Chapter 9
WITHOUT ANOTHER WORD, Zephard stepped away from the Mirror of Darkness and turned away from the rest of the party. His tears flowed like Tact’s, and he couldn’t find the words to speak.
The rest of the party glanced at each other in silent agreement to give their rogue some time alone.
“Looks like the mirror’s working fine,” Mira said thoughtfully.
“Then what does that mean?” Emella asked, wondering why it hadn’t reacted to Tact’s call.
“Perhaps it was because he tried for both at the same time?” Flicker hypothesized. “Perhaps the mirror can only summon one shade at a time.”
“That’s a possibility,” Asval said slowly before glancing over at Mira. She nodded and gently positioned Tact in front of the mirror once more.
“Tact, try calling for just your father or your mother this time.”
The boy nodded and began to think of his mother. “Mother. Mother Leene!”
Yet the Mirror of Darkness remained silent.
“Father… Ashley!”
Again and again, he implored the mirror and called his parents’ names, but no spirit appeared to answer him. His only conclusion was that they had abandoned him, even beyond the grave. Tears welled up in his eyes once more, and the mirror only showed an image of his tear-streaked cheeks and runny nose.
“No one’s there,” Asval murmured, and Tact broke down into sobs as though his words were the final insult.
As the big man fretted over what he had done, Mira pulled Tact back into her arms and the child’s sobbing slowly ceased. But the tears still flowed and he refused to speak.
“What does it all mean?” Emella circled around and around, looking at the mirror, hoping to discover some sort of cause but finding nothing.
“Looks like one at a time didn’t do the trick,” said Mira sullenly.
“Well, we know it’s not broken.” Flicker reached out and touched the surface.
Asval stopped panicking and joined her in her inspection, puzzling over the fact that there wasn’t even a scratch on it.
The Mirror of Darkness had been a special quest object that allowed users to talk to the dead. Now that the game was reality, it seemed as though it worked regardless of the specific quest, as proven by the situation with Lyrica. But why hadn’t Tact’s parents appeared? Did they truly not wish to see him?
She immediately dismissed the idea. What sort of parent wouldn’t want to see their child, who obviously cared so much about them?
But what other options could explain its behavior?
Then it dawned on her. “Tact’s parents are still alive.”
Emella stopped pacing. The whole reason they’d initiated this adventure was to give Tact a chance to reconnect with his departed parents. While Mira’s hypothesis made their journey a moot point, it made perfect sense.
“This all started because they were declared deceased after having been missing for the past five years,” she said, working through the evidence aloud. “Which means it is possible that they’re still alive.”
Her expression flipped and she happily ran over to Tact. “Five years missing. Those are just the guild rules. But that doesn’t mean that they’re actually dead!”
The other three guildmates looked at one another with wide eyes. They only knew that they were escorting a young boy to say farewell to his dead parents, not that they’d been declared dead through stroke of a pen without evidence of their demise.
“Tact.” Mira gently released her hold on the boy and looked him in the eyes. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, he returned her gaze with a sniffle. “I need you to listen very carefully. The Mirror of Darkness is a mirror that reflects the dead. It can’t reflect the living. Do you understand, Tact? That means that your parents are still alive.”
Alive. The word resounded through his chest, and for a moment, a newfound light banished the darkness that had overwhelmed his spirit. Then he recalled his grandfather’s words, and his heart started to sink once more.
“But…Grandpa told me they were dead. He told me to stop hoping.”
“But the man from the guild only said they were missing, right?”
“Right.”
“You didn’t see them pass away, and they can’t be reflected in the Mirror of Darkness. Don’t you think there’s a good chance that they’re still among the living?” Mira smiled gently as she finished working him through the logic. “If they’re alive, I’m sure you’ll see them again.”
“Leene and Ashley, was it? If we ever run into them on our travels, we’ll tell them all about you, Tact,” said Asval as he fought to hold back his own tears.
