Chapter 2

At the sound of the loud voice mixed with a hint of fury, Adriana jolted back. Her warm yet tired eyes wandered as she attempted to locate the source of the voice. Her gaze locked onto a mirror placed on the high-backed, black, and majestic seat with pupil-less eyes and intricate, interconnected lines etched into the back of the seat.

"Don't tell me... a talking mirror?" As the thought formed in her mind, a voice roared directly into her consciousness. "How dare you address me in such a manner when I am but a servant of the Great Master of this place?"

Adriana was startled. The voice hadn't traveled through the air but had instead echoed directly in her mind. A weird sensation crept over her—a sudden realization that her thoughts were being invaded. "An evil mirror trying to hypnotize me?" she wondered. "Wait... it said it wasn't the master of this place? Do chairs talk here too?" She chuckled internally, trying to stay calm.

Another thought appeared in her mind. "I am just a puny servant of the Great Master," the voice echoed.

"This isn't my thought... so it really is the mirror, huh?" Adriana's mind raced. She was about to ask who this so-called Great Master was, but she was already certain that the voice came from the mirror—an intuition she had possessed since childhood. It was the same instinct that had surfaced before her younger sister was born, when her mother had fallen down the stairs, injuring the unborn child.

Pushing the memory aside, she focused on the mirror and spoke. "Are you really a talking mirror?"

This time, she heard an actual voice—not a foreign thought, but a real voice that neither belonged to a man nor a woman. Ethereal and light, yet carrying an indescribable weight. She felt a pressure similar to when her father had screamed at her in rage after she had tried to unplug her sister's ventilator. She had only wanted to free her parents from the endless burden of watching over an unconscious child, their days bleeding into nights, their energy drained as they barely rested or ate, functioning like empty husks. She couldn't understand why they chose to suffer when a rational decision could end it all.

Her thoughts shattered as the voice spoke again. "I am the Everseeing Mirror, reflecting the secrets of all puny mortals, unveiling truths hidden even from themselves. I am the keeper of all secrets."

A shiver ran down Adriana's spine. "Did it really just call itself the 'keeper of all secrets' in such a grand and confident manner? This really gives the vibe of a scam caller trying to get my security number," she thought.

She suppressed the urge to cover her face in secondhand embarrassment, not wanting to start a conflict with this so-called 'keeper of all secrets.' Clearing her throat, she was about to ask where she was when the ethereal voice cut her off. "A puny mortal dares to slander me with such thoughts?" Before she could respond, the mirror continued in a lower tone, "You... seem familiar, yet different."

Adriana frowned. "What is this mirror even talking about?"

"This feeling... I have only ever sensed it from the Great Master, the embodiment of this hall, the ruler of the Gray Fog, and the Ringmaster of the meetings held here. Yet, I sense a similar presence in you. It is weak, but your soul... it belongs to the same dimension as 'His.'"

Adriana's breath hitched. "The Great Master? And I… am similar to him? Wait, did this piece of glass just call me weak?!" As she finished the thought, a bolt of thunder struck beside her, tearing through space and dissipating the surrounding fog. The deafening boom rang through her ears as she clamped her hands over them in an attempt to block the sound.

The sharp, otherworldly voice reverberated through the hall. "Do not speak of the Great Master so carelessly! 'He' is not a mere man. I shall overlook this mistake only once."

Adriana, still shaken by the thunder, felt a numbness in her ears, yet she could hear the mirror's voice with unsettling clarity. It howled, "'He' is beyond mortal flesh, beyond mere godhood. 'He' is both and neither."

She clearly heard the mirror say "The master of this place belonged to the same place as her" Her mind raced back to the cocoon she had emerged from. "Was 'He' one of the vanished men? Does this mean I also have the chance to achieve godhood?"

Adriana had always believed herself to be superior to those around her—people who were controlled by their emotions, making choices that harmed them, instead of logical decisions.

She stepped closer to the mirror, standing just before the high-backed, black, majestic seat. Her reflection stared back at her—black, dark hair falling in soft waves, brushed behind her ear with a few stray strands falling over her forehead.

"What is this place exactly?" she finally asked.

The mirror's presence expanded as its voice gained weight. "This place... is where the faithful gather to share knowledge, assist one another, and fulfill their ultimate duty—the awakening of the Great Master. It is a place for regular meetings, and I serve 'Him' in 'His' absence."

Adriana's breath caught. "Awakening?" she echoed, barely above a whisper.

A heavy gloom settled over the hall, pressing down on her. "Is this the sadness of this place... or just the mirror's? Is it trying to bury me?" A long silence followed. Adriana, feeling the awkward tension, prepared to speak, but a deep sigh reverberated through the palace.

A voice, now filled with a strange heaviness, filled the air. As the words reached Adriana's ears, she felt something stir deep inside her. Her chest tightened, an unexplainable feeling of gloom settling over her. It was as though unseen hands had wrapped around her, draining her thoughts, slowing her mind. A strange hollowness spread within her—a sadness that was not her own, yet felt so natural, as if it had always been waiting beneath the surface.

Her vision blurred for a brief moment. The emptiness inside her grew, swallowing her in its depth. The mirror's voice wrapped around her, drowning her in sorrow.

Adriana bit her lip in an attempt to snap out of it, hoping that pain would override this suffocating feeling. But all she felt was numbness.

The mirror spoke again. "The Great Master... 'He' fights even in 'His' slumber, for the people who put their trust in 'Him.'"

As the mirror sighed, the weight on Adriana's chest vanished, as though it had never been there. She felt light, free. The unseen hands loosened their grip, dissipating like mist.

"You should not know more... not yet. The reason you are here may be 'His' will. Your spirit body is now connected to this place. I shall send you to your new life. As you grow... you may be the key to ending 'His' slumber."

Confusion and panic surged within Adriana. "Spirit body? A new life? Am I being pulled into some divine event I don't belong to?!"

Yet, as the panic threatened to consume her, it gradually faded. Her breaths grew heavier, but excitement took its place.

She had always dreamed of this—leaving behind her old life, her endless arguments with her parents, the bullying at school for being different, for not succumbing to emotions like those fools. Now, at last, she could start anew.

A blinding light enveloped her. Her lower body dissolved into nothingness, yet she felt no fear. A quiet, reassuring voice whispered in her mind. "You will be safe."

Her thoughts slowed. Her mind faded.

A voice, distant and muffled, called out.

And then, she slept.

The mirror watched as the girl's form vanished into nothingness, leaving the vast hall empty once more. Silence stretched through the air as the mirror sat alone in the high-backed, black, majestic seat. With a sigh, its voice echoed:

"Perhaps this, too, is part of 'His' plan."