Mirror, Mirror | Twisted-Wonderland

Prologue 1 - 1

Prologue 1 - 1: Mirror, Mirror

Unknown universe | Unknown place

The screams of pain and anguish plagued her mind as she lays underneath a broken mirror inside a burning house. Large pieces of its shards were engraved deeply on her back and left thigh while the others encircled her beaten and bleeding body—blood pooling around her. She could barely keep her fuchsia eyes open as she witnesses more people from her tribe being slaughtered by a single demon lord, bodies dropping like fruit flies after being swatted through the head or impaled from the heart.

The entire village was burning, so much that it was slowly resembling the humble abode of the demon lords residing within the 1st gate of the Little Garden—rumored to be similar with hell. Houses that used to be beautiful and elegant were now nothing but rubbles and dusts along with the flower garden the children of the tribe planted, yet despite the ongoing chaos, her thoughts were elsewhere.

'What was the point of having these abilities if I can't even protect my family?!' She asks herself, spurting blood from her mouth as she tries to move her damaged body.

Leveret Netscher—previously known as Assenav Eeyore—is what people in her original world would call as a reincarnator; a normal person from Earth that was either transported or reincarnated in a parallel universe or a virtual world. In her case, she was reincarnated in a world called Little Garden after hanging herself in her room. She is now reborn in a powerful tribe called the Moon Rabbits, Highborn of the Little Garden; bestowed with powerful gifts by the God that pitied her.

Though blessed with those gifts, the people in her tribe thought the opposite. They were afraid of the unique and undiscovered gifts she held which led not only the children her age to avoid her, but the elders as well. They speculated that she was not part of their tribe and is actually a demon in disguise simply because she was the only doe in the entire village that had a tanner tone.

Luckily, her entire family and the heiress of the tribe, Black Rabbit, were there to protect her from the baseless rumors the elders have been spreading; supporting her and giving her all the love she needed—one that she was not able to receive in her previous life. She was happy with her life, so happy that she wished for it to never end. But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

'If only I were stronger... I could have saved them...!' She sobs to herself, warm globs of tears beginning to gather around her eyes as she stares at the lifeless body of her family; recalling the last few minutes they had with each other.

It was a lively festival in their village, vendors selling various kinds of food were everywhere, numerous flag designs of their flag that were made by the children were hanging above them while different lights lit the streets; it was the birthday of the tribe's heiress and her only friend, Black Rabbit.

Despite the noise outside, it was a peaceful and windy evening for them, the perfect evening to happily eat the special dinner her mother prepared for them: a luxurious platter of Emerald Dal, Eggplant Lasagna, Celery Soup, and Rack of Lambs. They were happily talking about what they did throughout the day when they suddenly heard screaming from outside, baffling them. Before they could even show any form of reaction, the window on the dining room suddenly burst, sending everyone in there flying to the living room—the blast ultimately destroying the room they were in.

Although she was quite stunned from the blast, she immediately recovered from it when she sensed a large aura outside their home—one filled with bloodshed, violence, and destruction. In front of her was a white, two-headed dragon with shackles on its arms and legs with a flag of a Community behind it like a cape. She would have already yelled at the intruder if it were not for the fact that it had its mouth open—a large amount of flames swirling within it.

In a blink of an eye, Leveret was right in front of the dragon-like person, right hand clenched tightly on her side before pinching him underneath the chin, changing the direction of the shot upwards. A major blast erupting from its mouth, causing the clouds to evaporate immediately. However, as fast as she appeared before him, she was sent flying to the giant mirror in the living room just as fast.

Her ears ringing from the impact she has taken, entire back filled with pieces of shards which spread around her like spilled milk, the large parts engraved deeply on her left thigh down as she lies there on the wooden floor—bleeding profusely from the giant hole with a sigil on her stomach; the white knitted turtleneck sweater her mother gave her was now engulfed with blood.

Everything happened too fast for her to comprehend, yet the moment she did, it was already too late. Her entire family has been slaughtered mercilessly by the dragon, leaving their headless body in front of her, mocking her of their difference in power—showing her how powerless she was.

"Ahh... my dear beloved."

The sound of shoes walking in a vast room echoes throughout her lifeless house, her surroundings suddenly slowing down as if someone cast a time manipulation magic. The screams of the remaining people outside were toned down while the footsteps increased.

"A lovely and noble flower of evil."

She then hears the rattling of keys with each step the person takes, getting closer and closer towards her laying body. Although the footsteps were getting closer, there was no one around her.

"Truly, you are the most beautiful of all."

The male voice says, his voice being overpowered by the slow yet gallant clops of hooves and the crows—ravens cries, enabling her to hear what he said. Although she was unable to hear what he said, a strange eerie light from the corner of her eyes. Turning her head, she saw the light coming from a shard from the mirror.

"Those who are guided by the Mirror of Darkness. As long as your heart desires, take the hand that appears in the mirror."

That was what the male voice said before the eerie light was replaced by a long and slender hand. Though she knew better than accepting something from someone—especially when that is a hand that appeared out of nowhere—she strangely felt drawn to it, causing her to use the last bit of her strength to reach out towards it.

Once the tip of her fingers made contact with the surface of the shard, a ripple of some short, one that resembles a droplet falling and hitting the surface of the water suddenly occurred causing the hand to disappear. The next moment she closed her eyes due to the amount of blood she lost, the hand came and grabbed her wrist, pulling her inside the mirror.

"For me. For them. For you.

We are all running out of time.

No matter what, never let go of my hand."