Mystic Arts Dual System

Chapter 8

Eldridge’s shout barely finished echoing before his mirror surged forward again, Light flaring as if it had already predicted the angle of his next strike.

Their blades met with a sharp crack, sparks bursting outward as Eldridge grunted and slid back half a step, teeth clenched.

“Damn it—” he snarled, forcing another surge of power through his arm.

The mirror answered instantly, matching the force, matching the timing, even matching the slight hitch in Eldridge’s stance when his balance slipped. The impact rattled his bones.

Callie cried out as her own double pressed her hard, chains snapping tight as she struggled to keep her footing.

Sweat streaked down her temple, her breathing uneven now, every movement slower than the last. Her mirror didn’t slow. It never did.

Ryn stumbled again, barely managing to roll aside as his reflection’s strike split the air where his head had been a moment before. He scrambled back, chest heaving, fear sharp in his eyes.

“They’re not tiring,” Ryn gasped. “I know,” Merlin said, but his voice was already distant.

He twisted aside as his mirror closed in, The strike skimmed his ribs, close enough to burn, and Merlin hissed as pain flared through his side.

He staggered back as his boots scraped across the silver-veined stone, heart pounding hard enough to drown out everything else.

The mirror’s blade whipped past his face, wind ruffling his hair.

Merlin stumbled back, boots scraping the silver veins. Gritting his teeth, he whispered,

“Think…think…what do the books say? Tower trials aren’t just about strength…placement…timing…control…”

His eyes flicked to the walls, where Etherium strands pulsed against the carvings.

“They’re not trying to hit me…they’re shaping the fight…forcing me into patterns…”

A strike grazed the stone at his side, sparks flying. Merlin slid sideways, letting the mirror overextend. “It’s a cage…a moving cage…not a duel…”

Another clash his mirror moved cleanly, efficiently, no wasted motion, driving Merlin back toward the wall.

The Etherium strands shivered as they passed, reacting more stronglyt here, pulsing brighter near the carvings etched into the stone.

Merlin hissed as his mirror scraped past. “Wait…wait a second…they’re not just attacking, they’re sticking close to the walls.”

He rolled, barely keeping his guard up as sparks flew. “See that? They circle, push, and look, they keep drifting back toward those carvings…toward the symbols half-hidden in shadow.”

His pulse raced as the Etherium pulsed violently at the corners of his vision.

“Every time they cross a mark…did you see that? The energy shifts. It’s subtle…yeah, but it’s there. I...I think that’s the key.”

“That’s not a coincidence.” Merlin ducked low, shoulder-checking his mirror just hard enough to break contact before retreating instead of pressing the advantage.

His mirror followed, of course, but stopped short of the wall, feet halting as if restrained by an invisible line.

Eldridge noticed none of this. He roared and drove forward again, Light blazing as he forced his mirror back.

But, only for the double to twist aside at the last second, redirecting Eldridge’s momentum straight into the Etherium-laced floor.

A backlash snapped upward, throwing Eldridge off balance with a snarl.

Callie screamed as her mirror disarmed her with a brutal flick, chains clattering across the stone.

“Merlin!” she shouted. “Do something!”

He didn’t answer. He was already moving sideways, retreating instead of engaging, eyes scanning the wall as another strike grazed past his shoulder.

PppppHis mind raced, piecing together patterns even as his body screamed at him to focus on survival.

Merlin’s breath hitched as he blocked another strike.

“Spell circles store and control energy,” he muttered to himself, quoting The Codex of Arcane Architecture, Volume II.

“These… aren’t for power. They’re rules, limits.”

He squinted at the mirrors, connecting the patterns.

“Mirrorborn follow laws. They move to protect the shapes, punish mistakes, and redirect force.”

A blade rang against his guard, numbing his arm, but Merlin forced himself not to react instinctively.

PHe twisted, rolled, came up near the wall, staring hard at the symbols etched into the stone between pulses of Etherium light.

