Chapter 205: Open your eyes and look into the mirror

Julian was cuffed this time and not bound with coarse ropes. And then, they were led down from the isolation tower to the Great Hall of the Sanctum. The space had been stripped of its imperial warmth; the vibrant gold and crimson tapestries of Viremount were pushed into the shadows, replaced by the stark, sterile white of the Holy delegation.

Aurelian was there, seated on a temporary throne of cold marble, his face filled with indifference as he watched from behind a fresh veil of silk. The Council of Nobles sat in the tiered benches like ghosts, their faces pale with a mixture of awe and morbid curiosity.

In the center of the hall stood the object Julian had seen from the window. The white shroud was pulled away, revealing the Mirror of True Purity.

It was a terrifying relic. The frame was crafted from bleached, fossilized bone, and the glass wasn’t glass at all—it was a swirling, vertical pool of liquid mercury that hummed with a low, vibrating frequency that Julian could feel in his very marrow. It didn’t reflect the room; it reflected a shimmering, empty void.

"You need to stand over there," the Inquisitor commanded, gesturing to the front of the Mirror’s focus.

Julian felt Alaric’s hand squeeze his shoulder—a brief, grounding pressure—before he was forced to step forward. He stood there, watching the mirror that did not yet reflect anything.

Julian’s heart was racing as he wondered, now what?

The High Priest of the Holy Empire, a man whose hair was so white it looked like spun glass, stepped forward. He held a golden censer that emitted a thin, blue smoke that smelled of ozone and mountain air.

"The Mirror of True Purity does not look for crimes of the flesh," the Priest announced to the gathered assembly, his voice echoing with an unnatural resonance. "It seeks the Origin. It traces the thread of the soul back to the Great Weaver. If a soul is native to this land, the Mirror remains a tranquil sea. If the soul is evil, it emits a black light. If it is pure, it emits a white light. And... if the soul is... borrowed... as well as has any foreign entity attached, demons, for example, the Mirror will scream."

Julian’s heart skipped a beat.

What? He had spent the last four days bracing himself for a ’demon’ search. He had assumed they were looking for the ’Other Julian’—the jagged, vengeful entity that had used his body. He hadn’t realized the Mirror was designed to detect transmigrators.

To the Holy Empire, a soul from another world wasn’t a guest; it was a spiritual parasite that disrupted the divine harmony of their world.

And then there was the ’foreign entity’. Did that mean the mirror could detect the system attached to him? No, right?

But he didn’t think he wanted to experiment. No, it would be too late by then. He would’ve already been found out.

He looked into the mirror. The liquid silver began to churn, reacting to his presence, but he quickly closed his eyes.

System! Julian screamed internally, his panic rising like a tide. The Elixir! Can I use the Elixir again? Give me something! I can’t be found out like this. I’ll be burned to death... please.

"Julian Von Astrea," The High Priest called. "Open your eyes and look into the mirror," he ordered, but Julian kept his eyes closed, his shoulders trembling.

He was scared. He didn’t know what would happen if he got caught. Alaric... the Duke would do something rash, and he... He just wanted to survive. He just wanted to live a happy life. Was that... too much to ask?

Suddenly, the world around him slowed. The sounds of the hall muffled, and his consciousness was pulled into a dark space.

It was the same black sea he had been pulled into after breaking out of the illusion made by the system.

Then, a purple screen flickered into existence in the darkness behind his eyelids.

> [SYSTEM ADVISORY: DO NOT FEAR.]

"System?" Julian whispered in his mind. "You’re still here. Ah, what do I do?" He trembled. "If I open my eyes, it’s over. I’m not Julian Von Astrea. I never was."

> [Correction: after the original soul’s dissipation, the fracture has healed. You are no longer a foreigner. This vessel has accepted you as its sole inhabitant. The mirror will recognize you as Julian Von Astrea.]

Julian felt a surge of relief, but it was quickly dampened by the strange, hollow tone of the next message.

"And you?" Julian asked. "The Mirror... will it not see you attached to my soul?"

> [...]

For a moment, there was no response.

Julian was getting restless. Why was the system suddenly quiet?

"It’s a problem, isn’t it? I can’t... face the mirror as long as I still have you. What do I do? Is there a way to deceive it? You know, like the elixir you gave me before." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The purple screen flickered,

> [It is a Holy Relic and it can not be deceived.]

Julian felt even more at war now. If even the system says this, then...

The system window flickered again, rippling across the text that Julian read carefully.

> [...It seems my assistance ends here.]

Julian froze, blinking his eyes as he did not quite understand. "What? What do you mean?"

> [The creator has decided to cut the link.]

"What?"

> [To protect your sanctity before the holy relic, the system must be excised. You will no longer see affection levels. You will no longer receive quests and rewards. You will no longer access the inventory. All stored items have been transferred to your private quarters in the Duke’s manor. And the locked chronicles of Astrea will be unlocked and left in the Duke’s manor]

Julian went silent. He couldn’t... he couldn’t believe it.

The system was going to be... excised?

He knew he had cursed this System, hated its mocking pop-ups and its ’Waking Madness’ reminder, and how it had never been useful in the time of real crisis, but... But it had been his only companion from the start.

It was the reason he could point out his enemies, escape their paths...and sometimes read their thoughts.

It... It had been like a somewhat annoying friend.

"Wait," Julian pleaded. "I... I’m not ready."

> [Unfortunately, Kim Jowoon, you do not have time to prepare. You need to accept this]