Chapter 10: Tempering the Mind

“Who the hell are you?!”

Lin Yan’s expression changed instantly. He jerked back two steps and brought his short staff up across his chest, every muscle in his body drawn taut as he stared at the eerie reflection in the mirror.

The other “Lin Yan” didn’t answer.

It simply stared at him with a chilling smile, hunger gleaming in its eyes as though he were a delicious meal.

“Who am I?” The “Lin Yan” in the mirror finally spoke.

Its voice was identical to his, but the mocking, manic edge beneath it made Lin Yan’s skin crawl.

“I’m you, of course… Or rather, a more perfect version of you.”

It raised a hand and slowly caressed the glass, the gesture almost tender as though stroking a lover’s cheek.

“This body of yours… What a wonderful thing. So full of life, so full of… creativity.” Its smile stretched wider. “Unlike this place, there’s nothing here but death and despair.”

“You want to replace me?” Lin Yan asked coldly, alarm bells blaring in his head.

Su Wan’s warning had been true.

There really was something in the mirror world capable of imitating a person, and even replacing the original.

“Replace you?” The “Lin Yan” in the mirror shook its head, a rapturous expression crossing its face. “No, that would be far too crude.”

Its eyes gleamed. “I want us to become one. Your body, your talent, your memories… will all become part of me. Together, we’ll be stronger. Together, we can… rule this world!”

It threw its arms wide, as though embracing the entire world around it. “Just look at this place. Isn’t it beautiful? No rules, no restraints, only endless possibilities! All you have to do is let go. Stop resisting, and let me in…”

Its voice held an unnatural, hypnotic pull. Like a devil whispering in his ear, it echoed through Lin Yan’s mind, each word slowly chipping away at his resolve.

A wave of dizziness washed over him.

The world swam before his eyes. The corridor warped and twisted, and the figure in the mirror blurred at the edges, as though the two of them were slowly merging into one.

“No… Get away from me!”

Lin Yan roared and bit down hard enough on the tip of his tongue to draw blood. A burst of searing pain snapped his mind back into focus.

He raised the short staff and swung it hard at the mirror without hesitation.

Bang!

The staff slammed into the glass with bone-jarring force.

Nothing happened.

The mirror didn’t so much as tremble.

Not even a hairline crack appeared across its surface.

Instead, a tremendous force surged back through the staff. Lin Yan’s entire arm went numb, and he staggered several steps backward before managing to steady himself.

“It’s useless.” The other Lin Yan gave him a derisive smile. “In the mirror world, I make the rules.”

Its smile slowly widened. “You can’t hurt me, but I… can take my time eating away at you.”

It lifted one finger and lightly tapped the glass.

Hummm…

An invisible ripple spread outward.

The air around Lin Yan thickened in an instant, as though he’d been plunged into a swamp. Every movement became a struggle, his limbs dragged down by an invisible force.

Then something cold and malevolent invaded his mind. It slithered into his consciousness like a venomous snake, battering relentlessly against his mental defenses.

“Give me… your body!”

The other Lin Yan’s face twisted into a vicious snarl. He leaned forward, pressing closer and closer to the glass as though he were trying to crawl right out of the mirror.

Lin Yan could feel his consciousness being stripped away, his control over his own body slipping little by little.

Meanwhile, countless fragmented images flooded his mind.

They were the other Lin Yan’s memories.

Bloodshed. Devouring. Despair.

Scene after scene tore through his consciousness, each one more horrifying than the last.

No, he couldn’t let this continue!

Lin Yan clenched his teeth so hard that blood seeped from his gums. He fought desperately against the presence invading his mind, thoughts racing as he searched for some way—any way—to turn the situation around.

Omnicrafting… That’s it! Omnicrafting!

If he could use it to “craft” himself into this world… then could he use it to “craft” this thing out of existence?

A wild idea flashed through his mind.

Something ruthless flickered in Lin Yan’s eyes. Instead of continuing to fight off the mental invasion, he suddenly stopped resisting.

Then, deliberately, he lowered part of his mental defenses.

“Oh?” The other Lin Yan laughed smugly. “Giving up already?”

An even greater wave of psychic force surged through the opening in his defenses, trying to seize complete control of his body.

Now!

Lin Yan gathered every last shred of mental energy he had left, but this time, he didn’t use it to defend himself. Instead, his mental energy transformed into countless invisible blades, plunging straight into the invading consciousness!

“AAAAARGH!”

The smile on the other Lin Yan’s face froze. In the next instant, it contorted in agony and terror.

