Mordret analyzed his surroundings. The mirror cage designed by his father took the form of a Memory, but it seemed that only the Saints had summoned them, thus making it only based on three points. Still, the quality was vastly better than the individual mirror traps within Mordret's old prison.
His father had improved, unsurprisingly.
They had correctly assumed Mordret wouldn't challenge a Saint to a Soul Duel, at least not when there were Masters around for easy pickings. Since he didn't delve into their Soul Seas, he had not known of this specific trap.
Still, he had prepared for it.
Mordret could not talk in this state, as his true essence was being bounced around between endless reflections, keeping him in an effectively sedated state.
Even so, Whispering Blade.
"Foolish abomination, did you really think you could hide? Did you really think such transgressions would stand?"
"Actually, I thought I had a fair shot at going undetected. Even with my dear fathers new toys."
Mordret's voice, which should have been lost in the endless mirrors, echoed from the prison. Though his form was spread and scattered, his jubilant whispers caused a chill to go down the spines of the Awakened of Valor.
Indeed, though the prison improved, Mordret was a Master now. Already he was getting a feel for the mirror trap, spreading his consciousness down the spiraling infinity of the reflections.
Whispering Blade nodded at the Ascended gathering.
Each got a dark look on their face and went into motion.
Mordret had noticed something when he had taken over the body of Knight Torin. He was not a combatant, but instead, a smith of Valor. One proficient in runic Sorcery. He imagined they would try to perform a sealing using this method, though he did not expect the extra layer of trouble with this hastily put together mirror maze.
Memories formed, and soon a large tornado of red sparks covered the surrounding area as they built the runic circle.
Mordret, while not proficient in such Sorcery, was familiar with the runes used to imprison. They had been all he had known for so long, after all.
So a slight damper came down on his manic excitement when he noticed unfamiliar patterns.
Whatever this was, it was not imprisonment.
Still, it would never come to pass.
Madoc's voice took on a more furious tone.
"For all those you have carelessly slaughtered, for all the evil in your heart, for all the shame you have brought to the name of Valor, I will enjoy putting you in a hellhole even worse than the last."
Whispering Blade's voice became sharper, more dangerous and angry.
"I will personally see to it, that this prison is not just one of containment, but one of torment. You may not know human emotion, but you will know regret, you odious thing."
Madoc was practically spitting the words now. His eyes filled with rage.
As this happened, Jest finally noticed the sheer radical amount of fluctuation in Madoc's emotions.
"Madoc, something is-" Jest was cut off as he was forced into movement by his decades of combat experience.
Invisible blades cut down two of the remaining four Masters, while Jest managed to guard one and Tyris managed to guard the other.
Whispering Blade, lost in a fury, did not even realize what was happening.
However, he managed to snap out of it then.
Jest moved the anger to one of the Ascended, who started to ball his fist and growl like a deranged beast.
The old Saint frowned. In his current state, he couldn't move it to Mordret, his enemy, as he would like to do.
And he couldn't do it to the two figures that appeared from the shadows.
"Oh dear, what a frightening turn," Saint Jest chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice.
At that moment, he was looking at a crotchety old man with a deadly, powerful cane. The thing that looked identical to him smiled, but there was not a drop of emotion in the creature.
The other was a Reflection was Whispering Blade, his mouth also turned into a sadistic grin.
At that moment, Tyris noticed the most pressing issue.
"Knight Faldeus!"
This was one of the men cut down by Whispering Blades Reflection. However, he was not exactly dead. Instead, his body was pierced in a way that broke through his armor and broke the Charm on his chest.
The one protecting him from Mordret's possession.
The invisible blades met each other as the true Saint and the Transcendent Demon mimicking him clashed, sending brutal shockwaves all around the surrounding area.
They sent the body of Knight Faldeus flying backward, but by the time it landed, he was no longer a Knight of Valor.
He looked up with the same sadistic smile that remained on the faces of the other two Reflections, who now moved to flank him.
Valor also regrouped, and the two sides faced each other.
Madoc's brow creased.
"You can't shuffle the Reflections?" he asked aloud, not bothering to keep it secret, for there was no point.
