Tower 1 — Floor Seventeen, The Reflective Prison
The sound of ticking faded the moment they stepped onto the next floor.
Silence.
Cold, absolute silence.
A hallway stretched before them—
thin, narrow, metallic—
lined on both sides with tall, polished mirrors.
Ragnor groaned.
"Oh GREAT. Mirrors.
Perfect.
What's next—evil reflections?"
Aetherion didn't laugh.
Lyra didn't smile.
Iris clutched her sleeves tightly.
Because every mirror surface was…
breathing.
A slow fogging.
Condensation forming.
Evaporating.
Forming again.
Like lungs inhaling and exhaling.
Ragnor's voice cracked.
"Why… why are the mirrors ALIVE?"
Aetherion whispered:
"They're not alive.
They're aware."
Lyra stepped forward slowly, Constellar Mark faintly glowing under her collarbone.
"Everyone stay calm. If the last floor reacted to sound,
this one might react to—"
A soft fwoom echoed.
One of the mirrors bulged outward—
like something pushing their face against it from the other side.
Iris gasped.
Lyra stepped back instantly.
Aetherion lifted a hand.
"Do NOT touch anything."
Ragnor frowned.
"What's the deal with this floor?"
The system answered for him:
[FLOOR SEVENTEEN: LABYRINTH OF BREATHING MIRRORS]
[BOSS: REFLECTED BEHEMOTH]
[RULE: DO NOT LOOK INTO YOUR OWN EYES]
Ragnor blinked.
"…what?! Why?!"
Aetherion inhaled sharply.
"Mirrors in magical constructs often read identity.
If you acknowledge the reflection—
you become its prisoner."
Iris whimpered.
"S-So no looking at ourselves?? At all??"
Ragnor slapped a hand over his eyes.
"OKAY—NO PEEKING.
NO SELF-ESTEEM CHECKS.
WE GET IT."
Lyra touched the side of a mirror with the tip of an arrow.
It rippled like water.
A distorted reflection of her moved differently—
raising its bow a half-second slower.
Iris gasped.
"T-The reflections…
they're delayed…"
Aetherion nodded.
"Delayed by several seconds.
Which means—this floor copies movements."
Ragnor smirked.
"So if I flex—"
Aetherion grabbed his arm.
"DON'T FLEX.
You'll create a giant flexing monster!"
Ragnor stopped mid-flex.
"…noted."
Lyra stepped forward, scanning the mirrors.
"So…
how do we navigate?"
Aetherion pointed.
"The path splits into four ahead.
Each corridor full of mirrors…
creating thousands of possible reflections."
Ragnor scratched his head.
"So we're basically walking through a hall of anxiety."
Lyra whispered:
"Stay sharp."
The First Trigger
Iris was the first to freeze.
Her eyes widened—
not at her own reflection—
but at the one behind her.
"…guys…"
Aetherion turned.
"What do you see?"
Iris pointed with a trembling hand.
"There should be… four of us.
Four reflections."
Ragnor counted.
"One… two… three… four…"
Lyra looked closer.
"No."
Aetherion's voice dropped to a whisper.
"There are five."
Ragnor's eyes snapped open.
"…wait—WHAT—?!"
Aetherion paced his breath.
"Don't panic. Don't panic…"
Lyra stared at the mirrors.
"Where's the fifth reflection coming from?"
Iris whispered:
"It's behind DRM."
Slowly—
so slowly—
they all turned.
DRM stood there calmly, mask tilted, eyes glowing faintly—
And behind him…
A shadow reflection.
A silhouette.
Humanoid.
Skinny.
Blade-shaped arms.
No face.
Aetherion whispered:
"…this one wasn't created by DRM's ability."
Ragnor gripped his fists.
"So—the floor made a reflection of him?"
Lyra shook her head.
"No…
the floor is TERRIFIED of him.
It wouldn't copy him."
Iris whispered—voice breaking:
"T-Then what IS that?"
Before anyone could react—
The reflection tilted its head back—
Its body cracked open—
splitting at the chest—
revealing rows of mirrored teeth—
And it crawled out of the mirror.
Ragnor jumped back.
"OH HELL NO—!!"
Aetherion shouted:
"Reflected Behemoth fragment—!!"
Lyra raised her bow—
Iris screamed—
The creature shrieked, the sound vibrating the air.