Flicker removed a small notepad from her pouch and wrote down their names before. “I’m sure they’re alive. The fact that they didn’t appear in the mirror is proof of that.”
“That’s right, little man!” exclaimed Zephard, popping back into the conversation, even though his eyes were still a bit red. Banishing any forlorn expression, he smiled as best as he could and looked down at Tact. “Take heart—a kid shouldn’t show such despair. I’m sure that your parents would want you to keep smiling. The Écarlate Carillon will find them sooner or later.”
“I will, and…and thank you,” he replied with the biggest smile they had ever seen. “S-sorry I dragged you all into this, but thank you so much!”
As things began to settle, Mira once again retrieved her phial of holy water and turned to stand in front of the mirror.
“Hey, Howard! Come talk to me. Look! I’ve got holy water!” Mira shook the phial back and forth, but the mirror remained silent. After waiting a few more moments, she tucked the phial away while mumbling, “Guess that doesn’t cut it.”
She hadn’t really expected to make contact with the old demonologist since they never shared a strong bond. Even though the man loved holy water with a burning fervor, the item was too generic to cause him to respond. It had been worth a shot, but she decided that the best course of action was to report the result back to Solomon and see if he could come up with another idea.
As she spun on her heel away from the mirror, she caught a glimpse of Zef standing alone with a brooding look on his face. Despite Tact being the focus of attention, it seemed like at least one traumatic event of the past had been faced and resolved that afternoon. The sight of him breaking down into tears was a far cry from her first impression of the playboy rogue she’d met that morning in the guild square.
“By the way, Zef…are you doing all right?”
At her question, the rest of the guildmates turned to face Zef, and he flinched at unexpectedly being the new center of attention.
He quickly shook it off, pointed at the ceiling, and declared, “I’m back in action!”
His face was still a little clouded, but that was far more in character with the easygoing Zephard from before. Asval gave him an appraising look, then breathed a small sigh of relief. Standing on her tiptoes, Mira approached him and reached out toward him.
“Mira, what are you…?”
Just as he asked his question, she patted him on the head.
“I’m glad for you. I don’t know the details, but it seems like you found what you needed.”
Relief spread through Zephard as though it were his sister comforting him in Mira’s place. His mask slipped and his face broke into a natural smile.
“Thank you,” he whispered so that only Mira could hear. He allowed himself a moment to indulge in the comfort, then with a gentle chuckle, he softly let the image of his sister he’d conjured up in his mind fade away.
“Well, now that the job is done, I guess it’s time to head back,” said Emella, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Somewhat unexpected finish…but all’s well that ends well, right?”
Zef was seemingly back in fine form; as he turned and looked at the party, his face bore a boyish grin.
“This might be just the beginning for you, Tact.”
“Right! I’m going to become an adventurer and go out to find my parents!”
They had to be alive somewhere. The revelation brought Tact much more joy than his original goal would have.
“Speaking of unexpected, what about you, player?” Asval glanced between Zephard and Mira with an arched eyebrow. Their private conversation remained a mystery, but it was obvious the two had shared a moment in the wake of Zephard’s revelation at the mirror. “You have a new type now that you’ve got some closure?”
“What? Did I just hear what I think I heard? I’m sure that was just my imagination!”
“Wait, you knew about that beforehand?” exclaimed Emella. “I had no idea Zef was suffering in silence! I’m supposed to be the vice captain of the guild, and I didn’t even recognize that one of my guildmates was so troubled.”
Mira smirked at their banter but felt a true joy at the obviousness of the bonds that bound the group together. She was reminded of the old days when the Wise Men were securing a future for Alcait.
Speaking of which…
“Thanks for the help, guys. Would you mind taking Tact back with you? I still have business to attend to on the sixth level.”
With Tact’s quest concluded, there was no further reason to subject him to the hardships of the dungeon. This party had earned her trust to return him to town safe and sound, and she needed to get on with her mission.
“What business would you have on the sixth level, little miss?” asked Asval suspiciously.
