Max advanced through the strange corridors of the Mirror Dimension alongside Dorian, Don, and Thara.

Traces of the recent battles could still be seen everywhere.

Explosion marks. Cracks in the walls. Destroyed furniture. And metallic fragments from the android Seraphine had blown apart.

Suddenly, the corridor opened into a completely abnormal section.

Max stopped dead in his tracks.

"There."

He raised a hand and pointed upward.

Or rather, toward what should have been upward.

Everyone looked up.

The entire corridor seemed to be upside down.

On the ceiling stood a familiar figure.

Seraphine.

The mage was floating upside down as if that surface were the floor.

Her grimoire remained open in front of her.

Several swords of magical energy revolved around her.

Their blades shone with bluish light. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

And every second they launched forward to intercept something.

A laser shot.

Farther ahead, at the other end of the inverted corridor, stood Vesper.

Or rather...

Will.

The drow was riding an enormous creature.

It looked like a prehistoric bird.

It had long black feathers, enormous claws, an exaggeratedly long beak, and around its neck hung a cloth covered with a magical seal drawn in dark ink.

Will held a laser pistol.

He fired again and again.

Seraphine’s magical swords deflected the shots before they could reach her.

The mage maintained her concentration as she slowly advanced.

Then Thara stepped forward.

Her eyes widened.

"Vesper!"

The drow raised her voice.

"Stop!"

Max looked at her.

"That’s not Vesper."

Thara turned her head.

"What?"

"You forgot."

Max looked back toward the other end of the corridor.

"His real name is Will."

The reaction was immediate.

Will swung the pistol toward them.

His eyes blazed with fury.

"I HATE being called that woman’s name!"

A red beam tore through the air.

Thara reacted on pure instinct and moved in front of the group.

"Watch out!"

Max didn’t think.

He shoved Thara aside.

The laser struck him directly in the chest.

Don let out a scream.

Dorian’s eyes widened.

But Max barely staggered half a step backward.

The adamantine armor absorbed almost all of the impact.

The damage was reduced to a ridiculous amount.

Then the Return Gem activated.

A light traveled across his chest.

The damage he had received was sent back to its source.

Will let out a groan.

"Agh!"

He grabbed his chest.

The black bird shifted uneasily beneath him.

Seraphine took the opportunity to smile.

"That was pretty good."

Max raised an eyebrow.

The mage pointed at him.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren’t you going to say anything?"

Dorian blinked.

"What exactly do you want us to say?"

Seraphine pointed at Will.

"That I was right."

Max already knew where this was going.

The mage crossed her arms.

"I told you I didn’t trust this woman."

"Well..."

Dorian scratched the back of his head.

"Technically, that’s not a woman."

Seraphine shot him a deadly glare.

"You know exactly what I mean."

Dorian decided to stay quiet.

Seraphine focused again.

The magical swords began spinning before shooting forward.

The mage floated directly toward Will.

But the bird reacted first.

Its enormous black wings spread wide.

A blast of wind exploded through the entire corridor.

"What?!"

Seraphine was pushed backward.

The magical swords were thrown off course as well.

The mage managed to stabilize herself in midair.

Will smiled.

"Don’t even think about getting close to me."

Max used the pause.

"Will!"

The drow turned his head.

"What?"

"Why are you doing all this?"

Will didn’t answer.

Max continued.

"We know who you are."

Silence.

"We know you came from my world."

Will seemed to hesitate.

His eyes locked onto Max.

Then he clenched his teeth.

"At least you got lucky."

Max frowned.

"What?"

"You arrived in this world in your own body!"

The shout echoed through the corridor.

"You don’t understand."

Will tightened his grip on the weapon.

"You have no idea what I’ve had to endure."

Max remained still.

"How long have you been here?"

Will let out a bitter laugh.

"More than a hundred years."

Everyone fell silent.

Even Seraphine.

Max blinked.

"A hundred years?"

Don raised a hand.

"That’s normal for a drow."

Everyone looked at him.

The faun shrugged.

"Well... relatively."

"Relatively?"

"Yes."

Don pointed at Thara.

"That’s somewhere between childhood and adolescence for a drow."

Max felt like that somehow made the situation even worse.

Will spoke again.

"If you’re not going to help me return to my world..."

He aimed the pistol.

"...then stay out of my way."

Max sighed.

"That’s going to be difficult."

He placed a hand on his necklace, and ten magical circles appeared at once.

The skeletal knights emerged instantly.

Will barely glanced at them.

Then he fired.

The lasers pierced straight through their skulls.

The skeletons began collapsing one after another.

Within seconds, all ten had been reduced to piles of bones.

Max blinked.

"...they didn’t last long."

Dorian nodded.

Don swallowed nervously.

"Not long at all."

Max looked at Seraphine.

"Got any ideas?"

The mage looked at Will.

Then at the bird.

Then at the weapon.

And finally at the seal.

"I don’t like any of this."

Dorian decided to step in.

"Then I’ll help."

He ran forward and entered the inverted section of the corridor.

And made a serious mistake.

The moment his feet touched the area, gravity shifted.

"Huh?"

Dorian was launched away.

Or rather, he fell.

Upward.

"AAAAAAAH!"

The elf ended up landing against the ceiling.

Or floor.

Or whatever it was in that place.

Will started laughing.

"You really are stupid."

Dorian stood up.

"It was an accident."

Max put a hand over his face.

But then something caught Seraphine’s attention.

The mage turned her head, and her expression changed.

"That’s not good."

Everyone followed her gaze.

At the far end of the corridor, a huge figure appeared.

More than two meters tall.

Exaggerated muscles.

Rough skin.

It was another caveman.

But this time his face was covered.

A dark cloth concealed part of it.

And drawn across the cloth was a magical seal, just like the one on the bird.

Seraphine’s eyes widened.

"I recognize that seal."

Max felt a chill run down his spine.

"What does it mean?"

The mage clenched her teeth.

"It means this is becoming more complicated by the second."

The caveman roared and jumped.

He crossed several meters in a single leap.

He landed perfectly on the inverted ceiling.

Then he began running directly toward Dorian.

The elf looked up.

"...oh."

The monster charged at incredible speed.

Each step made the walls tremble.

Will watched the scene from atop his bird.

And smiled.