Vol 4 Chapter 39: Truth and Lies

Reverse Tower, a structure located far south of the Magocracy. In fact, it was so far south that it technically resided inside Hobbiton, the land of the hobbits. But, since it resided in the northern wilderness that no hobbits would lay claim on, technically, you could move there and set up shop without anyone giving you a complaint.

As for the tower itself, it was located in a massively large underground cave, far away from the surface world. That was why no one really knew it even existed. Hobbiton barely had any adventurers in the first place, thanks to it being a safe place with only low-ranked monsters around that the hobbits could take care of themselves.

The tower, in one giant middle-finger to gravity, stretched downwards deep into a bottomless chasm the cave possessed. The base stuck to the ceiling of the cave and its narrowing tip went down all the way, with no one really knowing where it would end.

And yes, it was indeed a World Dungeon. Only the Progenitors could build such a unique structure after all.

There, the Council took Ilmyhrra, for it was the place where the Magocracy had its secret project.

It was where the soul of Mira resided.

The entrance was completely unguarded. Anyone could simply stroll into the entrance.

Only, there were invisible runes everywhere, that would trigger all sorts of lethal traps if anyone unauthorized were to step over them.

It was a fortress without a guard.

Entering the place, they were greeted by a large empty hallway, completely pitch black without a light in sight. Merlinus quickly fired a flare spell to illuminate the room, revealing it to be the entrance hall of the dungeon.

Ilmyhrra had visited World Dungeons from time to time, though she never really got far in due to boredom. So she quickly recognized the layout, from the large room connected to the outside, the side room containing a teleporter to the later floors, and the front room further inward that would take you to Floor 1 of the place.

She wouldn’t know why Mira’s soul would be in such a place, however. Or even if such a necromantic magic was possible.

...No, it was possible. The Demon King of Death did it. Sure, it was due to him being a lich but if Mira could mimic his necromantic abilities…

"Our Founder rests at the top floor." Merlinus spoke. "We would take the shortcut, of course. And do not fret. The teleporter will work for you too."

As they passed through the middle of the room, however…

"Well well well, a new visitor."

A man materialized from a bright white light, blocking their path in the process.

He was a purple-haired man with purple silk robes. Just by his appearance, Ilymhyrra could tell he wasn't part of the Council mages. He looked too  gaudy for it.

"How may I serve you, young lady?" He bowed with a smirk on his face.

"Meet Xanatos, the Administrator of this World Dungeon." Selendia smiled. "He has agreed to cooperate with us in our plan."

"Administrator?" Ilymhyrra eyed the man.

Suddenly, a sharp pain entered her head.

Urgh! My head! W-what was that?

"The manager of this dungeon." Selendia explained. "I shall explain in detail later, if you wish. For now, though, we should really hurry onward. I'm sure you're anxious to see your apprentice once more."

The mystery man snapped his fingers. "There. I've registered you for the highest floor." With a lazy wave, he disappeared back into the light.

An Administrator. Even with all her elven knowledge, she had never heard of such a person.

An existence connected to the Ancients. Even a high elf like her wasn't around when they flourished.

"Now, if you would…"

Merlinus took the initiative in getting their little entourage to resume their walk. Ilymhyrra stayed on the back, gripping her staff tightly.

If it was a trap, she had to be ready after all.

----------

The 1000th floor of a World Dungeon, a place that no men had ever stepped on.

It was there that the Council took Ilymhyrra and what she saw there was a sight nearly unrivaled by anything she ever saw.

A large, open room, with a ceiling consisting of a flowing, wavy liquid of pitch black. Runes were carved to every inch of the wall and a large thin metal rod akin to an antenna stretched itself all the way to said ceiling.

And, beside said antenna, was a giant purple crystal, around the size of a full-grown dragon.

"This is…"

Ilymhyrra was made speechless by what she saw.

Just like Hugo, she could see the mana flow of things, and she swiftly scanned the giant crystal in front of her.

"A highly-refined mana crystal without the slightest imperfections. Such a construction should not be possible now, even more so a thousand years ago."

Touching the crystal, she immediately withdrew her hand as if she had just touched a blazing fire.

"Such power… no… the crystal should've shattered into a million pieces from it… and yet, here, it still stands…"

And then, she saw it—a small human-like silhouette inside the crystal, placed right in the middle. The crystal was barely translucent so she couldn't make out the face or the gender or even whether it was actually a human or not.

"It's been a long time, isn't it, Master Ilymhyrra?"

