The mirror? Looking for me? Ebner looked at the small mirror with a golden frame and a pitch-black surface held by the plant lady and immediately recognized it as the "Magic Mirror" that had been "comfortably" killed by the "Sacred Light" in Nasali's nightmare.
Moreover, the plant lady's condition wasn't right either—her movements were stiff, and her eyes seemed vacant... Was she being controlled? Ebner grew wary, instantly activating his "Pure White Eye" and even considering creating some commotion to draw Closfia over.
But to his surprise, the moment the "Pure White Eye" opened, the mirror obediently hopped to Ebner's feet and began transmitting some fawning messages to him.
These messages weren't in any known language but seemed to belong to a more direct form of spiritual communication, carrying a slight hint of "corruption." As a result, Ebner only received them after activating the "Pure White Eye," as they had been intercepted before.
Is it really trying to fawn over me? Ebner's heart stirred. He took out the "Cursed Tudor Badge" and, using it as the core, quickly set up a ritual. He then placed the mirror on one of the ritual altars, ensuring that if it tried anything dangerous, he could respond immediately.
After completing these preparations, Ebner used the analytical abilities of the "Pure White Eye" to carefully examine the mirror on the altar for the first time...
Thanks to the mirror's active cooperation, after about ten minutes, he finally understood its true nature.
This was a mystical item crafted using the Sequence 4 "Black Knight" characteristic from the "Shepherd" pathway. Although its essence was only at the level of a "Grade 1" sealed artifact, because it contained a fallen angel spirit from the "Sun" pathway, if fully unsealed, it could temporarily unleash the power of a "Grade 0" sealed artifact!
However, the mirror's creator had placed four layers of seals on it, all of which were designed to suppress the evil spirit within!
When all four seals were intact, the evil spirit inside the mirror was in a dormant state, but it still influenced the holder's mind, amplifying certain personality traits and tempting them to further unseal it.
At this stage, the "Magic Mirror" was equivalent to a "Grade 2" sealed artifact, with no inherent abilities. However, it could consume the characteristics and souls of Beyonders to use their skills. It could hold up to seven souls, and even if some of those souls belonged to demigods, it couldn't control them.
When it entered the second stage, with only three seals remaining, the evil spirit inside the mirror would partially awaken, gaining a "living" characteristic and the ability to communicate simply.
But it mostly acted on instinct, lacking higher intelligence.
At this stage, the "Magic Mirror" could actively induce the holder's darker tendencies, leading them toward "corruption."
Additionally, it required a daily intake of flesh and blood, or it would consume the holder.
As for the number of souls it could "shepherd," it remained the same as the previous stage, but it would allow one demigod-level soul to function...
Moreover, during combat, it would assist the holder autonomously, without requiring active control.
The current "Magic Mirror" was at this stage.
In the third stage, with only two seals remaining, the evil spirit inside the mirror would awaken further, gaining intelligence and the ability to think. This made the mirror almost equivalent to an enhanced version of a "Black Knight"—because the evil spirit was once a "Sun" pathway angel, it rendered the "Holy Light," which normally countered "Black Knights," ineffective.
At this point, the "Magic Mirror" could shepherd up to thirteen souls, with a maximum of three demigod-level souls.
The fourth stage, with only one seal remaining, would see the evil spirit regain its memories as an angel. At this point, it would no longer be a fallen angel spirit sealed within a mirror but almost equivalent to a revived angel who had assimilated the "Black Knight" characteristic!
Of course, since the creator had left one final safeguard, the angel would have to obey the holder's commands and assist them in one full-power action before it could break free.
As for whether the fully liberated angelic evil spirit would retaliate afterward... that would depend on the holder's own abilities.
...
After reading the "analysis report" provided by the "Pure White Eye," Ebner confirmed that the "Magic Mirror" before him was indeed the one Leon had mentioned—one of the three "divine artifacts" crafted by Roselle: the "sword," the "mirror," and the "seal"!
The crafting method, the "Sun" pathway fallen angel spirit, and even the mirror's fawning behavior toward him, who possessed the "Pure White Eye," all confirmed this.
After all, the idea of using three fallen angel spirits to create the three "divine artifacts" came from the "Calamity Seal." It likely provided some assistance during Roselle's forging process, possibly even using the abilities contained within the "Pure White Eye"...
So, is that why the mirror is so close to me, who also has the "Pure White Eye"? Even fawning over me?
I never expected to see the real thing just a day after hearing about it from Leon...
With this thought in mind, Ebner hesitated for a moment but ultimately picked up the golden-framed, black-surfaced "Magic Mirror," accepting its voluntary allegiance. Through the "Pure White Eye," he sent it a message to release its control over the plant lady.
—Ebner no longer felt resistant to items related to previous time-travelers and even had an active desire to understand them.
Once the mirror was in his hand, it first transmitted a message of "joy," then, after controlling the plant lady to leave Ebner's bedroom, it released its control over her.
In the hallway, the plant lady suddenly came to her senses, her face filled with confusion as she wondered why she was there.
However, since her mind was still relatively simple, she decided not to dwell on things she couldn't understand and resolved to ask Mr. Breen about it tomorrow.
—Because "Miss Sloth" had been "busy" with her advancement ritual, she hadn't yet had time to "impart" knowledge to the plant lady. As a result, Ebner was still the most prominent figure in her memories... which was also the main reason the mirror had sought her out earlier.
Inside the guest room, through the Magic Mirror's obedience in releasing Miss Plant from its control, Ebner gained a deeper understanding of its nature.
It didn't follow its owner's commands exactly but instead exercised a certain degree of flexibility.
