16. Gaunter O'Dimm and Leland Gaunt

Sometimes, silence can be a mockery.

Just like now, the man opposite He Shenyan had been chattering away for half an hour. He was unremarkable, sporting a stubbly beard and hair cut as short as could be, with a mysterious smile playing on his lips. They stood in a pitch-black room filled with mirrors that reflected both their figures. The man had introduced himself politely at the very beginning, claiming to be Gaunter O'Dimm, a traveling merchant who provided people with exactly what they needed most.

However, He Shenyan paid him no mind. He simply stood there expressionless, watching Gaunter O'Dimm hold court. Gaunter O'Dimm seemed unbothered by He Shenyan's silence, continuing to ramble on, touching upon wealth, status, power, knowledge, and even beginning to discuss humanity's eternal enemy—death.

"As long as you are willing, Excellency, I can help you escape death."

Gaunter O'Dimm smiled enigmatically.

"I don't need your help," He Shenyan said.

"Then, what about the coordinates of your hometown?" The next sentence out of his mouth made the black-robed mage narrow his eyes. He Shenyan began to laugh, and the two stood opposed within the mirrors. "You wouldn't want to say the next sentence, believe me."

"But even if I did say it, there is nothing you could do to me, Mr. He." Gaunter O'Dimm never lost his courtesy, maintaining his smile.

"I hold the opposite opinion."

He Shenyan said calmly.

"We have met before; I trust you haven't forgotten."

"Really?"

"Leland Gaunt."

"Ah, you guessed it!" Gaunter O'Dimm clapped his hands happily. His figure began to stretch, gradually transforming in the mirrors into another person—a tall man in a suit with deep blue eyes—who, at first glance, seemed impossibly tall.

He spoke in a completely different voice, the only similarity to Gaunter O'Dimm being that both were unfailingly polite: "Long time no see, Excellency."

A mocking smile curled on He Shenyan's lips: "It seems the failure in Castle Rock didn't make you see reality, Leland Gaunt. Exercising your vocation between different worlds, playing with these mortals—you must be very proud of yourself."

Leland Gaunt bowed slightly, performing an elegant salute: "Yes, Excellency. I am very proud of it."

He straightened up and pulled open his suit pocket. Countless screams emanated from within, accompanied by sporadic flames and the scent of sulfur. He Shenyan glanced at his pocket, his face filled with undisguised hatred: "It seems you still haven't let them go."

"Of course, Excellency." Leland Gaunt grinned, his teeth sharp and yellowed. As he spoke, his jaws worked, and red sparks fell to the floor. "Mr. Allen and Ms. Polly thought that with the help of a young mage, they could banish a demon and save their town from its clutches. They did succeed—only for that moment."

"I suspect you don't know, Excellency. They made a deal with me; their souls, of course, belong to me."

When he said the words "belong to me," his face in the mirror transformed into something horrific. His pitch-black, scaled visage was filled with undisguised greed and malice, his eyes two points of pure fire. When he spoke again, his voice was nearly a roar: "The souls of everyone in that town are mine! Mine! Do you understand?! You damn mage! They made a deal with me, and their souls are mine!"

"There is no law against 'trading souls' in Castle Rock, but the rules of Kamar-Taj are quite clear, Leland Gaunt," He Shenyan said softly. "Demons should be banished from the mortal realm."

"Ancient One is dead," Leland Gaunt replied coldly.

"Indeed." He Shenyan suddenly laughed. His smile was so brilliant that it struck Leland Gaunt as absurd. "What are you laughing at?"

"I imagine the way you looked when Ancient One kicked you out of our world must have been quite comical. Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh."

"It seems you still haven't grasped the situation." Leland Gaunt bared his teeth, which protruded from his mouth. He extended his right hand, and a mirror manifested. Inside the mirror lay a white-haired witcher, swinging his blade in the darkness against imaginary monsters.

"This time, our wager won't be interrupted by Ancient One, and you—Excellency—you must play by my rules!" He reverted to his polite persona, as if the previous rage had never existed.

"Stop putting on that polite act, you twisted, base thing. The worms in hell look more pleasant than you do." He Shenyan ignored his threat entirely, sneering at him, which caused the expression on Leland Gaunt's face to falter. His eyelid twitched as he said, "Fine, fine. It seems some people just won't shed tears until they see their own coffin."

As he spoke, he prepared to clench the mirror to give the witcher some trouble.

But he found that, no matter what, he could not make a fist.

"Is it strange?"

"You haven't returned for nearly ten years since you were banished, Leland Gaunt. For a demon like you who can traverse worlds, ten years is nothing. But for a human like me, ten years is enough for many things to happen."

"Enough to make me as strong as Ancient One." Pure white light ignited in He Shenyan's eyes; for a fleeting moment, they looked like two tiny, exploding stars.

"That's impossible!" Leland Gaunt began to shriek. He could accept defeat, but he could not accept being beaten by someone he viewed as an insect—and twice, at that, even if the first time was by trickery.

This time, he had sensed the mage's arrival and intended to settle the score, never expecting that he had already...

Leland Gaunt regretted it so much his guts would have turned green, if he had any.

"Say something else; why do you all always say 'that's impossible'?" He Shenyan mocked. He struck out with a palm, executing pure, quintessential Kamar-Taj combat arts in the style of Ancient One, landing it squarely on Leland Gaunt's face. The demon's face melted and warped, deforming like modeling clay under the white-glowing fist.

Leland Gaunt's reaction was to collapse to the ground, staring blankly at He Shenyan as if he couldn't process what had happened. He Shenyan understood this reaction; demons were like this—they hadn't tasted defeat in so long that they had forgotten how to react when it finally arrived.

"Now, taste this. Ancient One helped me land this punch back then; now, I want to see how it feels to do it myself."

With a joyous laugh, He Shenyan began to relentlessly pummel the demon who was so obsessed with mortal souls.

Actually, the theories regarding Gaunter O'Dimm—the true form of the Master of Mirrors—have existed for a long time. Some speculate he is a god based on the initials G.O.D, while others say he is an extra-dimensional demon. However, according to the lead writer at CD Projekt Red, his image is derived from the classic character Leland Gaunt in Stephen King's novel Needful Things. For convenience, I have simply set them as the same person (demon).

It is worth mentioning that if you have watched Rick and Morty, I recall an episode featuring a demon merchant who sells people what they need; that is clearly a reference to Leland Gaunt.

Additionally, I highly recommend all of Stephen King's novels; in my heart, he is simply a god.

Needful Things goes without saying—it is an undisputed classic.

Small talk over. Five chapters tomorrow, and please vote.