Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 492 The Standoff in the City of Mirrors

The edge of the spacetime rift still retained the warmth of the purple vortex. The moment the Guardian stepped into the Mirror City, the hairs on his body stood on end. The buildings here were made of countless mirrors, each reflecting the other to form an endless labyrinth. In each mirror, he was reflected in a different form: a warrior in tattered armor, a scholar wearing the Observer's badge, a crying child in his youth... The eyes of these reflections were all scrutinizing, as if judging the meaning of his existence.

Tiny shards of mirror floated in the air, sunlight refracting through the mirrored wall into iridescent spots that fell to the ground, transforming into flowing runes. The guardian looked down at his left arm; the gray erosion had spread to his collarbone, and the chain patterns beneath his skin were slowly writhing, creating an eerie resonance with the runes reflected in the mirror.

"It really is you." A familiar voice came from ahead, exactly the same as the Guardian's voice.

In the center of the Mirror City, a figure identical to him stood in the circular plaza, the pure black symbols on the inside of his white robe faintly visible through the fabric. The Heart of Time in the figure's hand emitted a golden and silver light, yet hidden deep within the light were dark purple threads, like venomous snakes coiled around a heart.

The Guardian gripped the Chaos Lightsaber tightly, the four feathers on its blade emitting a sharp warning light: "Who are you? Why do you possess the Heart of Time and Space?"

The figure chuckled softly, the sound echoing between the mirrored walls, becoming countless overlapping echoes: "I am you, and yet I am not you." He raised his hand and tore off his white robe, revealing the Observer's Mark on his chest, only now the mark was surrounded by black, vein-like patterns. "I am the guardian who chooses to accept chaos in every time and space—we should have been one."

As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding mirror walls shattered, and countless "Guardians" emerged from the mirrors. They wore clothing from different eras; some wielded lightsabers, some held Chaos Tablets, and some even wore the hoods of black-robed figures. The eyes of these mirror images gleamed with a dark purple light, surrounding the Guardians in the center.

“Look at them,” the central figure said, spreading his hands, his tone seductive, “these are all possibilities you’ve rejected. In one timeline, you chose to cooperate with the man in black; in another, you abandoned your role as a guardian; and yet another, you’ve long since become a prisoner of time…”

The guardian swung his sword, severing the onrushing mirror images. The shards fell to the ground, turning into a dark purple liquid that emitted a pungent odor. But the broken pieces quickly reformed into new images, their numbers increasing as if they could never be eradicated. He noticed that whenever he used the power of chaos, the images grew stronger, while using the power of creation slowed their movements.

“The power of balance won’t work here.” The central figure suddenly attacked, unleashing a beam of light from the Heart of Time in his hand, striking the guardian in the chest. The guardian was struck hard, flying backward and crashing into the mirror wall. In the instant the mirror shattered, he saw the figure of the fused entity—she was trapped behind a massive mirror wall, her hands pressed against the surface, her expression pained, and the chaotic aura emanating from her was ten times stronger than what he sensed on the other side of the rift.

"A fusion!" The guardian struggled to his feet, only to find his body becoming transparent, his skin cracking like glass. Dark purple mist seeped from those cracks, exactly like the aura emanating from the mirror image.

The central figure slowly approached, the light of the Heart of Time illuminating the lines on his face: "She is not your projection, but the true fusion." He ran his fingertip across the mirror wall, causing ripples to appear, revealing the scene behind the fusion—she was bound to an altar by countless black chains, the runes on the altar identical to those on the Guardian's chains. "She tried to stop me from awakening the Heart of Time, but was instead consumed by the power of the mirror image, becoming the energy source for this city."

The Guardian suddenly remembered the words of the Abyss Keeper: the power of balance might be a higher level of imprisonment. He looked at his palm; chaos and the power of creation were repelling each other, and the four feathers of light on the lightsaber flickered, as if they might be extinguished at any moment.

"Give up," the central figure's voice said with pity. "The gray seed within you has already blossomed and will soon completely devour your consciousness. Rather than becoming a puppet of reincarnation, join me in taking control of the Heart of Time and Space and breaking this damned fate."

Just then, the fused entity suddenly used all its strength to push a golden feather of light out from behind the mirror wall. It was the fifth feather of the Key of Destiny. The moment the feather passed through the mirror wall, it transformed into a golden chain, binding the wrist of the figure in the center.

"Don't believe him!" The fused entity's voice was hoarse and weak, the chains behind the mirror wall tightening around her, causing golden blood to flow. "He is the embodiment of the Mirror City's consciousness, a phantom created using your obsession! The Heart of Time and Space is fake; it's a forgery made with countless mirror energies!"

