Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 415: Duality [3]



'Veltrus, shaper of Earth and Sky, breath of life, the creator of all.'

Clank-

"Наа... Наа..."

Kiera entered her dorm room. Her face was pale and her breathing was rough. Entering the room, she turned on the light and wabbled her way in.

She felt dizzy, her vision swaying from side to side as if she were on a boat caught in the midst of a stormy sea.

Kiera felt drunk and lost.

|| ||

She didn't say a word and simply scanned the room with her eyes.

'His presence is elusive, barely leaving his name etched in the canals of history. His blood begets fire but his fire rages on. From within his flames arise his creations.'

A faint voice whispered in Kiera's mind as she made her way toward her bed. Sweat poured down from her face as images flashed across her mind.

They were posters.

Posters that the Cardinal himself held while pointing at them.

'It is not his blood that we seek, but his creations. The Chalice of collection...'

Bang!

Kiera shoved the bed to the side.

"The Extractor of Containment.'

Her eyes instantly locked onto one of the wooden planks beneath the bed. It was slightly looser than the others.

She quickly loosened the plank further and moved it to the side, revealing a small black box.

Kiera trembled at the sight of the box.

...It had been a while since she had last seen it.

'Oracle's Eye.'

|| ||

Reaching out for the box, Kiera's hand started to tremble.

The Cardinal's words echoed once more in her mind as she carefully lifted the lid of the box. '... And lastly, the Astral Mirror.'

Click!

"These are the four holy relics of creation. Veltrus's masterpieces and the key to stopping the expansion of the Mirror Dimension.'

Nestled within a fold of red cloth, a simple, cracked mirror lay inside the box. It seemed ordinary at first glance, yet...

"It's the same."

It was the same as the image within one of the posters the Cardinal displayed during the

mass.

"A-Ah."

....It was only now that it fully dawned on her.

The reason for her aunt's obsession with the mirror and why she would even go as far as kill her mother for it.

Kiera knew it was important, but...

She didn't know it was one of the four holy relics of Veltrus.

The Astral Mirror.

***

'So this is how the outside world looks like....'

Julien blinked his eyes and calmly observed his surroundings. Although there were many things that he wanted to do, he kept his cool and looked at Leon.

'... Is this how he normally looks like when someone isn't putting him in his place?'

Leon... How could he describe him?

He looked different than how he knew him. He looked relaxed, and there was no tension on his face.

....He looked so different than the Leon he was accustomed to.

This didn't sit well with Julien.

How could a knight of his look like this? Who would he intimidate like this? And how would a relaxed knight even protect him?

'This won't do. I'll have to fix him back into shape soon.'

But there was a time and place for everything. Julien held himself back knowing that this wasn't the right time for him to do so.

He first needed to get used to his body again.

"So, are you going to look for Kiera?"

Turning his head, Julien looked at Evelyn. His lips twitched, forcing whatever words he was about to shout at her down.

He didn't quite know who Kiera was, however, he had been paying attention to the conversation before.

'Mirror...'

She was the one in possession of the special relic that sealed him into that space.

Clench.

Julien secretly balled his fists.

'So long as I get my hands on that Mirror I'll be able to reverse the situation.'

It would only be when he was sure he had full control of his body again and got rid of the pest

that he would finally reveal himself.

Before then...

"Yes, I'll try to look for her."

Julien held himself back.

***

||

11

Faint cracks emerged in my vision, stretching across the mirror that stood in front of me,

reflecting the endless darkness that surrounded the space.

"....It really is dark around here."

Not only was it dark but it was also quiet.

Eerily so.

At least, that was until a certain voice echoed in my ears.

"Why did you let yourself be taken over."

A pair of deep yellow eyes gazed in my direction. Blending into the darkness, Pebble looked

up at me from the ground.

"If you had asked for my help, I would've been able to help you."

"I know."

Pebble didn't need to remind me of this.

I had willingly chosen to let myself be taken over. Although I still hadn't tried it yet, I was

confident in taking the body back anytime that I wanted.

....The resistive force that was placed on me wasn't very powerful.

With the aid of Pebble, I was confident in getting out whenever I wanted.

It was from the moment that I realized this that I willingly let myself be taken over. I wanted

to find some time to properly study the 'seal' that kept Julien in check.

Perhaps I could find more clues about my situation by looking into it...

Like for example who had been the one to seal Julien? I had previously thought I had simply

taken over Julien's body, but that no longer appeared to be the case.

Someone purposely sealed the old Julien before allowing me to take over.

The idea made my heart race.