"Unforutnatly not, the abomination on the other hand-"
Jest switched the feeling of deep camaraderie and faith that the last remaining sane Knight had for the Saints of Valor over to Mordret. He also dimmed the maddening rage in the other still living Knight.
"Finish the circle," Tyris ordered, as she and the other Saints stared down what was once Knight Faldeus.
However, despite Jest's Aspect, the rage that his Reflection had amplified as well as the admiration and loyalty to the Valor Saints did not reach Mordret, as the movement of the emotions were counteracted by his Reflection.
"How troublesome, it can copy our Aspects, and its power is not that much lesser."
Indeed, despite being Demons while Humans were technically Beasts, the greater power was still the humans. There was a certain finesse in Essence control as well as application of Aspect that allowed them to be more powerful than their Reflections.
In other words, it was a matter of efficiency.
However, Mordret was not out of cards to play.
"Did you know, that Gehrman fellow and I have grown quite close. I believe he considers me a friend now. I even completed a few jobs for him, and in return he has gifted me some rather incredible things."
None of the Valor Saints made a move, nor did they rise to the taunt. They were stalling, more so than Mordret was.
However, Mordret didn't need to stall anymore. The others had reached here sooner due to their Rank, but now his last Reflection had made it to the scene.
The Saints felt it far in advance, with Tyris using her Transformation Ability to intercept the new figure.
The massive bird wreathed in storm and lightning rose into the air, the Saint Sky Tide unleashed a devastating barrage of lightning and wind blades at the new Reflection.
Craters formed and the land trembled as the flashes bombarded the intruder. However, it was to no avail. By the time the barrage ended, the figure was calmly walking out the other side, completely unscathed.
This was actually the first time Mordret had Reflected this individual, as before it was rather pointless to do so.
However, that wasn't the case anymore.
Madoc's eyes narrowed at the Ascended Titan, the Reflection was of none other than Mordret himself.
The Reflection had the same amiable face as the Prince of Nothing, and the same reflective eyes.
That being said, it was rather odd for Mordret to mirror himself. After all, the only powers that this version of him could access was escaping through mirrors, but even then he was far weaker, as he did not have the true Mordret's immortality.
Reflecting himself was rather tricky because of his Flaw, and the results were rather odd. Instead of fully recreating Mordret as a whole, it just did the Mordret in front of him. That didn't really make a difference for a Reflection, but it did mean that the hidden version of "him" with Mordret's true death attached to it was nonexistent.
The Flaw was recreated, but only at the level of what it could accurately Reflect.
However, they didn't know that.
They also didn't know how his Flaw really worked.
They also didn't know how he had walked through the assault from Sky Tide so effortlessly without incurring so much as a scratch.
All these questions put them on edge.
"Suprised?" Mordret asked from the mouth of Knight Faldeus. "In this state, he basically has no Aspect, so it is indeed a bit odd to use myself as a Reflection. However, that was before I got my hands on some of the Red Judge's Memories. I did two big favors for him recently. Did you know that? The first was helping out with that ring he decided to give to that fiance, or rather, wife, of his. The second was a mystery that he was stuck on for a good long while. I admit, it had me confused for a time as well, but now that I have cracked the true meaning of Sin…well the results are simply splendid."
Indeed, Mordret wanted the [Envious Executioner Gloves]. He wanted them badly. In his eyes, they were a type of Memory that was unique enough to be considered one in a million, if not one in ten million.
However, Gehrman had refused. Only allowing him to taste the power while he was in the Soul Sea of that man. During that time, he got a good handle on the Tool, and he became more and more certain that in his hands, it would make him far more powerful than he was at the moment.
So he spent every waking moment desperately searching for the answer that Gehrman had posited.
What was the secret behind the "Sin Series" Memories?
The unique items gained from Gehrman's 2nd Nightmare all bore the name of one of the 7 Deadly Sins. Back then, Gehrman had been convinced gathering them would lead him to victory in the Nightmare. However, he managed to brute force his way through, and in the end he never figured it out.
In hindsight, Gehrman had been too close to the problem. Only after rereading the summaries of Gehrman's 2nd Nightmare and analyzing each of the Memories did he finally find the answer he was looking for.
