EX Mission: Premonition (Vayu)

Vayu stood on a wide, flat plane as far as the eye could see. Well, seeing was the issue at present. All around him was a mist, swirling and eddying in hypnotic and undulating patterns. He could sense nothing - neither by sight, nor smell, not sound.

And yet, he could sense that something waited ahead of him in the mist - a presence both alluring and frightening, familiar and yet nothing like he'd sensed before.

Well, there were no answers standing here, wherever this was. The only way... was forward.

Vayu looked around even though it was futile. The mist swirled around him and he found himself getting lost in the hypnotic patterns.

None of his senses seemed to work. His instinct told him to find something. Any shape to break the pattern of the mist.

However. There was nothing.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Something, a presence, emitted an irrational pull even through the sense-numbing mist.

There were no answers standing here, wherever this was. The only way... was forward.

Taking a deep breath, he moved forward.

As Vayu began to move, shapes began to form in the mist, hazy and incorporeal. He appeared to be in the midst of a village, from what he could tell. And in the midst, he saw a figure, indistinct and shadowy.

"Oh? What's this?"

A voice, female and alluring. The silhouette turned to face him, though it did nothing to make them more distinct.

"To think one such as you could reach me like this... how intriguing. I should like to know you better."

The figure raised their arms, and a flash of light blinding Vayu. When he finally managed to prise apart his eyelids, he found himself surrounded by mirrors - countless panels of mirrors above, below, and all around so that he became dizzy turning to look into the infinite reflections.

But as he turned, his reflections suddenly halted and turned to face him, no longer mimicking his movements.

"My, so many facets to you," his reflections said to him. "It's a wonder you aren't crushed under the weight of it all. So many illusions to maintain... so many lies to craft and conceal your heart from everyone... Especially yourself."

Vayu stopped when he heard an alluring voice. Before he could make out a figure, there was a flash of blinding light.

When he regained his sight, he found himself surrounded by mirrors, all of them showing a reflection of himself.

Well this was unnerving. When one reflection suddenly turned to face him, he was startled.

Regaining his composure, Vayu shrugged at the words.

"Better to try than to be crushed by it," he replied. "Besides, what do you know about my heart?"

A cool, dismissive laugh met Vayu's words. “What do I know about it?” Vayu’s own voice answered from his reflections. “It's my own heart. Don’t you even recognize yourself anymore?”

The Reflection rubbed its chin, smiling as it surveyed him.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t. You’ve buried the truth so far down you can’t see it anymore... just like all humans. You wouldn’t want to face who you really are.... wouldn’t want anyone else to know.”

One of the Reflections turned. The mirror behind it was no longer a mirror but a window, showing the a village meeting hall. There he stood, young and defiant in chains, as a group of village elders looked down on him in condemnation.

“Not our finest moment, was it? But hardly the only one... Should we go deeper?” The Reflection behind him asked, turning to look inside its mirror. “I wonder what we’ll find...”

[A: Let it continue
B: Smash the mirror]

[B: Smash the mirror.]

Vayu shrugged at the response of his reflection.

"Just because you look like me, doesn't mean you are me."

Then the scene in one of the mirrors changed. Despite trying to resist it, curiosity won out and he stepped up to the mirror.

He recognized the scene in an instant. His focus turned from his own defiant young self to a group of people in the background. His family. For a moment there was a longing in his eyes, but it was gone with the next blink.

Vayu let the scene continue for a few hearbeats. Watching as the Council deliberated his fate.

Long forgotten feeling began to surface from that memory. A bunch of old men, upset that the younger generation broke their rules in times of chaos and pain. Fearing that their power and influence of the village community was in jeopardy. No, they needed to set an example, to ensure that would never happen again. There were no right reasons here. Nothing to be won.

"I buried that for a reason," he finally said and pressed his foot against the mirror, almost gently shattering it.

"So that my past doesn't define me."

As Vayu placed his foot against the mirror, his Reflection gazed back at him with a cutting smile.

“Those things which are buried grow deep roots. The deeper the roots, the stronger it becomes.”

The glass shattered under his pressure. In unison, the rest of the mirrors around him shattered at once.

Or rather, the glass facade shattered.

Within the empty frames, the Reflections of Vayu still stood, now all of them grinning at him with terrible delight.

"So, that's the measure of your fortitude," they mused in harmony. "Let's see what your physical limits are."

All of them raised their hands in unison and directed them at Vayu, their smiles widening with malicious glee. “Confusion Wave!”

It was like the dream within a dream suddenly turned into a nightmare.

The glass all around him shattered. The mirrors disappeared, but the reflections stayed. And now they emitted a clearly malicious aura.

Vayu took a step back, knowing full he was surrounded. He tensed, glacing around.

What was going to happen?

His eyes widened when he was confronted with his own spell.

There was only a split second to react.

"Synchro Gift!" he cast on himself and jumped up, high above the reflections of him in an attempt to avoid as many spells as possible.

Without his demons, there wasn't much he could against this overwhelming number. His hand tensed around his ninjato. That didn't mean he would give up.

"What do you want?"

The Reflections smiled as Vayu managed to jump high out of range from their spell, tensed and strained as he surveyed them.

"I told you," they said. "To get the measure of you. I hope you have more tricks than that up your sleeve, or this won't last long."

They all raised their hands at once and cast, "Synchro Gift," then leaped into action. Some of them came at him from above, some rushed around from the side, and some plowed right at him from the front, all of them with their ninjato poised to skewer him.

As soon as he landed, he realized his mistake. Clearly all these reflections also had all of his abilities.

He could use Confusion Wave to knock some of them off course.

He could use Arcane Barrier to protect himself against some of the attacks.

He could use his own boosted speed and agility to launch a counterattack.

It would be a good combination. It would cause enough chaos and allow him to gain some ground.

Instead of springing into action, Vayu relaxed his tension and straightened up. It was a gamble. But he was willing to risk it. For two reasons: Firstly, if they were like him, no strategy he could come up with would surprise them. Secondly, they clearly wanted something from him and continuing to fight would give them exactly what they wanted. And he wasn't having that.

"I will not fight myself," Vayu stated calmly.

The Reflections rushed in, heedless of his words. They closed in, ninjato raised, and thrust their weapons all at once.

Then.. stilnness.

All the Reflections had halted inches from Vayu, staring intently at him distastefully.

“How boring,” they all echoed, slowly retracting their weapons and turning away. “I guess our playtime is over.”

With that, they turned and began to walk off into the distance, the mist beginning to close in around once more. As it did, the figures began to meld into the mist one by one... until only one silhouette remained. A woman’s.

“I’m sure we’ll meet again,” the figure said.

Vayu forced himself to stay still, watching as the reflections rushed in.

His heart beat in his chest, adrenaline was running through his body and every fiber screamed at him to move.

But he stayed still.

Then they halted. Vayu exhaled slowly, trying not let his relief show on his face.

The figures melted into the mist until only a female silhouette remained. Vayu watched her silently.

-----------------

Her words still rang in his ear when he woke up with a start. Cold sweat was on his forehead and he was panting. Slowly he sat up in his bed.

"What a dream," he murmured to himself.

Vayu stood up and stepped up to the window, opening it. He inhaled the cold and fresh night air. This calmed him down and eventually he went back to bed, the dream a fading memory.