Time Looped

Shadow wolves? Will wondered.

That was wrong on so many levels. For starters, there weren't any mirrors in the counselor's room, so there was no way for a wolf to have emerged. More unusually, how was Alex able to see it? He had been ejected from eternity and had his memories erased. Obviously, there were some lingering memories that had somehow managed to hang on, though were they enough to attract wolves?

Despite all his attempts, Danny remained utterly unable to see the creature. All his attempts to use the mirror fragment had ended in failure, leaving him the single option to run after Alex in order to pretend he still had some link to his glorious past. Only Ely was capable of adequate reaction.

In the brief moments Will had managed to get a glimpse of her, through Danny's mirror fragment, he could tell that she was ready to engage with full force. The surprise and anger were plastered all over her face. If he were to guess, he'd say that she somehow blamed him for all of this.

"Get it off!" Alex screamed.

To all but two people, he appeared to have a violent breakdown. To the world, the threat chasing him didn't exist. More specifically, it wasn't something that was capable of interacting with them.

Ely tried to punch the wolf, but it eluded her. Although it was just one, the creature had her at a disadvantage. Physically, they weren't particularly strong, but agile and persistent, with the ability to move through shadows as they saw fit. Had the creature wanted, it could have torn several feet off by now, leaving the question why hadn't it?

The sound of stone and glass shattering bled into Will's realm. It was immediately followed by Alex's cries of pain and desperation. The wolf was obviously playing around, possibly ripping off an arm or leg. Will could only imagine the degree of suffering the goofball was going through. The worst part of it was that this wasn't the end. Wolves didn't give up until they killed off their target. Shadow wolves, in particular, had a tendency to weaken their enemies before going for the killing bite. The method was useful when dealing with participants capable of ignoring multiple wounds; against ordinary people, the only thing it did was prolong their agony.

He's just a temp, Will kept telling himself. Eight hours from now, none of this would have happened. Danny would smash the bathroom mirror in his attempt to rejoin eternity and Alex would be bullied again by Jace in front of the nurse's office. And yet, in the infinity of realities, there would be one in which he was going to get devoured by a wolf.

Damnit, Alex! Will clenched his fists, then rushed to the nurse's mirror.

"How do I get to the other side?" He glanced at the floating mirror fragment as he asked.

The answer came, plain and simple. It didn't explain how a boy would physically be able to jump out of a mirror one eighth his size. For that moment, that didn't matter.

Conceal. Will gritted his teeth and leaped through.

The mirror didn't shatter as he came into contact with it. One moment he was in the mirror realm and the next he had appeared in the nurse's office. Nothing had been disturbed in the slightest. The woman had already run into the corridor, her attention attracted by Alex's screams.

Will sprinted past her, rushing straight up the stairs.

"Distract him!" Will ordered his shadow wolf. He wasn't looking forward to facing Ely again, but some things just couldn't be ignored.

Blood was splattered all over the floor and walls. Alex had just managed to reach the stairs when the shadow wolf had bitten into his foot. Fortunately, it hadn't gnawed it off. That's where the good news ended. The goofball had received multiple wounds, and his screaming and twisting only prevented Ely from helping. Danny was useless, trembling as he looked at the scene. The lack of eternity skills had also cost him his bravery. The boy was so pale that Will suspected his former classmate would puke any moment.

A wolf emerged from the shadows, leaping straight for Alex's head. Before it could reach it, another wolf jumped out, intercepting it mid-flight.

"Stop!" Will turned to Ely. He was expecting the few other people in the corridor to react in some fashion, yet they didn't. Apparently, he really had become a reflection. "Truce."

The girl remained hesitant. Her right hand was close to her mirror fragment. From there she could draw a weapon at any tie, and likely kill him without half trying. Will's only advantage was that he remained an unknown. Following the laws of the rewind, no one knew anything about him or his abilities, including the temp version of himself.

"He'll die if we fight!" Will said. "Painfully."

That seemed to do the trick. The girl's stance relaxed just enough to let him know that he'd be killed after doing anything suspicious.

"Can you heal him?" Will asked. As he did, he kept an eye on Danny. The boy still wasn't reacting to him in any way.

"Stay close," Ely told Danny, then ran past to where Alex was twisting on the floor.

Whatever the goofball's body was doing to counter the shock and pain, it wasn't working. The boy was still conscious, with enough energy to make approaching him difficult, all the time feeling every ounce of pain he had been subjected to.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Drawing a knife from his mirror fragment, Will threw it in the direction of the enemy wolf's head. The creature managed to turn away at the very last moment, so the weapon barely grazed it.

The knife slammed into the wall, creating a large spider web of cracks.

"Are you a faction knight?" Ely asked.

"Borrowed skills," Will replied without getting into detail. "Do you have anything to heal him?"

Healing skills, like magic, were beyond valuable. The closest thing Will had seen was the druid's ability to protect wounds. Still, it made sense that one of the classes would offer something similar. Eternity would be way too unbalanced if there wasn't.

