"What are they used for?" Gabriel asked.
Unfortunately, the Reflection didn't answer this time. "I've already answered your first question, and you have no questions left."
"Your second question, how did the Temple of Time come into existence?"
"The Temple of Time was made right after the Greatest Disaster, where the world was destroyed in the war. In the Era of Gods, an arrangement was reached where the peace was maintained for the most part. But there were also some people who didn't agree with it."
"They were the people who couldn't accept the past, and that's why they wanted to change it. They wanted to go back in time to before the great tragedy and change the future of this world so that the great war that destroyed the world never took place."
"With that single goal, an organization was made of like-minded individuals, and it was named the Temple of Time."
The Mirror Reflection answered about the origin of the Temple of Time, but nothing more.
"Wait, since the past hasn't changed, that means the Temple of Time hasn't succeeded?" Gabriel asked, thinking of something. "And they've been looking for the Orbs of Time as if their life depends on it. Could it be that... the Orbs of Time what they needed to go back in time? Is that why Karyk took these from them?"
The Mirror Reflection only smiled but didn't answer. It just skipped to Gabriel's last question. "Your third question. Why do you keep living Karyk's life in my dreams?"
Gabriel was slightly frustrated that he wasn't getting answers. That's why it was important for him to have questions left before getting answers, but he couldn't do anything.
"The answer to that question is as simple as it can be," the Mirror Reflection answered. "You aren't living anyone else's life in your dreams... You're just living your own life in your dreams."
"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked, slightly confused. What did she mean by that? He hadn't seen a single thing from his past in his dreams. In those realistic dreams, he never once saw Maya or his mother in his childhood. How could it say that he was his own life."
"I've answered your question. Now it's on you to understand those answers," the Mirror Reflection didn't clarify anymore. "It's time for you to leave now."
"Also, I know what you're thinking. And no, I'm not a Numen. You can't bind me to force me to answer. You can't even touch me. If you don't believe me, then you can try."
It was as if the Mirror had managed to read Gabriel's mind, who was actually thinking about binding this Numen. If the mirror was bound to him, was there really a need for him to worry about limited questions? This all-knowing Numen could be a great help.
Unfortunately, it was as if the Mirror had managed to read his mind to know what he was thinking.
"Do you mind if I try?" Gabriel asked. It was better than not even trying.
"Go ahead." The Mirror Reflection nodded as if it didn't worry at all, despite knowing everything about Gabriel.
Gabriel stepped closer to the Mirror and bit his thumb to make a Blood Mark on the Mirror to bind it.
"Huh?" Surprisingly, his hand simply passed through the Mirror, unable to even touch it. It was as if the Mirror was no more than an illusion.
If his blood couldn't even touch the Mirror, there was no way he could bind it.
"I see what you meant." Gabriel stepped back, letting out a sigh. "It was still worth a try."
Since he was done here, there was nothing more he could do. He cast a little healing spell on his hand before bringing out the crystal that was able to take him back to the ground floor.
"Before you leave, there is one more thing I think you should know."
Just as Gabriel was about to tap the stone on the ground, he heard the Mirror call him.
He stepped. "What?"
"Even though I should only be telling you three answers, but I'm feeling a bit generous today. It's been a long time since someone came here last... That's why I'll tell you something that I'm sure you need to know."
"Tell me what?" Gabriel asked. Something he really needed to know? What could it be?
"Your body... It's weak," the Mirror Reflection expressed.
"I know. I'm only a Mid Tier Mage. I should be getting stronger with time," Gabriel responded, believing that she was calling his physical strength weak.
"That's the problem. You don't have time." The Reflection stated. The voice that appeared to be coming from every direction in the hall was a bit more grim as it talked about it.
"What do you mean I don't have time?" Gabriel turned severe as well. That statement... It appeared to have more meaning than one. He was sure that the mirror wasn't just talking about him being weaker than the enemies he needed to face. Then what was it? What time?
"Your Soul... Even though it just momentarily awakened recently, that made your soul a lot stronger. Unfortunately, that's not always a good thing."
"Your soul is too strong, even for your own good. Your body can't keep up with your soul strength. Because of that, the more of the Spiritual Strength you use, the more you'll hurt your body in the process," The Mirror answered, talking about something that even Gabriel hadn't known anything about.
"With time, it'll get worse for you as your body will eventually give up, sooner or later. You should really do something about it."
"My body will give up?" Gabriel frowned upon hearing.
He had experienced something similar when his hands trembled in the past after using his Spiritual Strength and High Tier Spell. However, Cylix told him that it was normal. Then what was wrong? Was Cylix wrong? Was there more to it than he knew?
"Yeah, I'm sure you already experienced the trembling. Your body is stronger than an ordinary mage, so an ordinary High Tier Spell or two shouldn't have put so much burden on your body to hurt it, so something is different. I'm sure you could've guessed that much too."
Gabriel nodded. He did feel something was wrong, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
The Mirror Reflection continued, "Your physical threshold is much higher. That's why a high-tier spell shouldn't have affected you as it does a normal mage. That weakness in your body after using a heavy spell isn't the same as what happens with the others. Instead, it's a sign of your health getting worse."
"And with time, it'll only get worse. You can relieve the symptoms with those pills for the time being, but after some time, even those pills will become useless if you use them often."
"Moreover, your soul is connected to the Origin Element. So those exact spells take the most toll on your body as well. The more you use them before strengthening your body enough, the worse it'll get for you physically with time. That's why you need to solve this problem urgently."
"Is there a solution?" The information that the Mirror gave him was scary, especially since he had no idea that it was happening to him. He still tried to keep his calm to understand the situation better to see if he had any choice.
"There is one that I can think of. You should strengthen your body to the same extent that it can keep up with that soul of yours. There should be one item that can help you with that right away. Something you should be able to find in Arecia. It's their Royal Treasure, after all."
"Do you mean the Arecia Empire?" Gabriel asked. It hadn't been long since he last heard that name. It was the homeland of Novius!
"Yes. The most important Treasure of the Arecia Empire is the only thing that should be able to help you immediately. Until then, I advise you to try to limit the use of stronger spells, especially spells from your Origin Element of Necromancy, as much as possible."
" Only use them if there is no other way. You can try to handle things with other elements that you share for now as well. However, if possible, avoid battles altogether unless you absolutely have to fight."
****
[Present Time]
Gabriel stood, surrounded by Izen's clones from all sides.
"If I could, I wanted to avoid it... But…"
