"How much longer will you keep this up, godling?" Carcinus roared, his gargantuan body roving towards me. His claws bit into the palace as he pattered towards me, tearing apart the polished metal and leaving scars on the ground. "Unlike you, my stamina is immeasurable. My mana incalculable. This form, a gift from my lord, will be impossible for you to defeat."
"You're not the first person to tell me that," I returned, flashing on top of him. My foot slammed into the beast's head, cranking it downwards. I followed it up with another teleport to the legs, crushing one of the metal digits with a mana-infused kick. Carcinus' body folded, and the water propelled me backward as he lashed out, smashing through where the bathrooms had been.
Man, it would've sucked to be on the toilet right about now.
As I was saying before, the mirror's nothing like what people make it out to be. Obviously, the mirror does have some connections to beauty and imagination—both of those things being heavily connected to Aphrodite—but saying that that's it is a major oversight.
Aphrodite's powers had been revered by the ancient Greeks and Romans—way more than they were now. To them, she wasn't some whore or vain goddess—she was a goddess of life and order. They'd described her kythereia—the love hidden within herself—and her kypris—her effect on the virility and pregnancy—as a secret shattering pillar of light.
In her mirror, all lies of love and sexual nature became obsolete. To them, her mirror wasn't a symbol of beauty, but a symbol of truth. Aphrodite, gazing at herself in the mirror, was not a woman in awe of her own beauty, but a woman acknowledging the truth of all that resided within her, for, as they described, Aphrodite wasn't just the embodiment of love—she kept together the entire cosmos and continued the survival of all.
What does that mean for us?
Well, in general, when two streams of mana intersect, they're either compatible or not compatible. Basic stuff, I know, but that's how the Greek world works. There are checks and balances. Strong, but opposite forces. Zeus and Poseidon. Demeter and Hades. The existence of opposites holds great weight in this world—that's where true, unadulterated power comes from.
Like the Ophiotaurus, for crying out loud. Killing an innocent to gain power—that's a prime example of what I'm talking about.
The logic's pretty simple. The mirror, as I've hopefully successfully pointed out, is a symbol of truth and reflection. However, in the right situations, it's a significant power boost. There's a deep, profound power in being able to recognize your own faults. Similarly, there's a similar level of power in trusting someone else to aid you in your time of need—that's where the mirror comes in.
If you do it right, the mirror is supposed to play on your feelings of self-reflection and your trust in your loved ones, consolidating any attack you put through it. No matter the compatibility of the streams you put through it, the mirror is supposed to combine them into one big attack.
That figure, for example. When I'd fought it, the combined mana of us both was smashed into a tiny crystal, all because of the mirror and the figure's own emotions.
I blasted forward through the air, the green fire leaving a burning trail in my wake. I let the water around me shoot my body up like a jet all the way to the top of the palace, right near the stained-glass depiction of Medusa. The fire gleamed brightly. The stained-glass picture glittered around my aura, the ruby dress of Medusa bathing the room in a maroon light.
I looked down at Carcinus as he started tensing, getting ready to leap up towards me.
It was ironic, really. Despite the nature of my relationship with her, here I was, putting trust in her abilities, after all. I knew I'd die if this didn't work out…but I had faith, anyway.
Lend me your strength, Aphrodite.
A warm feeling wrapped around my shoulders.
You still owe me a date, Percy.
Help me take care of him and we can have as many dates as you want.
Tempting.
Ghostly fingers formed around my hands, forcing them in front of me. I called upon the monstrous anger I'd felt before. I felt a major dip in my mana stores as they dipped below half, a hefty chunk of my mana instantly coursing through my body.
"You'll die here tonight!" I vowed, a large, mirror-like screen forming in front of my hands.
— - —
[Skill]: Mirror of Venus
[System Denomination]: Active
[Attribute Group]: WIS
[Level]: 1
[Description]: The mirror is one of the greatest symbols of your wife. Significantly boost the power of any attack going through it, but run the risk of losing control of the attack due to your corrupted version of it.
[Multiplier]: [TIME x MANA x WIS x ORIGINAL ATTACK]!
[Mana Cost]: [1000 MP/S]!
— - —
"Ha!" I roared, my aura of fire pulsing brightly. The screen glowed and cracked as small bits of mana went flying out of my hands. For a moment, a brief fleeting moment, I felt a feeling of warmth flow through my body, as well.
"You'll need more than that, boy!" Carcinus screamed, jumping towards me.
That's when the power kicked in.
All of those small droplets of mana went through the screen, glowing pink, and all of a sudden—
HUMMMMMMMM!
Tremendous plumes of pinkish fire went shooting out of my mirror, melting and churning together into a singular column of flame that was easily the size of a skyscraper. Towards the end of the stream, I swear I saw the head of a dragon ram into the metal freak with the intensity of a semi-truck.
Carcinus screamed, raising his claws as he went shooting towards me, the fire powering against his metallic body.
SKREEEEEEEEE!
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, as I strained against Carcinus. The stubborn bastard was holding on, despite the constant tick of 10,000 DMG my attack was doing. The mirror was bucking, holding on for dear life. The fire kept gushing out, long after I stopped shoving mana into it.
SHUNK!
That damn crab! He somehow made it all the way through, trying to grab my body with his claws. I screamed, pushing fire out of my body, blasting me away from the claw. Unfortunately, his second claw socked me in the face, and I went crashing through the walls, my body easily flying through the palace and falling down on the sand outside.
I'd slammed through the palace with so much force that half of the support beams had fully capsized, and the palace had begun to creak and groan.
Plan...failed…successfully?