Chapter 68 ~Level Up: Mirror Dimension~
(Fiona's POV)
I couldn't believe I was finally doing this, but as Xander stared at me with anticipation in his eyes, I realised that sometimes sharing a problem makes it half solved.
“So, I might be a Tribrid.” I said, sounding unsure.
“How do you know?” he asked.
I never really told him about the moon-goddess trance, the tests I've been going through to increase my Luna Power Level so that I could save my mom… but I guess today was the day.
I sucked in a deep breath. “So, I have been in a system that grants me abilities. I need peak Luna abilities to save my mother.”
He looked confused. “Wait, you can save your mother?”
I shrugged. “I think so. If I get to a high level. I'll be granted an ability that can heal her. It happens as a trance. On one of these trances, I kept seeing ‘Tribrid abilities’, and even at Ashridge, I had an awakening of my powers.”
He looked like he was processing everything I was saying, so I continued. “Beckett also said he needed my Tribrid powers in order to win a war. He tried to steal it, but it seems he couldn't control the powers, so he got severely wounded.”
“So that was how he got wounded?” Xander’s eyes widened. “Wait… this could be why he's after you. He might still want the powers.”
“It's possible.” I couldn't tell. Maybe he wanted to kill me. Also, Beckett was very possessive. Maybe he felt like he still owned me. It could be anything, really.
“So, what happens now?” He asked. “If you are indeed a Tribrid, you could come with me to the academy, right?”
As wonderful as it sounded, it was harder than he thought.
I looked at him. “Xander, I'm not even sure if I really am a tribrid. Since that day I had the awakening, the powers have laid dormant. How do I prove to the academy that I indeed am a tribrid? What kind of tribrid am I?”
“The only way you can confirm is by finding out who your real father is. I, for one, know you're part human and part werewolf.” Xander said.
That was actually a smart idea. But what do I do about it? Did I actually want to know who my real father is?
I had a strong feeling time would tell. And I had a feeling that the next level was close… I just didn't know how close it was.
–---------
At midnight, I was sucked into a trance.
I woke up to a mirror dimension. I was surrounded by shards of glass. I could see my reflection, distorted in every direction.
There were voices echoing loudly in my ears, and I was in a state of utter disconnect.
“He..hello?” I yelled and was answered by my own echo. “Who's there?”
I could feel an overwhelming surge of power rising in my chest. My hands tingled sharply, and I felt faint.
Suddenly, on the left side of the mirror, the shadow of a female appeared. Incrusted above were the words ‘HUMAN’.
I turned to my right, and the shadow of a beast on all fours appeared. Incrusted above were the words ‘WEREWOLF’.
I looked at the mirror in front, and as I suspected, an unfamiliar shadow appeared. It looked like a beast on two feet. An image flashed in my mind, and I recollected that it was the same shadow that appeared in the dungeon at Ashridge.
I stared in anticipation, and the words slowly appeared, ‘LYCAN’.
I froze in shock. So I was a Lycan/Werewolf/Human Tribrid!
So my real father was probably a Lycan?
Everything was beginning to make sense. I was indeed a Tribrid!
I turned back, and an image appeared. It was a messenger from the moon goddess.
‘Welcome to the system,’ he read from a scroll. ‘This aspect levels you up to Level 10 of the Luna Power Level. Giving you heightened senses, faster healing, full control of Tribrid powers.'
Full control of Tribrid powers! This was epic!
He continued. ‘Warning: Hard Level. Possibility of losing all Tribrid powers upon failure.’
My excitement was instantly replaced with an intense anxiety. It was a difficult level and if I lose, I might lose my Tribrid powers forever.
I could still feel the surge of power, and I tried desperately to control it.
‘There're three versions of you in the mirror realm, representing your three identities. In this level, each version is faced by a peril, and you must save them, simultaneously.’
Wait! How was that even possible? I could barely control my powers. Maybe it was just a doubt, but I wasn't taking chances.
“Please, I can't. Is it possible to do one challenge at a time?” I asked the messenger.
‘Very well… but, it comes at a price.’ He said.
Oh damn. “W-what's the price?” I stuttered.
“The challenge can be divided into three. You can go one after the other, but failure in one means failure in all.’
What the heck? “So if I pass two and fail one, I will fail everything?”
“Yes.” He answered after a while. “What's your decision?”
“I'll go with the second option.”
“Step into the human portal for the first challenge.”
I closed my eyes and tried to hold my breath. I was nervous… I was so nervous.
As I walked toward the mirror, a prompt appeared.
‘Mission: Save the creature at the end of the tunnel.”
I jumped into the mirror and it took me through a spiral-like depression.
I screamed as I spiralled down the tub.
Finally, I hit the ground with a thud.
There was thick darkness around the tunnel.
Rhia's voice resounded in my mind. ‘Everything you see here is an illusion. You must get to the end of the tunnel.’
I was so relieved Rhia was here.
I walked further down the tunnel… it was beginning to look like a dungeon. I was hearing all sorts of uncoordinated and scary sounds that were almost driving me crazy.
The sounds echoed in my ear.
‘Fiona ',’ Fiona’, ‘Fiona!’ they kept calling my name.
But I tried to convince myself it was just an illusion.
As I approached, I heard a familiar voice that startled me. Yara was locked in one of the dungeons.
“Fiona, oh my god, you're here. Save me!” I looked to see Yara stuck in a dungeon. She was crying and pleading. “Please help me?”
What was Yara doing here?
I walked closer to her.
Rhia's voice snapped. ‘That's not Yara. That's a shadow slave!”
I stopped in my tracks. Yara was still yelling. “Fiona, come. Come and save me.”
As hard as it was, I turned back. “No, I can't.”
When I looked again, the shadow slave had transformed from Yara to a gnarly beast that snarled at me viciously.
It roared loudly, shaking the dungeon bars so viciously that it almost snapped open.
I began trembling, my legs were rooted on the floor in fright.
‘Fiona, Run!” Rhia's voice echoed.