“Y-You… What are you doing?! What is this?! No! Stop!”

It screamed in panic and desperately tried to withdraw its psychic force, but it was already too late.

Lin Yan’s mental energy moved like a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting into the very core of the other Lin Yan’s consciousness with terrifying precision.

Dissecting it.

Breaking it down.

Reassembling it.

“You wanted my body, didn’t you?” Lin Yan’s voice was glacial, every word laced with killing intent. “Then come on in.”

His eyes hardened. “Let me see what the hell you really are.”

“No! Please! Spare me!” the other Lin Yan shrieked. “I can help you! I know the director’s secret! I know how to get out of here!”

Lin Yan didn’t waver. After all, mercy toward an enemy was cruelty toward oneself. Only moments ago, this thing had been trying to erase him completely and take his body for its own. There was no reason to spare it now.

“Then let’s see what I can make out of you!”

Lin Yan roared as his mental energy erupted at full force.

Crack…

Something shattered.

The other Lin Yan’s scream cut off abruptly.

Cracks spiderwebbed across its body like shattered glass. Then, with a loud bang, its entire form splintered into countless shards before melting away into the mirror’s surface.

At the same moment, the icy psychic force that had invaded Lin Yan’s mind lost its hold and dissolved into pure mental energy. Lin Yan’s mind instinctively absorbed it, devouring every last trace.

“Ugh…”

A muffled groan escaped him.

It felt as though his skull were about to split open, white-hot pain lancing through his head.

At the same time, a cool sensation swept through his entire body, soothing his frayed nerves. To his surprise, the mental energy he had nearly drained dry began recovering at an astonishing rate. Within moments, more than half of it had returned.

But it was different now.

Denser.

Purer.

Stronger.

[Ding!]

[Devoured Malice of the Mirror (Fragment)]

[Mental Energy permanently increased by 10%.]

[Special Status Acquired: Mirror Affinity (Beginner)]

[Mirror Affinity (Beginner): Increases your resistance to the rules governing mirror realms, making it easier to see through mirror illusions.]

System notifications chimed one after another in his mind.

Lin Yan stood there panting, staring at the mirror that had returned to normal. His reflection stared back at him once more, disheveled but with his eyes still sharp.

This time, nothing strange happened.

“Whew… That was close.”

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart still pounding from the ordeal. If he hadn’t reacted decisively and activated Omnicrafting when he did, he would have been the one devoured instead.

The mirror world was every bit as dangerous as he’d feared.

His gaze dropped to the short staff in his hand.

That last strike hadn’t shattered the mirror, but the staff seemed to have absorbed a trace of energy as the malice within the mirror dissipated. The dark red patterns running along its surface seemed more vivid now, almost as though they had come alive.

[Absorbable Energy Detected: Mirror Fragment (Null)]

[Use it to enhance an item?]

The system prompt sounded in his mind again.

“Enhance.” Lin Yan didn’t hesitate.

A faint current of energy emerged from the void and flowed into the short staff.

[Item enhanced!]

[Unyielding Guardian’s Staff Enhanced: Common- → Common]

[New Passive Effect: Mirror Reflection]

[Mirror Reflection: Has a low chance to reflect a portion of incoming damage back at the attacker. Only effective against spiritual and energy-based attacks.]

Not bad. This should come in handy in the mirror world.

Lin Yan tightened his grip on the short staff. Feeling the increase in his mental energy and the staff’s newfound strength, some of his confidence returned.

He gazed down the corridor.

If the malice in the mirror knew the director’s secrets, then he must have left traces of himself in this world as well. Perhaps… the director himself was hidden somewhere within it.

If so, Lin Yan would have to find the director’s “reflection.”

He continued down the corridor.

This time, instead of wandering aimlessly, he focused and activated his newly acquired Mirror Affinity.

A faint silver gleam flickered in his eyes, and the world before him began to change.

The mottled walls and tightly shut doors lost their solid forms, dissolving into tangled streams of shifting, chaotic energy.

He was searching for a nexus where those currents converged, or rather, the “heart” of this world.

After walking for about ten minutes, Lin Yan stopped again.

This time, he found himself standing before a door.

But through Mirror Affinity, the door was anything but ordinary.

Ominous black energy churned around it in violent waves, forming a vortex that endlessly devoured the energy around it.

And Lin Yan recognized the door.

He had seen it before. It was identical to the door to the director’s office in the real world.

“This is it.”

Lin Yan drew a deep breath and gripped the ice-cold doorknob.

Click.

The door opened.