The Demon King's Mirror

 

The Story: Carolina and the Mirror

It was a cold, rainy night and Carolina was just at home, browsing through her phone and watching movies. She could hear the rain getting fierce and the rumble of thunder. She paused for a moment to listen as it rumbled, and she was startled as her vase on the side table fell on the ground with a loud crash.

She jumped up, putting her hand on her chest as her heartbeat increased. "Ha, that was scary," she thought as she bent down to pick up the broken vase, and that was when she saw the figure from her bedside mirror.

She froze, eyes wide and a scream stuck in her throat. She looked at the figure and it looked back at her in return. She turned behind her, but she could see no one; but when she looked at the mirror, she could see the figure.

He was dressed in all black with azure eyes. He had a scar on his left cheek, and as he raised his left hand, pointing an index finger at her, she could see three of his fingers missing. He had brown, shoulder-length hair and a hooked nose that looked like it had been broken many times. And his lips—they had a snarl on them, and a wicked grin could be seen as he smiled. Carolina was mesmerized; she couldn't look away and she was afraid to even avert her eyes, wondering what would happen and why this was happening to her.

"Who are you?" the man asked her in a voice that sounded like the beat of a drum, and she could feel her head throbbing from just hearing his voice.

The Man In The Mirror

The man in the mirror adjusted his tone, and then he laughed. "Mortals, always weak."

Carolina said nothing, but just watched the man in the mirror as he laughed at her weakness; she could see how he enjoyed her discomfort.

"Who are you?" he asked again. This time he put a little command in his question with a touch of magic.

"My name is Carolina," she said. She clamped a hand over her mouth, not knowing when she had said that. "What did you do to me?" she asked him.

"I will be the one doing all the questioning," he said with a shrugged shoulder. She wanted to protest, but he had her in a hook with his power.

"Carolina! That is a nice name. What age is this?"

"Age? I don't get you," she said, trying to find an answer from his words. She could see the frustration in his eyes as he held his patience; she could tell he was one who was used to command.

"What year is this, and what century?" he asked after some time.

"The year is 2026, and we are in the twenty-first century."

"That is in the future," he said after he had thought about it. "I have been a prisoner in this mirror for so long."

"I bought this mirror from the store about two years ago," Carolina blurted out.

"This mirror belongs to the goddess Selina. She imprisoned me here after I had done something for her that she requested." Seeing the blank look on her face, he sighed. "Look, I mean you no harm and I have stopped commanding you. You can speak freely."

"You mean you're in a prison? As in, this mirror is your prison?"

"Yes," he said. "I have been here since a thousand years ago."

"How is that possible?" she asked. "Like, you know, if you have no food or water?"

"Magic," he said simply, like that explained everything.

"Magic?" she asked him.

"Yes."

"What did you do?"

"I killed someone just to win her heart, but it was just a game to her."

The Man In The Mirror: The Prince's Tale

"What game?" Carolina asked. She was happy for the distraction from the rumbling thunder; being alone with a man in her mirror was not the kind of night any young woman would look forward to. She was scared, and knowing he could use magic on her was something she didn’t want to think about. Her thoughts were cut off by his voice as he spoke.

"A long time ago, seeing that this is the year 2026. I was a prince—a brave prince who had fought many battles for my father, the king. Our kingdom was vast and the people loved me because I treated them right. Or maybe not, I don’t know, because no one tried to kill me or poison me, so I guess I was in their good books."

"Wait," Carolina said, "you mean people can just kill you?"

"Yes, those are the rules in my father’s kingdom; it keeps us always vigilant. So, I have won battles and conquered nations in the name of my father, King Bloodiness."

"Is that his name?" she asked him.

"No, he is just a bloodthirsty dictator. He doesn't care about his children, only his rules and how to grab power. He, too, played a game with the princes so he could be free and no one would trouble him. So, back to the goddess. She is the most beautiful woman on earth and in the skies above. She had the kind of beauty that would make a man do anything for her, and she made a public announcement that anyone who would bring her the head of the Demon King would have her hand in marriage.

