THE THING ABOUT SUBTLE PANIC IS that it simmers under your skin like fever.
That night, I lie in bed, fully awake and stiff under a scratchy blanket that smells like dried herbs and burnt salt. The amount of salt I've inhaled in this place could very well last me a lifetime.
Foras floats above my pillow, upside down, snoring softly. Or at least making noises I've decided to interpret as snoring because the alternative is growling and I don't think this kid creature has enough self-confidence to take that amicably.
I can't stop thinking about what the System said.
New Quest Unlocked: Proceed to the Temple of the First Reflection.
Guidance restricted. Recovery state incomplete.
Progress at your own peril.
Very reassuring, as always.
My arm doesn't burn anymore, but the skin tingles occasionally like something inside it wants out. Nia's voice replays in my head on loop.
"Your hair… it glowed."
Whatever the Temple is, it's tied to me in a way I can't explain yet. Or maybe I don't want to. I glance at Foras. He hasn't stirred since sunset. Which is suspicious, because he usually can't go ten minutes without announcing that he's hungry, bored, mentioning weird family quirks , or being 'psychically bullied' by villagers' stares.
So why the nap silence?
I poke him.
He wiggles. Then blinks one huge eye open. "Hyung?"
"You're awake."
"No," he mumbles. "I'm astrally projecting into a better dream."
"Snap out of it. I need to ask you something."
He yawns —an oddly cute, slightly grotesque motion considering his meatball face— and flips right-side up. "You want to talk about it, don't you?"
I nod.
He drifts to the corner and taps the wooden beam with his leg. "System came back, huh?"
"Yeah. And she gave a quest. But it was… weird."
"Everything's weird," he mutters. "But if she gave you something now, that means your recovery timer's nearly up."
"I didn't get a timer."
"Doesn't mean it's not ticking." He flicks his leg like he's brushing off invisible dust. "The Temple of the First Reflection... I've heard that name."
That catches me. See, this is why. Foras spouts nonsense all the time but there are instances he lets these things out. Which is more than the System has ever done.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah. Not from the System though. From a bat."
Or not.
"…You're not even trying to sound credible."
"Fine, fine," he says, floating closer. "It's one of those legacy dungeons. Most people don't know of its existense. And the ones who do know don't talk about it. But it's there. Just outside the Cove, past the Mistfall Pools."
"Great. Sounds relaxing."
"You'll like it. I hope so. There was this one dungeon I visited once — a pretty long, long time ago and I nearly lost all my head fur trying to escape it. That one got curses. Illusions. Soul-mirrors."
I want to point out that head fur is called hair and he is bald to begin with but I shake off the urge and roll my eyes.
"Wonderful. Just what I needed," I mutter snarkily. "And what the hell is a soul-mirror?"
Foras hums. "I don't know, hyung."
"But you were the one who described it by name!" The incredulity drips heavily. But Foras! That gremlin pouts his non-existent lips.
"I really don't know. And we got better things to discuss. The fact that the System triggered it early means it's important."
"Then why not say more?"
"You should probably ask her that the time you guys share hugs telepathically," he says simply. "And maybe… because this one's something you're not ready to hear."
That shuts me up. The beginner quest brought me closer to death. It's safe to say this one could do more. Worser things.
Foras doesn't say anything further and the silence stretches between us like a rubber band about to snap.
Eventually, I sigh. "I'll go. But I need a map. And an excuse to sneak out."
"Why sneak?" Foras asks. "You're a guest here."
I glance toward the door. Nia's been quiet since dinner. So has Granny. But something tells me not to go blabbering about glowing hair, mystery temples, or quest prompts they can't see. The last time I did try telling someone, it didn't exactly go like I planned and the Neutral Space was ready to freeze both Shin Woo and I without another thought.
"Nia will be on my back if she smells the first signs of me not being in bed. Plus they won't understand."
Or worse… maybe they will.
The next morning, Brumdn Cove is draped in a wet, shimmering fog. Dew clings to the ropes and lanterns strung between houses, and the aqueducts trickle faintly with cold, clear water. It smells like salt and moss and that specific kind of silence that comes before things go terribly sideways. Or I'm just superstitious. I got that from my mum's side.
Nia greets me at the door with a chunk of bread and two pieces of grilled fish folded into dried kelp.
"You look like trash," she announces.
"And so do you. I dreamed of Foras munching my feet in hunger. What's your excuse?"
"Being seventeen." She yawns, then adds, "You're coming with me today."
"Where?"
"We're checking the Mistfall Pools. The reeds are overdue for cutting."
The moment she says the name, my ears prick up. Maybe this is the side quest leading to the main quest. Or maybe I play too much RPG and I'm probably hallucinating all of this after the hit to my head.
"Mistfall Pools?"
"Yeah. South edge. Don't look so excited. It's swampy and full of biting things."
Bingo.
The Mistfall Pools aren't as swampy as Nia promised. They're worse.
The path down from the Cove is narrow and cut into rock, bordered by wet vines and wind-blown grass. The pools stretch across a wide basin ringed with jagged stone. Pale mist rolls lazily over the surface, twisting into strange shapes when you stare too long.
At the edges, the reeds glow faintly silver. I'd think it was magic, but Nia swears it's just how they grow under the Moonpull.
"The temple's nearby, isn't it?" I ask casually, testing my luck.
Nia pauses mid-harvest. "What temple?"
Damn it. So she's one of the people who doesn't know of its existence.
"I thought I saw one on a map. South of here. Or maybe east."