A loud yelp filled the corridor. Will's wolf had already suffered a greater number of injuries from the enemy wolf. Despite appearances, the two weren't equal. Experience, levels, maybe even the nature of the owner probably had to do with that. Whatever the reason, it was clear to everyone that Will's pet wouldn't be able to keep the other occupied for much longer.

"I'll take care of the wolf." Will leaped back, drawing his binding chain.

Sensing his intention, the enemy wolf changed approach, leaping straight at him. Will's immediate thought was to swing with his chain in order to prevent his attack. Experience told him that the correct approach was to be cautious of the creature's strengths.

"Not this time." Will leaped into the air.

The chain extended, its end flying towards the wolf.

The creature just snarled, vanishing into the shadows of the chain's links before it could deal any damage. That was a new and very dangerous trick. It meant that nearly no ordinary weapon could hurt it in actual combat.

Will continued his attack, leaving the chain to go through the air and slam the floor, right where his shadow was.

"Got you!"

The attack didn't manage to bind the creature, but hitting it with a knight's bash was a good start.

Behind him, Ely had placed her hands on Alex's chest. A warm yellow glow emanated from them.

Wounds spontaneously appeared on the girl's hands and leg, bleeding through. It was as if the wolf had bitten her, tearing off pieces of flesh, though without affecting the clothes one bit.

"Alex," the girl said, without skipping a beat. "It's alright."

"The wolf! The—"

A gentle smack on the side of the neck caused him to instantly lose consciousness. That was the easy part, though. Once he woke up, there would be many people with proper medical degrees to help him get through everything. A greater issue would be explaining it to everyone else.

The blood and broken parts of the school hallway kept people at bay, but already several crowds had gathered, whispering between each other and recording everything on their mobile phones. The school counselor was still there, trying to keep things calm, along with several teachers. None of them could see the fight between Will and the shadow wolf that was taking place. Even so, there was no hiding the effects.

"Meet me in the bathroom!" Ely shouted.

All of a sudden, Will found himself back in the boys' bathroom.

"What the hell?!" he looked around. The inside of the mirror realm was the same as ever. The floors and ceiling were completely white, hiding the multitude of other mirrors and imprisoned wolves.

Looking at his hands, the weapon he had been gripping was also gone, as was, notably, the new, highly expensive skill he had bought from the merchant.

"How did I get here?" Will looked at his mirror fragment.

Forceful end? That was a new one. To think that Ely had such power. It had to be costly, otherwise she would have used it earlier. On the positive side, it seemed he had broken the ice somewhat. The last thing the girl had done was to offer a meeting. That was a good thing, as long as Will was careful about it.

Time passed. Danny came and went, as always. The rest of the school was getting ready for lessons, and Jace and Alex were at it again in front of the nurse's office. Yet, there was no Ely.

"Damn it!" Will said as it hit him. Quickly, he rushed to the side, where stood another set of four mirrors.

Two of the bathrooms offered classes. He was just in the wrong one.

"Wolf, you okay, buddy?" Will asked before looking into the mirrors.

A black dot appeared on the white floor, growing larger. Like strands of smoke and shadow, it gained form, turning into the creature that Will knew.

"Be on guard," Will said and looked into the girls' bathroom.

The first time he had gone there was when Helen had let him take the knight class. Things didn't look particularly different. The only change was that it was Ely standing there.

"Come out," she said, looking at him.

Will hesitated.

"If I wanted to, I could just pull you out."

That was true enough. Taking a deep breath, Will leaped into the mirror, ending up in the real world.

"You've got all four classes," she began. "And a shadow wolf. But you're not a ranker."

"Why do you think so?" Will remained on guard.

The shadow starting from Ely's feet let out a warning growl.

"If you have to ask, you don't know," she said, observing his reaction. "Your mirror fragment isn't refined," she added a few moments later. "You're not one of the regulars, I've checked. And you aren't from a faction. So, what are you?"

"Maybe I'm the new rogue?"

Technically, that was the absolute truth., Of course, it would be a while before he actually became one. Right now, he was the future version of his past self.

"Or maybe you're an escaped failure?" Ely suggested.

For some reason, that stung.

"Aren't you the same?" Being in doubt, Will went on the offensive. "Your entire party was thrown out of eternity, but you weren't."

If this were Helen, she would have lost her temper. Ely didn't disappoint, drawing a sword from her wristwatch and slicing the wall, sinks, and floor inches from Will's left side.

"Why are you watching Danny?" Ely asked. "Are you working for him?"

"For Danny?" Will laughed uncomfortably. Although his rational self knew that couldn't be true, his subconscious still insisted on keeping the secret. "No way."

"Funny." Ely slashed again, destroying everything on Will's other side.

The shadow wolf emerged from her shadow, sinking its teeth into the girl's foot. No other reaction followed, not even an indication that she'd ignored the wound.

"You're not the only one with many classes. Now, answer me, or—"

Before she could finish, the door swung open.