Chapter 139: A Stranger in the Mirror

Rhovan made him stand in the middle of the room while the others gathered nearby and watched. At first, nothing happened. Then, the appearance around Dario’s face slowly changed. His hair became darker, his jaw seemed wider, and there were enough small differences around his eyes and nose that Marek had to admit it was quite effective.

Dario immediately started touching his face. "It still feels the same, and somehow, it feels weird."

"Because it is still the same," Rhovan said. "You will still feel like yourself, but outwardly, when people see you, it’s like how we see you right now—like seeing a new person entirely."

Dario touched his nose again, still wondering how such a thing in this world could exist.

Kellan went next.

His hair became shorter and darker, while the features around his eyes changed enough to make him look slightly more serious than before. His eye color was dark blue, unlike Dario’s, which was pitch black.

He actually liked how he looked. Dark hair and dark blue eyes.

Nadia was curious and decided to go next. Her transformation was not as extreme as Dario’s or Kellan’s. Her hair became a little longer, and the details around her face changed just enough that Marek needed a few seconds to adjust whenever he looked away and then looked back. Her hair also turned close to dark green with her silver-like irises.

Eren, Rafe, and Silas followed afterward. Each of them looked different, but not so different that Marek felt like he was suddenly traveling with six strangers.

Rhovan eventually used the Wrought on himself.

His light golden hair slowly turned darker until it became dark gold. Marek actually thought that was enough for him because Rhovan’s hair had always been one of the easiest things to notice about him.

Then, his eyes changed. They turned neon blue.

Everyone became quiet for a moment.

Nadia looked at him. "Why?"

Rhovan touched his hair while looking at himself through a small mirror that materialized in his palms out of nowhere. "Why what?"

"Your eyes."

"What about them? I understand that you don’t like it and gold was still the best one, but bear with it. It’s still good enough. Look, I look good, right?"

Nadia looked at him, speechless. She then argued, "Aren’t we supposed to look less noticeable?"

Rhovan smiled. "Recognizable and noticeable are completely different things."

Marek immediately knew arguing would go nowhere, so he left them alone.

Rhovan apparently liked the way he looked, which was probably the most predictable part of his transformation.

Then, it was Marek’s turn.

Unlike the others, he had already prepared a completely different set of clothes beforehand. Rhovan explained earlier that the Wrought could not magically create clothing, and Marek didn’t want to continue dressing exactly the same way he did on Earth anyway.

He wore a white button-down shirt with the sleeves pulled up along his forearms, while a cream cable-knit vest covered the upper portion of it. His trousers were brown and slightly loose, followed by a leather belt and a striped tie. There was also a watch Rhovan somehow found for him.

Marek did not ask where it came from, as long as he had it—because it would complete the look he wanted.

There were also the dark cadet cap and eyeglasses on the table. He intended to also wear them when he completed his transfomation.

"Ready, Ophiarch?" Rhovan asked.

"Why the need to ask? Do I have another choice?" Marek asked.

Rhovan then thought about it and said, "Actually, you have two choices right."

Marek waited and quickly understood what he meant.

Rhovan smiled. "But you’re still going to choose this one."

"...Just do it. Enough talk."

The Unregarded Sun activated as Rhovan touched the black sun of the Wrought.

There was no pain. Marek only felt something cold passing over his skin, followed by a strange sensation around his head that disappeared almost immediately.

His hair changed first.

The color slowly became dark red while the lower strands and tips faded into silver. It remained somewhat long, but the shape changed enough that it fell differently around his face, giving him an appearance that was very far from what he normally looked like.

His facial features changed afterward.

Marek watched everything through the mirror. Nothing actually moved beneath his skin, at least nothing he could feel, but what he saw slowly became different from what he remembered.

He touched his face. Everything felt exactly where they should be, including his own physical features. ’It’s indeed strange like how Dario and the others felt it when they had their turn.’

His eyes also turned from neon blue to amber.

