CHAPTER 22: SHATTERED HALL

The bright light faded away, revealing their new location.

Ding!

[Welcome To Shattered Hall]

Wade looked around, eyes wide. They’d appeared in the middle of a large, decrepit hall.

The floor was cracked, weed growing from the cracks. A portion of the ceiling was caved in, opening up the hall to the elements and through it, Wade could make out a cloudless afternoon sky.

Columns stood around the hall at intervals, holding up the ceiling, vines running around them. But that was not the most surprising thing.

Wad should have expected it, but the sheer amount of broken mirrors scattered around the hall still managed to take him by surprise.

They were everywhere. On the floor. On the walls. On the columns. Even on the ceiling.

"Stay tight." Sebastian rumbled, his voice low. He was in a half-crouch, his axe held in both hands. Ingrid had her bow drawn, and Rowan was on the opposite side of the group, staff held before him.

Wade stood in the middle, his back to Ingrid, sword out before him.

There was a moment of silence as they stood there. Nobody moved.

Sebastian scanned the room, before finding a corner that seemed to be devoid of mirrors. He led the way there, everyone following after him, keeping themselves in formation.

With the walls at their side, their eyes were out, searching for any danger. Still nothing.

Rowan held out his staff, and a wave of light emerged from the orb atop it, spreading out around the room. A second later, the light touched the edges of the room, and streamed back into the orb.

"No monster detected." Rowan said, glancing at Sebastian.

"Be on the watch." Sebastian instructed. "They know we’re here. They’re watching us. Hidden. In their mirrors."

Wade quickly went through everything he’d learned about Mirror Wraiths in his head.

They were fast creatures with three main abilities. Every Mirror Wraith had the ability to travel through mirrors, and in their territory, the Shattered Halls, that meant they could attack from anywhere.

The stronger ones had the ability to reflect attacks. However, their ability had a cooldown of a few seconds.

And then, there was the last, slightly stronger group of Mirror Wraiths. They had the ability to split themselves into two, turning their reflections into reality.

And now, they were trapped in the same ring as these monsters.

A few more seconds passed, and still nothing. Wade could hear the slight clinks of their armors as they shifted their weight. The sound of their breathing echoed in his ears.

And still no Mirror Wraith.

"Rowan. Use your Taunt—"

Sebastian was interrupted as Rowan yelled. "Up!"

Their heads snapped upwards just in time to see the Mirror Wraiths leap down from the mirrors on the ceiling.

"Fuck!" Rowan yelled as he fired a beam of light from his staff. The light hit the Mirror Wraith, and it shattered into tiny pieces, dead.

Ingrid’s arrows swished through the air, taking them out before they reached them. But unfortunately, even she could not take out the sheer numbers bearing down on them. So, they had only one option.

"Scatter!" Sebastian roared.

They all dove in separate directions, evading the rain of monsters. And just like that, their formation was gone.

Wade scrambled to his feet, eyes wide and heart pounding. He’d trained for fighting within the formation, but this was different.

He raised his sword in front of him, and that was when he caught his first clear view of the Mirror Wraiths.

The monsters looked as if a wolf had been starved, then forced to walk on two legs. Their skin seemed to be made of the same reflective glass as mirrors, but where a mirror was smooth, their skin was filled with jagged growths protruding from its surface.

Their hands were long, reaching down to their knees, their fingers tipped with long, sharp claws that gleamed in the light.

They snarled, spittle dribbling down their snouts at the sight of food. And sitting comfortably in their skull were two spots of blue light, serving as their eyes.

Wade saw out of the edge of his vision as Sebastian snarled and swung his axe, a wave of energy erupting from it, and killing a swathe of Mirror Wraiths.

Instead, his focus was on the group of Wraiths that stood before him. One of them snarled, and taking it as a signal, the rest rushed towards him.

They dropped down on all fours, racing towards him.

He leaned forward, his mind racing and his heart hammering away in his chest.

’Calm down, Wade. You can do this.’

The front two Wraiths leapt into the air, and he immediately cast [Basic Ward], and a blue, opaque barrier appeared before him.

The wraiths collided with the barrier with a crack, and one of them shattered, the damage killing it. The second one dropped to the floor with a yip, the barrier disappearing, spent.

But Wade had no time to bask in his strategy. The remaining two Wraiths were almost upon him.

He summoned the barrier again, blocking off the first wraith, turning to face the second. The wraith snarled, surging upwards, its claws reaching for his chest.

Wade swung his sword with all his strength, the blade ripping through the monster. It shattered into a million fragments of glass, spraying all over the floor.

A small box fell with the glass shards, bouncing a few times. Wade paid it no mind, turning to the remaining two Wraiths.

He cast the barrier, blocking another one as he faced the second. He swung his sword and the wraith skipped backwards, surging towards him.

He cast the barrier to block the monster, but it simply slid under it, seeing through Wade’s trick.

Wade cursed as the other wraith bypassed the barrier, leaping at him.

He rolled to the side, allowing the wraith to sail over him, and as he surged to his feet, he swung, catching its legs. Its legs shattered, sending the wraith sprawling on the floor.

Before he could finish the injured wraith, the second one, landed a hit on his back. Its claws skittered on Wade’s breastplate, sending sparks into the air.

Wade grinned at the sight, his sword shearing through the monster’s neck. It shattered into pieces.

He turned to finish off the last wraith, just in time to see it take a swing at his face.

His eyes widened, his sword rising up to block it, but he already knew it was too late.

’Ah, crap.’