My Soul card is a Reaper-Chapter 1008: Dreams of the Past: Marduk’s Dungeon (Part-3)

After defeating the Magma Tortoise with their excellent teamwork, the siblings walked through another dark tunnel that opened up after its disappearance.

"So, now, will you tell, bro?" Eon couldn't help but ask him, on the way. She was indeed curious how her brother managed to deduce that it would be a monster with high defense earlier.

Rael explained. "First, a demon with an all-around ability was sent, whose strength and speed almost equally matched with us. Then, we faced a wolf, something that had extremely high attack power and higher speed than us but very low in defense and also almost no magic powers. That made me think, what if we were to come alone?"

"Alone?" Eon was confused.

Rael nodded. "Yes. See… if anyone could enter this dungeon, others should have entered with us, but they didn't, and only the two of us were stuck here. That means either it is a dungeon for two, or we are just special because of our shared Arcana spirit. Then, it made me wonder what if it was supposed to be a dungeon for a solo. Would it be that easy to defeat the demon or the wolf?"

"Hmm… well…" Eon thought for a bit and said. "Not easy, but we are just children. If there were adults, I'm sure they would have dealt with them."

"If they could have, they would have already by now…" Rael shrugged. He continued. "The fact that the dungeon is still standing here despite the fact that the place was probably explored by thousands of Arcana Masters only meant that no one was successful. Then comes the next strange thing. After defeating each monster, we kept reaching our peak state again, and no monster dropped any spirit core. It made me wonder whether this was all some kind of test. And if that were the case, then the monsters one will face probably would probably be matched for their strength. That could be how no adult probably cleared this dungeon. That is why I stopped you from taking out our life-saving treasures, as I feared it would raise our opponents' strength.

And you already know this from the books I read back then and shared with you. Dungeons are basically two types. One is a trapped dungeon, where dangerous beasts that could bypass the barrier in the real world would be imprisoned here. Second, is an inheritance-type dungeon, in which demigods would create their last will to look for their successor. Judging by events so far, this should be an inheritance-type dungeon."

"What if this dungeon was created recently and we were wrong?" Eon wondered aloud.

Rael replied. "Yeah, it could be. But I'm just assuming that someone is testing us. In that case, it would make perfect sense if a high-defense monster was sent after an offensive-type monster like that giant demonic wolf. But, if we were wrong, well, we still can't do anything. Our communication scrolls aren't working and we can't contact Father to help us. We can only reliant on ourselves to escape this place somehow."

"So, what will we face next then?" Eon asked.

Rael answered. "If my theory is right, we were tested in attack, defense, speed. Only two types of monsters are left. One, either a monster with high magic attack power. Or a monster that has illusion abilities."

Eon thought for a bit and said. "If it is the latter, it would be easier. Your ocular abilities would be helpful. If it is the former, it would become complicated."

"Yeah, I agree…" Rael nodded.

While discussing various strategies and attack combinations for every possible scenario, the siblings made their way to the end of the tunnel, reaching what seemed like a graveyard.

"It's going to be undead, Eon. There will be more monsters, Careful." Rael shouted, summoning his death scythe. Eon followed the suit, summoning her hourglass. They cautiously passed through the graveyard to look for a sizable empty space.

Right after then, a dark portal appeared in front of them. Rael and Eon were ready to attack.

But, surprisingly, two figures stepped out of it. They neither looked like monsters nor even remotely demonic. They were identical copies of themselves.

Rael's eyes widened in disbelief. Before him stood a figure with his exact features, dressed in black armor, his scythe gleaming in the shadows. Eon, too, was confronted by a clone of herself—a mirror image, her aura radiating with terrifying intensity. The hourglass hovering around her figure.

"I was wrong," Rael muttered, his breath shaky but determined. "This time, we have to defeat ourselves."

Eon clenched her fists, her voice low and serious. "We won't fail. Not now."

The battle began.

The eerie silence of the graveyard was soon filled with the sounds of blades for the next few minutes, as Rael and Eon fought their clones. Eon and her clone engaged in barehanded physical combat and Rael and his clone engaged in a blade fight.

All of their moves were perfectly matched, but the clones, with their inexhaustible energy, fought in their peak state while the siblings started feeling the tiredness.

