Max looked at the drow trapped within the roots and moss of Dorian’s spiders.

Green plants covered her arms, legs, and part of her torso, holding her immobilized against the floor.

"Dorian, keep hold of her in case she tries anything strange."

Thara glared at them with obvious irritation.

Max crouched beside her and grabbed the roots that still covered her mouth.

"This is going to hurt a little."

He pulled.

"Mgh!"

The drow turned her head and spat onto the floor.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"Giving you a chance to explain a lot of things."

"I don’t owe you any explanations."

Dorian crossed his arms.

"Now isn’t the time to complain."

The elf gestured around them.

"We’re trapped in a Mirror Dimension full of monsters, giant cavemen, and murderous androids. I think we’re well past the stage of formalities."

Max nodded.

"What are you doing in here?"

"And more importantly," Dorian added, "how did you get here?"

Thara stared at them in silence.

"That’s none of your concern."

Max sighed.

"Of course."

He stood up. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Then you can stay here."

The drow frowned.

"What?"

"Tied up."

Max pointed down the corridor.

"Surrounded by monsters."

Dorian immediately nodded.

"Sounds reasonable to me."

"You’re going to abandon me?"

"If you don’t cooperate, yes."

Thara clenched her teeth.

Max added:

"And if things get worse, we can always leave you alone with Dorian."

Dorian looked offended.

"Hey."

Then he thought for a few seconds.

"That wouldn’t be so bad."

"Dorian!"

"What? I’m being honest."

Thara let out a sigh.

"Fine."

Max raised an eyebrow.

"Fine what?"

"I’ll answer your questions."

Dorian smiled.

"Excellent."

"But first..."

Thara’s expression changed.

"We need to find Vesper."

Max exchanged a glance with Dorian.

Then he pulled the broken round glasses from his pocket.

Thara’s eyes widened slightly.

"Vesper’s glasses."

"We found them in the corridor."

Max put the glasses away again.

"We were chasing her."

"We thought she was responsible for all of this."

"But when the spiders caught someone..."

Dorian pointed at Thara herself.

"We found you."

The drow seemed genuinely concerned.

"Then she’s still here."

"Looks like it."

Finally, Thara spoke.

"Maybe I should tell you the truth."

Max and Dorian immediately paid attention.

"About why I accepted this job."

Max blinked.

Thara looked away for a few seconds.

"I came from very far away. I left my home. And I agreed to travel to the castle with almost no questions asked."

Dorian tilted his head.

The drow took a deep breath.

"My sister Vesper changed completely a long time ago."

Max listened carefully.

"Changed how?"

"She used to be a solitary person. Cold. Distant."

Max smiled.

"Sounds like you’re describing yourself."

Dorian laughed.

"I was thinking exactly the same thing."

Thara completely ignored them.

"When we were children, there was an accident."

The smile vanished from Max’s face.

"Vesper fell into a ravine."

Both men fell silent.

"We searched for her for days. My family was convinced she had died."

Dorian frowned.

"But she survived."

"Yes."

Thara’s voice sounded strange.

As if she were remembering something she disliked.

"She survived. But she disappeared for a very long time. When we finally found her..."

The drow paused.

"She wasn’t the same."

Max felt a chill run down his spine.

"What do you mean?"

"She woke up months later. And she started speaking in a language nobody understood."

Dorian’s eyes widened.

"An unknown language?"

Thara nodded.

"No one could communicate with her. Not my parents. Not the healers. Not the mages. Not even me."

Max felt his heart begin to race.

He already had a suspicion.

A very specific one.

"And then?"

"She spent years learning our language again. As if she were a foreigner. As if she had never spoken it before."

Dorian and Max exchanged a glance.

"That’s strange."

Thara continued.

"Eventually she learned to communicate again. But her personality was completely different. Friendlier. More open."

Max thought for a few moments.

Then he made a decision.

He looked at the drow.

And spoke in English.

"This is only an example of my language."

Thara froze.

Her eyes widened.

"That’s the language!"

Max felt a knot form in his stomach.

"That’s how your sister spoke?"

The drow nodded slowly.

"Yes. Exactly like that."

Dorian looked back and forth between them.

"What just happened?"

Max didn’t even hear him. His mind was racing.

"I think I heard you speaking it before, too."

Thara pointed at Max.

"With the king’s human pet."

"Chloe."

"The few times you spoke in private."

Max felt all the pieces beginning to fit together.

Or at least some of them.

"So..."

The drow looked at him.

"What?"

Max took a deep breath.

"That woman isn’t Vesper."

Dorian looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean she isn’t Vesper?"

"Because that sounds very similar to what happened to me."

The elf took a few seconds to understand.

"Wait. Are you saying that...?"

Max nodded.

"I’m saying that someone from another world might have ended up in Vesper’s body."

Even Thara looked surprised.

Dorian was the first to speak.

"That’s insane."

"I know."

"And yet it makes sense."

Max remembered his own arrival in Eldoria.

He remembered not understanding where he was.

And he remembered how long it had taken Chloe to adapt.

But then Thara spoke again.

"There’s more."

Both men looked at her.

"Once, many years after the accident, my sister confessed something to me."

The drow’s expression became serious.

"She said she didn’t feel like a woman."

Max listened carefully.

"What else?"

"She said she felt like a man."

Dorian blinked.

Thara continued.

"She told me her name was Will."

Max’s heart skipped a beat.

"Will?"

"Yes."

The drow lowered her gaze.

"And she also said she constantly dreamed about traveling to another world. She became obsessed with it."

Max thought silently.

Too many coincidences.

It was exactly the kind of story he would expect from someone who had transmigrated from his world.

Max looked at the drow trapped among the roots.

He still didn’t trust her.

But he felt that maybe she was telling the truth.

Dorian broke the silence.

"Well."

Both of them looked at him.

"Now I’m more confused than I was five minutes ago."

Max let out a tired laugh.

"Me too."

Thara closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"Then believe me when I tell you something."

"What is it?"

The drow opened her eyes.

And for the first time, there was no arrogance in them.

Only concern.

"If Vesper is in here. And if you really found her glasses..."

Her voice grew tense.

"Then we need to find her quickly."