The one-eyed monster swiped its claws at Allen’s back. He quickly ducked to avoid it, and Nera followed by leaping at the monster with a kick. Before her attack could land, the creature disappeared in a blur. Her leg whooshed through empty air. One moment, there was a hulking abomination towering over them and the next it was gone.

Nera landed back on the ground, and Allen raised his head to look over their surroundings.

“Did I get it?”

“No, it just disappeared. Wait, you weren’t able to see that giant specter?”, Allen asked in confusion.

“Not at all, I just reacted based on your movements. An Expanse must have not been generated. Can you sense it anywhere?”

“No, Specters’ magical energy has a distinct vibe from regular mana, and I’m not picking that up at all. Maybe the other magical items are covering it up, but a specter that large should emit too much mana for that to be the case, right?”

“Or you're just lousy at sensing magic. Regardless, it looks like we’re going to have to look for it the old-fashioned way. Well, I say ‘we’ but it's mostly up to you, lackey.”

“Yeah, if we’re not in an Expanse, you won’t be able to see the specter at all. Will you be able to notice if it attacks you?”

Nera nodded confidently. “I might not be able to see or hear it directly, but if it’s as large as you say it is, I’ll be able to pick up on the wind currents from the specter’s attacks.”

With that settled, the two combed over the entire room but spotted not a trace of the specter. They pondered the possibility of it leaving the room. However, the chance it was waiting for them to leave then follow them out was slim but not low. Because of this, they decided to search thoroughly before going up the staircase. They did not want to inadvertently lead the monster to where Iyo and Liam were.

While Allen looked around himself, Nera kept searching the room until she reached the far end of it. She eventually reached a section of the wall with a large old painting of a stately woman. Nera then turned around to scope out the room in its entirety. It was eerily quiet for there to have been a specter here, but she was not hearing anything from upstairs either.

“Just where could it have gone? Maybe we should just go upstairs already?” Frustrated with their cluelessness, she leaned back and sighed. There was an intense, unnatural cold at the nape of her neck. Nera shivered and her fight or flight reflex instantly kicked in as she tried to dash away.

“How!?”

The grip of an invisible arm clutching her wrist impeded her movement. From across the room, Allen noticed what was going on and rushed to help. From his perspective, there was a swarm of decrepit limbs erupting from the painting behind Nera. They grabbed at Nera’s arms to restrain her while she furiously yanked the limbs apart to get free.

Even if she was able to crush one into mist, there was already another there to replace it. Allen gathered a surge of power in his right arm and slammed his fist into the painting. The glass casing shattered in a countless number of fragments. The arms vanished, but not by disintegration, just like before with the quadrupedal cyclop.

“Are you alright?” Allen questioned Nera who was clutching her wrist that was first grabbed. She did not reply right away. Her complexion had worsened, and she had a gleam of sweat on her forehead. The young woman clearly had some of her vitality drained from contact with a specter.

“...How much did it take?”

After no response for the second time, Allen peered into Nera’s eyes. They were fogged over as if she was in a daydream. He extended a hand to try to snap her out of it.

“Back off! Nera yelled furiously and swiped her fist through the air.

“Whoa!” Allen backed away quickly as he raised his hands in the air. “Just trying to see if you’re alright. That must’ve taken quite a hefty toll on you.”

Nera blinked twice and some of the shine returned to her eyes. She looked at Allen as if realizing he was there for the first time.

“Oh, it’s just you. I could’ve sworn…never mind. Let’s get back to looking for the specter.”Nera huffed and turned her attention to the rest of the room.

“What did you see, Nera?”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t I tell you I’m as blind as a bat when it comes to seeing specters outside of an Expanse?”

“That’s not going to work on me. You might not be able to see the specter, but you definitely saw something.”

“Just lay off. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nera walked away in irritation.

Allen sighed and followed behind her while still trying to watch out for the specter.

“I’m not trying to pry, it’s just that whatever you saw could help us figure out how to deal with this thing. Is it like when I saw that woman in the mist or…that vision I got from the draugr when we finished it off?”

The last part caught Nera’s attention.

“You never told me about that. What did you see? She asked without turning to look at him. She kept picking up files and records as if the monster would somehow be hiding underneath them.