Admittedly, what the Sin Series Memories accomplished together was a bit underwhelming, and Mordret doubted that it could have helped Gehrman during his 2nd Nightmare. However, for the future balance of power in this world, it was a game changer.
That being said, the product of Sin needed time to truly pick up steam, and the current results were very minimal.
Still, Mordret had gotten what he wanted, and now his Reflection had it too.
Purple Sparks flourished around the hands of the Reflection of Mordret. More assaults from the Saints were coming, but the Reflections of Madoc and Jest countered their originals while Mordret, using the Aspect of Knight Faldeus, bought his Reflection a precious second against Tyris.
In this body, Mordret could wield powers that originated from the concept of "precision". The Flaw of this man was a phenomenal pain that came with each failed or faulty movement or product. This, combined with his Dormant ability to wield exceptional mental fortitude had trained him to be a master fencer. Not only that, with his other two Aspect Abilities, Faldeus could make the most accurate and devastating attack to an enemy as possible.
Usually, this ability was used during smithing to ensure the highest possible quality, but Faldeus had also been trained as a Knight, and he was by no means a pushover.
Still, against a descendant of War who had momentum, he had never stood a chance in his own Soul.
Multiple needles and tools on the garb of Faldeus were flung with expert aim at the form of Saint Tyris, who had taken to the sky.
However, those that made it through the storm protecting the Saint bounced harmlessly off her Transcendent feathers.
In perfect sync, the three Saints readyed a larger joint attack, aiming to push past the ones in their way.
However, they were too late.
Five red skulls of a deep, writhing red appeared. The apparitions seemed to blur the world around them, their silent screams emanating a piercing chill that caused a shiver to run through the spines.
Not a word needed to be said, between the experienced warriors. These apparitions, whatever they were, held great danger within them.
Mordret grinned as the Saints made way to dodge the skulls. However, the masses of horrific agony traveled with them, tracking their movements and gaining speed.
Saint Tyris flew high into the air, breaking the sound barrier and fleeing above the clouds, but the skull targeting her followed.
The other two Saints realized with horror that besides the projectiles locked onto them, there were two more sent for each of the remaining Knights who hurriedly worked to finish the runic array.
Jest moved first.
Utilizing his Transformation, a strange creature akin to a demonic goat appeared. Twisted horns, sideways pupils, and a hairy body, all seemed comical, but when he moved the earth shattered.
In a futile attempt, both he and Madoc tried throwing several things at the skulls. Physical, incorporeal, elemental, mental, and even Soul attacks were all useless against the skulls.
Furthermore, Mordret and his Reflection were not standing still either.
Using the opening, Mordret ran to the Reflection.
The Reflection, meanwhile, raised its hand and hoisted a weapon that was unclear under the cloudy night sky.
In an instant, two things happened.
First, a flash appeared around the Reflection of Mordret, and suddenly it was as if there was a dome of reflective glass around the copy of Mordret. However, that was not quite right, as around this dome, destruction occurred rampantly, incredibly powerful air currents slashed through the air, cutting the approaching Knight Faldeus.
The world twisted in a strange mirage effect as the form of Knight Faldeus rippled and shimmered. Reaching the dome, Knight Faldeus twisted, and then pulled into a vortex. He was gone.
The strange mirror-dome was gone as well.
However, returned from the Mirror Realm, the true form of Mordret was standing there, smiling as he stood shoulder to shoulder with his Reflection.
The other thing happening in that instant was two Saints taking the blows of the [Envious Executioner Gloves] projectiles that had been meant for the Masters. They each felt twice the pain that one normally would.
Both had been forged in the era of the Nightmare Spell. Pain was an old acquaintance. Even still, they never knew agony like what hit them the second the skulls reached their body.
A small amount of physical damage and a preposterous amount of mental damage in the form of an egregious amount of stimuli. It was not just pain, like the breaking and wrenching of bones. It was deeper, as if such feelings were multiplied hundreds of times over, and then worsened still by the fact that all those deaths were loved ones, cruelly taken.
The strain of the pain and the loss was overwhelming, but it did not afflict the two of them for long.
