Chapter 21: Don't you dare interfere

Valerio and Mathew got back to the shop. As soon as it was morning, they explained everything to the twins without leaving any detail.

“What?? Something like this happened to him?” Kael asked in disbelief.

“Uncle Val, that's unbelievable,” Lyra nodded in amazement. She was very shocked to find that things like other dimensions existed.

“It’s the truth and we have to save him as soon as possible,” Mathew said.

“I don't know if I should say this…but I feel like…everything happening around Arthur doesn't seem like it's a coincidence but it's almost like it’s bound to happen,” Valerio replied with hesitation.

“Don’t you think that you are overthinking this a bit, Uncle Val?” Kael asked with a frown. As long as he has observed, Arthur acted normal except for that incident where he saw Nova.

“Yes, Mr. Val, I have to take Kael’s side on this,” Mathew said as he looked at Valerio in doubt.

“I’m not sure, but something feels a bit off. Anyway, Mathew, you take the twins and go rescue Arthur. Be careful,” Valerio looked at Mathew seriously.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Val, we got this,” Lyra replied with a thumbs up.

“Yeah. I'll protect them with all I've got, you don't have to worry about anything, Mr. Val. I won’t let you down this time,” Mathew said, clenching his fists at the end.

“So what are we waiting for? Let's get going,” Kael said enthusiastically.

“Yeah, you guys leave soon. He might be in danger. Return safely,” Valerio stressed at the end as he looked at them.

After some preparation, Mathew, Kael, and Lyra left the shop and reached the bar. The bar was a bit more crowded than usual.

As soon as they entered the bar, they too sensed the crack. Since Kael and Lyra were a bit inexperienced, they only felt it a little.

The other customers in the shop didn't notice anything unusual. The crack can only be felt by the people who can use Nova.

Soon the group reached an inconspicuous corner of the bar. There was an old mirror hanging on the wall. In the mirror was a large slash in space. It was pitch black, and even light was sucked in.

“I think the crack is growing slowly as time passes,” Mathew muttered to the twins.

“Woah, that looks amazing,” Lyra said in amazement.

Kael coated his hands in Nova and moved it near the crack. He was instantly pulled in.

“Kael!!” Mathew shouted.

“C'mon Lyra, let's go,” Mathew shouted as they followed Kael’s actions. They were also instantly sucked in.

Strangely, no one in the bar noticed the three people disappearing. It was as if an illusion was cast on them.

“Woahh guys…this place, it looks like,” Kael said in amazement as Lyra and Mathew appeared beside him.

“Exactly like Mythrails, but something’s off,” Lyra said with a frown.

“Everything is reversed in this place, that’s why Mr. Val called this place the ‘Mirror World.’ Now let's just search for Arthur—” As Mathew was explaining, they heard a scream.

“Oldman Jayden…Oldman Jayden. Noooo,” they heard Arthur’s anguished scream.

“That’s his voice, seems like he’s in trouble,” Kael said with a frown.

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“Yeah, but who's Jayden?” Lyra asked in confusion.

“We don’t know, let’s go look for ourselves,” Mathew said as he instantly sprouted his wings and flew up. He noticed the clock tower below which Arthur was crouched near a bloodied figure. He also noticed Alhera moving towards Arthur.

“There’s someone there who’s after Arthur for some reason. C'mon, we need to hurry,” Mathew said with a frown as he flew down.

“Who’s after Arthur, and why don't we fly there directly?” Kael asked. He wanted to try flying.

“I’m not sure who is after him. And if we fly there directly, it would alert the enemy. So we should suppress our Nova and go there quickly,” Mathew explained.

Soon, Mathew started to run in the direction he noticed Arthur, and the twins followed him.

...

“Who are you?? Why did you do that to him?” Arthur shouted at Alhera. Tears unknowingly formed in his eyes since it was his first time seeing someone die in front of him. He felt powerless once again.

“Oh, a crybaby, the most annoying of all,” Alhera said in a mocking tone.

“Just look at what you did to him,” Arthur said as he pointed at Jayden’s bloodied body, which Arthur was holding.

