The lost reflections – Chapter 14

No matter where I looked and no matter how long I searched every part of this whole damn island, I wasn't able to find Aoi. Her belongings, cherished items, clothes, and even the new gadgets she brought with her have vanished, as if they were never part of this place to begin with.

My heart pounded with anxiety, and my mind felt clouded as I tirelessly searched around the island again and again, hoping that I had overlooked something.

I refused to believe that Aoi was never part of my life, and I refused to accept that she was no longer here with me.

It almost felt like I had been dreaming about someone appearing on this island for a long time. And after we got to know each other right away, we managed to get along quite well. We also learned about each other's lives and how we both liked the same sort of activities.

That's right, I have memories of every single moment I spent time with her. 

Every single… Memory of... huh?

A strange sensation washed over me, like a ripple distorting the surface of a pond. 

"...Memory of who?"

I leaned on my couch and held my own forehead on the palm of my hand, feeling dizzy. For some reason, my mind had become a bit blurry, and I couldn't seem to remember the name of that person.

Why was I struggling to recall this person's name in the first place? 

The more I tried to remember, the hazier it became. And then, after a few more moments, a puzzling question came across my mind. 

Why was I even trying to remember them in the first place? 

It was as if a vital thread of my recollections had slipped through my grasp, leaving me disoriented and uncertain.

I've always been alone in this place, so trying to remember someone from a dream shouldn't be something that makes me this sad.

But still…

"....why am I crying about such a stupid dream?"

As I wiped away my tears, I rose from the couch and found solace in gazing at my own reflection in the window. Despite the ominous ambiance of this floating island, I tried my best to ignore the grim surroundings.

My reflection in the window stared back at me, and for a moment, I noticed the weariness etched on my face. The sorrow and confusion lingered in my eyes, but beneath it all, a glimmer of hope shone through.

It has been awhile since I've felt this lonely.

I don't remember much from that dream. However, I was sure that in that dream I must've been happy.

"Haaa…."

After letting out a long sigh and accepting the fact that I had another nice dream, I decided to head inside the dungeon, let out some steam, and forget this pathetic moment I was having. And without wasting any more time, I grabbed some basic armor, a katana and my pistol.

Every time I would feel like shit, I knew that the best way to deal with this sort of emotion would be by killing as many monsters as I could.

Of course, there was a chance that the dungeon behind the door would be on impossible terrain. However, that wasn't going to stop me.

With a determined mind, I decided to let off some steam and opened the door that was located next to the storage room. Pushing it open swiftly, I carefully assessed the surroundings to ensure it was safe before stepping inside.

From what I could see, I was in a massive garden area with bushes that were more than 8 meters tall. And since I wasn't able to see beyond those bushes, I figured that it was because they were way too thick. The towers of bushes stretched in all four directions, confining me within what felt like a square-shaped enclosure. Amid this verdant maze, a single open path beckoned, hinting at the entrance to the hidden depths of the dungeon beyond.

I immediately knew that this was the entrance to a maze, so I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't an open battlefield filled with monsters where I could let loose some stress.

But I can't really complain since the door behind me has already disappeared. And there should be some monsters wandering around the maze, so all should be well for some exercises.

I decided to get this over with and enter the maze, and I began wandering around, hoping I would find some sort of monster to kill.

The maze itself was rather massive, and from what I could see, someone would easily lose themselves if they didn't keep track of their directions. Unfortunately, I've conquered many mazes similar to this, so I don't think I should be able to get lost as long as I recreate the paths of the maze as a map in my head.

I continued heading down a path I found rather suspicious until I came to a dead end. But just to make sure, I approached the dead end to make sure I didn't miss anything. And just like I had suspected, at the terminus of this pathway, a peculiar sight awaited me — a dark, glassy humanoid figure stood ominously, almost like an eerie statue etched in the shadows.

This is a first… I've never encountered entities like that before.

Curious to find out what kind of thing that was, I approached the dark entity until it flinched. I instinctively unsheathed my katana and remained on guard while waiting to see what that entity was going to attack with.

Since I didn't know whether I was going to encounter that sort of thing later, learning about its powers first was a must.

As soon as the dark, glassy entity sensed my presence, it sprang into action, hurtling towards me. But I was already prepared for its attack. So with a swift and precise swing of my katana, I shattered the dark creature into countless glimmering shards. 

The eerie silence that followed was broken only by the tinkling sound of shattered glass.

"...was that all this thing got?" I wondered to myself.

As I gazed at the scattered fragments of the glassy entity, a sudden, piercing pain assaulted the back of my head, as if an unseen force attempted to intrude upon my thoughts. 

"Ugh! What the…?!"

Struggling to remain composed, I took deep breaths in an effort to calm myself.

"Did it try to mentally attack me….? UGh!!!"

In the midst of this disconcerting experience, a barely audible voice whispered a single word to me. 

'....Sora.' 

The mysterious utterance sent a sharp pain through my stomach, leaving me bewildered and disoriented.

Just what was that?

Despite encountering various mental attacks in the past, the distant and ethereal voice had an unexpected effect on me, stirring a profound sense of sorrow. It felt like the voice of someone I held dear, as if I were reconnecting with a long-lost soul.

Thinking that this was nothing more than a mental attack to distract me, I continued wandering around the maze, hoping to figure out more details about this new entity. I easily managed to kill them all, but in the end, they left me paralyzed for a second as the distant voice in my head became more clear.