Marek put on the glasses afterward before placing the dark cap over his hair. He adjusted it slightly and stared at himself again in front of a large mirror that he asked from Rhovan to materialize. Apparently, this guy has many different mirrors he could use.

He didn’t know how long he spent looking.

It was still him.

At the same time, it also wasn’t the face he had been staring at for nineteen years.

Marek could probably recognize himself if he knew what to look for, but he doubted someone who only knew him casually would immediately make the connection.

Kellan suddenly appeared behind him and looked at his reflection. "Damn."

Marek looked at him through the mirror. "What?"

"You look rich."

"..."

Nadia joined them and stared at Marek as well. "He’s right."

"What does looking rich even mean?"

"I don’t know. You just look like someone who grew up complaining when tea isn’t hot enough," Nadia remarked.

Marek turned around and argued, "I’ve never complained about tea in my life."

Kellan began laughing.

Marek ignored him.

Rhovan seemed far more satisfied with the appearance than Marek himself. He walked around him once as though inspecting his own work before nodding several times.

Before leaving the institute, Rhovan explained one last thing they needed to understand.

Routes.

Marek had already heard the word enough times that he had a general idea, especially after everything involving Celeste and Rafe, but apparently, the way Earth used the word route was far too simple compared to how the Prime Continuum used it.

Rhovan explained that Routes were connections between places, although they didn’t necessarily have to resemble ordinary roads. Some were open to everyone, while others were controlled by the Houses or required certain conditions before anyone could use them. More importantly, a person couldn’t simply choose any destination and expect a Route to take them there.

"So we can’t just use one to go wherever we want?" Marek asked.

"Of course not, Ophiarch. Otherwise, everyone would be traveling wherever they pleased, and the Houses would have a rather difficult time controlling their territories."

Marek thought about it for a while. Apparently, traveling throughout the Prime Continuum wasn’t going to be as convenient as he had initially imagined.

Rhovan continued before he could.

The Ivory Roads that appeared above Earth were Routes, but Routes did not need to look like physical roads. Some could carry people. Others carried information. Some only existed between specific structures or locations, while there were Routes that depended on Authority, permission, or conditions before someone could use them.

That immediately reminded Marek of Celeste.

The way she used the word had always bothered him because sometimes she seemed to be talking about an actual path, while other times she spoke about information moving through systems.

Now, at least, he understood why.

"So anything connected can become a Route?" Marek asked.

"Not anything."

"Why not?"

"Because thinking two things are connected doesn’t automatically make the connection valid."

Marek nodded slowly. "That’s a fair point."

There were also controlled Routes, abandoned Routes, broken Routes, and Routes that technically still existed even though nobody could use them anymore. Rhovan started explaining more, but Marek stopped him once he realized the lesson was becoming longer than necessary.

Rhovan continued explaining a few more things about Routes, although Marek eventually decided that he’d understand them better once he actually experienced one himself. Besides, they were already running out of things to prepare, and he wasn’t particularly interested in delaying their departure just to learn something he could ask about later.

Once everyone had finished packing, they finally left the institute and headed toward the Road that would take them to the House of Libra.

Marek had honestly no idea what awaited them on the other side, but he was finally going to travel beyond Earth and see the wider Prime Continuum for himself.

When they eventually reached the Road they intended to use, Marek stared at it for a long time.

He had already seen the Ivory Roads hanging across Earth’s sky before, but standing close enough to actually enter one made it feel completely different. The surface seemed almost physical, yet something about looking farther along it made Marek’s sense of distance feel wrong.

Rhovan stepped ahead first.

The others followed.

Marek stopped for a moment before entering the Road. He had already made up his mind about leaving Earth, although he still had no idea how long it would take for him to be able to return. The House of Libra was his only lead concerning his father, and even that didn’t guarantee he’d find anything useful once he got there. Still, he had spent enough time wondering where to begin.

Marek adjusted his cap before finally stepping onto the Road.