But DRM simply turned toward it.
The creature—
the reflection of a reflection—
froze…
…and bowed.
Lyra dropped her bow in shock.
Ragnor blinked.
"…what?!"
The mirrored creature trembled violently, its body cracking like ice.
Then it shattered into dust.
Aetherion exhaled shakily.
"It's WORSE than we thought.
This floor recognizes DRM's existence as a paradox.
Its reflections cannot contain him."
Iris shivered.
"T-Then what happens if a mirror tries to reflect him fully?"
Aetherion stared forward grimly.
"It breaks."
Ragnor frowned.
"That's good, right?"
Aetherion shook his head.
"No.
Breaking a mirror here releases something else."
Lyra pointed ahead.
"The mirrors are shifting."
And they were.
The labyrinth reshaped itself…
Narrow paths twisting.
Mirrors tilting.
Lights dimming.
Ragnor whispered:
"I feel like we're being hunted."
Aetherion nodded.
"We are.
The Behemoth knows we're here."
Iris whimpered.
"I hear breathing behind the walls…"
The system chimed:
[REFLECTED BEHEMOTH: AWAKENING]
The temperature dropped 20 degrees instantly.
Ragnor's breath shivered in the air.
"Where is it coming from?"
Lyra pointed up—
"…above."
A massive eye opened on the ceiling's mirror.
Round.
Pupiless.
Reflective.
It stared at them upside-down.
Ragnor whispered:
"…nope. I'm out."
The mirror cracked—
And the Behemoth dropped from the ceiling.
A hulking monstrosity of living mirror shards—
multi-armed, multi-legged—
body splitting and reforming like a glitching screen.
Iris screamed.
Lyra fired arrows.
Aetherion unleashed a cosmic blast.
The Behemoth absorbed both.
Ragnor charged—
His punches reflected backwards—
hitting HIM instead.
Ragnor staggered.
"WHAT KIND OF CHEAT IS THIS—?!"
Aetherion shouted:
"IT REFLECTS ATTACKS WITH TIME DELAY—WATCH YOUR OWN MOVES—!!"
Lyra fired low.
A delayed reflection arrow shot upward.
Two shots.
Two directions.
Iris struggled to keep up.
"This floor messes with time AND identity—!!"
The Behemoth roared—
A sound like a thousand mirrors cracking.
Ragnor yelled:
"DRM—! DO SOMETHING—!!"
DRM stepped forward.
Mask tilted.
Red eyes bright.
He raised one small hand.
The Behemoth screeched—
terrified—
its body fracturing just from DRM's proximity.
Aetherion whispered:
"He's breaking the reflections just by being seen…"
DRM flexed his aura—
Stage 3.5 — "Reflection Killer Pulse."
The Behemoth shattered instantly—
exploding into dust and shards that dissolved into nothingness.
Silence.
The labyrinth straightened into a path.
The exit staircase appeared.
Ragnor fell onto his back.
"THANK YOU. I HATE THIS FLOOR."
Lyra wiped sweat from her brow.
"Every floor gets worse…"
Iris trembled against Aetherion's side.
DRM walked toward the stairs.
But before he stepped up—
A shadow flickered beside him.
[Shadow Presence Detected]
[Name — ████]
[Comment: "Mirrors can't reflect monsters."]
It vanished.
DRM didn't look back.
He ascended.
The others followed—
scarred.
shaken.
but alive.
CHAPTER 29 — STATUS REPORT
Ragnor
Level: 22
EXP: +730
Physical: Bruised by reflected damage
Mental: Done with mirrors forever
Notes: Nearly punched DRM's aura out of stress
Lyra
Level: 19
EXP: +650
Constellar Mark: Node II stable
Mental: Sharpened focus
Notes: Adapted to mirror time-delay fastest
Iris
Level: 13
EXP: +410
Mental: Fear spikes
Notes: Sensitive to reflective illusions
Aetherion
Level: 19
EXP: +500
Mental: Worried
Notes: DRM's incompatibility with reflections concerns him
Boss — Reflected Behemoth
Status: Obliterated
Notes: Collapsed the moment DRM activated aura
DRM
Level: ERROR
Mask Sync: 99%
Aura: Stage 3.5 — "Reflection Killer Pulse"
Notes: Reflections cannot contain him
Hidden: Shadow mocking the Behemoth's fear