The central figure's face instantly turned ferocious. He ripped off the golden chains, and dark purple mist spewed from the broken ends: "You ruined my plans!" He pressed the Heart of Time against the mirror wall, which began to shake violently. The fused body convulsed with the tremors. "Since you refuse to cooperate, then become part of the Mirror City!"

The guardian suddenly noticed that the figure in the center cast no shadow—an impossible occurrence in a place as reflective as the Mirror City. He recalled the Mirroring Technique from the Fountain of Memory; though the chaotic mirror image was realistic, it always had flaws.

"You don't possess the Heart of Time and Space at all." The Guardian raised the Chaos Lightsaber, channeling all the power of creation into its blade, which erupted with dazzling golden light. "You're merely imitating my imagination of the Heart of Time and Space!"

Golden light shone on the central figure, who let out a painful roar as its body began to turn transparent, revealing a skeleton composed of mirror fragments. The surrounding mirror images also stirred, with the faces of black-robed figures appearing on their surfaces, clearly indicating that these images had been corrupted by the power of chaos.

"Even if it's an illusion, I can still kill you!" The central figure roared, crushing the fake Heart of Time and Space into countless dark purple light blades that shot towards the guardian.

The guardian did not dodge; instead, he channeled the last remaining power of balance within him to form a rotating tai chi barrier in front of him. The moment the light blade struck the barrier, it was broken down into its most primal energy. The golden portion merged into the barrier, while the dark purple portion was deflected back, striking the mirror images.

The mirror gate began to collapse under the attack of the dark purple light blades. Countless tiny golden specks of light flew out from the mirror fragments; these were the imprisoned consciousnesses. The specks of light merged into the mirror wall where the fused entity was located, and the black chains on the surface of the mirror wall began to recede, revealing the original transparent texture beneath.

"Quickly... shatter the mirror wall..." The fused entity's voice carried a sense of relief, "The fifth feather of light can purify the power of the mirror image..."

Seeing the situation was dire, the central figure transformed into a dark purple streak of light, rushing into the depths of the Guardian's consciousness: "Even if you save her, you cannot escape the erosion of the Gray Seed! You will become the new Source of the Mirror!"

The Guardian felt a sharp pain in his brain, and the gray flowers deep within his consciousness began to bloom wildly, unleashing countless negative emotions once again. But this time, he did not resist; instead, he allowed these emotions to flow through his mind—the black-robed man's pain, the observer's struggle, the fusion's sacrifice… These were real memories, not illusory fears.

As the last trace of negative emotion was accepted, the gray flower suddenly withered and vanished in a wisp of smoke. The gray erosion on the left arm began to recede, revealing intact skin underneath, except for a faint ring of golden lines around the observer's mark.

"Impossible!" The voice of the central figure screamed from the depths of consciousness before disappearing completely.

As he dissipated, the mirror walls of the Mirror City began to shatter one by one, revealing the colorful spatial-temporal turbulence outside. The fused entity fell to the ground from behind the mirror wall, breathing weakly. The fifth feather of the Key of Destiny automatically flew towards the Guardian's lightsaber, forming a pentagram with the other four feathers.

"We... succeeded?" The fused entity looked up at the guardian, its eyes filled with weary joy.

Just as the guardian was about to answer, he noticed a strange image reflected in the amalgamated being's pupils—a pair of dark purple wings had sprouted from his back, the patterns on which were exactly the same as the runes on the black-robed man's stone tablet.

"You..." The fused entity's expression instantly turned to terror, pointing at his back, unable to utter a word.

The guardian turned to look at the shattered mirrors around him. All the mirrors reflected the wings on his back, which were slowly flapping, creating a chaotic aura in the air currents they generated. His consciousness was unaffected, yet he could clearly feel the powerful force emanating from the wings, as if he were born to possess it.

Suddenly, the black stone tablet fell from the void, embedding itself in the ground and projecting the coordinates of the sixth Key of Destiny—the "Core of Chaos." The runes on the tablet shimmered with a dark purple light, resonating with the wings on his back.

The fused entity struggled to retreat, its eyes filled with terror: "The Guardian of the Abyss was right... The power of balance is a curse... You are becoming..."

Before she could finish speaking, a gigantic hand suddenly emerged from the spatial turbulence, its surface covered in patterns resembling wings. It grabbed the fused entity and dragged her into the depths of the turbulence. The fused entity's screams echoed through the turbulence before it was completely swallowed up.

The Guardian gripped his lightsaber, his wings flapping automatically, propelling him into the temporal turbulence. Unbeknownst to him, the instant he stepped into the turbulence, a sinister smile crept onto the central figure's lips in the last shattered shard of glass. And in the sky reflected in the shard, the Goddess of Fate watched all this through the turbulence, the fifth feather of light slowly rotating atop her scepter.