Allen grinned like someone catching a fish with the right bait. He had something to wager with now. He briskly strolled past a glass mermaid statue perched on a wooden podium. The spacious basement was a veritable maze of miscellaneous knickknacks and clutter.

“Well, my memories are a bit foggy. They might clear if you let me in on what you saw.”

“Fine, you can keep it to yourself. Already told you, I’ve got nothing to say.”

Allen sighed. “Trust me, keeping it to myself isn’t something I’m overjoyed at doing. I just wasn’t sure what to think of it or maybe I didn’t want you to tell me what I thought it was. If there’s something you don’t want to hear from me, I’ll save it for after we’re out of this basement with a monster lurking around.”

Nera’s mouth cracked opened before she decided again to keep quiet. “I like the spirit, but I don’t think you’re gonna get anything helpful from what I could tell you. Please, forget about it.”

This only emboldened Allen further, but before he could try again to persuade her, a blood-curdling screech resounded from behind him, and he dodged out of the way just in time to avoid a freakish miniature mermaid that raced through the air in a blur. His eyes widened as he realized its true target.

“Nera, your neck!”

Nera reacted quickly enough to spin around and knock the specter away. The specter tumbled through the air before whooshing out of a view again. It vanished like before, but this time Allen was able to catch its escape path. It was not vanishing into thin air, it was simply moving so fast his eyes could barely keep up with it. Not only that, he picked up on the connection all three of its appearance points had.

“Glass objects. This specter has the ability to move swiftly between glass surfaces and mimic their features as well. That mirror I found in that chest must’ve been where it came from. If that’s the case…”

“We can corner it! This monster might not be as uncatchable as it seemed. We just need to..”

Allen slowly stopped talking as he realized the state Nera was in. Her skin had gotten even paler and she seemed to be out of sorts. It was like she had seen a ghost.

“Did you see-” Allen started.

“That’s it!” Nera exclaimed.”I’m leaving this haunted basement to check the upper level. If it’s not up there, I’ll just wait by the only exit out of here there is. I’m not going to let it chip away at me bit by bit like I’m some sort of meal.”

Nera was breathing heavily at this point, but Allen did not think this was just because she was being drained. He had seen her make contact with specters for longer amounts of time without suffering any significant negative effects.

‘But there is some reason to what she’s saying.’

“Go ahead then. I’ll stay here to draw it out of hiding while you close off its only exit.’

“Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Nera raced away speedily to the stairs. She started to ascend them, but the moment her monochrome canvas shoes reach the middle of the staircase, the lights flickered on and off. Allen’s eyes betrayed his bewilderment. Nera was back at the start of the staircase, still in the same running position she was in when she started going up it.

“Huh?” Nera uttered, perplexed.

“What just happened? Did you just jump back?” Allen asked in disbelief.

“Of course not, there’s no way I could’ve made a jump like that into this position that fast. It was instant. Was that another one of that thing’s powers?” Nera pondered as she relaxed her arms and legs.

“Uhh, I don’t know. Mirror travel, shapeshifting, and…position resetting. Seems like too many bizarre abilities for a specter with such a weak presence to have.”

“Whatever, thinking too much won’t solve anything. I’m just going to move faster than it can reset me.” Nera declared as she rushed back up the staircase. She tried several times with the same thing repeating. The lights would flicker and she would end up just where she started. Nera eventually ended up leaping up the staircase to try to subvert this but ended up falling flat on her stomach at the base of the staircase.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work.”

“Really, how did you figure that out?” Nera inquired sarcastically as Allen walked over and helped her up.

“Well, I had a guinea pig.” Allen answered wryly as Nera got back to her feet. She smirked.

“What do you mean? It’s your turn now.”

“Huh?”

***

“That’s enough, lackey!” Nera yelled as she sat on a box watching on ambivalently.

After several failed attempts, Allen’s breathing was ragged and he was covered in sweat. No matter how fast he went, whether boosted with mana or not, everything would go dark and he would end up back at the bottom of the stairs. It all happened in a split second. It was like someone edited a tape.

“This is pointless, and I’m not sensing any specter energy at all.”

“Maybe you just need to try harder?”

