Alan opened his eyes to see a dark wooden ceiling. The pleasant sounds of birds singing and chirping insects flooded his ears. He lifted his hands slowly, and inspected his flexed fingers.
'I feel sore…' he thought. He turned his head to the side to see the teacher watching him with a strange gaze. "Hey…?" he said softly.
"Hello, Alan. You took your time," he replied dryly.
Alan tried sitting up, but winced at a subtle pain coming from his back. "How long was I-"
"Alan!" came a screech from the hallway. Lyra threw herself at Alan, hugging him tightly. "You're… safe…"
Alan lightly patted her back. "Yeah…" he said weakly. "Too tight, Lyra."
"Shut up," she grunted. "You've been asleep for 6 days. I deserve this."
Eventually, Lyra pulled away and helped Alan sit up. 'Lyra's looking at me in a strange… Wait… Her eyes feel diff-...' Alan frowned. 'Were they always grey?'
Noticing Alan's expression, Lyra puffed her chest out. "I went through my reflection, too. And yeah, my eyes are grey now. Weird, huh?"
"As I said," the teacher cut in, "it's normal for your body to change subtly after their reflection."
"So my body's changed, too?" Alan asked, pointing to himself.
The teacher shrugged. "How would I know?"
"Ah," Alan conceded. "Right. So, what have you been up to? Teaching without fifty percent of your students?"
"Yes, actually. I've taught Lyra embroidery. She made a strange mess for me." He gestured to a glove, or rather, an amalgamation of various threads.
"I made one for you too, Alan!" Lyra said proudly.
"...Really?" He chuckled. "Are you sure? I mean… You can keep it. As a memory, I mean."
"But I made it for-" Lyra's protest was cut off by the teacher clearing his throat.
"I think it'd be best if you set off as soon as possible. You have much to do in Auren, after all. I suggest you leave Cadmia while the sun is still out."
Silently thanking him, Alan swung his feet over the bed, but let out a small 'ouch' while doing so. 'We should say goodbye to Claire, first."
The teacher nodded. "Go ahead. I'll pack your things."
The teacher walked out of the room, leaving Alan and Lyra alone. After some small talk, they left the lodge and made their way into the village center.
The village itself was the same. People were running around with their own work, but always made time to spare a smile at a passerby.
Once they entered the general square of the town, they heard Claire barking orders at multiple young men, who quickly dispersed.
She turned to the two of them before either could call out to her. "Well you took your time," she sighed. "I was wondering how much more of Lyra's grumbling I could take."
"Hey!" She protested weakly. "That was supposed to be a secret."
"It's good to see you are well, though," Claire said, ignoring Lyra. "How was your first reflection?"
Alan let out a sigh. "Strange, honestly. I don't want to talk about it."
Claire narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you did it?"
"Yeah…why?"
She shook her head. "No, nothing. Just go to your teacher after this. I'm guessing you're leaving soon?"
"Yep," Lyra nodded, "right after this."
"Your goal is Auren, I assume? Do you know the way?"
"We don't, actually," Alan cut in. "I felt like the route was quite far for us two."
"That's right. It is. But I'm not sure how you missed it, but there's a city along the way. Argent, the economic capital."
"Oh, oh!" Lyra raised her hand excitedly. "I went there once when I was a kid with my…" she trailed off. "Well… anyway, I wanted to avoid the route because most blocks in Argent aren't exactly the best for two teenagers like us." Her eyes glinted. "Then again, we are flux users now, so…"
"Use your ability for good, Lyra, not for fighting the occasional thug," Claire scolded. "There's not much you can do about the people there, but I suggest not going out at night."
"Yeah, well, there's that and the huge ravine around the outskirts of the damned city. Why is that even there?! Do you know how much it scared me?!"
"That was, according to texts, the aftermath of one of the strongest swordsmen fighting there. That's not just an attraction, Lyra, but a reminder of how high a human can go."
"Elder?" Alan sighed. "Can you get back to telling us where to go?"
