Mirror Mirror

Chapter 1

✲꘏ ꘏ ___________________________________________________________________ ꘏ ꘏✲

As the sun began its descent on the horizon, casting a warm golden glow across the land, Finral found himself standing at a vantage point overlooking a vast expanse. In his hands, he held a weathered map, its surface marked with countless X's representing the locations he had visited.

With a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, Finral traced his finger along the final X, relishing the moment of completion. He turned to his 'companion' who stood on his broom.

 "Gauche, can you believe it? We've finally completed all seven dungeons on Yami's list!"

The man in question continued to gaze into the falling sun but responds anyway "Hmph, about time. I'm tired of crawling through these dark and dank places."

Yami's orders were clear: Finral and Gauche were tasked with conquering seven recently discovered dungeons scattered across the kingdom. He gave them a map that marked each location.

A flashback from 7 hours ago:

Yami, the captain of the Black Bulls, calls out to Gauche, who is lounging on the couch, clearly not thrilled about being interrupted.

"Oi, Gauche, come here."

Gauche grumbles, frustration was evident as he lounged on the couch, relishing a moment of peace in the Black Bulls hideout. Being interrupted by Yami, the gruff captain, only added to his irritation. Reluctantly standing up, Gauche presented himself before Yami, his irritation palpable in his tone.

GAUCHE(irritated)"What?"

Yami pulls out a piece of parchment and tossed it his way, Gauche caught it with precision and let out a sigh, already anticipating the nature of the mission. He inspects the map, noticing unfamiliar locations circled in red.

GAUCHE(sighing) "Let me guess. Dungeon clearing?"

Yami smirks, acknowledging his quick deduction. Gauche continued to study the map while he waited for his captains response, his mind already calculating the most efficient path to tackle the dungeons.

YAMI(chuckling) "Fast as usual. It's a new mission from the capital. You're the perfect candidate since you finish your missions quickly."

Momentarily disrupted when Yami mentioned...  well 'implied' a tight deadline, Gauche looked up to meet Yami's gaze, and his expression shifted to one of wariness. He needed to know if there was any leeway in this apparent time crunch. 

GAUCHE(raising a brow) "Do I have a deadline?"

Yami exhales smoke from his pipe, his stare unwavering.

"Tonight."

Gauche clenches the paper in his grip, shooting Yami a piercing glare. He knew that clearing all the dungeons within a single night was an impossible task. Furthermore, he had scheduled to meet his sister, his most precious person, the following day.

"That's impossible! It will take at least 2 days! Besides, I'm scheduled to meet my precious sister tomorrow!"

Yami ponders for a moment, tapping his fingers against his chin. "Alright uh... lets see... Hm..."

The Black Bulls Captain catches a figure racing out the door at the corner of his eye. It almost looked like they overheard their conversation and attempted an escape.

"oi, Finral!

The spatial mage  flinches at the sound of his name, standing near the main entrance. He nervously prepares himself to respond.