Through the Dark Mirror

Prolouge - Magic Mirrors, Fire Cats and Ghosts

Serena coughed as she dusted the sofa in an attempt to make it possible to sit on it. "Did none of the other dorms have any spare rooms?" She complained. She had never even set a foot in a place as dirty as Ramshackle. She was no clean freak, by far not, but this was too much.

"The headmaster probably didn't want to burden the other dorms." Naomi said, somehow looking elegant even while flipping the table. She had dark skin, black hair and wore a white minidress with a light blue front and a small cape. She also wore golden jewelry, even having a golden feather tucked behind her left ear.

In contrast, Serena felt like a gray wallflower with her bootleg jeans and wide hoodie. She wasn't exactly the skinniest, so short dresses were out of the question anyway. She preferred wide clothes that she could get comfy in.

"I don't think we got to properly introduce ourselves during the chaos earlier." Serena said, turning to Naomi. "I'm Serena Shadowens, and I'm a student of forensic science where I'm from."

"Nice to meet you." Naomi chuckled. "I'm Naomi...Suzuki. I guess you could call me a nomad? I've been traveling with nothing but some camping gear for ages now."

"That's cool. You must've seen a lot." Serena smiled, though she did notice Naomi's hesitation when she told her her last name. But they only just met, and in the end it wasn't all that important, so she let it go.

"Yeah... though a talking cat with fire ears was new even to me." Naomi chuckled.

Serena and Naomi had only met about an hour ago, in what Serena could only describe as the freakiest situation ever:

Serena had stumbled out of a coffin when she met a cat that demanded to give him her uniform, even though she wasn't even wearing one. Long story short, they chased each other for a while until the headmaster, Headmage Dire Crowley, found them and brought them back to the orientation ceremony. Apparently Serena was supposed to be a student there, which made no sense. She was already in her third semester of college for forensic science and had no plans of dropping out or switching schools.

During orientation, she met Naomi, who was the only one beside her to have yet to be sorted into a dorm. But when Naomi told that weird magic mirror her name, the mirror said: "Your soul has the shape of... a giant wall."

Serena had to hold back a laugh, but other students didn't have as much self-restraint. That's when the mirror elaborated: "Your soul is surrounded by impenetrable walls, it's impossible to see its form, or if there's magic in you to begin with."

Those words somehow made Serena sentimental. If even that magic mirror couldn't read her, that probably meant she didn't let anyone in. And that was usually a sign of trauma, of trust being broken too many times.

No, no, no... Serena didn't even know that woman, she shouldn't assume her backstory based on a magic mirror's assessment. For all she knew this was the magic equivalent of a buzzfeed quiz.

When it was Serena's turn, the magic mirror straight up told her her soul was formless and colorless. Like thanks, asshole. Might as well call her a goblin. But what became clear was that she did not possess any magical powers. Honestly, even though Serena already knew that, she was still disappointed she didn't get to be the typical main character of an isekai that was totally overpowered. That's when the weird cat demanded he got Serena's spot and blasted fireballs everywhere. He was kicked from the campus quickly.

The students went to their respective dorms, but Naomi and Serena were to stay behind to be sent back home. Serena was told to visualize her home, which was easy for her. She thought of her parents' house in Germany, an old building with a big backyard, in which her father had built everything, from the outdoor lounge to the giant pool. She also visualized her parents and her three siblings. That was home for her.

She loved her home. Which made it so much more painful when the mirror couldn't send her back, claiming that this place didn't exist. How dare he?

Naomi ended up in a similar situation. The headmage was baffled. It was hard enough to believe one student came from another world, but two?! That was unheard of. But at least he had the decency to not kick them out, instead allowing them to stay in the vacant Ramshackle dorm. A very fitting name for this poor excuse of a building.

So now they were in Ramshackle, trying to make due with what little they had. Naomi had less of a struggle, given she usually slept in a tent, but Serena had never spent a night under such poor conditions.

"Damn it, the roof is leaking." Naomi sighed. It began raining outside. Just their luck. "Hopefully this doesn't become a storm."

That's when the weird cat snuck in again. His name was Grim, apparently. They let him stay inside, but for that he would have to help them find buckets. Serena and Grim went upstairs. Serena worried that the rotten planks couldn't hold her weight.

"This place is like straight out of a horror movie." She commented. She didn't like horror movies.

Suddenly, they were jumpscared by a bunch of ghosts.

"AHH!" Serena screamed. "NAOMI, HELP! THERE ARE GHOSTS HERE!"

Naomi rushed upstairs. Together, with Grim's fire, they were able to drive the ghosts away. Serena bribed him with tuna, which she definitely didn't have at the moment. Oh well, she would just have to figure it out sooner or later.

Just then, Crowley returned with dinner. Serena had forgotten all about that. With everything that's been going on, food was the last thing on her mind. They explained how Grim helped them with the ghosts and asked Crowley to let him stay. Crowley agreed, telling them that they'd be the janitorial team from now on to earn their stay and make money for groceries and clothes.

"I suppose that's fair. I mean it's hard to justify two girls just living here rent free when they aren't even students." Naomi shrugged. They had dinner after Crowley left and then cleaned up two bedrooms to sleep for the night. Serena lied wide awake though, even when her body screamed for rest. How was she meant to sleep with so many thoughts occupying her mind? Also, she didn't have her sleeping mask nor her teddy which she usually hugged at night, which made sleeping even harder.