The Mirror into the Soul

Eris von Afrecht was born with special eyes, the power to see mana lines without enlightenment or high understanding of mana.

That was why she was always afraid of her brother, from the moment he was born. 

The monstrous amount of mana was a cause for celebration in her family that worshipped magic, yet for Eris it was a cause for certain doom.

She would sometimes wake up unable to see due to the mana clouding her vision, she would experience heart palpitations whenever she laid eyes on him, and she would only think of the disaster that he could bring. 

At 5 years old, the older sister felt herself unable to love her younger brother, who was just a year younger than her. 

She turned away from magic, and followed the sword. She rejected everything her brother was.

Until one day, she no longer saw that abnormal mana. Her brother, overnight, had turned into a normal child.

It was only a year later when she found out it was a suppression artifact that sealed a large portion of his mana away. But by that time, her fear for her brother had gradually subsided. She thought that she would never feel that ominous feeling again.

That was until today, when she laid her eyes on the masked man before her.

Duri Noctum.

[…]

Can I even beat Eris?

As I reached the stage, I drew a Sabre from the weapon rack. It's a good weight, but definitely on the lighter side.

This was the only weapon I ever used before when I did HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). I remember practicing day by day with my friend, I even got pretty good at it.

But that isn't enough to beat Eris.

"Duri Noctum, your notable achievements include Surviving leprosy for 16 years, and even when suffering under such a terrible ailment, you were able to learn the First Step of Noctum Swordsmanship."

Huh? When? 

"That means I can go a little harder, right?"

No! No, it doesn't! 

"You ready?"

Not really.

But I nod reflexively.

"…"

Those were the same words he said when we were practicing HEMA, so I just nodded! Why?!

"Begin!"

If I learned the first step of Noctum Swordsmanship, I would be around the third or fourth tier. She's going to be coming at me with the same amount of intensity as Arden!

She won't go for the same opening twice, which means her strike will be-!

CLANG!!

The front!

I put her sword into a bind, and since my sword is curved, I slide it down into a slash towards her right shoulder.

However, she shifts her blade to the side, flicking her wrist down and stopping it. But she doesn't stop there. She applies more force and repels the blade, swinging the sword in an arc.

I feel a slight stinging sensation on my thumb.

Crimson blood drips smoothly from my hand, sliding down onto the pommel of the sword, and dropping to the floor.

"Is this all you've got? You're way worse than that Arden girl."

She grins, tapping her sword to the ground.

I've had worse than this, a cut is nothing.

I tighten my grip on the sword, holding it out in front of me.

"Are you coming or not?"

"…"

"I'll go then."

She takes one step.

Voosh!

She's right beside me!

"Ngh…!"

I try to adjust my stance, but it's too late.

The pommel of her sword strikes my face.

Crash!

I had forgotten that in this world, combat is completely different. I can't use the same approach from a world that doesn't have magic or sword arts. It'd be like playing with a toddler to them.

Clatter!

"Huh…?"

I see my mask in pieces on the floor.

"What the hell?"

"Is that what his face looks like?"

"It looks rotten."

"Disgusting."

I try to cover my face with my hands, but they've already seen me. They've seen it.

"Ah…! Don't look!"

The whispers around me start to amplify, it's all I can hear. I want to curl up into a ball, but Eris won't stop.

All I can hear in my head…

Are the whispers.

"Duri."

"Father?"

A memory that wasn't my own.

I'm laying on the floor, helpless.

"What are you doing?"

"He-help me…"

I see crows circling above me, their eyes gleaming in the grey sky. 

I smell the trees, I smell the dirt, and wet grass.

I smell the rotting flesh from my skin, and I realize.

"What will you do, Duri?"

"Father…please…please!"

Please save me, please help me.

My inner thoughts ran rampant.

Why won't you help me?

"I'm your son!"

The crows dive down into my flesh, eating me, my liver, my skin, they're tearing me apart.

"Ah…AhahhAhAHHHH!!"

I twitch, and spasm, drool leaks from my mouth as I scream. The crows think I'm dead, they're eating me! They're eating me!

I don't know what I'm feeling, my heart is distraught, it doesn't know what this is.

"Duri."

They're picking at my entrails.

"Duri."

They're digging inside me.

"Duri!"

I see a crow look into my eyes, and when it sees my bleeding, bloodshot eyes blink, it pecks it, squeezing its entire head inside.

The crow is inside my skull, but it can't get out. It's flapping its wings as it drowns in my blood.  

It hurts so much, but I stopped screaming.

The only thing reflected in my glassy eye was one half of the night sky.

My Father stands above me, his gaze obscured by the looming darkness.

"Duri, what is it that you fear?"

The winged demons that took to the sky, the darkness that ate my very being.

I hate them.

I fear them.

"Crows…"

Clang!

With a movement that wasn't my own, I blocked Eris' sword. Her movements came to a dead halt as she looked into my eyes.

"What…is that…?"

She looked past my shell, deeper and deeper.

"What are you?!"

I couldn't move my body anymore, what was moving here, wasn't me.

It was a sword without volition.

The voice rang out in my head.

What is the first step of our Noctum Sword Art?

My sword moves towards the sky, and when I swing down, the world is encompassed in darkness.

Another voice, eerily similar to my own, replies.

The All Encompassing Night.

The light blotted out, and I heard a voice in the distance.

"Th-this is just like when-!"

What is it that you fear, Duri?

We spoke in unison.

"Crows."

The first step, The All Encompassing Night: Crow.

[…Eris…]

Duri Noctum, for someone who's close to Arden's level, he's weak. It's almost like he never learned any proper swordsmanship.

I flash-stepped next to him, striking him with the pommel of my sword to knock him out.

Crack!

He stumbled back, readjusting his stance.

He's still conscious?

Clatter!

The mask on his face fragments and shatters, spilling onto the ground. 

His face is covered in black blotches, textured like leather. It was then, when I saw this face that I remembered the Noctum family's Eldest Son was a leper.

"What the hell?"

"Is that what his face looks like?"

"It looks rotten."

"Disgusting."

It's undeniable that he doesn't look the best, and with his mask off, I can smell his rotting skin. But that rotting skin isn't just because of leprosy, it's being caused by something else.

"Ah…! Don't look!"

I should finish this quickly, if I don't, he's going to suffer even more here.

I watched him for a moment, squirming as he covered his face, his sword slipping from his other hand.

I took a single step, flash-stepping towards him, swinging the flat of my sword down. 

When I suddenly felt it again.

"Crows…"

That ominous feeling.

Clang!

He…blocked it? In that state?

I looked into his eyes, his mental state clearly wasn't all there. His eyes were hollow, and he didn't even seem to be looking at me.

But there was something else there, deeper inside.

"What…is that…?"

Deeper inside, I felt the presence of someone.

As I kept staring, I felt as if that abyss of darkness was going to swallow me whole, it was something unnatural. It shouldn't exist in this world!

"What are you?!"

He deftly brushed my sword away, a show of skill that was a far cry from what it previously was. 

Raising his sword high into the sky, he swings down.

My vision is covered in darkness.

"Th-this is just like when-!"

When my brother was born! I can't see anything!

My breathing quickens, my lungs feel tight. I was reminded of that trauma, those days where I woke up blind, when I felt danger but I couldn't see anything!

Fear dominated my mind, and I was unable to move. I should've known that it couldn't be contained, it's come back to haunt me! The darkness!

The silence of the world around me was melted away by the sound of a sword, its edge sounded as if it was being muffled underwater.

The last thing I remember was the shape of a crow, plunging into my eye.

"Eris!"