Looking Glass

Darius stood within a dark void, the all encompassing black surrounding him, seemingly infinite and eternal. He didn't have any control over his own body, he could feel nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing. He began walking through the dark, as he stared forward into the abyss, the inky black world around him seemed to shift, folding in on itself as he fell, but he wasn't really falling, more like the world condensed to a point, a gap forming in the tar-like ground as he twisted, walking through the tunnel as it spun madly about him. A mirror shone with silver light from the abyss's end, shimmering in the distance as it spun, rotating round and round as he made his way down the path, as though the world were in constant motion around him, a spiraling hole carved into the abyss.

And then everything became solid, flattening out as the darkness expanded in an instant. But it still wasn't quite right. It was all upside down. As the room expanded before him, flames upon silver torches hung from the cieling, the flames flowing down as though the world had been flipped on his head. The mirror extended down towards the floor Darius walked upon, the silver edges seeming to hum as he approached it.

He stopped before the mirror, peering into it's glossy surface, and what stared back at him was a shattered image of himself, broken and crystallized, a glass heart splitting apart into glass shards and reforming repeatedly with each beat.

The mirror began to shift then as the glass rippled like water, an image flowing across its surface. Darius stared into the scene, watching as a room unfolded within the glass. A huge, sprawling room of spiraling gold and glittering gems, black carpet, flickering flames floating across the air as silver stars watched from a stark black ceiling. A mage adorned in thick silver armor that concealed almost the entirety of his body stood at the left of the room, while another with a white hood pulled up over his head at the opposite side. At the center of the room was a large podium, the stairs leading up to a black curtain which folded as a woman in a black dress stepped her cold blue eyes staring down at the figures bowed before her.

One of these figures was a mage, his cloak black and countless shining blades shone from his numerous straps, a larger sword upon his back. He had pale skin, and his eyes were dark gray, filled with frustration and fear. The muscles in his jaw were visible as they tensed. His head hung low, his brown hair hanging past his eyes. Darius instantly knew who it was, it wasn't that hard to discern; Etto. Beside him were four others, a beautiful woman with long, flowing blonde hair and emerald eyes that shone. Her lips were tightened as she choked back the tears in her eyes, though she kept silent. And beside her were two children, a boy with blackish-brown hair that was messy and his eyes were green like the woman's. With him was a girl with brown hair and dark green eyes. She whimpered and cried, despite her mother constantly hushing her.

"Satori." The woman in black spoke, her voice powerful and demanding as it reverberated through the chamber. "I assume you know the reason you are here, yes?"

Etto, the man she called Satori, nodded.

"Good. Then we can skip the meaningless explanations." The woman snapped her fingers and metal clanking followed as armed soldiers stepped out from their positions, coming to stand behind the three individuals beside Etto. They separated the three people, the little girl crying out in terror as the mother grimaced, her teeth showing as she tried to stay silent and obedient. But the boy was quiet, a dead stare flowing from his eyes that went to another place entirely.

"Wait!" Etto screamed, rising to his feet, but the mage in the white cloak flowed like across the room like a specter as he came behind Etto, pulling back his head as a shimmering, violet needle was pressed to his throat. He struggled for a moment, his eyes wide with rage as the other mage held him down.

"Hush, now, little trouble-maker." The mage cooed, a serpentine grin creasing his face from beneath his hood. "You don't want to make a scene, do you?" He moved his lips close to Etto's ear, sharp fangs visible within his mouth as he spoke, "Because I do."

Etto grit his teeth as his eyes were locked upon the three that the soldiers had now forced to their knees and held in place. The little girl screamed and cried as the guard pulled her hair.

The woman in black waved her hand as if annoyed. "Shut her up." She groaned.

"NO!" Etto screamed as a silver blade cut through the girl's throat, her scream now a horrible guttural sound that didn't seem to belong to her as blood flowed across her simple dress. Her eyes rolled back and the guard dropped her body, her head slamming to the floor, sending out a soft echoing thud. Blood began to pool around her crumpled body as the life faded from her.

The girl's mother covered her mouth and closed her eyes as she quieted her scream. Etto, on the other hand, would not be held. Black wisps of smoke burst from his body as rage took over his expression. Dark chains burst from beneath his cloak, throwing the mage in white away from him as he rushed at the guard, flying past the armored man as he clutched their lower jaw, ripping their head clean from their shoulders as blood sprayed across the chamber and the sound of clamoring metal came as the body dropped.

Etto crouched, his eyes wild and crazed as he reached for his sword, chains reaching for the other guards. From behind him came a hulking behemoth of a man, the armored mage from before, a massive hammer raised above his head. He brought the hunk of metal crashing down on Etto, who raised his sword above his head, chains crossing over it as the hammer crushed him, but he managed to stop it in it's tracks as the ground shattered at his feet.