A beam of light fired from the silhouette, hitting the ground near her. Naturally, Ilymhyrra readied herself for a fight, gripping her staff tightly.

A silver-haired girl manifested out of the light, dressed in a pure white robe and closk. At first, Ilymhyrra thought she was Mira, but now that she was fully revealed to her, she was definitely not her, despite the same hair color. For starters, her hair was tied into a braid. And Mira hated braids.

"What's the matter, Master?" The girl smirked. "You're not going to give me a hug? Don't you miss your cute little apprentice?"

"You're not her." Ilymhyrra's eyes narrowed.

"Oh yes, I am her. Soul-wise anyways. This body is a borrowed vessel. As you should know, my original body was destroyed by Milicis in our final fight. This is the body of a girl named Freyja Luminous, a pitiful creature who hungers for power."

Ilymhyrra scanned her mana flow. And sure enough, it was similar to her apprentice.

"...It's you, alright. You and your madness managed the impossible yet again." She aimed her staff at her. "You think he would be happy, seeing you like this?"

Mira chuckled. "He is dead. Milicis and her False God killed him. I told you before, haven't I? This is no longer about Aira. This is about those two scum that deceived the world from the truth." A flash of anger burned inside her eyes.

Ilymhyrra glanced at the Council mages, who had stayed silent as they stood on the sidelines.

"You told them?"

"Oh yes, I told them everything." Mira smirked. "The truth about the Cycle, the False God's great lie, and the existence of the True Goddess."

"Do you want to live under Her rule? To be bound by Her Chains once again?"

"Better than to repeat the Cycle over and over again. I'll never forgive Him, what He did to Arthur and Aira, just to fulfill His agenda."

Mira's fists whitened as her body shook from fury.

It made Ilymhyrra remember—of that day when they confronted Milicis, after they learned about Aira's fate.

The Dragon had the power to control fate. So why would He give Aira such a terrible one?

"I don't know. But if it's His will, then it can only be for the good of the land."

That was Milicis' answer—heartless and cold, especially for the kindhearted priestess.

Milicis was a devout worshipper of the Dragon God. She was His oracle, receiving revelations from Him that aided them in saving the world from the Demon God. The Dragon God was also the ones giving them their strength, Ilymhyrra being the exception. Without His blessing, they stood no chance against the Demon God. That's why Ilymhyrra was absent in the final battle.

This answer from her was only to be expected.

Mira, however, didn't think the same.

She slapped her for it before lifting her up on her collar.

"HOW COULD YOU? Is this because you like him? That you're fine with his sweetheart dying miserably? I like him too but I know he's only going to be happy with her!" Mira screamed in tears.

In the end, their meeting ended on a sour note.

After that, Ilymhyrra wandered the world, curious of the true nature of the Dragon God.

Eventually, she found the—

A sharp pain assaulted her head again, stopping her train of thought immediately.

W-what is wrong with me?

She quickly recovered, however.

"...So, your plan is to revive yourself fully." The elf continued. "Your soul is halved, is it not? Your other half has returned to the River of Souls. But to open the Gate, you'll try doing what you tried to do one thousand years ago. You'll suck dry the leyline of this continent, causing disasters and starvation for a hundred years."

"Not just that." Mira's smile widened. "The chains that held the True Goddess—I will break them as well. In case you haven't realized, She is regaining her power more and more every day. With these prisons built by the Ancients losing the energy they need, She will break free. And then, She'll finish off the False God and bring the True World back."

"Just in time before the next Heroes and Demon God is born." Ilymhyrra finished her apprentice's exposition.

Mira giggled. "So, what would it be, my dear master? Would you join me in my quest?" The silver-haired girl offered her hand.

"...No."

Ilymhyrra fired a large beam from her staff point-blank. It consumed the silver-haired mage before hitting the far wall in the large room, creating a large crater. Not a hole, as the wall was thick and sturdy. It also possessed the capability of self-regeneration, so in a few seconds, it already smoothened out said crater.

Behind me!

Ilymhyrra activated another spell.

It was a Time Stop spell, freezing everything around her in an instant.

She turned her back to face her ex-apprentice…

Only to find that her timestop had been cancelled against her will.

"Sorry, young girl. Your little trick won't work here. I too am capable of time magic, you know."

The purple-robed man had appeared once again. He was sitting cross-legged mid-air, grinning at the high elf.