'.... I hope that one day we'll be able to escape together…'

"...Again, that voice."

The more statues I continued to encounter, the clearer her voice became. It was the sweet and soft voice of a girl who seemed to care deeply about me. Her voice etched itself inside my heart, making my chest pound each time I heard her voice in my head.

Somehow, I felt that I had to figure out who this person was and why it was being used as a mental attack by these weird and weakly glassy figures. So I continued wandering around the maze while defeating more glassy entities.

'...together with you…' '....what do you think of my outfit?' '...Should I wash your back' '....I'm sure you're tired, so how about we rest together?.' '....hehehe….'

'....Sora….'

The voices of that girl also became more vivid, and I began seeing clear visuals in the back of my mind of a figure of a girl in front of me. I couldn't see her face since it was still blurry, which was why I was determined to kill more glassy entities. 

Even if I had no knowledge of such memories, thinking of them made me frustrated, wanting to know more about this girl.

After managing to clear most of the routes in the maze, I finally came across what seemed to be a different part of the maze. This part of the maze actually had a bit of a different design, which included many dead plants and roses on the walls. And the first glassy entity that I encountered in this part of the maze was a similar glassy entity with a rather dark red color that constantly flowed around its body like energy.

I quickly closed the distance with that entity, and like usual, I shattered it to pieces. And in the next moment, another part of its mental image came across my mind, like usual.

'...w-why a-are you doing this to m-me?! S-stop!'

I was baffled by the sudden change in her tone. It was as if her whole personality had taken a different turn for the worse, and she seemed to be rather afraid.

Wanting to know what was going on with this sudden change, I continued making more progress by destroying more glassy entities. And the more I destroyed, the worse that girl's voice became.

'....I hate you…', '...Stay away from me…', '...not only your body, but your soul is ugly as well…'

Her voice was becoming more hostile, and she seemed to release a killing intent while spurring out those words.

I still couldn't understand the meaning behind this sort of mental attack because it never did any sort of damage other than shifting my mood. However, her words of hate directed at me still gave me a sharp pain in my heart, as if I were truly hurt by them.

Maybe this was because, since I haven't met anyone else in a long time, she might think of me that way…

While trying to gather as much understanding of this new girl who I didn't know, I proceeded to the next part of the maze, which seemed to be the heart of this place. The center of the maze was rather spacious, with many things that could grab your attention.

Half of the whole circle that surrounded the center of this maze was filled with many dead plants and a gloomy theme, while the other half was lively, filled with beautiful roses and flowers that emitted this pleasant smell.

But what caught my attention the most were all the mirrors that were scattered all around the place. Some were close to the walls, while others were spread out around this part of the maze. 

I began walking closer to the center of the maze while looking around the mirror that reflected a blurry reflection of me.

I tried paying no mind to those mirrors until I finally came to a stop to think about the meaning behind all of this.

Firstly, there were all those visions that were used as a mental attack, and now there are mirrors scattered around the heart of the maze. 

I figured that I had to figure out some sort of puzzle, but until now, nothing seemed to make sense other than getting mixed feelings while trying to recall the same memories.

I was also beginning to think that this maze was preparing something bigger and harder, but until now, this whole dungeon was way too easy for me. It almost felt like I was brought back thousands of levels behind.

It's really suspicious. Which is why I never let my guard down.

As I explored the area around the mirrors, curiosity drew me closer to the largest mirror at the center of this place. To my surprise, my blurry reflection was absent, replaced by something entirely different. Intrigued, I cautiously extended my fingers towards the mirror's surface.

As my fingertips made contact, the mirror responded as though it had been anticipating my touch all along. The previously indistinct image began to take form, and with growing clarity, I recognized the girl who had been appearing in my visions.

Before me stood a breathtakingly beautiful young girl with lustrous pink hair cascading down to her shoulders. She had a charming and slightly drowsy expression, adding to her allure. Slender arms and long, thick legs accentuated her graceful figure, draped in a blue miniskirt and a high school uniform.

I was sure that this was the same girl that I'd been seeing through those visions. And for some reason, my heart was beating while I was staring at her.

As I was lost watching the figure of this girl form in the mirror, I suddenly noticed her opening her eyes and looking directly at me with an emotionless, cold stare.

"...Ah, hello? Who are you?"

"...."

I tried talking to her, hoping she would respond, but all I got was a murderous aura coming from the mirror.

By instinct, I took several steps behind and put my guard up while holding my katana and gun in my hands.

Soon enough, the girl in the mirror began to move as if it had been awoken, and in the next moment she walked out of the mirror. She seemed to be holding a whip sword, which indicated that she was the final boss of this room.

I really wanted to try and speak with her since she was one of the rare chances I had to come into contact with another entity that resembled another human so closely. And I was really hoping she would at least respond to my questions and the reasons behind my visions of her.

"If possible, I would like to avoid fighting."

"...."

"I don't want to harm you. I simply want to ask a few questions."

"...."

"Can you at least tell me your name? My name is Sora, by the way."

"....."

But no matter what I tried asking, she still held her killing intent before putting herself into her fighting pose, readying her whip sword to take me down.

I, on the other hand, was left with no other choice… but to kill her. After all, I'm sure that this dungeon must've used this sort of challenge to try and test my need to talk to another human.

This palace is truly a shitty place.

....

...

..

.

 __________________

Author's Thoughts:

If you wish to read +15 chapters ahead, you can find the link on my synopsis! And don't forget to give power stones to this novel if you are enjoying it so far!