As the timer ticked down, Izabel felt the familiar weightlessness, then, she landed on the platform. It was still the same orange and white, surrounded in a circle of fire, but this time, there was flickers of blue embers amongst the flames, not even visible unless one bothers to pay attention to the platform. On her left, Valerie - Pestilence’s platform could be seen, made of thousands of tiny, black cubes dotted with white with a few stray clusters of cubes rotating around the platform.
Their platform rested a little bit below Izabel’s. From the looks of it, the platform heights were randomized every time they arrive.
Unlike before, now Claire - Barnett’s platform, rested on Izabel’s right side. It was green, made of clusters of leaves, vines, and grass, surrounded by thorns, and flower buds form around Claire’s feet, moving and following along with each little movement she made. Claire herself seemed not to notice, her gaze focusing on the center platform, where Cordis stood before.
Behind her alias, now there was an additional line.
[HUNTER#101 - Team 2E]
Next to the three, there was [EYE#819 - Team 1E], the woman sitting on the back of one of her puppets, with two more acting as armrests and one serving as a footstool on her pink platform.
“Do not stare,” Hunter reminded.
A little too late, right as Izabel turned away, Eye had glanced to where Izabel was, and smirked, her smile taunting, dangerous.
Not keen on playing that game with Eye, Izabel focused on the others. They too possessed a distinctive platform, one a coiled, blue dragon with a distinct, pale, cold mist wafting from its surface. The name on the platform says [HERALD#881 - Team 1E]. Meanwhile, the other one stood on a platform that looked almost ethereal, shaped like a jellyfish with a transparent body and waving stingers. If she didn’t know better, Izabel would be worried about the flimsy-looking platform falling apart from being stood on.
[DAHLIA#291 - Team 1E]
“I can feel your gaze on me, Hunter,” a voice spoke from the direction of Dahlia’s platform. Even with the distorted voice and the faceless disguise rendering them as a shadow, Izabel could almost picture the lazy amusement, mixed with a curiosity that so badly wished it could pierce through the dark veil covering them. “I share your sentiment, for you are the one of the first ones who killed a Primeras.”
Dahlia turned around. Even with the featureless disguise, Izabel could feel their eyes meeting hers.
“Perhaps we should meet up and talk sometime?”
“Dahlia, enough playing around. We have things to do,” another voice joined in, this time, from Herald’s direction.
“Now, now, Herald, let her have fun, after all, the star of this show hasn’t arrived yet,” Eye spoke. “Perhaps, Hunter, you too should stand on the central platform, with your team?”
Eye tapped her foot, and another T-doll materialized from the card she dropped, bringing her a glass of red wine. While swirling the drink, she continued, golden eyes glancing at Izabel.
“Regardless, allow me to offer my congratulations, for being one of the first to kill a Primeras.”
“Can she not shut up?” Claire snapped. Right next to her, Barnett was pouting, indignantly staring at Eye. “We’re not here to be gawked at.”
“Get lost, Eye. You used me.”
“We simply had a deal, dear Hunter,” her reply was casual, unconcerned. “Don’t be such a stick in the mud.”
On the right of Izabel’s team, there were one familiar platform, and two unfamilar ones. Izabel spotted Carcosa’s platform first, a glowing, gold-hardened light, then followed by a circular platform made of rusted metal. On the surface and around it, feathers were fluttering around, each one a distinct black-and-white.
[BRECHER#198 - Team 3E]
“Brecher, huh? So she’s really on our side.” Izabel thought.
“She seems to have acted independently from her team in our previous encounter, though,” Hunter said.
Brecher gave a nod of acknowledgement. Izabel noted that, despite how she had seen Brecher in the outside world, here, the featureless disguise bestowed by the system was still active.
Then, next to Brecher, there was a platform that looked rather festive. It was decorated in soft blues and whites, with colorful lights emanating wherever their feet stepped. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was one of the brighter, more distinctive platforms.
[STRIGA#444 - Team 3E]
Their demeanor looked cheerful, a contrast to the others’ more serious or relaxed stances.
[Welcome back, it seems that all the Heart Mirror users have arrived.]
Just like before, the central platform cracked, fragments of reality falling into a dark void in multicolored blocks. With the grace of a creature clawing its way out of the abyss, Cordis rose out of the crack, their body obscured with the same darkness coating the users who still wished to remain anonymous. Unlike before, their form now has a certain sheen to it, creating the illusion that their disguise was made of forged metal.
[First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to you all, for you have managed to secure the spires, and the means of communication to other domes.]
“You’re not calling us here to praise us for that, right?” Eye said.
“You look different, Cordis, surely you don’t expect every user here to not notice?” Adler added.
[Adler, designation number 007, and Eye, designation number 819. You are correct. As you may have surmised, we have a dire problem.]
With that last word, all other chatter died down. Those who were busy not listening all but stopped mid-sentence, the words dying on their throat. A heavy pause settled in the very air of the virtual world, and then, Cordis continued.
[One of the Primeras has set their eyes on Dome-13. They have caught wind of our existence a little earlier than anticipated, and their pet has found that the disturbance is linked to the altered Mirror Device. I have set some countermeasures - however, the identity of the Primeras who sent them along with the nature of our enemy’s powers remain uncertain. As travel between domes is not yet possible in larger scale, those in Dome-13 are trapped prey, unable to escape.]
“I see, so, what is your proposal?” Someone else asked. They were standing atop a black platform, surrounded by broken, half-empty glowing vials. A crescent symbol was etched on the center of the platform, each line a deep groove made by scratching something massive and sharp. The designation [LAPIN#303 - Team 4E] could be seen floating near them.
After a pause, Lapin continued.