"This is important too," Claire insisted, "but sure. Argent should be three days away on foot, and after resting a day, it should take another five to reach Auren. It's a bit challenging, but I trust you can live off the land a little. Still… If I were to give you a car and a driver, you'd reach faster."
Alan looked at Lyra, who looked back and nodded at him. They both nodded, which prompted Alan to say, "Respectfully, hell no. We have time, and nature lets us think."
Claire smiled softly. "No problem, then. But… I doubt you'll be back here in Cadmia anytime soon, so write a letter ever now and then, would you?"
"Yeah, sure, but… Why do you sound sad?"
Her smile went wider. "I am but an old lady who holds on to her time. You two remind me of two dear friends of mine is all. A perk of being a high-level conduit is that you can see people grow around you… and sadly die, as well."
Lyra looked to her feet. "We'll… keep in touch. I swear it," she said, looking for Alan, but found him tightly hugging Claire.
"Elder! You need to tell me more about the mythology before you die!"
Claire's eyebrow twitched. "Who said I'm dying?" She returned the hug. "And sure, I'll send you a book or something." She glanced at Lyra.
Lyra marched over to her and hugged her loosely, though she kept a sour face. "Thank you for being so hospitable to us, Elder,"
"What kind of adult wouldn't help a child?" she said, pulling away. "And one last thing… Your home may be destroyed, but I trust you will find another one. It may be difficult… But you must do it."
Alan and Lyra kept quiet. This was likely her own experience, or perhaps the experience of someone else.
"Ah," Claire muttered. "There's a place in Auren you could go to when you're free, actually. Hren's Gallow. It's a… a decently known restaurant, so you could ask people for directions."
"Alright," Alan nodded. "We'll be off, then. See ya."
Lyra waved, "Bye, Elder! Teach me your skincare routine next time!"
Claire smiled as she watched the two of them walk away. How many timed had she seen this very sight? It had been her childhood friends first, then her comrades, then her children, then her grandchildren, and so many more. And yet, she felt like these two were different.
Had it been because of the man who wanted to teach them? Yes, but also because they had what the others didn't, which was conviction and reason. How far their revenge would take them, she did not know. But she wanted to see them last longer than everyone else she had helped.
Or maybe she wouldn't.
Alan and Lyra reached the house to find their teacher packing the last of their things into a bag. Lyra went into her room, leaving the two of them alone.
Alan, having nothing to do, decided to help him. He handed him the items to put into the bag. Even as he did such a mundane act, the teacher's hands moved gracefully. Yet, the two of them did not utter a word.
Once they were done, the man watched as Alan and Lyra put the bags on their shoulders. "It's not too heavy, is it?"
"Not too much, no, but yeah. This is it," Lyra echoed.
"And one more thing," the man looked at Alan. "You… How do I say this?" he muttered. "You have no flux, Alan. I feel a trickle from Lyra, but nothing from you."
"What?! He's gone through his reflection, so why?!" Lyra gasped, taking a step back.
"I wouldn't know. I've never seen anything like it."
Alan hummed softly. "Any theories?"
He paused. "I do have one, but… It would do you no good knowing about it." Before Lyra could question further, he raised a hand in a placating manner. "Drop it." He turned to Alan. "You shouldn't ever tell anyone that you've gone through your reflection. This has never happened before, and humans fear what they don't know, and what they don't know, they dissect."
"I… I see. I'll keep it in mind."
"Then that'll be all. It was nice meeting you," he said, his face as passive as ever.
"Likewise, teacher," Lyra said, bowing slightly. "Until we meet again."
"Until we meet again," the teacher repeated as Lyra walked out of the lodge.
Alan, who was now alone with the man, idly tapped the floor with his feet. "Thank you," he said quietly.
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "What for? I haven't taught you anything."
"You haven't, no," Alan laughed, "But you were there for Lyra," he said, his face going back to neutral. "And thank you for that."
"Of course. Anytime."
Alan took a step back, but stopped. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot, but I got a cool sword from my reflection."
The man's eyes widened slightly. "Oh? A Mirror this quick? That's impressive."
"A… 'Mirror'?"
"An item that you can store in your mindspace," he explained. "You can pull it into the real world easily. Just reach into your mind and picture the sword."
