Ojero stared at his mirror image, unsure of how to interpret everything he was seeing.
Clearly, it was meant to be some kind of reflection of himself, but it was wrong in so many areas.
His eyes did not glow, he wore gold and white almost always, he did not wield swords, and he had no idea what the phoenix symbol was supposed to represent.
The figure was like an evil version of himself, a twisted and warped variant.
Someone he could become if he fell to darkness and hatred.
It unnerved him to be looking at his evil clone. Whatever it was, it felt chaotic and broken. It would not surprise him if the being in front of him rapidly changed shape at a moment's notice.
"Most of your kind would see it as odd for you to spend so much admiring your own reflection."
The voice was still his own, but more mocking.
The usual tone of sarcasm and false nobility Ojero would use to tease his brother felt permanent in his twisted replica. A mask that fused into his face.
"I wouldn't call it a perfect mirror…"
The creature tilted its head to the side, the move strange for Ojero to witness.
"It is based on you alone. I had nothing to go off of but who you are. It is antithetical to my nature to try and do otherwise."
'Okay, now this is getting a little too strange.'
It was one thing to see an altered reflection, but the creature claiming that it was a part of him was a little too weird.
He wasn't hiding any kind of evil persona deep inside himself.
Right?
"Are you ready to learn the big secret, Ojero? You will be one of a select few who will know the truth, and it will change much of what you understand."
Although he still had his doubts, there was no turning back now.
"Yes, I am. I want to grow beyond who I am."
The creature smiled at his response.
"The first item of importance is who I am. Although your kind has given me many names, I am what you now refer to as a Ravager."
Ojero's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously took a step back.
He had assumed the creature in front of him was powerful but still wasn't sure of what exactly it was.
His running theory was still that it was an incredibly powerful mage in disguise, using his advanced magic to change his appearance and voice.
For it to turn out to be a Ravager, akin to a God of Beasts, Ojero didn't know what to think.
One of humanity's greatest foes was standing not ten feet away from him, having a casual conversation.
Wearing his face.
This went contrary to everything he had read about the Ravagers.
They were supposed to be intelligent but ultimately ruthless destroyers. Being able to speak was possible, sure, but showing restraint?
Showing mercy, even?
He had to question everything he knew about the creatures.
He also had to acknowledge that they were somehow more terrifying now.
Before, they had been these fearsome beasts ready to kill humans on sight, but they had still been beasts at their core.
Instead, they seemed to be just as intelligent as humans were. Possibly even more so.
At the very least, this one was.
"I see you are trying to comprehend this information right now, but we regrettably do not have much longer together."
Ojero was snapped out of his reverie.
"What? What do you mean we don't have much longer together?"
The Ravager gave him a blank look.
'Oh wait, that would just waste more time…'
"You learn quickly. That is good. To continue, the Beasts as you know them are not actually of this world. They, and I, are not its natives, and were never supposed to be."
That revelation was just as impactful as the first one, and Ojero had to struggle against his curiosity to attack his clone with questions.
This world wasn't supposed to have Beasts? Could a world like that even exist? He might as well have claimed the world was not supposed to have air to breathe!
"This world, thousands of years ago, did not have any mana. It was what the greater planes considered a barren land, and was left to its fate. All of that changed when an event known as the War of the Cosmos began."
For the first time, Ojero saw an emotion other than condescension or humor cross the Ravager's face.
It was anger, with disappointment tainting the emotion.
"You can view it as a civil war amongst the gods, leading to all sorts of consequences. One of those was tearing the dimensional fabric of many independent planes, leading to what are referred to as Gates. These Gates connected these planes, allowing items and people to cross over."
The creature's story was enthralling, and Ojero felt it difficult to look away as he continued.
"One of the things that traveled through these Gates was mana, diffusing from what were formerly higher planes to barren ones like yours. This allowed the system, a common tool on magical planes, to be introduced to your ancestors. However, with mana, came the Beasts. They were attracted to the mana, and poured out of other magical planes to consume the now-magical life that infested this plane."
The clone smiled, showcasing rows of white teeth. Some looked unusually sharp.
"The Beasts grow through consuming mana through flesh, and the people of your world are ripe with it. As more mana is consumed, the more intelligent Beasts can tear more holes in the fabric between planes, allowing more Gates to manifest. More Beasts come through, and the whole cycle repeats."
This information was incredibly useful, and most of it was unheard of!
Humans did know about other planes, and even had access to some of these Gates, but they were seen as the magic of ancient Arch Magos'.
It was how the humans had contact with the elves and dwarves, alongside a handful of other races that had been slowly increasing contact for centuries.
To know that Beasts were also using these Gates, and that there were so many of them, was revolutionary!
'I wonder if a solution to the problem could be closing these Gates to stop the flood?'
"I see you're reaching the same conclusions many of my other chosen have. That is good. You may be behind them in age and experience, but you match their intelligence."
The compliment felt genuine, which was a surprise. Everything else the Ravager had said felt like a cruel trick, and he was unsure how much he could trust.
There was also the fact that, although useful, this information didn't exactly change much.
If anything, it was all good, as with the knowledge he could help fight the Beasts more effectively.
His clone reacted to that thought, chuckling darkly.
"Very astute. It is true, I have yet to tell you the worst part about the entire situation."
The twisted replica paused, savoring Ojero's anticipation.
"Some of your human countries have known this for years, and have hidden the information from the public. In truth, your kind has been traveling the planes for decades already, but they have not revealed any of this."
Ojero leaned forward as if to hear better, and the Ravager licked its lips.
"It is because they have made deals with other Ravagers, and are leading your people to the slaughter."
Ojero recoiled as if the words themselves were weapons, his eyes wide in shock and disbelief.
'What!? That has to be a lie! A trick! It has to be! This is a Ravager, after all! He must enjoy playing with humans!'
The reflection shook its head.
"Oh I too wish it were a trick, but it is regrettably the truth. For over a century now, various nations have allied themselves against humanity as a whole, sacrificing the many to save the few. They will continue to do this until most of humanity has died, satiating the Beasts to the point where no more will travel across the gates to plague this world."
Ojero couldn't believe it. It made no sense! Why would they betray the world like that? Was it to save themselves, or was there more to it? And why would other Ravagers accept humans as allies?
To make matters stranger, why was this Ravager telling him all this? What did he gain out of it? If anything, he seemed to be one of those odd Ravagers, hoping to gain human allegiance for their purposes.
He had mentioned twelve others, after all.
"Why are you telling me this, and why did you tell the others?"
The creature seemed confused at that.
"Is it not obvious? I wish to see the wrongs of the War of the Cosmos corrected. While I can not repair every problem on every plane, I can set objects in motion to reach a positive conclusion on as many as I can reach."
So it was altruism that drove the strange beast? The Ravager just wanted to reset the events caused by the supposed civil war of the gods?
None of this made sense to Ojero, it was all too fantastical.
It questioned too many facts about the world, and a historian who heard any of this would deny it outright.
But why else would a creature like this speak to him, heal him, offer him strength?
The Ravager turned and looked to the side, a frown on his face.
"Ah, that is disappointing. It seems we are out of time, boy."