Darkness covered the skies as Soren drew another red smile across a man's throat. Seeing the man stumble and fall before him, he casually walked in between two raging battles of Sentinels before finding his next prey and repeating the same trick.

More and more hidden enemies arrived, a few were aiming for the gate, which was promptly stopped, and a few more seemed to want to target their grain storage silos. However, all their attempts ended in failure. Their deaths marked by prayers to the Slumbering One.

Once again, silence reigned supreme over the frigid night. He wiped the blood off his forehead and frowned, staring up at the glowing spectral banners in the sky. The emblem of the fae forces were still waving high and mighty for all to see.

He sighed, "I wonder when this will all end…"

This was the second night in a row with sudden attacks from their enemy. Rather than a grandiose force, only a few elite teams were dispatched each time to go after strategic targets across the bastion. Though, Soren knew that all of this was just a distraction.

Their true target has always been Myrin and Myrin alone. The princess of the Verdant Throne—the Hollowed Star.

"The banners still wave in our favor." A voice suddenly distracted him from his thoughts. He turned to see a young man with vibrant white hair cascading to his shoulders and an even longer spear strapped to his back. Holding his helmet at his hip, the man waved at Soren who greeted his arrival with a smile.

"Ayen."

The man nodded. "Good to meet you my friend. It hasn't been long since the battle on the wall."

Soren glanced at the distant plains ahead of the castle where torchlight and wooden huts could be seen. That was the enemy encampment where five thousand men were currently sleeping—no doubt dreaming of victory or a glorious death.

He frowned then shook his head. "Time is flying quickly, but not quickly enough. Any word on the reinforcements?"

"None so far," he sighed. "By the blossoms… It makes me wonder what the hold up is… Never-the-less, we have done our jobs well so far. Let's hope tomorrow won't be worse than today."

Hope? Soren wanted to laugh. He doubted that the Blossom Sword Flower would ever give them a moment to rest. So far, it has only been one assasination attempt after the other. Though he had to give it to Ilrune—despite his disgusting personality, the man was strong. Immensely so. None of the Spirit Wolve's attempts have warranted even a scratch on the princess.

"Let's leave all the negativity aside," The man said with a smile. "I heard your master taught you magecraft as well? How interesting."

Here we go again… Soren wanted to roll his eyes but decided to smile instead. "Duke Alinar was truly my savior… I wish to repay the kingdom for all the care he has given me."

"I see… I see… Praise the blossoms, the kingdom is blessed to have you."

Ever since the night raid on the first day, it became obvious that hiding his skills was going to be impossible. So he devised a plan with Myrin who informed everyone of his abilities with magecraft being taught to him by the duke himself…

Although it was still taboo, the fact that he was still just a measly 1st Circle magus must have quelled most of their worries. Not that they even had worries to spare with how dastardly the battles have been going so far. Yes, they were winning the skirmishes and preventing the enemy from ever reaching the Hollowed Star fragment, but that didn't mean the effects on them were at all positive.

The enemy commander seemed to know this as well. Whether through spies embedded within the castle walls or some other method he was unaware of, Soren was sure that the enemy knew of their… psychological weakness.

Simply put, their morale had been slowly driven into the sand… No, it might as well have reached the planet's mantle by now. Everywhere he looked, all Soren could see were dejected faces. The food shortages weren't helping either. Even though they had stopped most of the attacks targeting their food storages, it mattered little if the food left within them was close to disappearing. After the first day's siege battle had ended, he had asked Myrin to provide him with as much information on Bastion Thirel as possible, and from it, he learned of a rather dire situation.

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Refugees.

Before the current siege campaign, the Spirit Wolf legions had marched into numerous neighboring castles and cities, looting and destroying most of what remained there. A lot of the refugees from those places logically came to this place—the last bastion of the elven forces to the west. From Myrin's memories inside the princess' body, it seemed that Myrella and Ilrune also traveled with these people to this bastion after Castle Triage fell East of here. There was simply nowhere else for them to go…

At first, it was not really a major issue. Since Bastion Thirel was lacking in manpower, the sudden influx of able-bodied men and women was good for bolstering their defences. But quickly, their strain on the castle's food supplies became apparent. And with the majority of the farmland outside the bastion torched by their enemies, getting more food became an impossible task.