“Do you have a plan to save them?”
[That is correct, Lapin, designation number 303] Cordis replied. [Soon, there will be maintenance performed on that dome. I should be able to force open a backdoor, where we can send those with offensively-oriented Mirror Avatars.]
“That sounds heroic, but is there anything to be gained here, Cordis?” Eye asked, shifting her legs so both were pressed on the puppet acting as a footstool. “As appealing as playing a rescuer sounds, we don’t have infinite power or resources.”
A pause. It seems that Cordis was considering the point.
[Yes, we have neither of those.]
Another pause.
[However, Eye, designation number 819, I need to remind you that we neither know what will happen if the Primeras figured out the in-depth workings of the Mirror Device, the Mirror Avatars’ true nature, and the existence of the Heart Mirror app.]
“That is odd. Remember how last time they said not to alter the Number Distribution too much,” Hunter said.
“Maybe it’s just not important right now?”
“Perhaps, but Eye likely has had her numbers altered since before the very beginning of this session.”
Logically, Izabel knew, considering how Eye had behaved since the start of this, and the show of power she was currently doing, some of her behavior must be controlled by her Mirror Avatar. However, unlike before, Cordis didn’t seem to call any attention to it - nor did they act like it bothered them.
“You drive a hard bargain, Cordis,” Eye said, letting the glass on her hand drop to the platform. Before the glass could even touch the ground, the hand of a P-doll rose and took it away through a tear in reality itself. “What’s in it for me?”
From somewhere else, there was a voice.
“Striga, don’t.”
“Carcosa, even Brecher agrees with me,” they said, in a sing-song voice. “What is it? Do you need a calculation tool for potential allies? How about you head out again and face the Primeras yourself? Let’s see if that goes better than last time. Tell me your results, I’ll wait.”
“Is that a challenge, Striga? How about you come with me? Maybe see if that cacophony of yours can break their eardrums.” Eye fired back.
“Nah, unlike someone, I’d rather have allies.”
[Quiet!]
It was the first time Cordis yelled.
Not even the voice distortion was able to mask their annoyance.
[Considering that there are oppositions to this, we have two options.]
Cordis waved their hand, creating a pair of projections.
[First, the inhabitants of this dome can go and rescue them. If this is done, you will have potential allies, and in the long run, this will benefit us. Think of it as an upfront investment that you can get the benefits on later.]
“The second one?” A voice asked. The voice came from atop a platform split in the middle. One part was green, filled with life, and the other was withered and skeletal. The name [VERDANT#258 - Team 5E] was visible.
“We don’t, and boom! No more things to worry about, duh!” Another voice responded. It came from a platform made of what seemed to be a cluster of machinery inner parts.
[DESOLATION#813 - Team 4E]
“Desolation!” Adler shouted.
“What? I was right.”
Baskerville opened her mouth, about to say something, then closed her mouth again. “This isn’t productive, Desolation. Shut up!”
“Haah, so serious, we’ll get these damned Primeras eventually, anyway.”
[Let me remind everyone again to not alter their Number Distribution too carelessly. Regardless, the second option is, we abandon Dome-13 to their fate, while thinking of a countermeasure.]
“Hunter? I’m going, but what do you think?”
“I agree, we cannot leave them to their fate. Depending on what the Primeras do with the information they will obtain in Dome-13, we might be in danger as well.”
“Then, I’m in favor of option one,” Izabel said, out loud, causing everyone there to turn and look in her direction. “This is our chance, and we’re not losing allies to the Primeras this early.”
“That is too idealistic, if we fail, we will just send more fighting force into a trap,” Herald said. “I vote option two. Some fighters are better than none.”
“I don’t think we should abandon them, Herald,” Dahlia said. “Remember, if they know about the details of our Mirror Avatars’ existence, it’s over.”
“Hence we focus on finding ways to hide them and regroup,” Herald replied. “Ask your Mirror Avatar, Dahlia, would they sacrifice themself for someone they don’t know?”
“Shut up, all of you!”
The indignant, enraged voice came from Adler.
“Since none of you gets it, I’m going to tell you all something. I’ll only say this once.”
There was a perceptible shift of power in the air, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
“If we don’t go with the first option, we will lose a valuable ally, one that some of your Mirror Avatars might recognize.”
Adler’s voice dropped to a whisper, calling for the assistance of her partner. Again, power shifted in the air, and Izabel saw as the girl’s hair were tinged in a soft lavender from the roots to the middle of each strand, giving her an odd, mismatched look taken from two different people. She took a deep breath, and then:
“I invoke my authority granted by the Linnurata system,”
As she spoke, her voice took on a different dip, different pitch, different tone that seemed impossible, a dark voice full of anger. Brecher immediately snapped to look at Adler. Even though her expression was not visible due to the disguise, from the way her hands trembled, it was clear that the voice resembled something familiar to her.
“Embrace me and manifest, the ma–”
Adler stopped right then and there.
“That is what I have seen,” Adler said, her voice returning to normal.
Whispers and questions started to fill the room, some asking their Mirror Avatars in bewilderment, others asking about what they recognized.
“Adler!” Lapin shouted. “It’s dangerous for people to know that.”
“Sorry, Lapin. This is our only option,” Adler shook her head. “No matter how many times I did the Extrapolation, we have no chance of winning unless this happens.”
“Embrace me and manifest, huh… That can’t be…” Brecher muttered.
“Interesting, so you know of them,” Eye said, while doing a slow clap. “Then, that begs the question, how do we know that you’re not lying, Adler?”
“You can believe me, or don’t. Look around you and judge by yourself, Eye.”
Adler narrowed her eyes.
“Or should I say, Inquisitor of Illuvastria?”