Without any warning, Jayden’s body started to disappear in front of their eyes, including the blood stains on Arthur’s clothes.

Before they could comprehend what happened, a golden yellow Nova attacked Alhera. She noticed it and dodged hurriedly.

“Looks like you've got some skill,” Mathew said in a flat tone.

“Manager..? How come you are here?” Arthur asked in confusion. He also noticed the twins behind Mathew.

“Arthur, just stay there,” Mathew looked with a frown. He also noticed the bizarre scene of the old man’s body disappearing.

“Now, who are you? Ahh, trash just keeps piling up,” Alhera looked at Mathew. She ignored him and looked at Arthur with a frown.

“You act like you're crying, and suddenly he disappeared. Boy, tell me, what did you do? Tell me before I—” Before she could finish, she was sent flying towards the same clock tower.

In the place where Alhera was standing previously, stood a man in his early twenties with grey hair. The man had good looks with an air of mystery around him. He was pouring wine from a bottle into a glass.

“That hit was just like this fine wine, wasn't it, Arthur?” the man asked with a smirk as he sipped the wine from the glass.

“Brother Jay…Jayden?” Arthur asked hesitantly. It took him a minute to recognize this man.

“Haha, I told you I'm not a day past my prime,” Jayden laughed.

“Manager, is he?” Lyra asked as she looked at Mathew for confirmation.

“Yeah, he's the next fragment. I can feel it in my bones,” Mathew replied as he looked at Jayden with a deep gaze.

“What about the lady?” Kael asked as he looked at Alhera who was slowly getting up from the earlier attack.

“She’s someone we have to deal with,” Mathew replied.

Jayden looked at the trio with a smile and turned back to Arthur.

“Are you alright?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah, but what about the Oldman?” Arthur asked. He was still a bit confused about these sudden events.

“Ah, don't sweat it. I'll tell you later,” Jayden waved his hands.

“You…Where did you come from?” Alhera seethed in rage.

“Haha, what do you mean, lady? I was here all along but... I'm also not here,” Jayden’s voice echoed as he vanished again.

“Manager, what's with him? Another teleportation ability?” Kael asked curiously. He looked around everywhere but couldn't find a trace of Jayden.

“No, Kael, his power has nothing to do with teleportation,” Mathew replied with a sigh.

“You're dead,” Alhera shouted as she took out a dagger from her coat and coated it in Nova. She utilized her senses to the fullest as she waited for Jayden to appear again.

“That Nova…it’s Orion’s. I have to—” Before Mathew could make a move, he heard a voice in his head.

“You three, don't you dare interfere.”

The twins also heard this voice.

Jayden appeared before Alhera with a smile. She didn't say anything and immediately slashed him with her dagger. As the dagger hit Jayden, he disappeared with a poof. It was just smoke.

“What??” Alhera shouted in panic. She was sure he was the real one and not fake. Before she could react, she was surrounded by dozens of Jaydens.

“Haha, I'm the worst matchup for muscle heads like you,” multiple Jaydens spoke in unison.

“Cheap tricks,” Alhera snorted as her Nova spread out everywhere, erasing all the Jaydens. Before she could react, she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

She looked at her heart. There was a dagger inserted there. She slowly raised her head in disbelief and saw Arthur looking at her with a teasing smile.

“Arthur?? How??” Kael shouted in disbelief. Even Alhera had the same question as her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

“Never take your eyes off the whole battlefield. Look there, Arthur is still standing near the clock tower,” Mathew instructed the twins calmly.

“Then who is that imposter?” Kael asked in confusion.

Alhera slowly fell helpless after getting stabbed. The ‘Arthur’ who stabbed her, slowly morphed into Jayden. He looked at Arthur with a smirk.

“Well, that was a good show, ain't it, Arthur?”

“Manager, what kind of power does this guy even have?” Lyra asked with a sigh.

“From what Mr. Val guessed, he should be the one who inherited ‘that’ fragment. The eye of illusions, the fragment of the god known for his brilliant disguises and deceptions who can look into other people's true nature or even their destinies—the god of smoking mirrors, Tezcatlipoca,” Mathew explained.