Zephard looked puzzled as well. “I’ve heard there’s nothing down there, just an empty old castle and no monsters.”
“That is quite odd.” Flicker looked at her and pushed up her glasses by wrinkling her nose. “No one has ever reported finding anything on the sixth level.”
They weren’t wrong. The sixth level was a massive cavern with an underground lake and a huge castle that had been vacant for as long as anyone could remember.
It was unique in that it was the lowest point in the dungeon…and yet nothing was there. Even the interior of the castle was bare, the walls uncovered and lacking any sort of furnishings. There weren’t any doors, and what should have been the treasure vault was open and empty.
No treasures, no monsters, and there had never been any special in-game events.
Some of the players who fancied themselves archeologists took interest in the sixth level, but after thoroughly examining every last nook and cranny, they found nothing of interest. It was as if the developers had meant to implement features there but then had gotten sidetracked by more interesting projects.
And somehow, Mira said she had business there.
“That’s right. You had the permit for the Ancient Temple before any of this even started,” Emella muttered to herself while thinking about the events of yesterday that led them into the dungeon. “I guess the sixth level was your target all along.”
Having unexplained business in a place that no one ever went sounded right up Zef’s alley. “Well consider me intrigued. I’m going too!”
“I knew it! You do have a new type…” Asval laughed.
“I’m telling you, it’s not like that!”
“I won’t let you have Mira!” cried Flicker, fruitlessly pounding her fists on Zephard’s back.
“Please, listen to what I’m trying to say!” shouted Zef as his protests fell on deaf ears. “You all saw how strong she is! I just figured if someone like Mira was getting up to something, it might be worth checking out. No other ulterior motives! None!”
But despite their teasing, the group grew ever more curious. Everyone had heard that nothing was on the sixth floor, but no one had actually seen it for themselves.
So as the group quieted down, Emella presented a collective request from the Écarlate Carillon. “So, Mira, perhaps we could all accompany you?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure what lies ahead, but…suit yourself, I suppose.”
She was hoping to find Soul Howl, the Great Wall of Alcait, one of the Nine Wise Men. Mira had always been a bit reluctant to be associated with Soul Howl since his interests had always been a bit…warped. But given the circumstances, she had to acknowledge that the kingdom needed all the help it could get.
Soul Howl might have been a creep, but at least he wasn’t an actual psychopath. She counted that as a point in his favor. It was kind of like the difference between going all out on making a tricked-out haunted house and actually hanging corpses from the rafters.
And it was that difference that led Mira to decide that it was probably safe enough for the rest of the party to tag along.
Leaving the Hall of Darkness, she opened the door that led to the sixth level. There were no monsters left to defeat, and it was a straight shot down the corridor to the next level. After walking along the passageway, the party emerged near the top of the underground cavern.
The cave comprised exposed bedrock, but off to the right, a staircase had been gouged out of the rock. It led down the side of the cavern wall to the shore of the lake below. But the size of the steps was inconsistent, and they appeared to be slick and treacherous given the dank nature of the cave.
“Phew, would ya look at that,” Zef said, adding a low whistle.
The sixth level was lit by shining crystals, which protruded from the large domed walls, and the whole vastness of the cavern was enveloped in an ethereal light.
“These weren’t here the last time I visited,” Mira mumbled to herself. “What on earth is he up to?”
She dismissed her light spell and took Tact by the hand, and then she started off down the stairs.
“Th-this is really high up…” Emella turned off her lantern and peered down the stairs hesitantly before plastering herself against the cavern wall to make the descent.
“C’mon, Vice Captain,” Asval said with a chuckle as he passed by her. “Cheer up, we’re going to get a bit more of that dungeoneering experience.”
“I don’t know if our illustrious vice captain can handle it.” Zephard leered at Emella and then stepped a little closer to the edge as he walked past the swordswoman, continuing down the stairs to catch up with Flicker, who was trying to catch up with Mira in turn.
“Knock it off, Zef!” Emella snapped at the rogue. “You’ll get yours sooner or later!”
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