Chapter 53: Mirror

Lucien closed the archive screen, and Reinhard turned to him. "So how exactly do I stop being an outsider?"

Lucien smiled. "By becoming useful."

"I had a feeling you’d say that."

"You’ve already done the hard part."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "Which part?"

"You’ve made yourself someone Eclipse wants to keep talking to," Lucien said, turning to walk.

Reinhard followed. "And how do you plan on putting me to work?"

"I have a team I’d like you to meet."

"Are they leaving soon?"

"Very soon."

They walked deeper into the building until a set of reinforced doors opened onto a large preparation room. Awakeners were checking their gear while others studied maps spread across a wide table, weapons were being strapped down and supplies packed, and a researcher stood beside a projection of a massive underground structure.

Lucien gestured at it. "They’re heading into a newly discovered supernatural site."

"Looking for what?"

"An artifact."

"How dangerous?"

Lucien smiled. "Dangerous enough that I don’t want to send them in blind."

Reinhard understood immediately. He was here to test the Mirror.

A few Awakeners noticed him, and the whispers started. Was this the consultant? He looked young. Wasn’t he only C-Rank? Wasn’t that the Mirror guy?

Reinhard’s smile didn’t move, though his eye twitched once. He had heard worse, and he had already heard "Mirror guy" from half of an auction house.

Then his attention drifted to the far side of the room, where a tall woman stood watching in silence. Her long dark hair was streaked with white and purple, and a fringe covered her left eye. Her visible eye was crimson, with faint orange highlights and a strange diamond-shaped pupil. She wore a plain black suit, and nothing about her appearance was particularly dramatic, and yet the room seemed quieter around her.

Lucien noticed Reinhard looking. "Archon."

The woman turned her head.

"Are you here to give them their final instructions?"

"No. I just arrived."

Lucien nodded. "The Nephilim are on break, then?"

"For now."

Reinhard remembered the name. Lucien had mentioned the Nephilim before, but he still had no idea what they were. Before he could ask, Lucien turned to the expedition team. "You’re getting a different kind of preparation today."

The team leader frowned, and Lucien gestured at Reinhard. "This is our special consultant."

The leader looked Reinhard up and down. "He’s the consultant?"

Another Awakener stared at him. "He looks pretty young."

"I’m an Awakener, a consultant, and extremely handsome," Reinhard said pleasantly. "Choose whichever one makes you trust me more."

The team leader’s mouth twitched. "Enough."

Reinhard smiled and reached into his coat, and the Mirror appeared in his hand. "You don’t have to believe me." He lifted it slightly. "Just watch."

The room went silent as the dark surface rippled and the first vision appeared. The expedition entered by its planned route, and everything went smoothly for several moments until something moved in the darkness. A massive creature surged forward, and the formation shattered. One Awakener was thrown into a wall, and another tried to retreat, too late. The vision jumped ahead to weapons scattered across the stone floor and several bodies lying motionless, and then the Mirror went dark.

Nobody spoke.

The second vision appeared. This time, the team avoided the creature, and for a moment, it looked like they had escaped, until the passage collapsed behind them. The vision moved forward one day, then another, as their supplies ran out and their movements slowed, and the final image showed the whole team sitting in darkness with nowhere left to go.

Then came the third. The team changed its route completely, slipping through a narrow passage into a hidden chamber, where the artifact was waiting. They took it, and they walked out alive.

The Mirror went dark, and Lucien’s expression turned serious. "We’re changing the plan."

The team leader stared at him. "Sir?"

"That first route was the one you were scheduled to take."

The man’s face drained of color. "That was our route?"

"You would have died." Lucien added. "Or been trapped."

The leader turned to Reinhard, and there was no skepticism left in his face. "You just saved my team."

Reinhard shook his head. "I only showed you what might happen."

The man bowed his head. "That’s enough. Thank you."

Reinhard smiled. "Just come back alive. It’s good for my reviews."

The team immediately began rewriting their plans, replacing maps, changing routes, and rearranging their formation, and Reinhard watched quietly. The Mirror hadn’t killed anything, and it hadn’t made anyone stronger. It had simply shown them the consequences of their choices, and that might be worth more than either.

Archon’s crimson eye stayed fixed on the relic. "What an interesting artifact."

Lucien glanced at her. "What grade would you give it?"

She studied the Mirror. "S-Grade." A pause. "At minimum."

Lucien’s expression shifted. "At minimum?"

"It may be beyond that." Her crimson eye narrowed. "Divine Grade."

The room went silent.

Reinhard tilted his head. "Divine Grade?"

"I have never seen an artifact with a function like this." She looked at him. "Where did you get it?"

Reinhard pointed straight up. "The sky."

Nobody said anything.

One of the team members stared at him. "He’s joking."

"He has to be joking."