Even now, threats from the inside have increased more than the night raids have… Crime has become a staple amongst the hungry and poor.

The more he thought about it, the bigger his headache grew. Soren shook his head, turning to face the castle building inside. Somewhere in there, Cassia was resting in her room with Myrin watching over her.

Images of what he had seen inside her cell flashed in his mind once more. From angry red welts crisscrossed on her pale skin, to swollen and discolored cheeks… There was nothing on her body that wasn't a result of torture and constant beating. What's worse, her abilities as a Phantasm remained. Unlike him and Myrin, she for some odd reason was able to keep her Soul Weapon with her in this Mirror Game…

And, it seems that the prison wardens were aware of this and took full advantage of it. Since Figments of the Serpent granted her superhuman regeneration, she became their favorite little punching bag… No wound ever stayed on her body—as long as their beatings didn't outright kill her, they could continue to use her as a way to relieve their stress.

What was even more infuriating was the fact that Ilrune was aware of this also. His followers also took part in harming her.

Fucking bastards… I will not forgive them.

During the past night, Soren had thought of numerous ways of killing them in secret, but all of that seemed pointless. Cruel as they were, those elves were still knights fighting to defend this bastion. And right now, he needed every one of them to fight the Spirit Wolves—they were already far too outnumbered for him to risk it.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't do something about it. With Myrin granting him the authority to order the troops, it was only natural to send those bastards who harmed Cassia to the most dangerous posts. If he couldn't kill them himself, he might as well let their lives be spent doing something useful. A few had already perished in the night raid just now, and many more would meet the same fate in the nights to come.

I'll kill the ones who remain after the reinforcements arrive… There won't be any use for them then. His lips curled into a slow, satisfied smile at that thought before he froze and caught him.

"Wait, after the reinforcements arrive?" He murmured to himself. "Why… would I think that?" Logically, that would mark the end of the Mirror Game—there would be nothing left to do past that point. Wouldn't they just be brought back to reality?

Then he remembered. This world… It was far too real. So real that he was beginning to lose himself in this role… Forgetting that it was all fake to begin with—a conjuring created through the Mysteries of a spirit.

I am Soren Andersen, he repeated to himself. Not a slave or a tactician… I am Soren Andersen, the third disciple of Mistress Sienna—the Last Witch of Star Fate.

He could not allow himself to forget that. Yet only now did he realize just how hard that was becoming. The Blossom Sword Flower had not only drawn them into this fabricated world, forcing them into new bodies, but even their memories had been tampered with. Their personalities have noticeably been shifted. Myrin, once playful, had now become aloof and cunning—his demeanor befitting someone set to inherit the throne.

And even he himself… strange emotions had been brewing inside him this entire time… Ones that he had been trying to ignore to no avail. His hatred for the elves was the first thing he seemed to notice. But there was also a lot of loneliness… Likely due to Duke Alinar's death still being recent in his mind.

Rubbing his temples, Soren couldn't help but feel slightly afraid.

Dangerous. This is too dangerous… He needed to warn Cassia and Myrin before they too forgot who they truly were.

After saying goodbye to Ayen and ordering the soldiers to stay on watch for more enemy attacks, he headed straight for the castle. But on his way there, he couldn't help but ask himself a separate question:

Did the Blossom Sword Flower intend for this to happen? Is this also a test?

After passing through numerous halls, making sure to avoid a lot of the nobles roaming around, Soren finally made it to the room he was looking for. Standing before the door, he knocked a few times and waited for an answer.

"Come in."

Soren did exactly that. What greeted him on the other side were two familiar faces. Sitting face up on the bed was Cassia, who looked a bit healthier than before. Beside her was Myrin who was busy reading a book.

"It seems his healing magecraft has done its part…"

She nodded at him with a smile. "It indeed has… But let's put discussions of my health aside for now.

"I have been waiting for your arrival, Soren. The both of us were."

He glanced between the two then frowned. "What is it?"

"It's about the Hollowed Star fragments… I know what they are."

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