At the end of the day, these were emotions, and thus vulnerable to the Executioner of Valor.
Separated and sent flying towards Mordret in an instant, but then caught in transit by Jest's Reflection, the tremendous agony physically manifested between the Mordret, Jest, and his Reflection. Writhing dark red tendrils thrashed about, shuddering in place, seeking desperately to reach a host within which they could express their most horrible pains.
At this point, Mordret had already summoned three more Memories. The first two were a standard Charm and Armor. Both offered great protections at the Transcendent level, and were the result of the slaughtering Mordret and his Reflections had done across Antarctica in order to prepare for this day.
The weapon, however, was the reason Mordret's Reflection had been able to survive the initial onslaught of Saint Tyris.
A subtle and clever piece of machinery, a Trick Weapon "purchased" from Gehrman after he had collected the final material for the first "Chalice Ritual".
Its appearance was highly unassuming. A solid handle and simple design made up what looked to be a mundane cane. However, the end was pointed sharper than a rapier, and it was far more dangerous than just a blade.
Especially now.
When Mordret had upgraded the [Ring of Betrothal], he had been paid in a Blood Rock, thus allowing him to create a Supreme Memory of his own.
The possibilities had nearly short circuited Mordret for a while, but he settled on the following Memory after some experimenting.
Name: [Uncanny Threaded Cane]
Rank: [Supreme]
Tier: [II]
Memory Description: ["One of the trick weapons of the workshop, commonly used by hunters on their duties. Sufficiently deadly as a rigid bladed cane, but also serves as a whip when its blade is split into many. Concealing the weapon inside the cane and flogging the beasts with the whip is partly an act of ceremony, an attempt to demonstrate to oneself that the bloodlust of the hunt will never encroach upon the soul."]
Memory Enchantments: [Fashioned], [Gentlemen's Pride]
[Fashioned]
Description: [This Memory is tailored to the users Soul, reflecting its master's qualities whilst the weapon is in its transformed state.]
[Gentlemen's Pride]
Description: [This Memory has deep respect for its wielder that grows the more it is used. The more familiarized it is with its master, the more it can act of its own accord for its master's masters interests.]
These two enchantments separately were both underwhelming. The only rare thing about it was the fact that it was a Trick Weapon.
However, for the longest time it had been useless.
For Gehrman, the whip-form of the Cane turned bloody. However, the manifested blood was not of any noteworthy Rank or power, and it could not be further manipulated.
[Gentlemen's Pride] was also not as great as it may initially sound. One might thing that they could get the cane to act fully autonomously, perhaps like an Echo. However, at most it appeared to be able to move the angle of the whip to correct course.
Or, it could support its own weight, holding itself in the air for a short while.
All of this would be useless if not for the fact that Mordret was the one wielding this weapon.
Truthfully, it felt tailor made for him.
It all stemmed from [Fashioned]. While Mordret had yet to get a Memory that was a giant mirror, or perhaps a set of mirrors, he did have this, which was decidedly better.
In the transformed state, the cane turned into a whip with serrated blades. Each blade glimmered, each a potent mirror that was as pure as his own Soul. Unless it was surrounded by True Darkness, it would always be able to cast a reflection.
And since the whip was supernaturally long, Mordret could extend it to over 100 meters, circle it around himself into a dome, and then hold it stationary.
The trembling Supreme weapon was still dangerous, but in that state it was also a massive mirror.
And that was not even the best use of it.
Thunder sounded from above, and as the [Uncanny Threaded Cane] formed in Mordret's hand, he frowned.
He ordered the Reflections to protect themselves, but he realized the effort was futile.
Lightning, much more powerful than before, rained down like a divine smite upon the Reflections.
It caused a chain reaction, the red, writhing agony of the extracted agony from Jest and Madoc that had been floating mid air exploded outward with a blast of energy. Blowing everyone back a bit, but only harming the Reflections of the Saints.
Mordret glared at the sky high above.
Saint Tyris had been hit by the apparition of the [Envious Executioner Gloves] yet she still managed to pull off such an attack.
Still, the fact that she wasn't descending meant that she wasn't entirely unscathed either.