It was a suicidal quest, but everyone wanted to have her as his wife. It was a quest that no one would ever survive. The Demon King is the overall lord of the underworld; he has minions in the millions. And let me say this to you: no mortal has the power to live in the underworld for an hour. That mortal would die because the underworld has this air—if a mortal breathes it for an hour, it would freeze his lungs. So you can see, fighting your way through those minions with a breath that lasts for only an hour is suicidal."

"So how did you survive?" Carolina asked him.

He grinned at that, and then a sad smile appeared on his face with his head downcast; she couldn't see his face for a moment. "I have magic."

"And the others? I mean, those who went before you?"

"They, too, had magic, but mine is different."

"What makes it different?" she asked, looking interested. She wondered what people would think if they saw her just standing in front of her mirror talking to herself.

"It has been a thousand years and I guess there is no harm in telling you, provided you will free me."

"Free you? How? I don't have magic."

"You don't need magic to free me. All you need is another mirror and a diagram you will draw in the middle between the two mirrors."

"And what is in it for me?" she asked. "I can't just go on to free you when I don't know if you are lying to me even now."

"I'm not lying," he said.

"What is your name?" she asked him. "If you're not lying, speak your name. Let me know."

"My name has powers. If you speak it, it has a drawback."

"What sort of drawback, and why?"

"Because of who I am, and because of my powers. Only when you have drawn the diagram and placed the mirror will you be safe to say my name."

"Why would I free you?"

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know. A thousand years as a prisoner just makes me feel like I need to stay out of society, but I have a curiosity to see this world."

"This is not your world?"

"No, I'm from the past," he said.

"And if I free you? What would you do to me?"

"I will grant you just one wish as repayment for your help."

She sat down, stunned, thinking of what she would like to wish for. It was a tempting offer, but... "Okay, I will free you."

"Swear on it with your blood."

She went to the kitchen and came back with a knife. She used it to prick her finger and then showed him the blood.

"Touch it on the mirror," he said.

She did as he had asked.

"Now say: 'With my blood as witness, and if I don't live up to my words, let my blood cook me alive.'"

With wide eyes and a shaky breath, she said the words exactly as he phrased them.

"I'm a hybrid," he continued. "I have the power of the sky above and the power of the earth below. That is how I survived as I slew the Demon King."

"That doesn't explain the power," she said, frowning. "What is a hybrid?"

"I'm a product of heaven and hell. I was made to bring balance, but I was turned into a weapon."

"What balance?"

"That is another story. So, I went to the underworld with my power of demonic cultivation and then I used part of the power of the sky—I mean, heaven—to mask my breathing. All the minions saw was just one of their kind, and that suited me. I was able to get near the Demon King and slay him. But when I returned to the world above, I discovered the goddess Selina was just waiting for the Demon King to die so she could have the King of Shadows as her husband. Between them, they imprisoned me here in this mirror."

The King of Shadows and the Ritual

"King of Shadows?" Carolina asked him.

"Yes, a mean bastard worse than the Demon King. It was said even the Devil seeks his shadow to move."

"Is he that powerful?" she asked him.

"Yes, and with the goddess's power, I was no match. Besides, I wasn't that experienced, and I was madly in love—not knowing that it was just a trap."

"But why imprison you? She already got what she wanted."

"It turns out that I am the Demon King after I slew him. In twenty-four hours, I would have been the new Demon King, but she never wanted that. It was said that as long as the Demon King lives, the Shadow King will always be formless, and the goddess would lose her beauty gradually; as we came to find out, her beauty gives her power."

"And if I freed you?" she asked him. She could see how he snarled; she could see how he clenched his fists, and the way his eyes swirled in colors.

"There would be a reckoning. There would be a huge price to pay, and that goddess will rue the day she betrayed me. And as for the Shadow King—let me just stop there."

Carolina was fascinated, but she knew that Shadow King would really regret it. "I want you to take me with you, to be your wife, and you can always bring me back here whenever I ask," she said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"That is my wish."

"If you free me, I will be going to a war. I have no time for marriage," he said.

"That is my wish, and you said you would grant it. Or are your words meaningless?"

"No, my words have honor. I will grant you your wish."