She narrows her eyes. "No temple. Not for miles. Not unless you mean the reflection ruins."
Reflection ruins. That's probably it. So she does know about it. And if she does, her granny definitely knows about it, too. What does this make them? Important people? Or NPCs relevant to the quest?
"What are those?" I ask nonchalantly.
"Old place. People say it was a water monastery before the Wane. Full of mirrors and rocks that hum. I've never been. Granny says the area's... brittle."
"Brittle?"
She doesn't answer. Just returns to her harvesting. Her hands move fast, without purpose as I stare at her linen gloves. Not a speck of dust. Or wetness.
She doesn't look up and the conversation ends where it began.
When we're done loading the baskets, she tells me to head up first. She has to fetch the last bundle near the cliff shelf. "You sure you don't want my help?" I ask her for the third time.
Nia scoffs in reply. "I've been doing this alone for the last ten years. I'm sure I handle it."
"Well," I say, getting up. My knees pop and my legs feel weak for a second. "I'll be heading back first, then."
On the way back, I take my time—just enough to spot the thin, overgrown path curling away from the pools, half-hidden by tall grass.
Foras, who had been hiding the whole while, pokes his shiny head out of my satchel. "That's probably your way."
"I figured."
"You sure you want to do this alone?"
"No."
"But you're still going."
"Yes," I pause, "not like I have a choice."
Foras gives me a look before dropping a grin so huge I can almost see his molars. Seaweed from today's breakfast peeks out like grass on a rock. "I don't want to say this but hyung, you're getting good at this."
I don't admit it out loud to Foras but I'm glad I'm not utterly alone in this. And the fact I owe him big time for just floating around and keeping me company.
I smile grimly. "That's what scares me."
The path winds down into fog, every step muffled by damp stone and moss. The deeper I go, the less real everything feels. Sound dampens. The light grays out. It's like walking into a memory that doesn't belong to me.
Finally, the ruins appear.
Carved stone arches rise crookedly from the water, flanked by pillars worn smooth by time. Vines crawl over every surface. Broken mirrors, clouded and cracked, hang from hooks and drift in the pools like petals.
It's haunting. Beautiful.
And terrifying.
I step forward. The moment my foot hits the moss-covered step, the air shifts. Familiar cold tendrils pierce the air around me and I'm almost impatient by the time the System's presence cocoons me.
"Quest Activated: Temple of the First Reflection"
"Reward Tier: Variable. Difficulty: Adaptive. Memory Anchor: Enabled."
Great. I can't understand a single word and of course, nothing like a difficulty that adapts based on how badly you're doing. This cannot get any worse.
With a gulp and a heart that is thundering like an insane drummer in a summer festival, I step inside the archway. At once, the world… changes.
The inside of the temple doesn't look like ruins. It looks nothing like anything I've seen in my puny life. But it feels strangely familiar. Like a dream reconstructed from half-remembered places.
Endless corridors of black water. Floating platforms. Walls made of liquid glass. My reflection peers back at me from every angle, always a half-second too slow, like it's watching me for clues.
Foras, now outside of the satchel, hovers close, unusually silent.
"You okay?" I whisper.
"Yeah," he says quietly. "But I don't like this place. I like places that give me a tan."
"I never had preferences but you know what, right now, I think I dig places that tans me too."
After walking for what seems like an eternity in the water corridor, we arrive at a wide chamber, lit only by flickering blue torches—blue fire. In the center, a circular platform holds a massive mirror: tall, cracked, rimmed with coral and old glyphs.
I step toward it.
The System's voice returns like an unwanted relative during faily gatherings. With a strikingly similar gloating tone.
"First Reflection Challenge Initiated."
"Do not lie."
I stop.
The mirror begins to shimmer.
My reflection blinks.
Then it speaks.
"I didn't lie," it says, using my voice. "I survived."
I step back. The reflection steps forward.
"I told myself I didn't care," it says. "But I did. About Shin Woo. About Hanna. About my parents."
I clench my fists.
"Who are you lying to, Rudra?" the mirror asks. "Them… or yourself?"
I swallow. Normally, I'm not a person to lose my temper. Not that easily. But considering everything I've been through because of things I cannot control, I feel the blood in me boil and my nose flare. On the contrary, the temple grows colder.
"I don't have a habit of running around lying." My voice is gruff, thick with resentment. Who that is directed at, is a complete mystery but right now, I'm mad at this entire situation. "To myself or to people I love."
"Lies," the reflection mutters, "lies. Lies. Lies! LIES!" It screeches towards the end, eyes glowing a sinister blue. Hands thrown at me accusingly, it… the me in the reflection glares at me with an expression of hate I never knew I could make. I clench my fists.
"But I'm not—"
Before I can finish, the floor ripples. And then, a second version of me crawls out of the water.
His eyes are hollow. Hair tangled. A twisted, scorched version of the D-grade gear still clings to him, half-melted. Burns run all over him, searing, ugly and with a smell I cannot tolerate. His dark, rabid eyes look at me like he can't recognise me. His own face.
"Run," Foras whispers, backing up behind me. "I think he's not our friend."
"An astute observation, Foras."
"Hyung… actually, I'm scared."
"You know what, Foras," I say as I take a step back. "I am too." With what I hope was absolute stealth, I retreat back but before I can put any decent distance between us, the corpse Rudra notices. Yeah, of course luck is never on my side. Before I can react, Foras lunges into my satchel, hiding like the little coward he is and that is enough of a cue.
The corrupted Rudra lunges.
t o b e c o n t i n u e d