Power Stones Plz : )
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Returning home, the night was already quite late.
Opening the door, Silas saw his sister sitting in the living room waiting for him, without even turning on the lights.
"Cecilia, didn't I tell you not to wait up for me?"
Silas sent his half-asleep sister back to her room, then quickly washed up himself and returned to his bedroom to rest.
The next day, after sending the little landlady off to school, Silas had his sister sit beside him, then took out the mirror.
He wanted to test this mirror to see if it could cure his mental problems.
This Beyonder item called the "Hypnotist's Mirror" was slightly larger than an adult's palm.
The frame was gold, depicting intricate scales.
The scale patterns looked so lifelike that if one didn't feel the metallic texture when touching it, one might think it was part of a living creature.
The method of use is... stroke the mirror surface, right?
Silas tentatively reached out and gently stroked the mirror's surface.
The mirror had originally been calmly reflecting the room's scenery.
After his finger brushed across it, ripples suddenly spread across the surface, and it became hazy. From within the grayish-white mist, a huge eye slowly emerged.
The golden vertical pupil fixed on Silas, seemingly waiting for him to speak.
This thing seems to have intelligence.
Silas still remembered the Queen's warning and remained wary of this mirror, guarding against being controlled by it.
That's why he had his sister watch from the side, as an extra layer of insurance.
So he spoke cautiously, "I hope to heal my psyche and restore my mental state to normal."
The golden vertical pupil blinked slightly, as if expressing affirmation.
Let's give it a try then.
Silas exchanged a glance with the black-haired girl beside him, then relaxed his mind before the mirror.
He allowed the mad thoughts and twisted visions to occupy his mind and field of vision, his eyes simply staring at the golden vertical pupil on the mirror's surface.
He saw that through the mirror surface, the vertical pupil rippled with transparent waves, continuously and repeatedly creating ripples before him.
Silas gazed at it entranced. He gradually felt that the pupil of that vertical eye was becoming larger and larger.
Like a coiled dragon opening its enormous mouth, about to swallow him whole...
He slowly stopped thinking, allowing his consciousness to approach the other side, to become part of it.
That invisible dragon surged forth freely, breaking into his mental world, coiling on his island.
It raised its head, swayed its tail, roared loudly, announcing its arrival, appearing mighty and arrogant.
"Whoosh..."
The sound of illusory tides suddenly rang out, drowning out the dragon's roar.
"Crack."
Silas seemed to hear a cry of anguish, and immediately after, the mirror in his hand developed a crack without warning.
The golden pupil inside the mirror suddenly closed, as if struck by a direct punch, shrinking painfully and trembling.
Hmm?
What just happened?
Silas regained his clarity, looking at everything before him with some confusion.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
The black-haired girl beside him asked.
"What just happened?"
"The eye in that mirror grew larger, then you slowly brought it toward your face.
I was just about to stop you when you woke up."
Oh, I see.
Silas nodded.
Combined with what he had just experienced, this mirror seemed to have been showing off in his mental world, even intending to take the opportunity to control him.
As a result, it was rejected by that illusory tide in his brain, suffered damage, and was forced out.
Looking down, the pupil was trembling, seemingly having experienced great fright.
"Were you trying to control me just now?"
Silas asked gently.
The golden pupil immediately shook left and right in denial, its gaze even carrying a hint of ingratiation, as if instantly transforming from a majestic dragon into a tail-wagging dog begging for mercy.
After that, the mirror became highly cooperative.
It very actively treated Silas's mental problems and begged Silas not to unleash that tide again.
However, its abilities were limited. It couldn't completely cure Silas's mental problems, only alleviate them, making Silas's periods of lucidity last longer.
Though it can't cure me, having some relief is still a good thing.
Silas thought.
With this mirror, his normal time had become longer.
He could try contacting that great detective Sherlock Moriarty now. Hopefully, this detective was indeed a fellow transmigrator.
***
East Borough, Dharavi Street, in front of a lively but cramped bar.
"I don't want to go in. It's too filthy. You go in by yourself."
Fors looked through the bar's door at the chaotic scene inside and decisively and shamelessly abandoned her short companion.
"Hey! You're getting a share of the money too!"
Xio Derecha shouted.
"I'd rather take less than go in there."
Hearing her lazy companion say this, and seeing her attitude was so firm, Xio could only shoot her a resentful glance, pinch her nose, and squeeze into the bar.
Soon, a cacophony of chaos erupted from inside the bar.
After a while, Xio emerged, her expression seeming somewhat worried.
"Still haven't found them?"
Fors asked, watching Xio slowly shake her head.
They had come to the East Borough this time naturally to complete Miss Audrey's commission, searching for Lanevus, who was worth 1,500 pounds.
Some time ago, Xio had first come to the East Borough alone to find her informants, distributed information about Lanevus to them, and reminded them that he was very dangerous and they needed to be extremely cautious.
She had given these informants several days to gather information.
Today she came to the East Borough with Fors, intending to conduct the next phase of investigation based on their feedback.
"Something's not right."
Xio said with a frown.
They had already looked for several informants in succession, checking their residences and the bars they frequented, but had found no trace of them. Even when asking others, those drunken fellows couldn't answer.
"I agree."
Fors even more decisively expressed her support. "We'd better leave here immediately..."
Xio nodded. The two walked quickly forward, preparing to hire a carriage at the street corner to leave the East Borough as soon as possible.
In front of the bar was a narrow alley.
Although it was noon, there were basically no pedestrians. Ahead on the somewhat dim road, a figure somehow appeared.
Xio and Fors suddenly stopped in their tracks.
They both looked at that person in astonishment. Some indescribable sense of wrongness and terror quickly and silently seized their bodies.
"Are you the ones looking for me?"
In the dark alley, a heavy sense of oppression made breathing difficult. The clamor from the bar behind them seemed infinitely distant.
The man who appeared before them wore a mocking smile on his face, questioning them softly.
This person was precisely the target they were searching for: Lanevus!
Neither answered. Instead, they instinctively looked toward his most abnormal feature.
They saw that Lanevus's belly was swollen high, stretching his shirt and pants, appearing bloated and bulky.
He had one hand supporting his waist, the other stroking his belly. His expression was serene, even carrying a few traces of maternal love.
He looked no different from a pregnant mother, except for the fact that he was a man.
Clearly a man, yet pregnant!
Not only pregnant, but the state of his pregnancy looked so twisted and evil!
"Tell me, do you want to become mothers?"
He looked at them with bloodshot eyes and suddenly said this.
Xio and Fors didn't answer. Some blasphemous and twisted sense of abnormality filled their minds.
They felt nauseous, they felt fear, they wanted to scream aloud, they wanted to turn and flee!
But they stood stiffly in place as if nailed down. A terrible pressure emanated from Lanevus's abdomen, preventing them from moving.
Lanevus looked at them, the corners of his mouth gradually lifting on both sides until revealing a wild and crazed smile.