"Good," she said as she stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the other mirror."

The Prison Break

Carolina went out to the shop where she had bought the mirror and was lucky to see a similar size. She ordered it and went back home. It was nice to have a talk about things that were impossible; she had no one, and even friends were alien to her, so she had no regret if she went back with the man in the mirror as his wife. She could still come back to the future whenever she wanted. She spent her time making sure everything was in order, and very soon, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the mirror.

She brought it into her room and placed it facing the other mirror.

"Now what?" she asked him as he appeared.

"Get a black chalk and a white one."

"Why?"

"One for the Shadow King and one for the goddess. And don't forget, I'm a hybrid of black and white too—that is hell and heaven."

She went out to get them, and after she had bought them, she came back in and showed them to him.

"That looks passable," he said with a nod.

"Passable? This is the best."

"Well, if it doesn't explode, then it would be the best."

"Explode?"

"Yes, if you bought weak chalk, it would explode. So better make sure it is the best, for your sake and mine."

"What should I do next?" she asked him.

"Draw a circle inside a circle with each of the chalks."

She did as she was told, drawing a black circle first with the black chalk, and then a white circle with the white chalk. He peered at the circles she had drawn and nodded in satisfaction. "Now draw an arrow facing the four directions of North, South, East, and West. Use the black chalk for North and South, and the white chalk for East and West."

She did that too. She could feel her breathing getting rougher and she could feel weakness seeping in. Her joints felt heavy and she felt the sweat soaking her. He nodded his head when he saw the tiredness in her; he knew it was working, because one who draws the circle loses part of their life force. If all goes well, he would replenish her and she would have immortality if he married her. He hadn't said this to her yet, just to be sure she didn’t panic.

"Now place the two chalks in the center of the four directions. And we need your blood."

She shakily went to the kitchen to get the knife she had used previously. When she returned, he asked her to cut her hand and use her blood to draw the diagram on both mirrors. She did that too, and when he was satisfied all was set and the blood on the mirror had dried, he looked at her. She was weak and trembling, and yet she never complained; that spoke of courage.

"Are you ready to know my name now?" he asked her. She could only nod her head; she was too tired to even raise her head. "This is no game. Can you invoke the words? You look weak and tired."

"I can," she mumbled.

"Say this then: I UNBIND YOU, PRINCE OF HEAVEN AND HELL. I FREE YOU, DEMON KING AWAITING. I INVOKE YOUR NAME, PRINCE OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS, GADAGA THE HYBRID. I SUMMON YOU AND I BREAK YOUR PRISON WITH THE POWER OF THE NEW WORLD, WITH THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT. I, CAROLINA, GIVE WILLINGLY AND FREELY."

She could feel the wind outside increase; she could feel the thunder rumble more, and she could feel the foundation of the house shaking. She fell on the floor, too weak and too afraid to look. Then she heard the mirror shatter with a crash that deafened even the rumble of the thunder, and then blackness overcame her.

When she woke up, she felt fresh and energetic. She was lying on her bed and all traces of the ritual she had performed had vanished. She turned her head as she heard a sound on her dressing table, and there, sitting and watching her, was Prince Gadaga. He smiled and she just stared at his handsome face, her eyes going wider.

"You're real?" she asked him.

"Of course I'm real, and right here too."

"It worked, then?"

"Aren't I here? Sure, it worked, and I want to thank you for your help."

"You owe me a wish to grant."

"That is no problem. Your wish was granted as I broke out. I am now the Demon King, so the goddess would know, as the Shadow King becomes formless now. So, it is time to go back."

"And me?" she asked him.

"You're my wife now. Though not officially yet, we are one."

The New Life

That was how Carolina became the wife of Prince Gadaga. She wondered if she had made the right decision; she wondered what her role would be in the war to come. She watched as her husband-to-be stood from the chair he had been sitting in and waved a hand in the middle of her room. The space split in two, and she could see the other side—she knew it was a portal.

"Time to go, wife," he said as he extended his hand to her.

Carolina took his hand as she entered the portal, facing a new life and not knowing she was immortal now.

Next Story: Friendship