With a faster swing to Rael's scythe, the clone pushed away the original while the clone-Eon managed to kick Eon's chest at the same time.

Both of them crashed into a gravestone and smeared with the dust.

They rose to their feet again and stood back-to-back, eyes locked onto their opponents—mirror images of themselves, only faster, and stronger.

Rael tightened his grip on the Death Scythe, the air around him thick with the scent of decay. "Tch. This is annoying. I thought fighting myself would be easier."

Eon exhaled sharply, flipping his Hourglass in his palm. "You never think ahead, Rael. They're perfect copies. We—"

A blur of black and silver slashed toward them. The clone-Rael swung his scythe, a crescent of death energy ripping through the ground.

"MOVE!" Eon shouted.

The original Rael barely dodged, feeling the scorching heat of the attack as it carved through the battlefield, leaving a deep, lifeless trench. At the same time, clone-Eon flicked his Hourglass—Time Reduction activated. The world slowed to a crawl for him alone.

The two clones then moved in unison, a perfectly choreographed attack in near slow motion. Clone-Rael lunged, his scythe humming with power. Clone-Eon followed, her fingers already manipulating the time.

Rael gritted his teeth. "Not happening!"

"Soul skill: Cursed Land"

The ground trembled. Dark hands erupted from below, clawing at the clones, trying to drag them down into a pit of death.

"Haha, yes. Good job, bro," Eon exclaimed in joy. She was about to flip the hourglass to unleash Time Stop, freezing their movements.

For a brief moment, the originals indeed had the advantage.

But before Eon unleashed her skill, her clone reacted, unleashing the soul skill faster than her.

"Soul skill: Rewind."

The battlefield reversed as time rewinded to a moment ago.

The hands that had just pulled them under vanished as if the attack had never happened. The clones stood unharmed and Clone-Rael was lunging at them, intending to slash them down.

Rael gritted his teeth. "Not happening!"

He raised the scythe to unleash the soul skill, but this time, Eon grabbed him. Unlike Rael, who wasn't aware that the time was rewind back, Eon seemed perfectly aware.

"Uhh… what?" Rael was taken aback as Eon grabbed his shirt and leaped to the back, evading the clone Rael's attack.

Eon then flicked her wrist, twisting the hourglass to unleash the soul skill. However, Clone-Eon lifted her Hourglass again, beating her to it. A pulse of energy rippled outward.

"Soul skill: Time Stop."

Rael and Eon froze mid-action.

Eon wasn't immune to her clone's time manipulation. However, they could see what was happening in the frozen time.

Eon cursed inwardly in frustration. "Damn it."

"Eon…" Rael's telepathic call reached her. "Brace for the impact and trap them in the time loop."

"Alright." Eon replied.

Their thoughts raced, their bodies immobile as the clones moved freely. Clone-Rael grinned—a cruel, empty expression. He raised his scythe and swung it down.

The time was unfrozen once again.

"Argh…"

Pain bloomed across Rael's chest as the scythe cut deep, black energy crackling through his veins. He staggered, coughing blood.

"Rael!"

Eon barely had time to react before her clone appeared in front of him.

"Soul skill: Time Loop."

The world around Eon twisted. She found herself going back in time when the fight started. Again. Again. And again. Every action she took led her back to the beginning, her body growing weaker each time, trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

Meanwhile, Rael, barely standing, swung wildly at his clone, pushing it away and casting a sidelong glance at his sister. "She seemed paralyzed. It's the Time Loop. I need to save her." Rael's face darkened and his eyes went pitch black as he locked them onto his clone.

Rael's clone charged forward. Surprisingly, Eon's clone just stood there like a statue, staring at her paralyzed counterpart.

Concentrating on the clone, Rael mumbled, "Claws of Death." A dark portal opened behind the clone and the humanoid hands with unusually large, sharp nails exited the portal.

But just as they were about to pierce through the clone's back, they were frozen on the spot while the clone's eyes turned pitch-black instead.

"Ack…"

Rael felt as if something pierced his back. A sharp pain fell through his entire body, especially his heart, it felt like someone crushed it with pure force. "It's the Ghost Lich." Rael mumbled as he collapsed to the ground. His body hit the ground hard. His vision blurred, his grip on his weapon slipping. Beside him, Eon collapsed, still trapped in his mental prison, unable to break free.