She was right. They didn't have thirty seconds. Possibly less than fifteen. Seo-hyang's fighting abilities were impressive but Cloe doubted that even she could take on these numbers. As they drew closer, her friend cut her own palm and drew blood.

"You're not supposed to do the job for them!" Cloe exclaimed.

Seo-hyang quickly explained her plan and began using some sort of strange magic. A magical portal arose from her blood's essence leading to somewhere else. Cloe didn't need any further encouragement and jumped into the portal, landing out in some corridor on the other side. Turning around, she was able to watch her friend enter after her as the hundreds of mirror copies screeched out in fury at their lost prey as the portal closed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips then she looked around the area, only to realize how dark it was. Her torch! She must have dropped it in the mirror room when they were running. Seo-hyang noticed her injuries and offered to treat her wounds. Looking down at her hands, Cloe could barely see the glass sticking out from her hand from when she punched her double. Giving a small nod that she wasn't even sure her friend could see; she allowed her to take a look at the injuries.

"So… a hundred years, right? That must be one hell of a birthday cake." Cloe said awkwardly trying to start some sort of conversation as Seo-hyang did her work.

There were a lot of words spoken by the doubles back in the mirror hall. She wouldn't pretend she understood any of what the ex-assassin had been through or knew anything beyond the everyday world of common people. But cruelty was not an unfamiliar feeling to anybody. There had been so many who had been denied love or affection for being nothing more than themselves.

"Someone said those horrible things to you?" She asked.

Cloe didn't need to see Seo-hyang's reaction to know the truth. All she could do at that moment was listen. Cruelty wielded as a weapon could make wounds that would take years or even decades to heal from. Judging from her friend's reaction she knew that her friend had spent a long time healing. But like any wound, there was always a chance that it could tear open all over again.

"I suppose that creature back there just proved something." Cloe said, "Only the real monsters say such things."

Her voice held sincerity and empathy for her new friend though she was afraid that it would be taken the wrong way. Cloe knew there wasn't much she could do beyond listening. She was no healer and certainly not wise enough to give out any proper advice. Then her eyes turned to the rest of the corridor only to be met by the dark shadows hiding everything around them.

"I uh… dropped the torch. Back in the other room…. Sorry."

The silence of the darkness had never felt so welcoming. As the portal quickly closed before the doppelgangers could reach them, Seo-hyang was grateful that they were able to get out at all. Unfortunately, she knew they weren't where she had hoped to be. The former assassin said a prayer in her heart for the next souls who would stumble upon that haunted place. Whatever strange powers that were at work in that grandiose hall went far beyond her expectations. The dilapidated state of the corridors was the true face of this place. Seeing that Cloe didn't refuse to have her wounds looked over, Seo-hyang began by carefully removing the glass shards from her hand. Using her mastery of blood magic, she was able to influence the open cuts to staunch the bleeding. In the darkness her sight was only a bit better than Cloe's, in that she could merely make out shapes and not color. She was able to identify the glass from flesh due to a lack of radiating heat from the fragments. The glass merely absorbed the warmth, having a more evenly distributed temperature.

Invoking a bit of healing magic, she closed up the wounds. It was best to have them be healed completely since they were in a difficult position. Her medical supplies needed to be preserved for emergencies. The cut she had inflicted on herself to open the portal was healed as well. From Cloe's perspective, she would be able to hear a sound from the older woman that acted as confirmation upon the mention of the latter's age. "After a while, I stopped counting." The seasons would turn and change, months passing with the shifting phases of the moon. When one lives for a long time, keeping track of how many years that have gone by becomes less important. The life she has lived up to now is not a regrettable one. She herself knows that. When Cloe asked if the words she had heard from the mirror double were indeed true, Seo-hyang replied honestly. "Only some of them. The rest weren't spoken aloud." But the sentiment was the same.

And to Cloe's remark about the words' cruelty, she simply smiled. Although it was blunt and direct, there was kindness behind it. You didn't need to be human to have a heart too. But not all humans possessed them. As her eyes gradually grew more and more accustomed to the darkness, Cloe admitted with embarrassment that she had lost her torch back in the chaos. "It's alright, we'll have another opportunity to make another. This place is quite run-down, so it won't be difficult to find dry wood and something easy to burn." Not being able to see would make things quite difficult for Cloe, so Seo-hyang considered what she could do to ameliorate the situation. If only she could share her sense of sight with her…

"I have an idea. For the time being, we can share a telepathic bond. This place is impossible to predict, but should we become separated we will still  be able to communicate with each other." The next time she went out, she would have to remember to add a lantern to her belongings.  

