Mirror Soul

Chapter Twenty One: Big Problems

Bruce opened his mouth to object to walking into hell again, but Layva cut him off. “Look, we both know I can kill any nadir in the area, and that after you complain, say you don’t want to go, and make an unfunny joke you’re walking your butt through that portal. So can we just skip to the good part now?”

Bruce closed his mouth, and cleared his throat. “Well, as long as the formula has been established I suppose I might be willing to ent-”

“Oh, Unamed.” Layva pushed Bruce through the breach in worlds that she opened with her unbolt. Bruce let out a less than manly screech where he fell onto the dead grass with a headache. “You know what Klevher.” Bruce said as he stood. “I’m starting to think you solve too many problems with violence.” Layva rolled her eyes as she entered Limbotory. “And I’m starting to think I understand why people are trying to kill you.” Bruce’s head was throbbing but not nearly as much as the first time he entered this world. 

They did say I’d get used to it.

“Well you know, envy is a sin.” He responded halfheartedly while he looked around to see the odd land before him. They were still at the watertower, yet everything looked… twisted. The rickety water tower he had always known was even worse, now leaning to the left, covered in holes, and rust spots. 

The grass was dead, brown, and crunched under his feet as he walked forward. The water tower was on a hill that overlooked most of his town. It was the strangest thing he’d ever seen. The highway was completely empty, the traffic and street lights glowed dimly, and all of the buildings looked as if they’d never been used. 

“It’s a fascinating kind of terrible isn’t it?”

 Bruce hadn’t noticed Layva walking towards him, which was odd considering how loud the crunching of the grass was. “By all definitions it's a wasteland. Void of any life or substance but nadirs, soul sucking monsters. But do you hear it?” Bruce was quiet for a moment. 

“I don’t hear anything.” He said at last. 

“Exactly.” Layva closed her eyes as she spoke. “It's so quiet, an exact copy of the world we know, yet nothing in it matters. It’s only inhabitants are the beasts we are trained to kill. No violence is wrong here, no death is uncelebrated, nothing of value can be destroyed. This place has been the homeland of our biggest enemies for generations, but it's almost peaceful.” Bruce stared at the dramatic girl.

“What are you talking about?” He exclaimed. “This place sucks! And everything here would suck our souls out like Capri Sons. How could you find this place anything but creepy?” Layva looked at Bruce with what he almost thought was disappointment. 

“Well I suppose you do have to be strong to feel that way about this place.” Layva commented slyly. 

“And what does that mean, might I ask?” Bruce arched an eyebrow.

Layva gave him a small smile before whistling loudly. Her chimera, Scythe, flew  over to grab one of the basketball size rocks near the water tower, before coming back and dropping it in Layva’s outstretched hands. 

Layva manifested a very thin sword, only about a centimeter or so thick. She held the rock over the sword, and casually dropped it. The rock hit the dead grass in two pieces. It had been sliced as easily as paper. Bruce hid his surprise. 

“Oh wow, a girl who held back a charging rhino can cut a rock. Big deal. Check this!” Bruce walked over to one of the bigger rocks, about the size of a coffee table. He activated his soul and directed it towards his extended arm. He held his own wrist with his other arm. 

“KOBALT CANNON!” A large blast of blue mist fired out of his open palm towards the stone. The mist collided with the boulder and shattered it into a rain of pebbles. Bruce tried to hide his heavy breathing as he bragged. “Witness the power of a true... king in the making!”