“Maybe I just need to try harder? Says the one withholding crucial info.”

Nera averted her eyes silently at this jab which hit Allen like a punch to the gut. He always had a sharp tongue, but it was different when someone did not fire back at him in kind.

‘I just feel like a jerk now.’

Allen breathed deeply to calm down and scanned his surroundings again. He spotted a mirror close by and glanced back at his tired dark brown eyes. Trying to see something that was imperceptible with the five senses you relied on solely your whole life was not an easy task. However, Allen figured just smashing every glass item in the basement until they corned the specter was not a feasible option.

The young man walked over to a clear section of the floor and sat down in what resembled a meditative pose while closing his eyes. He thought about all the differences between miasma and mana he could think of.

‘It feels like rough sludge, viscous and course. Just being close to it sends a chill down my spine and it’s so nauseating that it’s like breathing in the toxic fumes of a dumpster filled with roadkill. That’s how miasma feels. How could I mistake that? I’ve been completely drenched in it.’

Allen visualized the magical energy swirling around him, and a thin trail of sludge stood out to him among the mana. This specter would no longer be able to hide its presence from Allen. Before he opened his eyes, he heard Nera call out to him.

“Hey, Allen. You said what I saw could be really helpful, didn’t you?”

“I thought you didn’t see anything?”

Nera groaned. “You want to hear what I have to say or what?”

“Hmm…not really. I sort of already got a read on the monster, so I probably don’t need to know now.” Allen stated nonchalantly.

Nera looked at him in disbelief before gritting her teeth. She already mustered up the nerve to tell him a deep-seated secret, and he was just going to brush off that resolve like a speck of dust.

“Screw it, doesn’t matter what you think. I’m going to tell you anyway.”

“..Alright?”

“Whatever.” Nera sighed heavily before continuing.”That specter, whenever I made contact with it, it showed me a glimpse of someone I had seen before. He looked like a young man with black curly hair, freckles on his face, and dark brown eyes.”

Nera looked to Allen for a reaction, but after seeing none but a furrowed brow, she decided to continue.

“I only got a good look at him for a few moments, but I’m not gonna forget that face or his words. He asked me how many years it had been and if he was the real him, that he couldn’t tell himself since his face was unchanging like that of a wooden puppet. I had no answers for the guy, my only task was to silence him for a while. …He was a Marionette, and this specter we’re fighting is the one that attacked him who knows how long ago.”

When it seemed like she was done, Allen opened his eyes and walked over to the television set where they watched the horror movie. The recording seemed to be broken. It kept endlessly repeating the same scene of an empty tunnel over and over again. Allen hit eject on the VHS player to retrieve the tape. When he closely examined the tape, it looked like it had been cut and rearranged like it was spliced.

“This tape is reeking with miasma and so is the whole television set. Looks like the specter’s power extends to being able to warp whatever glass item it inserts itself into, like the television screen, and anything in contact with that.’

Nera glared at him but seemed to be in a better temperament after getting what she had to say off her chest.

“You have nothing to say?”

“I already said I’ll wait till after we get out of here before I tell you anything you don’t want to hear. It may be a bit of a stretch, but asking if “he was the real him” gives me an idea of what this specter is, a doppelganger. Apparitions that are a mirror image of a person, they’re tales of them not casting shadows and not having reflections in mirrors. Maybe it’s mimicking the latter by merging with glass items. It can’t be reflected if it becomes the mirror after all.”

“Trying to play the part of the aloof detective, is that it? Well, you better get ready to cough up yourself once we get out. Anyway, you explained the mirror hopping bit but what about the light flicker trick?”

Allen rubbed the back of his head and chuckled meekly. “Uhh, I’m still getting to that part. Honestly, I’ve got no idea, kinda was hoping it would just come to me as I started talking. I don’t know how the doppelganger myths can translate into that power.”

Nera groaned. “A deductive mind even Sherlock would be jealous of, truly. Have you ever stopped to think that flickering thing wasn’t connected to the specter? After all, you weren’t even able to sense the Doppelganger, who’s to say there aren’t more specters in here. Actually, it could even be a magical item for crying out loud.”