The idea of a telepathic bond was a little frightening. It was one thing to get healed but to have her mind connected with another? The unknown magic frightened her a bit more than whatever the mirror creatures were. But she couldn't deny the practicality of setting up such a connection, in the event they were separated. And there was something in the back of her mind that made her curious over how that magic would feel. The same curiosity that has her trapped in this temple… After a moment of thinking, she took a step towards Seo-hyang despite her lingering fear. 

"I trust you." Cloe said, "Lets do this telepathic bond." 

Cloe watched as Seo-Hyang set up the bond. She watched as Seo-Hyang worked her magic to form a connection between their minds. Eyes wide with surprise, Cloe began to feel the connect with her new friend. It was a little less scary as the process continued and she began to understand more and more. Perhaps it was their new connection or perhaps it was just through experience. Once it was set up, she decided to test it out. 

Okay. That wasn't too bad.

She wondered if Seo-Hyang got her message she sent in her mind. All she was really doing was thinking one thought over and over again in hopes it would reach her. Once she got a response, she stopped. Maybe she would need a bit more practice before she felt confident about it. 

"Lets keep going." Cloe suggested, "We still need to look for your friends." 

The bond was forged, albeit a temporary one. 'With this, we can at least ensure we can speak with each other in case we need to confirm who we are speaking to.' Seo-hyang replied mentally. It wasn't a fool-proof method, but it would help some. Once the link was established, the two advanced through the darkness, the older woman following the flow of air. Light became visible in the distance, revealing similar wooden walls before they discovered the mirrored hall. However, there was no doorway leading back out of the monastery in sight. "I think we've ended up in an entirely different place than what I had intended. When I created the portal, I did so with the intention of allowing us to escape with the outer doors close by." Her spells weren't inaccurate, but that led her to fear that something else was at work here. If she didn't change the location of where the portal would lead, then perhaps an external force made that possible.

Now she had no idea where they were, or which way was the right way to go. They could be delving deeper instead of working their way out, and if their surroundings could change without notice, navigation would be a challenge. Quelling her anxious thoughts, Seo-hyang continued to sense the air. There was no scent of blood, but rather the odor of stale dry air. The smell was denser than what they experienced when they first entered the temple compound, so she deduced this was an more inner portion of the construction. She then turned her attention to the torches flickering on the walls, and had an idea. As they had no light and these appeared here despite being abandoned for centuries, perhaps they would be of use as long as they were inside here?

"Cloe, which one of these torches appears the least secured? Although I have my doubts on whether they are real or not, we do need something should we enter a place without any oil lamps." Her eyesight also was still adjusting from the darkness, with her senses overwhelmed in detecting the sources of heat radiating from the phantasmal torches. At Cloe's behest, Seo-hyang would then take a blade to pry the metal bracket holding the torch from the wall, freeing it for them to take.

As they passed through the darkened hall, Cloe couldn't escape a feeling of a irritating helplessness that a child might experience. The constant wandering around while enveloped by darkness worsened that emotion, especially when she stubbed her toe on a wall she accidentally bumped into. Her frustration overwhelmed her fear as she stomped through the wretched hall. They eventually approached wooden walls and light in the distance. There wasn't a doorway leading out of the temple and Seo-hyang explained how the portal was supposed to send them somewhere else.

The idea of something interfering with any magic they used did not settle well with Cloe. She knew little of magic but the idea of something being strong enough to overwhelm a magic user was not great for their survival chances. Pushing that thought out of her head, she focused on the torches. Finally there would be light! She went to each torch and observed it closely. One stuck out further from the wall and seemed to be less secured than the others. 

"I'll need something to pry it but I think we can use it!" She stated.

Seo-hyang handed her a blade and she jammed it in between the metal and the wall. Using her body-weight and a little wriggling, she managed to free the torch from the wall. It dropped to the ground and she quickly picked it up before the flame could go out. Cloe handed the sword back to Seo-hyang when she suddenly heard something in the distance. 

Music?

The tinkling of a music box echoed off the walls and slowly drew closer. 

It was a good thing that the torch was usable. There were many strange things about this place, but there was no point dwelling on what they couldn't understand. With a source of steady light for the time being, things were starting to take a better turn…or so Seo-hyang thought. Her acute senses picked up on the faint sound of music coming from not far away. At first she wasn't able to place her finger on what it was, until the sound was clearer. A music box, in this ruined place? How strange for it to start playing once they arrived here. From what their experiences in the hall of mirrors taught her, the former assassin was on her guard. She spoke to Cloe through the link, voicing her concerns.