The Reflections, on the other hand, were much worse for wear. They had survived, but Jest and Madoc were already moving to finish them off.
The Reflections blocked, but they would be cut down in the next moment.
At least, they would have been if a mirror suddenly did not appear behind them.
Though thin, the extended whip form of the [Uncanny Threaded Cane] reached the near-death Reflections in time, salvaging them before all his hard work could be lost. The warping effect of the mirrors had a limit, but fortunately it could twist the human body into Mordret's Mirror Realm, protecting them from further harm.
Another pause came in the cacophony of mad battle.
So many things had happened simultaneously during this fight. This was what happened when two inheritors of War faced each other.
"Another Supreme Memory," Madoc growled. "That madman appears to just be handing them out."
Mordret grinned as he brought his weapon back into its cane form. He had trained a lot with it in Gehrman's Soul Sea.
It was an old Memory that had originally just been Awakened Rank, and Gehrman had gotten it from his 2nd Nightmare. However, Mordret had upgraded it to Ascended, and then Transceded himself.
Only recently did he make the decision to spend his most precious item to push it even further.
In any case, he had fought with this weapon a long time. Though he did prefer the [Blades of Mercy] most of the time, when Gehrman made him switch weapons for "practice purposes" this was his second option.
Which meant he knew that keeping the Trick Weapon in the whip form for extended periods of time was not wise. He needed to conserve whiplash and momentum, and leaving it extended would do him no good in that regard.
"I suppose from an outsider's perspective it would appear that way," Mordret taunted.
His eyes slid to the Knights who appeared only seconds away from finishing their work. Whatever it was they were planning on doing.
Mordret's pupils dilated suddenly as several invisible blades cut towards him and his Reflection.
He smiled.
When I first came up with this idea, I had the thought that…I really couldn't imagine how I could lose. So, dear uncle, Mr. Jest, let's see you struggle with all your might.
Overwhelming bloodlust poured out of Mordret as he whipped the [Uncanny Threaded Cane] forward.
It caught the path of some of the invisible blades, but not all of them. Mordret would be cut to pieces soon.
However, he wasn't.
Because the next moment he was in a mirror. One of the many, many mirrors in the extended [Uncanny Threaded Cane].
It took less than a millisecond for Mordret to transfer, and since it was his true body, it was not just an escape of his essence.
The entire body disappeared, vanished into the Mirror. Only to reaper again, on the other side of the invisible blades.
Using the momentum of the moving Trick Weapon, Mordret reapered, caught the handle, and kept up the attack. Extending the range and deadliness of the Supreme weapon his Reflection did the same, spreading an area of absolute death out in front of them.
Indeed, since this Reflection could copy his Dormant ability, it could perform the same escape act with its copy of the Threaded Cane.
This was how it had escaped the initial barrage of Saint Tyris unscathed. He had simply not physically been present.
Of course, there was a danger with this method.
If the Memory broke or the mirror was cracked or dulled then things would get difficult. However, the Threaded Cane was a Supreme Memory, and there were hundreds of mirror shards in the form of serrated blades.
Even with his devastating strength, as Saint Jest slammed his own cane down in his Transcended form, causing the momentum of the whip to falter, Mordret was still able to take advantage of it.
Using the vast distance the Memory covered to transport near the Saint and offer a shallow cut with the claws of his gauntlet, only to escape into the mirror shards once again.
With each escape, Mordret was also dodging the most devastating current attack, the emotional manipulation of Jest.
Indeed, Mordret was a perfect counter to the old man. Though in his true body he would ordinarily be just as weak to his Aspect as anyone else, the current Mordret was constantly crossing the boundaries of dimensions, thus throwing off any manipulation.
Each time Mordret appeared, Jest had to start over from the top, forcing him to push large quantities of Essence into his Aspect with minimal results.
Not only that…
Jest flinched as he called out.
"They switched!"
Madoc was just as fast, taking a true blade to meet the twisting threat of the whipping Threaded Cane along with the arsenals of hidden blades.
For him, it didn't matter that the Reflection and the true Mordret switched, they were just as much nuisances in terms of survivability.
The real issue was that Jest just wasted a precious half second trying to amplify Mordret's mania, only to find the void of nothingness that was his Reflection.