'Who? Just who did this?'Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The truth felt closer than ever, yet remained just out of reach. There was something that I was

missing.

A clue that would give me an idea of the one responsible for all of this.

"Are you not worried about what will happen now that someone else is controlling the

body?"

"....Um?"

Pebble seemed genuinely curious when asking this.

It really did look like Pebble was worried about what my body would do now that I was no

longer controlling it.

The concern made me smile a little.

"You don't have to worry too much."

"Why?"

"....Do you know how long it took for Leon to figure out that I wasn't the real Julien?"

"No?"

"Pretty much within a few moments. It was right after I took the entrance examination. All he

did was look at me before pointing his sword at me."

"He pointed his sword at you?"

"Oh, yeah. He almost tried to kill me."

I could still vividly recall the cold expression he had back then as if he was ready to devour me

whole. I was somehow able to bullshit my way into him thinking that I was stronger than

him.

Which I now was...

Still, it was the fact that he noticed immediately that set me at ease.

If he could figure it out back then, I was certain he could do it now. As long as he was there, I

had no reason to worry about what was happening in the outside world.

|| ||

Pebble looked slightly puzzled by what I had shared, but there was no time to linger on the

past.

Looking around, I stretched my hands.

"We don't have much time. Let's figure out if there's anything worth learning. In the

meantime, contact Owl-Mighty and tell it to go to Leon."

"....Eh?"

Pebble blinked its eyes in confusion, opening its mouth to mumble, 'But didn't you say that

he would figure it out...?'

"I did, I did."

"Then...?" "Have you seen his face?"

"Leon's?"

"Yes."

"What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you see it?"

"That it looks stupi-ah."

Realization dawned on Pebble, and I smirked.

"See?"

"Okay."

Without asking anything further, Pebble closed its eyes and connected with Owl-Mighty.

"Ah, wait."

It was right when Pebble was about to make contact with Owl-Mighty that I recalled

something and stopped him.

"There's something else that I need you to tell Owl-Mighty."

"....Something else?"

"Tell Owl-Mighty to pretend it doesn't know me."

"What are you planning?"

Pebble frowned, clearly curious about what I planned on doing.

"Just do that for now."

I just smiled and turned my attention to the mirror in front of me, slowly reaching out to

touch its surface with the palm of my hand.

"Perhaps..."

The instant my hand met the mirror, a cool sensation washed over my mind, sending a shiver

down my spine.

"...I might not have to use the Mirror to take care of this situation."

And my world shifted.

***

Clank-

Julien entered the room that was supposed to belong to him. While he was unfamiliar with his

surroundings, it didn't take a genius to understand how the Academy was structured. Additionally, he had a basic understanding of his body's actions while he remained trapped in

the mirror. Though he didn't know the situation perfectly, he had time.

But first things first.

"....He hasn't been slacking off."

Julien balled his fists and then relaxed them, sensing the untamed power pulsing within him.

It was unlike anything he had ever had before. If he wanted to, Julien felt like he could shatter

the table with just a light tap. "Not bad, not bad..."

His lips curled into a nasty smile.

"This is a lot better than I thought. Hahaha."

Laughing quietly, Julien shifted his attention towards the main desk where he spotted several

books and newspapers. He calmly walked towards the table and picked up one of the papers.

"The Rise of the Twin Stars of the Evenus Household."

The Twin Stars...?

'It doesn't sound too bad.'

Julien frowned as he stared at the paper, which displayed an image of him and Leon engaged

in battle on a grand stage.

The image contained colors, and there he could see Leon's eyes which had turned completely

black while his had turned yellow.

"Yellow?"

Julien's frown deepened and he hurriedly turned to face the nearest mirror. He was relieved to

see that his eyes were normal. "....Why are my eyes yellow?"

Suddenly, Julien grew curious. Why were his eyes yellow? Was it some sort of skill? Picking up

the paper, Julien went through it. It took him no longer than a few minutes of reading to

finally grasp why his eyes had turned yellow.

"Concept?"

This wasn't the first time he had heard such a term.

He had heard it before, but wasn't it something that was supposed to happen once one was

about to create a domain?

"Could it be?"

Julien's eyes widened in realization as he felt his heart speed up.

Just as he was about to test the Concept, a cold breeze swept into the room from behind him.

Frowning, Julien turned around and spotted a figure standing by the window.

"...!"

His entire body froze at the sight of her.

Every hair on his body stood on end as his breath caught in his throat.

'Who...?'

Julien inwardly mumbled, feeling the muscles in his body grow stiff. '... Who in the world is this?'