So it does have some basic intelligence, though it mostly acts on instinct… But if it were in someone else's hands, it wouldn't necessarily be this obedient…
As Ebner was contemplating this, the Magic Mirror once again sent a flattering message, asking if he didn't like Miss Plant. If so, it could control one of the other two women in the house and bring them to his room.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ebner almost thought he had misunderstood the transmission. After double-checking several times and confirming that the mirror had indeed meant what he thought, he pinched his forehead, unable to stop himself from ranting internally.
No wonder this mirror was made by Roselle… This method of flattery—did the Emperor personally teach it?Or was Calamity Seal also some kind of degenerate?
And while it's one thing to try this on Jian, how dare you, a thing still bound by three layers of seals, think about controlling a half-god from the domain of the Mind?Who gave you this courage?You can throw your own life away if you want, but don't drag me down with you…
Looks like if I plan on keeping this mirror, I'll need to properly discipline it first—otherwise, it's just going to cause trouble for me!
After sternly reprimanding the Magic Mirror for its inappropriate form of flattery, Ebner had a serious conversation with it—mainly about its eating habits.
He had expected the mirror to resist fiercely, but to his surprise, it readily accepted his proposal to only occasionally allow it to feed. The only condition it insisted on was that it must bathe in the "Holy Light" simulated by his Pure White Eye every day.
Hearing this request, Ebner tested it out by using both his own simulated Holy Light and the Holy Light from his Ring of Light, but neither was accepted by the mirror.
It has to be from the Pure White Eye?
Looks like my previous guess was right—Calamity Seal must have directly participated in the process of creating this mirror… Maybe even played a major role in it! That's why the mirror is so affectionate toward the Pure White Eye!
Of course, it's also possible that something in the "Unknown Land" behind the Pure White Eye is attracting this mirror, causing it to instinctively seek closeness…
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Ebner agreed to the mirror's request. In response, the mirror happily displayed a newly revised "contract" on its surface, listing their mutual rights and obligations.
Naturally, this contract had no real binding power over Ebner—it was, at best, a gentleman's agreement.
As for why the mirror bothered to display it at all, it was simply to announce that it had changed owners.
Now that he had acquired another powerful mystical item, Ebner was in a good mood. He proceeded to ask the mirror about its previous owner and the souls it currently shepherded.
Unfortunately, because the Magic Mirror wasn't very intelligent, it couldn't describe its former master's identity in detail. It only vaguely knew that its last owner was a half-god of the Spectator pathway.
As for the seven souls it had shepherded, most were criminals or pirates that its previous owner had captured—none of them particularly noteworthy.
Among them were a Sequence 8 Provoker and a Swindler, a Sequence 7 Seafarer, a Sequence 6 Pleasure Witch and a Faceless, a Sequence 5 Dreamwalker, and a Sequence 4 Demon.
The Provoker and Seafarer were pirates, while the Swindler was a traitor from the mirror's previous owner's family. The Pleasure Witch came from the Witch Sect, and the Faceless was a member of the Secret Order. The Dreamwalker had been one of the mirror's previous owners before being consumed. The Demon had once been a member of the North family, captured by Roselle himself. It was also the first soul ever shepherded by the Magic Mirror—one of the reasons why it had been named a "Magic Mirror" in the first place.
Aside from the poor guy who got "eaten," these were all bad people…
In that case, I don't need to be like Klein and try to liberate them one by one…
Since he could already simulate the abilities of anyone below a demigod, Ebner didn't have any immediate plans to swap out the souls, except maybe for the Demon.
As for removing more seals so the Magic Mirror could shepherd more demigods?
That was not even an option.
Once the mirror's seals were loosened further, the wraith inside would develop full intelligence and independent thought. At that point, it would no longer be so obedient!
At the very least, Ebner wasn't going to consider it until he became a demigod himself or figured out a way to re-seal it.
...
Tingen City, Blackthorn Security Company.
A woman with jet-black hair and an indifferent expression, Loenelle, carefully examined Daly Simone, who was still dressed in her black robe, with blue eyeshadow and rouge. With a calm voice, she said, "You don't look any different… I thought…"
"You're the same, Loenelle." Daly interrupted her with a smile. "Some things don't need to be mentioned again."
"It's good that you've moved on." Loenelle studied her a moment longer but didn't press further. Instead, she said, "I received a notice earlier that a colleague from Backlund would be protecting a parliamentarian for Baron Hoy's ball tomorrow night… I didn't expect it to be you."
"You know how it is. Nighthawks can't leave their jurisdiction easily… Just like how a cheating man needs a proper excuse to sneak out." Daly chuckled. "It took me forever to get this opportunity, so of course, I wasn't going to let it go to waste. Fortunately, none of my colleagues in Backlund wanted this assignment."
As she spoke, she casually filled out the necessary travel request form in front of Loenelle.
Watching her put on her coat, Loenelle asked again, "Do you need me to find someone to accompany you? There was an incident at the cemetery recently…"
"No need. For a Spirit Guide like me, a cemetery is far more comfortable than a bed." Daly waved dismissively.
Loenelle fell silent for a few seconds. Just as Daly was about to step out the door, she finally said, "Give my regards to the Captain."
That's one message I definitely won't deliver… No, I absolutely won't.
Daly didn't respond. She simply turned back, gave Loenelle a slight nod, and then pushed open the door to leave Blackthorn Security.
Sitting alone at the dark reception desk, Loenelle ran her fingers through her silky, ribbon-like black hair and let out a heavy sigh.
Even though months had passed, some things remained difficult to forget.