'Something isn't right. In a place so ruined as this, there shouldn't be that sort of sound. Music boxes don't normally start themselves.' 

If things turned ugly, they would have to run. They didn't have the resources to directly confront everything they encountered if they wanted to find Perunika. Her eyes scanned the area for the nearest passages leading away from the source of the approaching sound. Armed with a dagger, Seo-hyang was limited by their current situation. If she was alone, then she could rely on her urumi to keep whatever was coming at bay, despite being in an enclosed space. But with Cloe here, she couldn't risk injuring her on accident. "Stay close, we might need to run." There were nagging thoughts in her mind, leaving her unsure of which approach to take. If the ran they could leave whatever was coming behind, but on the other hand it might provoke it to chase. Seo-hyang had no intentions on putting herself and Cloe in harm's way. 

At the sound of the approaching tinkling of a music box, Cloe agreed to stay close to him. A chill ran down her spine as she spotted a slightly glowing music box, sitting in the middle of the hall. The crank for the music box was still turning but Cloe couldn't figure out how on Revaliir it was able to move. Suddenly, six spider-like legs came out of the box, three on each side. The music began to speed up as the little music box scuttled its way, directly at Cloe and Seo-Hyang. Instead of fleeing, Cloe yanked the lit torch off the wall and ran up towards the music box creature. Although it was creepy with its spider legs and music, it was still small.

*Before I was a barmaid, I was my village's best Hopball player*

SMACK! She gave the nasty little creature a good whack with her torch, setting it on fire and flying across the room. The critter smashed into pieces as it hit one of the walls. With a smile, Cloe turned to Seo-Hyang and walked back over to her. Then her smile faded as she heard multiple musical notes from more music box critters. Spinning around, she saw a small group of them forming near the corpse of the previous music box. Their music turned into screeching melodies as they began dashing towards Cloe and Seo-Hyang.

"Nows a good time to run," Cloe said.

Her experience with this place told her that was no ordinary object, and it revealed its true nature immediately. On her guard, Seo-hyang was ready to defend as it charged towards them, only for Cloe to send it flying into pieces. However, that wasn't the end of things. Several more of its kind emerged, forcing them to flee. It would appear breaking them would do little good. Nodding in agreement with Cloe, the two turned to escape. Here the winding corridors of the monastery proved useful for once, as they could hear if those crawling mechanical creatures were close. After many twists and turns, their pursuers were still hot on their trail. Seo-hyang began to worry just how long they would be chased. Were those creatures so determined that they wouldn't stop until they were caught? 

Their most recent turn led to a hall that had two great doors on one side. They were ornate, with different carvings than the one that opened into the hall of mirrors. Serpentine dragons adorned the support pillars beside the frame in polished brass. There were the sounds of a struggle coming from within, along with the screeching of the walking music boxes drawing closer. They could either continue running, or take the risk of slipping into the room past the doors in hopes that would throw the creatures off their scent. The former assassin had not forgotten her reason for coming here, and turned to Cloe. "It sounds like someone is inside past these doors. As unpredictable and treacherous these halls are, should we press onward or take a chance?" She asked, motioning towards the door flanked by inlaid brass.

Part of Seo-hyang was hopeful that they could find Perunika, or at least someone who wasn't an illusory body intent on taking their lives. But caution made her doubt the possibility. So far they hadn't found either hide nor hair of the girl aside from the bloodstained hairpin.

The tapping of tiny little pursuing legs lingered behind them as she made a mad dash down the corridor. Her breath quickened as her legs began to feel heavy. They were running like rats through a maze with every twist and turn in hopes to escape the strange music box monsters. Their salvation was a massive hall with two giant ornate doors. Cloe didn't have much time to admire the architecture as she clutched the door handles. Before she could do anything, Seo-hyang warned her that someone was inside the room blocked off by the doors. Cloe took a moment to calm herself down. Or at least attempted to. She slowed her breathing and thought about their situation as quickly as possible. 

"Lets go through the doors." Cloe finally decided in a quiet voice. 

Whatever laid behind them could be some sort of monster or could be survivors. However, she was also getting tired of running. If they didn't find some place to hide in, those creatures would eventually wear them down. In the back of her mind, in the darkest part of her thoughts there was a part of her that secretly wanted to know what was in that room. She would never admit it out loud in fear of scaring her only companion but a tiny part of her didn't care if they died, as long as she could figure out what was going on with that temple. 

"Ready?" She asked. 

Once she got the sign of approval from Seo-hyang, she reached towards the door and tried to slip into the room.