Mirror's Grasp

The riddle hovered before me.

[My first is found in Flame and also in Fire.

My second's in Sand but never in Stone.

My third is buried in Earth, but never in Air.

My whole is what all fear, yet all must bear.]

I read it again, lips moving silently.

It was a riddle, no doubt. I had read about it in the book, so I knew what the answer was.

It was also the only constant thing from when Varek got the relic. There was no mention of the strange being I saw or passing out and waking up here. The strange being, the guy in purple robes, was probably the reason why I was in this cave with no exit.

'Was it because I came here earlier?'

Varek had gotten the relic I am after a few years from now. Maybe that was why things were different. The strange being also mentioned that he had been waiting here for a long time.

Was he trapped here? Did the fall of Babel someone release him before Varek arrived here?

'Wait! If there are changes, will I still get the same relic?'

I wondered, praying and hoping that I didn't jinx myself by coming here.

'Anyway, let's solve this riddle first.'

So I focused and broke the riddle down.

"My first is found in Flame and also in Fire."

Both words started with F. That seemed simple enough. The letter F. There was no trick to it.

"My second's in Sand but never in Stone."

S, A, N, D... versus S, T, O, N, E.

Only the letter A appeared in Sand and not in Stone.

So far we had two letters, F & A

"My third is buried in Earth, but never in Air."

Earth had E, A, R, T, and H while Air had A, I, and R.

T was in Earth, but not in Air. That worked.

F – A – T…

"My whole is what all fear, yet all must bear."

FATE.

That was the answer.

Of course. It made perfect sense. It was both Elegant and terrifying in its simplicity.

Fate was, and is, the great constant. The invisible hand on every shoulder. It doesn't ask. It only declares. But it can be changed. I had to change it.

I took a mouthful of the damp air before whispering the word.

"Fate."

The silence pressed in on me like a hand across my mouth but nothing happened the riddle still hovered before me.

I said it again, this time louder. "Fate."

Still nothing, just the distant drip of water and the still air of the cavern. I was starting to hate this place's silence.

'Wait, was that not the answer?'

My heart thudded once.

I replayed it in my head. The memory of reading the book, the logic behind it; F in Flame and Fire, A in Sand and not in Stone, T in Earth, and not Air. And E… the final letter that completes the word, the thing that represents the inevitability finishes fate.

It fit, it had to.

I tried to entertain other possibilities even though my gut twisted at the thought. Things were different from when Varek was here, so the could be other answers to the riddle.

'What if it was the word END?'

E is in Earth and Air. N is in Wind, not Wire. D is in Flame, but not in Fire.

That also worked.

And "End" is something we all fear and must bear.

That could be it... or maybe something weirder.

I'd once tried L-N-A on an old sigil cypher. Flame but not Fire gave L. Wind but not Wire gave N. Earth and Air gave A.

LNA.

But it didn't make sense or even sound like anything. It was just a mess of letters.

The bones from before, I looked around. They weren't just there to add to the cave's charm.

A part of me knew what they meant. They hadn't escaped or even answered. And neither would I... if I was wrong.

The thought spiralled, tumbling down into the pit of my stomach like a stone.

What if that… strange being from before, the man in the purple robes. The one with the horns like a crown, what if he didn't need a wrong answer?

What if he just wanted any answer… so he could consume the one who gave it?

What if the bones weren't the result of silence but of participation?

I imagined his voice again. It was silk-smooth and calm. What if I'd never really left that chamber? What if he was still watching me from the shadows? Licking his lips as he waits for his next meal?

The cave felt colder.

The water around my legs shifted though no wind blew. The very stone seemed to shiver.

Then… the ground trembled.

"Rumble!"

It started as a slow low hum in the soles of my shoes, then escalated into a deep quake. The water rippled violently while the ceiling above groaned like it would collapse.

Before I could react, a splitting pressure hit my skull like a hammer wrapped in velvet.

Then I blacked out.

I woke to a cold and a dull, wet ache at the base of my neck.

My eyes opened to the sight of the cave. The narrow one with its knee-deep water and the singular crack above letting in the light.

I sat up too quickly and winced.

"Why do I have to pass out every time?"

Then I noticed the entrance. I was glad, very glad.

There was also no throne, no bones or any horned figure. Which was very surprising.

Did the strange being just leave, or worse...

'Had it even happened at all?'

I looked down at my reflection in the water, half-expecting some shadow, or figure, to blink back at me.

But it was just me. Ronan Fitzroy, sitting in a cold puddle, soaked and confused. Maybe I had simply lost my mind in a cursed cave while chasing the idea of relics.

I sighed and then lifted my hands to massage my temples.

"What?!"

I stopped midway.

Something was on my hands. It was around them.

I brought them forward slowly since I was not trusting what I felt.

I studied them. My hands, and forearms, were encased in deep crimson metal.

My face lit up in joy. I had completed my objective.

The crimson metal was intricately etched and glowed faintly along the lines of the design.

Sharp clawed fingertips flexed when I moved my fingers. They were elegant, vicious and beautiful.

A slow grin spread across my face.

"It's the relic,"

The Mirror's Grasp.

I stood up, water splashing around me as I raised both arms. The gauntlets shimmered as I curled and uncurled my fingers.

They were alive with potential.

"Come on, let's see you now," I said, calling my runes with a thought.

They answered immediately,

[===========ᚱᛟᚾᚨᚾ===========]

Name: Ronan Fitzroy / ??

Affliction: Withering Frost

Power Rank: Second Star

Curse Effect: Drains heat from user and target, freezing them. Also causes Hydrophilia to the user.

Potential: Celestial Rank

Relic: Mirror's Grasp

Relic Effect: Inverses the user's curse effect.

Rank: I

[===========ᚱᛟᚾᚨᚾ===========]