Chapter 08: Fractured Mirror

“It seems like I was correct to patrol late at night,” a voice pierced through as the dust disappeared.

“You are a really bad liar, Captain Valerius,” Cassandra said as she stood up, dusting off her clothes. She turned her face toward the unconscious Kael and added, “And you are quite bad at stealing things.”

“No objection to that, but I was curious, and it seems like this thing is quite complicated.” Valerius walked toward the knife, picked it up, and handed it back to her.

“I guess it is… So, tell me, what are you going to do about him?”

“Huh? Why ask me? You are the captain here,” she replied, keeping her calm and redirecting the question back to him.

“But aren't you the one who took him into custody? You should decide what you want for him. Considering that whatever is possessing him was able to control him, we don’t know what might happen.”

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, in the Gate World of Aura...

“Augh… that hurts. Huh?” He looked around, finding himself in Aura's room again. “Again? Haha…” He chuckled in relief. “If I am here, that means I survived somehow… Phew. But what the hell is with her, attacking me like that knowing I might die!”

Well, I died in my future foresight one time anyway, he thought.

He looked around as his eyes fell on a slightly open door, as if someone were peering out at him.

“Aura? Hey, are you there?” He stood up and started walking toward it. The door shut in a panic, and someone rushed down the stairs.

“Hey! Wait!” He followed, catching a glimpse of her hair as she turned. She fell down the stairs, and he ran to check on her since she had fallen face-first.

“Aura? Are you alright?” he asked, worried about her. He dropped to his knees, checking her for any injuries.

“Oww… That hurts. Huh?” Aura lifted her face and found Kael sitting close to her. Her face went bright red as she blushed. “Wa… Waaa… Phew.” She fell unconscious on the ground.

“Hey! Are you okay?!” Kael panicked, calling out to her, but his voice faded to her ears.

A few moments later...

Aura blinked her eyes, feeling a cold sensation on her forehead. As she sat up on the sofa, she found a wet towel on her head and a blanket covering her body.

“Hmm…?” She looked toward the kitchen, where footsteps echoed. Kael walked out holding a tray with a soup bowl on it.

She jumped as soon as their eyes met, covering herself with the blanket and hiding behind the sofa.

“Why are you hiding like that?” He put the tray on the table in front of her.

“Wh-Who are you, mister? And wh-why are you here in my house?”

Again? What is it this time? Is she another persona of Aura? I should keep my calm; I don’t know what this Aura is like.

He coughed to clear his throat. “Maybe you are another persona of her. Then let me introduce myself again. My name is Kael, and to be honest, I don’t really know why I am here either.”

“Another persona?” she repeated, peeking out in his direction, curious. “Do you mean you have met other Auras as well?”

“Well, I have met two different Auras. One was childish, and the other was cautious around me.”

“So, you met Joy and Anxiety…” she muttered to herself.

“What do you mean by that? How many versions of Aura are here? Are there more of you?”

“Well, there are a total of five Auras: Joy, Caution, Anxiety, Sadness, and the Angry one. Together, we complete a perfect Aura.”

“A perfect Aura? Wait, I'm not understanding a word of this. What does that mean? Also, what is this place…?”

“This place is… Huh—” As she was about to explain what the place was, the loud sound of a ringing bell echoed through the empty city. Aura’s expression changed, and her eyes widened in fear.

“N-No… No, she is coming…” Her body started shaking violently.

“Hey, are you alright? What is happening?” He ran to her, but as soon as he touched her, his hand turned to ashes and blew away.

“Whaa… What is that! What the hell is going on?!” The ashes spread, slowly moving up her entire arm.

“I need to hide! Ahhh… She will—” she muttered to herself.

“Who the hell is coming?!” he asked, raising his voice.

Sniffing and sobbing voices echoed through the room. Before he could find out what was behind it, the last part of his vision turned to ashes and flew away with the wind. The last thing he saw was Aura covering herself with the blanket, shaking violently.

The flashes of the scene repeated until, with a sudden throb, Kael returned to reality. Blinking his eyes, his vision cleared to find himself in a moving carriage, both of his hands tied in handcuffs. In front of him, Cassandra was sleeping with her arms crossed.

He looked outside the carriage and saw that it was pitch black outside. He tried to move, but failed.

“Hey…” He called to her furiously.

“Hmm…? I see, so you have woken up.” She opened one eye, seeing that he was awake.

“Where are we? And where are you bringing me? To bury me alive?”

“Why should I do that? Do you think I am such a petty person?” she replied.

“Of course you are! Back then, you even tried to kill me! So how can I not think you are a petty person? Every single one of you…”

Growl…

Kael’s stomach groaned loudly. He hadn’t eaten since morning. Noticing he was hungry, Cassandra searched in a bag beside her, pulled out a piece of bread, and offered it to him.

“Here… eat it.”

“Why in the world—” As he was about to refuse, Cassandra pushed the entire piece of bread into his mouth. He was somehow able to chew it and swallow it, but he choked and coughed because it was dry.

Cassandra stood up and helped him, giving him water with her own hands.

Cough, cough.

“Do you want more?” she asked.

“Of course not! Why are you acting so friendly now? What are you plotting?”

She sighed, dropping the nice act and shifting her tone back to normal.

“I will just say this: we are currently on a mission, and you will support me by acting as my shadow for now.”