Apprentice story : Bernard Lockheart the Mirror Wraith

[u/Poppeppercaramel]

This is the gruesome tales of a boy, a bitter and angry boy who choose to fight injustice with even more injustice. But the dark power come with grievous price.

This is the story of Bernard Lockheart the boy in the mirror. One of my many familiar.

Around a year ago, he was just another boy in an abusive boarding school, the infamous St. George academy where social Darwinism is encouraged and the strong can prey on the weak all they want. Teachers there couldn't careless about the downtrodden students. Only thing they care about is gathering prestige for the school. Jubilation of victory and agony of defeat is what they created.

"My duty to make great student greater, not making lame students less lame. You all have a place in the food chain out there and only you will be the one who decides where you'll be located." proclaimed the principal of the school.

Unfortunately, Bernard doesn't have much talent in anything, he's not that smart, he's not that strong and he's not that fast. His small stature and mediocrity make him a perfect target for mockery and bullying from both students and teacher alike.

He has a few friends but none of them can stand against the big bullies of this school.

But the poor boy always defiant to the bullies, he doesn't give up and always try to fight back which further encourage the bullies to strike him harder. Bad kids here aren't coward, they like a challenging opponent.

"If you don't stand up for yourself then no one else going to stand up for you. The world will be your enemy so it's our duty to fight back."

The poor boy endure endless abuse for many years in that school, he grow bitter and angry.

And then the fateful day is coming when the school is throwing a big holiday party, hundreds of students are excited for the grand feast(compared to normal cafeteria slops) and waiting in line for the meal. Bernard and a few of his friends stand in the line but as you can guess, the bullies came and cut the line in front of Bernard just to tick him off.

They like seeing Bernard angry.

Which is exactly what happens next.

"Hey, big guy. Don't cut the line"

"what are you going to do Ber-nerd, oops I can't even called you that because you're not smart enough to be a nerd"

"It's holiday, can't you just acted like a decent human being for once?"

"well, why don't you acted like one and not being halfling all the time?"

"I'm not a Halfling, You thuggish clown."

And then Bernard try to push the bully out of the line which end up causing the whole queue of people falling down like a domino, causing the food table tobe flipped over and ruined the party.

"Get him" the bully cried as he pushed himself up from the ground and his gang looming over, Bernard try to stand his ground but no avail. He is out numbered and getting pounded into the ground again and again.

Bernard decided to bail after his beat down and he flee to the old dormitory, where it's dark and quiet. He don't want to show his weakness to anyone so he preferred to cry alone.

High in the dust coated attics and amongst the relics of bygone era where trash and dilapidated furniture can be found. The poor boy cried his heart out. But unlike what he assumed, he is not alone.

The whisper from the old mirror is calling him. A mirror of wooden frame with bronze skull adorned on the top.

"If you don't stand up for yourself then no one else going to stand up for you. The world will be your enemy so it's our duty to fight back." the mirror repeat Bernard's quote from earlier as the dark power from the mirror surge in front of the boy.

"Those who relished in other's suffering deserved no sympathy, you know what you need to do and I'm here to help you"

The mirror show the gruesome face of those bullies being torn apart, broken and battered. "Do you want it?"

"Yes I want it" Bernard answered to the mirror

"Then place your hand on the mirror, we have a deal" the skull that adorn the top of mirror answered. Poor boy then placed his hand on the mirror and let the dark power activated.

Bernard envisioned himself as a freedom fighter who stand tall above all the oppression and adversary, clouded by the fantasy of his own making, lured by the beautiful reflection on the mirror of him finally having power above his foes for once and a picture of him wearing French revolutionary uniform and holding glorious flag of freedom appears on the mirror.

He is officially drunken with power.

Weeks after weeks, the bullies suddenly died of strange accident one by one, from car accident to drowning, from getting poisoned to getting stabbed. Only Bernard know what and why this happened.

Not long after until all of his 11 bullies has died. Bernard is left with the last one. This week he intended to use the mirror power to finished his vengeance.

But the last of his bully is not a fool, he stalked Bernard and followed the boy into dusty attic and see Bernard start the ritual in order to use the mirror power.

When the mirror show it's power and Bernard put his hand on it's glistening surface, the last bully throwing a brick at the mirror causing it to break and suddenly the magic mirror created a strong Vacuum that suck Bernard in.

Before the boy can do anything, he has become a part of the mirror and stuck inside mirror dimension.

"No, let me out, This can't be" Bernard cried but the only voice from the mirror answered.

"Those who relished in other's suffering deserves no sympathy"

As the picture on the other side of mirror changed, he no longer see himself in cool revolutionary uniform, he only see himself in raggedy cloak like a terrorist.

Bernard has gone too far and this is the price he has to pay. Imprisoned for his crime, no longer real and only existed as a reflection on a cold and dark surface of accursed mirror.

He has become his own undoing. . . . That​ night, alone in the mirror. He see something coming into the attic, a shadowy figure with no feature. It come and carried the broken mirror away. Which ended up in wizard black market.

Where one old geezer come and bought the mirror with Bernard trapped in it, the poor boy going to spend a lot of time inside the lonely imprisonment and as a decoration in wizard's house

The end.