"Ouch, that was not very nice, Master." Mira spoke. "Thank goodness I can cast my teleport magic in time."

Before Ilymhyrra could respond, she was once again assaulted by the same searing pain she had before, to the point that she had to kneel and grab her head with both hands, letting her staff go in the process.

"Well, would you look at that? The brainwashing is going off." The purple-robed man laughed.

"That's great!" Mira smiled, clasping her hands together. "Once she regains her memories, she will surely join our side."

"Ooh, so this is the Heavenly Dragon's curse at work." Merlinus brushed his beard. "My fellow mages! Look! Look at how she's terribly in pain just to remember the truth!"

"Hmph, I can see that." Opal huffed. "Poor thing. She doesn't even know who she really is."

"Milicis is truly a cruel mistress," Monas laughed. "She took away her memory and made her be an obedient slave to her False God."

"Such is the way of the Church, I suppose." Selendia giggled. "After all, they exist for one single purpose only. To keep this False World and the Cycle running."

Suddenly, Ilymhyrra stopped moving.

She had fainted from the pain.

"Well, gentleman! Gentlewoman!" Mira clapped her hands again, facing the Council mages. "Please take care of my master. And you, Etor. You help as well." She spoke to the purple-robed man.

"As for me, I'm going back to sleep. Please hurry up with the ritual, would you?"

Giving one last glance to her underlings, she raised her hands and turned into a light once more, entering the large crystal in front of her.

Mira was more than satisfied.

She had a hunch that her master would be visiting soon so she told them what to do beforehand if that happened.

She knew if she learned about her resurrection, she wouldn't be able to just walk away. Even if it meant walking right into her trap.

And now, at last, she would re-learn the truth. Here, inside the World Dungeon, she was safe from the influence of the Heavenly Dragon.

And when she did, she would agree to her cause.

--------

Darkness surrounded Ilymhyrra.

She fell and fell and fell, further and further into the abyss.

Sealed memories—all those years of wandering, researching the truth. On the Heavenly Dragon and on the Cycle.

Slowly, one of them resurfaced, filling her sight with light.

…

She stood inside a peculiar room. The walls and ceilings were filled with countless amounts of stars, connected with lines that formed all sorts of constellations. A large spherical machine sat in the middle, consisting of a translucent, starry sphere with a ring surrounding it. Both were floating in mid-air, with a complicated-looking set of gears under them.

There, her past self was speaking with a hooded, robed person. Her most striking feature was her mismatched eye color. She also possessed elven ears that were almost hidden by her hood.

"Is that it?! Is that why Aira has to die?! Is that why Arthur has to suffer?!"

Her past self was yelling, tears filling her eyes.

She remembered. That girl she spoke with—that was Xaela, another Administrator.

And those tears of hers—they spoke the truth she had nearly forgotten. To her, Arthur was almost like a son, the same way Mira was almost like a daughter to her. She knew how hard he fought, and for him to be repaid by the heavens with her childhood sweetheart being violated by a pack of goblins, just one day before he arrived back at his village…

It was unforgivable.

"...Yes. It is necessary for the greater good. The Dragon has calculated their fates and this is the best route to take to ensure the continuation of the Cycle, and ensure the freedom of the world from Her tyranny."

In her anger, the past Ilymhyrra fired a spell at the robed girl. It wasn't a lethal spell by any means but it was enough to knock her down to the ground.

Her hood fell off, revealing her long, purple hair.

"You should know this. You were once an Administrator yourself, Ilymhyrra. But I suppose you already forgot about that age, your memory receding on the outside. But don't worry. I shall restore it to you."

Past Ilymhyrra suddenly grabbed her head as she screamed in pain.

The memory receded, disappearing back into the abyss.

And then, another memory resurfaced. This time, her past self was inside a grand cathedral of sorts, facing off against a blonde-haired woman in white priestly robes.

This time, Mira wasn't with her.

"You're fine with following His bidding?" Her past self yelled. "Arthur took his own life because of Him! Because of you!"

"It's for the greater good." The priestess averted her piercing gaze. "To keep this world free from Her grasp, sacrifices must be made. I distaste it as well but if it's to keep the Cycle going…"

"He's no better than Her! Manipulating Fate, killing tens of millions in the process…"

"Haven't they told you about the old world? Before the Liberation?" The priestess snapped back. "If not for the Unchained One, the world will remain in stasis, unable to grow beyond what the Goddess designs. And don't forget the fact that She slaughtered billions, ending the Ancients' rule completely! No! If humanity is to prosper, Her taint must be removed from this world!"