"Calm your rage, Satori!" The behemoth roared. "You will only make it worse."

"YOU OF ALL MAGES WOULD TELL ME TO STOP?!" Satori screamed, "THEY KILLED YOUR WIFE BEFORE YOUR CHILDREN WERE EVEN BORN FROM HER WOMB! HOW COULD YOU STAND TO DEFEND THEM!?"

Etto, or rather, Satori, swept his blade upwards as the chains and shadows exploded in a riveting storm from his body, his black cloak billowing like the haunting aura of a demonic spirit. His eyes glowed with hate and malice as he spun, his speed far beyond that of the behemoth, as the black chains enveloped his sword, the blade crashing into the mage's side as the massive man was sent crashing into the wall which gave way beneath his force.

Satori twisted around as the other mage came, trying to catch him off guard, but he reacted just in time as his blade came to send sparks against the pin point edge of a needle. The mage in white smiled, his dead, violet irises staring blankly through thin eyes as a reptilian grin was plastered to his face, twisting past his eyes. The mage held one hand behind his back, straight backed as he held the needle up against Satori's blade with one hand.

"Damn you..!" Satori cursed, his rage faltering for fear. He knew who he stood against. And he knew he could never win.

"Oh, Satori." The mage in white hissed, his head cocking to the side as his white hair hung over his face. "Why don't you have a seat?" A sudden, crushing wave of unseen arcana came down on Satori. He felt his mind blur as his ears rang from the force. His knees buckled as his eyes widened and he dropped to the ground, his bones digging into the floor as it shattered beneath him.

"Isn't that so much more relaxing?" The mage asked. Satori tried to speak, but nothing came from his lips. The mage flicked his needle, Satori's sword flying free of his hands, skittering across the room as the mage in white flowed behind Satori, grabbing his jaw and hair, wrenching back his head as he forced his eyes open wide. "Now let's watch the show!" He hissed in Satori's ear.

"Are we done?" The woman in black asked in a haughty, impatient tone as she observed her nails.

"Why, of course. Play on!" The mage in white cheered. The armored mage got up from the shattered wall, rubble falling free from him. He said nothing, taking a knee and staring at the floor.

"Good." She snapped her fingers once more.

"Wait! Please!" Satori cried, but it was to no avail, as a guard plunged his blade through the heart of the woman Satori loved. Satori's eyes widened as he watched her body drop, her fading eyes locked with his own. Tears streamed down his cheeks now, his black aura fading away as he clenched his fists.

"Next-"

"Please.." Satori begged. All rage had faded from his tone, replaced by only sadness and anguish. "Please… spare him.. please just spare him.. it is all I ask… please.."

The white mage's grin widened. "You do not ask for things here, dear Satori," he hissed before throwing Satori's head to the ground. "You will grovel and beg."

Satori's fists clenched beside his head as it was pressed into the floor. "I beg of you… please… let him live.."

The woman in black studied Satori for a brief moment. The mage in white lifted his head. "What'dya say, oh great queen? Shall we grant his request?"

"Fine. But under one condition."

"Yes! Please! Anything!" Satori cried.

"First of all, your son will no longer be known as Atra. He will hence forward be named Cryon, as you shall be named Etto. All of his memories are to be erased, and he shall be cursed, for even if he is to be told of his family, of you, of his past, it will instantly be wiped clean of his mind. He will never know you, never remember you, not as you are. And if you decide to try, if you decide to get close to him in anyway, he shall be killed." The woman spoke in a booming voice.

"I…" Satori began.

"Well? It's a good deal, aye? More than dear old Kyrune got, isn't it?" The mage in white spoke as he grinned up at the armored mage, whose head sunk even lower.

"Atra shall be made a mage, and he will serve the Nameless. He shall never see you aside from under the subject of tasks given unto him from the Nameless himself. Is that clear?"

Satori was silent for a moment, tears pooling at the floor below his head. "Yes.." he managed finally.

"Fine then. It will be done. Kyrune, call upon Helion at once. As for you, Satori, no, I apologize, Etto. There is one more requirement." The woman swept down the stairs from the podium and across the chamber to Satori. The mage in white forced Satori up, lifting his face so his eyes would meet with the woman's.

Reaching out her hand, the woman in black began to release waves of pulsing black energy as her hand stretched out to Satori's face, her finger touching against his forehead. In that same moment, that black energy spread across his body, consuming him and obscuring his face, his eyes and lips becoming glowing white streaks of energy.

"Your face shall never be seen by your son again." The woman spoke as the white mage let go, and Satori's head dropped in dismay.

And then, in a spiral of light, Darius woke.