“Merlin!” Eldridge shouted, furious now. “Fight, damn it!”

Merlin ignored him. His mirror closed in again, his blade rising—and Merlin slipped past it, letting the strike pass close enough to slice air from his lungs as he pressed his palm against the wall.

The symbols flared faintly as the Etherium reacted.

Merlin’s heart stuttered. Merlin’s eyes darted over the symbols, the mirrors, the shifting Etherium.

“It only lets one at a time… one moves forward, the others follow later… That has to be it. That’s the pattern.”

Another impact rocked the chamber as Callie was thrown hard against the floor, gasping.

Ryn cried out, scrambling toward her before his mirror yanked him back by the collar.

“Stop!” Merlin shouted suddenly.

Everyone froze, if only for half a breath. Merlin stood at the wall now, blood running down his arm, chest heaving, eyes fixed on the symbols.

“This isn’t about beating them,” he said, voice shaking but firm. “They’re not the trial.”

Eldridge stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “You better start making sense.”

His fingers hovered over the symbols, hesitating.

“This could be a lie,” he thought, chest tight. “The Tower sets answers that look right… then kills you for trusting them.”

He swallowed, eyes flicking toward Callie and Ryn, struggling to stay upright amidst the snapping Etherium.

“But if someone’s going to find out… it can’t be them,” he resolved, jaw tightening.

Merlin aligned the symbols anyway.

Instantly, Etherium surged, snapping upward as the mirrors froze mid-motion, locking like reflections trapped in shattered glass.

Sparks flew from the floor veins, the pressure slammed down so hard Merlin dropped to one knee, lungs burning, heart hammering against his ribs.

A voice echoed loudly,

“Trial Condition Met.”

“Group Advancement: Denied.”

“Candidate Selection: Singular.”

Light detonated across the floor. “Ahhhhhh!” Callie screamed as the ground vanished beneath her.

“Merlin—!” Ryn shouted, lunging toward where he had just stood. Eldridge cursed, teeth clenched and then they were gone.

The chamber emptied in an instant, leaving Merlin alone as silence slammed around him.

Far away, the school watched the live feed in stunned silence. The display flickered:

“Second Floor Access: Granted”

“Candidate: Merlin”

Callie leaned closer to the screen, eyes wide. “He… he made it?” she whispered, voice trembling.

“He passed?” A teacher frowned, fingers frozen over the controls.

“Abnormalities detected,” they said. “The Tower… it’s not following protocol.”

Another teacher added grimly, “This is not meant to happen” Callie’s lips quivered. “Merlin… you can do this…”

Then the Tower shifted violently. The world tore itself apart around Merlin, space folding inward as the floor dissolved, dragging him into something darker, heavier, wrong. He landed hard.

The Etherium pressed against him, thick and resisting, as if the space itself rejected his existence.

His light sputtered. His shadow refused to obey.

“If the Tower lied… if this is real… I take the risk first,” he thought, dread curling tight in his stomach.

“One more step. Just one more and I’m out.” He lifted his foot.

A quiet hiss cut the air. It was a flying arrow.

His head snapped forward hard as the arrow punched through above his left eyebrow with a wet crack.

It burst out the back of his skull in a spray of blood and bits of bone as blood splattered the wall behind him in messy lines.

His eyes went wide with shock. His mouth opened like he was starting to say “wha—” but nothing came out.

For a split second he stayed upright. Then his legs gave way.

He fell forward and his knees hit the stone with a sharp crack. His body folded, his face slammed down with a heavy, wet smack.

Blood poured fast from under his cheek, spreading dark across the floor and into the cracks. His fingers twitched once… twice… then stopped moving.

In the control room the Tower feed updated instantly:

“LIFE SIGNS: TERMINATED”

“STATUS: DECEASED”

Callie’s eyes went wide as her hope shattered. Tears spilled freely, and she collapsed to the floor, sobs wracking her body. “No… no, Merlin…”