“I haven’t, but then it would be impossible to pin it down. But, you have a point, I can’t sense any miasma from the stairs. Maybe they have a built-in miasma purging system?” Allen jokingly suggested which led to Nera facepalming in exasperation. “Yeah, that’s too much of a rea-wait. What if the position reversal is a function of this room?”

“What would it be for?” Nera asked, perplexed.

“Liam never said he encountered a specter before, and this place is supposed to keep specters from leaving to the outside. What if the position reversal isn’t a power of the specter but a power of this dungeon to keep specters trapped?”

Nera’s eyes widened at the revelation.

“If it was a magic produced with the backing of the entire dungeon then it would make sense why it’s so powerful. It’s this place's last line of defense against specters escaping. When you released that specter from the chest, it must’ve activated that defense system.”

“We probably won’t be able to get out of here till it’s gotten rid of, but how are we going to do that when we can’t even land a good hit on it?” Allen turned to Nera for an answer and she had a visible bead of sweat on her brow.

“I’ve got an idea, but I don’t think I’m going to like it.”

***

“Are you sure about this?” Allen asked for the third time. They were at a far corner of the cavernous basement lined with tall shelves and an assortment of antique items.

“Yeah, let’s get this started before I’m not.”

Allen nodded and walked ahead. Their plan was to lead the Doppelganger into a trap it could not escape no matter how fast it was. Allen had followed the trail of miasma to a glass lamp with flame painting. They had mapped out all the nearby glass items in the vicinity and Nera was going to stand by a glass vase to start with.

‘I didn’t realize it until she told me that story, but there’s been a commonality between all of its appearances. It would go after Nera.’

Patting a pair of drumsticks he found just in case he needed the extra range, Allen walked up to the lamp and reeled back his fist. The glass shattered instantly right as an animated flame erupted from its surface and rushed towards Nera. She swiftly dodged and ran towards the next predetermined marker. The specter followed after her, and Allen chased behind it.

Like a three-way game of follow the leader, Nera raced through the basement with all the glass objects as her checkpoints. The Doppelganger rushed after while Allen destroyed every new vessel it took for a host. The specter constantly shifted form from living creatures to inanimate objects to forces of nature.

Nera deftly hopped around the room evading its attacks until her goal was in sight. The mirror on the wall next to the stairs was their endpoint.

“Check!”

Nera bounded from the top of a shelf to the mirror, paying no mind to the havoc she was wreaking on her environment as the shelf toppled over along with its contents. The Doppelganger, now in the form of a ferocious white tiger, roared as it lunged in that direction. Its explosive acceleration was enough for it to catch up. Its claws were within reach of Nera’s neck, but a speeding projectile tore straight through the Doppelganger’s limb. It quickly retreated into the ornate mirror.

“Hurry, leap up the stairs!” Allen yelled after propelling one of the drum sticks at the specter using mana manipulation.

Midair, Nera nodded as she reached the ground. She dug the soles of her shoes so hard into the earthen floor that it cracked. With one final lunge, she bounded up the staircase knowing exactly what would happen. Meanwhile, Allen launched himself toward the mirror and smashed its surface into fragments.

Just like it had done many times before, the Doppelganger escaped. This time it was in the form of a ferocious golden wolf that was based on a statue reflected in the mirror from across the room.

Without waiting a moment, Allen prepared his second projectile in his hands like he was about to fire a crossbow and shot at the Doppelganger. With its speed, it could be far out of the way before that makeshift arrow reached its current location.

It paid no mind to the attack. Its target was still the one who was ascending the stairs. The mirror pieces scattered all over even reaching Nera. The moment she got halfway towards the door, everything went dark.

When light returned, the specter and Nera’s positions were both reset. Now, that the Doppelganger was where it was a moment before, it had no time to evade, and the projectile shot straight through the Doppelganger's head. It was felled instantly, and the musical tool was embedded into the wall.

The golden wolf rapidly disintegrated into a dark mist until only a small sapphire crystal remained. It dropped to the ground harmlessly with a faint thud.

“That’s…checkmate.” Nera slumped down and sat on a step.

“That was an exquisite victory, almost flawless if it wasn’t for all the collateral damage.” Allen reached down to pick up the wrath’s specter stone and deposited the mystical crystal in his pouch.

