Chapter 50: Reflections
Jaden stood on the balcony as he looked at the setting sun. His expression was flat as he leaned forward on the railing and glanced at the garden in front of the mansion.
"I hate this feeling of loss..."
He mummbled and closed his eyes for a moment. A lot of things had happened in the past month, but the most notable one was that he had finally understood the workings of this hellish city.
"I couldn’t have done it without the clue given by the curator."
The short paragraph at the bottom of the map was an essential clue which helped him piece everything together.
According to that paragraph, everyone within the city was graced by the moon god, but he never understood what it truly meant, so he concentrated on remembering what had happened when he arrived at the city about a month ago.
He had entered the city at night, and at that time, it was deserted, with many of its buildings damaged. But then a cold breeze swept throughout the city, and everything changed. It was no longer deserted or damaged; instead, it was busy and glorious.
It was then that he remembered the true epithet of the moon god.
"Moon God of Tranquillity, Illusion, and Reflection."
Everyone, even he himself, thought the city was just a strong illusion—so strong that it had turned physical within the dream realm, but now Jaden had a different theory.
Jaden stared in the direction of the moon hanging above as he mumbled.
"Their envy shattered the calm, only for them to fall into the game of possibility."
At first, Jaden had thought that it meant the mortals had betrayed the moon god, but now he had a different understanding of this: they didn’t betray; instead, they had truly shattered the calm—the mirror that reflected the city.
Jaden believed the current city to be a reflection of the true Nightshade City, which the moon god had handed to the mortals of the city in the past. He assumed that it allowed everyone protection by hiding within the reflection.
But then someone or something asked them, Why can’t they simply stay within the reflection forever and be safe from everything? The mortals fell for the words of that being and did just that.
Nothing should have happened, as it was a grace from the moon god, after all. It was simply impossible for anything to happen just because they used it more than before, but...
"Their fall began long before the brilliant sparks could apprehend."
The gods were already at war against those beings, and thus, the moon god was not able to continue looking upon the city, which caused the mirror to strain, and then it broke. The mirror broke, but the reflection stayed. The true city became ruins over time, but the reflected city stayed strong, and then the nebulous being simply turned it into its game.
Everyone was then forced to play a role in the reflection, and if they didn’t, they would be punished; however, those who entered it afterwards could move as they wanted.
"I would be different for me; I wouldn’t bend to petty roles of this damned city," Jaden mumbled as he straightened himself and looked at the moon.
"I will exit this city no matter what."
He heaved a sigh, and right at that moment, a flat voice called out to him.
"Everything’s ready."
Jaden turned to look at Shelly, who stood there with her usual calm and indifferent expression, and responded with a small smile.
"It’s time then... wait for me at the entrance."
Shelly gave him a short nod and left.
Jaden stared at her departing back with a small smile, which soon crumbled as he made his way towards his room.
He pushed open the doors and closed them after stepping inside the room.
As soon as he entered, his eyes fell on the leather bags placed beside his bed. Walking forward, he picked up a bag and opened it.
He put his hand inside the bag and took out what appeared to be a silver chestplate. Jaden had prepared armour and weapons for their escapade within the drainage... at first, he thought of checking out the drainage and then getting things ready, but that would be simply him courting death.
"This shall do..."
He picked up another wider bag and opened it before taking out a spear from it.
After looking at everything, he placed them in one place and took out his camera.
’I hope this works on this many.’
Jaden knew it would work as he had already tried it.
He positioned the camera at the weapons and armour, and pressed the shutter button.
Just as he did so, a blue screen appeared before him.
[Capturing multiple mundane items.]
[Requires: 1 slot.]
[Confirm | Deny.]
"It requires a slot? Even F Rank star beasts don’t require any... Is it because there are so many items?"
He muttered with furrowed eyes.
’Whatever.’
’Confirm.’
Right then, the armour and weapons broke into tiny black sparks and entered his body, and a blue screen appeared before him.
[You have captured multiple mundane items.]
[As the items lack individuality, the host has to think of the item instead of its name to summon them.]
Jaden looked at the screen before him with a raised eyebrow as he mumbled,
"That’s new."
He dismissed the screen and turned around to leave, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned around and walked to the short table beside his bed and opened its drawer.
He took out a necklace with a round dark gemstone, which appeared to be held by a golden butterfly; its golden chain gleamed under the lighting.
He looked at it for a moment before he thought.
’Should I turn this into a capture too?’
’I should...’
He placed the necklace on the table and took a picture of it. Just as he did so, a screen appeared before him.
[Capturing a Rare Relic: The lost eye.]