Kaios's eyes skimmed through the glowing screen in front of him. He carefully read all the rules and instructions about the second minigame.
The more he read, the more he understood, this game was more dangerous than the first minigame.
Here he could lose the lives more easily than the previous game.
Mirrors, choices, projections these games were getting progressively more difficult and complex.
Kaios thought, as the cogs in his mind were spinning to think about the counter measures. Then his eye locked into one section.
"Clement, aren't you forgetting something?" Kaios asked her.
"Me!! Hmph.. I don't forget anything." She said, while crossing her hands, resting it above on her chest.
"Oh... Really!" Kaios probed with a playful tone.
Clement became embarassed as she heard it, scratched her head. "M..may be, but this time not." She said confidently.
Kaios then pointed his finger at a certain section of the holo-screen. "Then what is that?"
When she saw the section Kaios was pointing, her face flushed, became red with the embarassment. "Th..th..that" she stuttered.
"I just keeping it to tell you later. Yes, yes i didn't forget, I waited to tell you after you read the rules."
"Well, if you say something, then bring out the artifacts." Kaios said while shaking his head.
As Clement heard it, a sigh came out from her mouth, seeing that Kaios didn't prove her further.
Damn my forgetfulness... She cursed herself, before snapping her finger.
Then like before another screen materialised before Kaios, listed with many artifacts and their details.
"By the way you can only choose one." Her voice chimed from the behind of Kaios.
Kaios nodded as he was checking the screens.
[ Mirrorheart Pendant, Chrono-Skein Bracelet, Gravemeld Anchor, Shardveil Cloak, Pulse Echo Gauntlet, Eclipse Ocular
Aetherloom Coin, Soulflare Lantern, Temporal Chisel ]
Kaios then spent the next couple of minutes, reading about all their abilities and drawbacks, as well as how usable it was for him.
From these, there were many that was suitable for his style, but only one that caught his eye.
The one that will provide him biggest assistance during the trial. It will help him to keep holding his lives.
"Clement, I want this artifact." Kaios pointed towards the one he chose.
"Okey" Her eye lingered slightly above the artifact before she waved her hand, and opened a space window near Kaios.
"The artifact is inside, you can take it with your hand." She said.
Kaios nodded in reply, before inserting hand inside the window, and brought out wooden box from it.
The upper cover of the box was draped in red cloth of high quality, giving it a luxurious vibe.
Kaios then slowly moved his fingers towards lock, then with a sudden click sound, he opened it.
As the box laid open, Kaios took out the artifact inside it. The artifact was rested upon an crimson foam before he took it.
It was in the shape of a bracelet of silver colour, also shimmering in a silver hue. It also had a horizontal hour glass in the middle of it.
This artifact was called Chrono-Skein Bracelet. As its name suggested, it sure had the power related to time.
Its ability called recheck. It let the user correct any action they performed within 0.3 seconds. Though there were also some limitations.
As it had a cool down one minute and thirty seconds, also it can't change something too drastic, like rewriting the death, or any other things related to that of fate aspect.
Yet, despite all this limitations, Kaios chose this one, even with the presence of other better artifacts.
It was because of one rule that he had read in the screen, if that rule worked as he suspected, then this artifact might help him to save his one of life.
Anyway, he was now ready to face the next game, so he signalled it to Clement.
"I am ready, you can now start the next minigame." He said with determination.
Clement who was laying on the air lazily woke up suddenly.
"Hmm, you are ready earlier this time, anyway here you go." She said as she snapped again.
With the snap of Clement, Kaios's body vanished from there, but not before hearing something that made his brows twitched.
"Good luck, also make me entertained."
As Kaios vanished from the grand stage, he appeared on a large corridor, as he gazed everywhwre to check his position, he found that he was being surrounded by his own reflections.
The whole wall of corridor was made up of with the mirrors.
Thud.... thud...thud
Kaios's shoes struck the polished floor as he walked, with a hollow sound, that is far different than that of metal or stone surface. It was being reverberated all around the corridor in a strangely manner.
He slowed his pace, his sharp eyes scanning the uncanny sight around him. Even till now he didn't see a spot that was spared from the mirrors.
"So this is the place for the second minigame," he muttered under his breath. "Strange, surely strange."
The air around his was heavy, and sometimes filled with distortion. Even his breathing echoed back, while layering upon itself until it felt like an invisible crowd was exhaling all around him.
He pressed forward, each steps were moving cautiously. The silver bracelet at his wrist glimmering faintly with silvery hue— it was his one piece of reassurance, when something wrong happened.
The corridor stretched endlessly, as even after walking for some times, he still didn't found the end of it.
With each step, ripples were passinf through the mirrored walls, and at that he felt something. Something, that was… wrong.
As he saw the reflection, which were the perfect imitation, blinked fraction later than him once. Then next, when he lifted his hand, all but one reflection clenched its fist instead. As he saw this his muscles tensed.
"Is this trial of choice or about bending the perception?" Kaios asked himself, suppressing the unease, which was clawing inside his chest.
After it his advanced became more careful—until it came...the first challenge.
Suddenly the mirrored floor beneath him, began to ripple like water. Then, two hands shot out from the below suddenly. It was of his reflection, but paler and shriveled, as if one soaked all the blood from it.
The hands grabbed his ankles with unnatural strength. After it he felt his foot sankz draggung him downward. Looking like the glass beneath was swallowing him as whole.
When Kaios saw this, with a growl, Kaios took out the Gravistone Alloy from his body. Then anchored one of its end to the ceiling and used it to pull himself out.
As he was doing that, he took the second alloy, Resonance Alloy. He then used this to slam the mirror surface around him, while channeli6 the amplified vibrations into these.
With it he shattered the mirror ground, while the Gravistone alloy pulled him, and anchored him to the ceiling, freeing him finally.
Kaios exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "If not for these, I'd already be part of them."
He then continued his travel.
Soon, another trial presented itself again before him. This time a fork appeared ahead of him— two identical corridors were being reflected endlessly into each other.
Both side left and right, were lined with mirrors, each showing the same vanishing path.
This time he had no clue which was real.
But he will not be backed down, he stood their silently as thinking about each solution.
This should work, Kaios thought as a grin formed on his face.
It was time to introduce the third Alloy of his that he didn't use till now.
Let's see how this mirror wall will take this gift.
A/n: Read Author's thought