Alan didn't get how that would work, but he closed his eyes and tried anyway. He had not entered his mindspace up till that point, so he was shocked to find it empty. Was this really his mind?
He glanced down at his watch, which refused to budge. Perhaps time really loved to stop with him.
He pictured the sword on a pedestal. It took a while, but Alan soon realised that he didn't have to have the exact image of the sword, but only an approximation. Proof of this was because he simply thought of a sword and the midnight blade revealed itself to him.
Laying his hands on the scabbard, he felt himself getting back to the real world.
He opened his eyes to see the man in the same position. "How long was I out?"
"A few… seconds…" the man said absently as he inspected the sword in Alan's hands. Alan held it up for him to see better. The sword was as majestic as Alan remembered, with its dark colors absorbing light around it.
"That…" the man sighed, muttering under his breath, "I should have known she would do something like this." His voice was as quiet as the wind, and Alan did not hear it. But he did see his lips move.
He cleared his throat. "That sword… It is another thing you must hide. This blade… You have seen it before."
Alan looked back at the sword, which he did think looked suspiciously like the sword in the murals. "Is this the sword the God of Darkness used?"
"It is dark, curved, and…" he took the sword out of its sheath and tapped the blade with a nail. "Strong, too. This is a good Mirror. What a shame it is that you cannot use it freely."
Alan squinted at the sight before him. Didn't the teacher look a little too comfortable with the sword? Choosing not to comment on it, he put the sheath back on. "So I just have a portable sword to take everywhere? That's convenient."
"Indeed it is," he nodded. "And it won't break easily, either. But again, you don't need people to know that you have it. Try and attract as little attention as you can." He squinted. "Do you remember how you got it?"
"I… Don't? All I remember was that there were two parts to my reflection. I had to judge people in the first, and I don't remember the second."
"I see," he said softly. "You remember nothing… How sad."
Alan ran his fingers through his hair. "It's not that bad. If I forgot it, it probably wasn't important."
The man smiled slightly. "I hope so."
"Alright," Alan took a step away. "This is goodbye, then."
The man looked at the floor, before his gaze snapped back to Alan. "I suppose it is. Take care."
Alan, who was midway out of the door, stopped. "You never told us your name," he pointed out. "What is it?"
The teacher waved him off. "It's not important. Be safe, Alan. Tell that to Lyra, too. And… Don't try to be heroic."
Alan smiled as he waved back at the teacher. "I won't. Stay safe."
The teacher watched as Alan left the lodge, his gaze fixed on the teen's back. He stepped out of the doorway to watch Alan and Lyra make their way out of the village.
"You're smiling, you know," a light, melodic voice called from behind him. Before he could react, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his torso from behind. "It's a nice thing to see, Nyther."
Nyther hummed, leaning back a little. "Is smiling a crime?"
"No, it's not," she replied quickly, "but it is for you. Then again, I don't blame you. It took you a while to do it," she teased.
"Took me a while?" Nyther asked, looking over his shoulder at the white-haired woman. "You've been whispering into his ear all his life, I doubt that counts as 'meeting him'."
She stuck her lips out in a strange pout. "I met him recently too! He just…"
They remained silent for a moment, until Nyther took a deep breath. "Actually… He has no flux. None at all."
The woman remained quiet, though her hands tightened around Nyther's waist ever so slightly. "...And what did you do about it?" she asked quietly.
"I… I told him to be careful?"
She leaned her forehead on his shoulder. "Is that all you could think of, Nyther?"
"I… You're burning the grass, you know."
Indeed, the grass in front of the lodge was being burnt by how intensely hot the light around them had become. As soon as he said this, however, she loosened her grip on his waist. "Right. Sorry."
The light around them turned softer, and the burnt grass fell apart, only to grow once again, taller this time. "I was just-"
"Thinking about what the men at the capital could do to him?" He finished for her. "I was thinking the same. But I also think we should trust him more?"
She sighed, leaning forward. "You are right, Nyther… But can I not worry?"
"You can," he said softly. "You most certainly can."