Stan quickly glanced around.

While Hay was eliminating anything that came too close, most of the residents kept their distance, trailing them from afar, perhaps due to Hay’s attacks.

Yet, their numbers were rapidly swelling into the tens.

“It seems like there are more and more of them.”

“Indeed. Plenty of spectators today. We should hurry.”

Stan quickened his pace.

“How long will it take to reach Arcaviya?”

“You just need to find the exit within six hours. Oh, my mistake. Half a day is…”

“I know the time. It’s six rotations of the small hourglass. But it takes that long?”

“Usually within an hour…”

Just then, as if they had decided to charge all at once, dozens of them rushed forward, making monkey-like sounds. Hay irritably swung his staff.

*Crackle! Splinter! Crash!—*

Earth spirits, two or three times the number of residents, materialized and pierced through them. Hay clicked his tongue as he watched the residents crumble into dust.

“They’re incredibly bothersome.”