“Now, let’s get out of here.”

***

After Allen and Nera walked up to the inn’s first floor, they met with Liam and explained what happened. They apologized for the damage they caused, but Liam put the blame entirely on himself for not considering that there could be a specter in the basement or that the basement’s defense system would activate because of this.

Virtuoso was happy with settling the matter with keeping the specter stone for themself and not having to pay for any of the stuff they broke. Liam was happy to accept this and offered to hire the two to help him prepare the inn more for guests. The two readily accepted this offer with only a small bit of hesitation.

“So..’ Allen started. “Where’s your pal, Iyo, at?”

Allen, Nera, and Liam were all standing in the lobby of the inn with Liam leaning on its counter, twirling a bundle of keys on his finger.

“He headed off to the construction site a few minutes ago, our landscaping crew is getting paid extra to work through the night. Unfortunately, I’m going to be too busy making sure things are taken care of here to help out with that.”

“Ugh, can’t help but feel like that is my fault for unleashing a monster in your basement.” Allen voiced sheepishly.

“Yeah, that kind of was your fault, lackey.” Nera affirmed.

“No way, the blame’s all on me for not warning you two. That mirror was probably left behind by a traverser who ran into that tricky specter and managed to trap it in that chest. It’s probably been untouched for decades.”

“Is that so?”

‘Is it supposed to make me feel better that I managed to find the one chest with a wraith in it that hasn’t been opened since the last century?’

“Anyway, the business I have to take care of is all upstairs and deals with maintenance along with boring paperwork. Meanwhile, Iyo should be arriving at the tent on the construction site where we are keeping a bunch of our landscaping equipment.” Liam stated as he continued to twirl the keys in his hands.

“About that, are those keys needed for Iyo to access that equipment?” Nera inquired flatly.

“Oh crap, I have to get these to Iyoto quick! How could I be so absentminded?!”

‘Okay, maybe that doppelganger fiasco was his fault.’ Allen thought to himself as he suddenly felt less responsible for that monster causing so much trouble.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get them to him.” Nera offered while holding out her hand.

“Really? Thanks, you guys are great!” Liam readily handed Nera the keys and Virtuoso proceeded to walk out of the door of the inn.

“I guess I’ll see you later, Nera. Tell Iyo I said ‘hey’.” Allen waved farewell.

“Allen, I’m going to tell you the rest of that story. I think that we owe it to each other to air out some of our baggage, and I want you to know about my past. ...So, meet up with me tomorrow,”

At first, Allen looked surprised that she was going to bring this up so soon but then smiled. “There has been a lot of stuff I’ve wanted to ask and almost as much of what I’ve wanted to say. Just give me the time, and I’ll show up. I’ll tell you all about what I saw from that draugr’s specter stone and you’ll tell me why you have super strength and a skunk hairdo.”

Nera grinned. “It’s a deal, Squirrel Man.”

***

The next day, Allen was standing drearily at the book checkout counter of Coffee & Chronicles. It was an uneventful day so far as it neared midmorning. Customers occasionally filed in and out. They would purchase caffeinated beverages and sift through the bookshelves. Some of the patrons were sitting down at the tables chatting while others were typing away at laptops thanks to the customary wifi provided by the establishment.

Allen was looking up to the television screen hanging from the wall that was currently turned on to the news

“You’ve looked a little more ragged than usual these past few weeks. You even had a cast for a while there. You get some kind of dangerous night job or something. Maybe a bouncer or bodyguard?” Allen’s co-worker, Amy, jested from across the store with a mischievous grin and a joyful sparkle in her eyes. It was hard for Allen to believe that she did not consume any of the store’s coffee herself with how chipper she was in the mornings.

“No, just really getting some extra art practice in. You know what they say, practice makes perfect.” Allen halfheartedly replied.

“With your skill, that explains why you look so tired.”

Allen grunted and returned his attention to the television screen as the anchorman relayed a breaking news reports

“This just in. Last night, at the construction site for Hieronymus Pharmaceuticals' new clinic on Monet Street. Someone was viciously attacked by an unknown culprit and left severely injured...”

The rest of the report fell on deaf ears as the front door’s bell rang loudly. One of the cafe’s counters was left completely vacant.