Lucien turned away, his shoulders shaking, but Archon simply nodded. "I see."

Reinhard blinked. She believed me? He genuinely couldn’t tell whether that was more impressive or more worrying.

Archon held out her hand. "May I?"

Reinhard handed it over, and she studied the Mirror before trying to activate it. Nothing happened. She tried again, and still nothing happened. Then Reinhard touched the frame with one finger, and the Mirror lit up immediately.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed, and Archon turned it over in her hands. "It seems to have already bonded with you."

"Relics can do that?"

"Some can. Think of it as a defense mechanism."

"So it chose me?"

"Apparently."

Reinhard smiled. "It has excellent taste." Then he frowned at the Mirror. "And it still won’t show me my own reflection. It chose me and then refuses to look at me. That’s a complicated relationship."

Archon stared at him, and then she raised the Mirror while his finger was still touching the frame. Three visions unfolded. The first showed an Eclipse facility in ruins, smoke rising from the rubble. The second showed Archon reaching into a strange, lightless space and pulling out a key that looked like a shard of the night sky. The third showed a burning building as figures in crimson-black armor retreated from the flames.

The Mirror went dark, and Lucien stared. Archon closed her eye for a moment. "What an amazing relic."

"It can even show your future," Lucien said.

"Apparently."

Reinhard barely heard them. His attention was still on the second vision, a key made of starlight. He was searching for a key. He didn’t know what the Lightning Emperor Key looked like, but he suddenly very much wanted to know where Archon had been when that vision took place.

Lucien turned to her. "So?"

Archon opened her eye. "He’s perfect for the job."

"You think so?"

She looked straight at Reinhard. "No." A pause. "I think the job may be underselling him."

Lucien laughed. "Well, if the Calamity says so, I can only agree."

Before Reinhard could ask what that title meant, the team leader came over. "We’re ready."

"Then go," Lucien said.

The team filed out, and Reinhard watched them disappear.

...

For the next several hours, Eclipse kept working around them, and Reinhard waited. He was very bad at waiting.

After forty minutes, he turned to Archon. "So. Do you like bunnies?"

She didn’t look at him. "I like silence."

"That’s unfortunate."

Lucien nearly choked on his coffee.

Another hour passed, and Reinhard tried again. "What’s your favorite food?"

"Why?"

"I’m collecting data. My wife likes pork and pie."

Archon looked at him. "Tea."

"Tea isn’t a food."

"It is today."

Reinhard nodded. I’ll count that as progress.

Finally, hours later, the reinforced doors opened, and the expedition team walked back inside, alive, every single one of them. The leader carried a sealed container. "Objective recovered."

Lucien nodded. "Injuries?"

"Minor." The man’s eyes moved to Reinhard. "Nothing compared to what we avoided."

Another member laughed shakily. "We’d be dead if we’d taken the first route."

"Or still sitting in the dark."

The leader looked at Reinhard. "We owe you."

Reinhard waved a hand. "Save the dramatic speeches."

The man smiled anyway. "Still. Thank you."

Something in the room had changed. The people here were no longer looking at Reinhard as Lucien’s strange young consultant. They were looking at him as someone whose ability could keep them alive, someone Eclipse could use, which was exactly what Reinhard wanted.

"He’s useful," Archon said.

Lucien smiled. "I noticed."

She looked at Reinhard. "More useful than I expected."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn’t meant as one."

"Even better."

"That’s enough, both of you," Lucien said, laughing.

Reinhard turned to him. "Then I assume you’re willing to help me with the materials I asked about."

"That’s correct."

"Good."

Lucien smiled. "You really only care about those three."

"They’re important."

Lucien nodded. "Then we’ll start looking."

The familiar notifications appeared in front of Reinhard.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[C-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Reward Calculation Complete.]

[Legendary Returns Granted.]

[Legendary Reward Granted: Mana Sovereignty, Enhanced.]

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed as he read the description. By flooding his eyes with mana, he could now see another Awakener’s Gnosis structure, their mana flow, and the shape of their abilities. Useful. Very useful. I’m definitely not testing this on Archon while she’s watching.

[Additional Reward Granted: 10,523,000 Credits.]

[Current Balance: $13,698,000.]

Reinhard nearly smiled. The System really does like me.

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Reflexes.]

His reaction speed sharpened immediately.

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Durability.]

His body grew more resistant to impact, pressure, and mana-infused attacks, and Reinhard slowly let out a breath. None of it solved Emily’s problem directly, but it made him stronger, and a stronger Reinhard could do more for her. That was what mattered.

Lucien was watching him. "You seem pleased."

Reinhard glanced over. "I’ve had a productive day."

"Good."

Reinhard looked at the recovered artifact, then back at Lucien. "There’s something else."

Lucien paused. "Something else?"

Reinhard reached into his coat. "Another relic."

Every eye in the room turned toward him.