"And you do that by killing half of humanity every Cycle?" Ilymhyrra yelled.

"This is the first Cycle! There will be more! If humanity gives its faith to the Heavenly Dragon, one day, He will be strong enough to end the Goddess for good!"

"Enough! I'm telling Mira everything! And she'll be able to find a better solution than just kowtowing to the false god made by the Ancients!"

The past Ilymhyrra began walking away from the priestess.

"I'm sorry. I cannot let you leave with that knowledge."

And then, the memory vanished in a blinding light.

It all came to her.

Mira was right.

Milicis had taken away her memories, just so she would stand on her side.

---------

Mira

As Mira's borrowed body hovered inside the crystal, Mira's half soul was meditating inside her soulspace.

What is a soulspace, you may ask? Well, it's a place only those well-versed in the art of the soul knows. It doesn't have its own physical space, nor does it reside inside the body. It's hard to explain but you can imagine it as a place inside your very soul.

There, Mira recounted all her memories with Ilymhyrra, as a celebration for their reunion. Or perhaps she was just feeling nostalgic, having not met her master for a long time.

"W-what? What did I… what did I do? My village… everyone… dead… those monsters… those… demons… they killed them… and then... and then I

"Stand up. Be proud of yourself. You have avenged their deaths."

Their first meeting, when she cried into her arms…

She knew that since then, she wanted to follow her to the ends of the earth.

Master! I did it! Just like you said, I just need to concentrate more!

Their training. Ilymhyrra was a harsh teacher, forbidding her to eat until she finished her lesson.

And yet, she wanted to make her proud. She wanted her to pat her in the head and said that she did a good job.

"Yay! Miss Elf is wearing white!"

Their journey took them to many places. And many times, they would get into situations that she could never forget. Like when this one kid just walked up and flipped her master's skirt. Right after they saved his village too.

She laughed, watching her master's cheeks reddening as she gently bonked the kid's head with her staff.

At least, until her skirt got flipped by him too.

Her embarrassment was even worse, as her crush, Arthur, was right there beside her.

Ooh, Master really is cute when she's sleeping!

And of course, they always slept together. She especially loved putting her master's head on her lap.

…

Mira sighed. It wasn't the Demon God who tore them apart.

No, the true enemy, had been Milicis and her God all along.

Suddenly, she sensed the presence of another in her soulspace.

"Hmm? What's this? You want to speak with me?"

It was Freyja's soul. She was still there, sharing the same body. Only she let Mira's soul to have the reins.

"I do. Was that… really Ilymhyrra? Your old master?"

"Yes, it's her alright." Mira grinned.

"I see." Freyja looked away, holding her arm with her hand. "I… don't understand much of anything, what your plans with the Council mages are. But I know that I am with you as always, Lady Mira." She looked back at the archmage.

"As long as I grant you a sliver of my power, that is." Mira retorted, smiling. She flew closer to the girl and cupped her chin.

"You're really cute, you know. I'm glad your body is compatible with my soul." She released her grip. "To think you would willingly accept the operation when you know how many other mages had died from it. I truly am honored."

"I don't deserve your kind words, Lady Mira." The girl bowed. "To serve you this way—it is my greatest honor. I… have looked up to you all my life. I wanted to be like you, a powerful mage that could help others. If it meant giving you my body, I have no objections in the slightest."

"...You really are a good girl, aren't you? Too good, in fact."

Mira flew back at Freyja, wrapping her arms around her from behind.

"You're being used by your parents," she whispered. "And those Council mages—they don't care about you either. You're just a tool in their great game."

Freyja couldn't respond.

Hearing her silence, Mira laughed, releasing her hug and hovering back in front of her.

"Don't worry." She placed her hand on her chest. "For I do care about you, Freyja. So follow my instructions and everything will go well for you." Mira smirked. “Now, if you would excuse me, I would like to go back to my meditations. I would tell you to take over here, take a little walk in the outside world, and do whatever you want, but we’re still recharging now. So you have to be patient.”

Mira floated away, far enough that Freyja could no longer see her.

…

Father… Mother… Do you truly think of me as just a tool?

A/N:

At last, Mira made her appearance.

Here's a picture you can use for her adult appearance. Not her young teenage girl appearance, by the way, when she was still part of the Hero's party. This is after she went into the deep end.

A long silver hair, just like Freyja's. Fitting for them to share a body now, no?