The transportation between mirrors was at light speed. Though none of that speed could translate physically, it allowed Mordret to pull off tricks like this.
It appeared like the mirror dodges had been done no differently than before, but in reality, Mordret and his Reflection had switched opponents.
And they were pushing the slight advantage.
There was one other advantage of the Threaded Cane – the weapon, not this specific Memory – that Mordret enjoyed.
Nobody at Valor would know how to fight against it.
Of course, they were familiar with all matters of weaponry.
They knew warfare, and since Madoc had the War God's Lineage, he would be able to pick up the idiosyncrasies of the Trick Weapon just as fast.
However, even with his Lineage it had taken Mordret more than a few hours to learn how to wield it, and Madoc was in a much rougher environment, trying to learn how to fight against it.
Needless to say, there was no way he could have been prepared for everything.
There was no way he could have been prepared for Mordret to vanish behind him, taking his gauntlet, and smashing in the skull of one of the last two Knights.
To his credit, Whispering Blade did react fast, and even though Mordret was escaping into the mirror as soon as his fist went through the Knight's head, he still got quite the gash from one of his uncle's invisible weapons.
Whispering Blade growled, turning into a maelstrom of utter death. His Transcendent Ability was to become one with those invisible blades, and it was not very useful against Mordret since even with the [Uncanny Threaded Cane] he was not managing to hurt the Saint.
Still, it came with enhanced maneuverability that the Saint now used.
Mordret switched back with his Reflection, only to be met with a face full of searing pain as the bleeding cut in his side exploded with far too much pain.
He escaped once again into the mirror.
Fall back. It's done.
Mordret could hear Gehrman's voice echoing in his mind.
He had gotten 4 Valor Masters while suffering no real losses of his own. The three Saints would return to Bastion utterly embarrassed, unable to take down a single Master who they had surrounded.
Still, the Prince of Nothing seethed.
Both threaded canes abruptly moved, clanging into each other and twisting together, the ends being thrown in odd, opposite directions.
The sparks created did not distract the enemies, and they were already moving.
They did not know how Mordret would appear, but they knew that he would go for the last Saint.
And sure enough, there he was.
From above, Mordret appeared, a spear summoned and ready to pierce the neck of the Master who now drew the last of the intricate runic symbols…
Then he was struck down by lightning larger than any recorded in human history. It was focused like a spear, and burned deep into the ground, leaving a scorched divot deep into the cliffside.
For a moment, everything stood still as the body of Mordret was erased from existence.
Then, they heard the sound of shattering glass, and they knew.
The one who had made the move for the final kill had been the Reflection of Mordret.
Jest, who could sense it immediately, was on the move to get to the real body, who had thrust himself far in the opposite direction. Then, gripping the handle of the [Uncanny Threaded Cane], he launched it as far and high as it could go.
With a crack the highest tip reached a kilometer in the sky. Mordret came out the very last Mirror Shard, his form warping.
However, he did not fall.
Winds held him up as the battered and near-death Reflections took on the form of Saint Tyris, pushing him higher as he dismissed the Supreme Memory and resumed the [Envious Executioner Gloves].
Without even looking, he fired the projectiles off, draining the last of his Essence. The skulls manifested and would pursue the closest living organism that was not of Mordret's Soul.
Escaping to the sky was dangerous when Saint Tyris was still up here, but since she had evidently been writhing in horrible pain for a while, he figured that sending a couple more, along with having double the winds pushing him back to Ravenheart would allow him to flee safely.
The taste of iron stung his mouth as he looked down at the profuse bleeding from his side.
Mordret's eyes became more and more manic as he considered his current state.
His Ascended Titan which he had so carefully cultivated was gone. All because he had wanted to kill that last Master.
What would have been an absolute win was now something resembling a draw.
Not only had he lost a powerful ace up his sleeve, but now most of his cards were revealed to Valor.
Gehrman's words started to ring in his head again, but he let the pain and rage drive it off.
It didn't matter.
He drew blood, and what they took could be rebuilt.
Plus, what they now knew would become outdated soon enough. He did not plan to stay a Master for too long, after all.