The Lost Ones Ch.16

Chapter 16

Interlude Three - The Mirror Man

Dave thought about what he had seen as he pushed his broom across the floor. Try as he might, he just did not get what the Entity was showing him in that vision.

Joe had been a deeply stupid individual; that much was certain. He wanted to make the world better, even if it was for selfish reasons, yet ignored the simplest way to do so.

Ask others what was best for them.

While Dave East was gratified that the arrogance, rage, and stubborn insistence on his own way were things the Entity saw as opposite to Dave’s own personality… why that particular story?

There was no shortage of people like that in Dave’s own world, let alone the vastness of the universe that the mirrors seemed to draw on. The words of the Captain in the mirror, Sully, had stuck with him as well. The man had mentioned ‘silver and shadow’ as causing a growing suffering in his world.

Dave looked out the window… at a vast, silvery world… full of shadows. He had also mentioned the ‘Church’ banning magic, which was a theme he knew of from Denny’s tragic tale. He was pretty sure Denny had mentioned something about the mirrors all being sent to the capital as well.

He leaned on his broom for a moment as he considered the incredible power of the mirrors. When he experienced the tales, he really experienced it. The thoughts, feelings, and more were all his to explore.

All while he watched in perfect vision, no matter how frantic the situation. Even the night offered no obscuring place to hide from the mirror’s gaze, with the characters and people lit at the perfect amount to show them in the dark.

That, even more than the magic that had brought him here, was the most impressive and powerful magic he had ever seen, heard, or dreamed of.

Dave chewed mechanically as he ate his sandwich. The same food for three days did tend to dull the enjoyment somewhat, but it was still a treat compared to the gruel they fed the staff at the University when he was still a Janitor there.

His mind was increasingly drawn to the similarities hidden in the backgrounds of the lives he had witnessed.

It was quite something.

He washed his plate in the sink, cleaned the kitchen, and started dusting. Only it was never dust. Instead, it was fine glass powder, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out where it came from.

The doors and windows had not been open since he came here, yet this fine glass powder accumulated every day. He spent a few minutes carefully examining the door and windows, finding no gaps where the stuff was getting in.

He could not even find any vents.

Yet, even after several days here, the air smelt fresh and clean. He had noticed no trouble breathing or felt lightheaded once.

So, the air got in somehow.

His eyes rose to look up the stairs to the second floor and, beyond that, the impossibly long stairs.

It might be asking too much of this place to make sense. Still, it bugged him.

While he was staring up at the stairs, the stray thoughts buzzing around his head finally knocked loose another similarity in the stories.

Denny referred to the Goddess the church worshiped as ‘The Lady.’ If it was the same church that Sully mentioned, which was possible as both outlawed the use of magic, then there might be a connection between all three stories.

Dave swept faster as his mind began to churn. It was impossible, wasn’t it? The spirits had referred to Emilia as ‘The Lady’ by the end… and they had ostensibly built a temple to her… still.

Was it really possible that all three stories revolved around the same world? Emilia sent to it, Denny lived on it sometime later, and then Sully was taken from it? That had to at least be possible.

The trick was figuring out a way to be sure.

He could just ask, but if that was the case, would the Entity become angry? Evasive? Maybe just kill Dave there and then?

It was still possible that the similarities were a part of the nature of the magic of the mirrors themselves. There was even the possibility, and this is the one he was hoping for, that the Entity did not even realize it was choosing stories that all tied back to the first.

If that was the case, some part of the Entity WANTED him to know. To figure it out.

Dave’s broom bumped the door to the mirror room as he finished the hallway.

He leaned it against the wall, pulled open the door, and started climbing.

He had to figure this out.

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His feet clicked over the floor as Dave approached the viewing chair. The more he thought about it, the more likely it was that this was connected to the story of Emilia… somehow.

How was beyond him, at least so far.

More experimentation had to be done, and he had chosen his next question on the walk up the stairs.

What would you like to see?

“Show me a story set in the world Emilia Cannon came from. It seemed interesting to me.” Dave held his breath as no mirror appeared for a few moments.

As you wish.

Dave breathed out as the mists gathered, and another mirror appeared. He leaned forward as the mirror rippled, and a figure appeared on a field of white.