Sometimes, silence could mock people.
Like now. The man standing across from He Shenyan had been chattering for half an hour. He was unremarkable-looking, with a full beard, hair cropped as short as possible, and an inscrutable smile at the corners of his mouth. They stood in a black room lined with mirrors, reflecting both their figures. The man had politely introduced himself at the start, calling himself Gaunter O'Dimm, a traveling merchant who provided people with what they needed most.
Yet He Shenyan had paid him no attention. He simply stood there expressionlessly, quietly watching Gaunter O'Dimm talk without pause. And Gaunter O'Dimm seemed not to care about He Shenyan's silence. He went on and on, speaking of wealth, status, power, and knowledge, even beginning to discuss humanity's eternal enemy—death.
"As long as you are willing, sir, I can help you escape death."
Gaunter O'Dimm smiled mysteriously.
"I don't need your help," He Shenyan said.
"Then... what about the coordinates of your hometown?" The next words from his mouth made the Black-Robed Mage narrow his eyes. He Shenyan smiled as well, the two facing one another in the mirrors. "You won't want to say what comes next. Trust me."
"But even if I do say it, there is nothing you can do to me, Mr. He." Gaunter O'Dimm never lost his courtesy, and his smile remained in place.
"I disagree."
He Shenyan spoke calmly.
"We have met before. I trust you have not forgotten."
"Really?"
"Leland Gaunt."
"Ah, you guessed correctly!" Gaunter O'Dimm clapped delightedly. His figure began to stretch, gradually becoming another person in the mirrors: a tall man in a suit with deep blue eyes—so tall at first glance that he seemed unnaturally so.
He spoke in an entirely different voice. The only thing he had in common with Gaunter O'Dimm was that both were impeccably polite. "It has been a long time, sir."
A mocking smile appeared on He Shenyan's lips. "It seems your failure in Castle Rock did not make you face reality, Leland Gaunt. Traveling between different worlds to carry out your calling, toying with these mortals... I assume you must be very proud of it."
Leland Gaunt dipped slightly, offering an elegant bow. "Yes, sir. I am very proud of it."
He straightened and pulled open his suit pocket. Countless screams poured from within, accompanied by scattered flames and the smell of sulfur. He Shenyan glanced at the pocket, undisguised hatred on his face. "Looks like you still didn't let them go."
"Of course, sir." Leland Gaunt bared a smile. His teeth were sharp and yellowed, opening and closing as he spoke, his lips and teeth clacking together while red sparks fell to the floor. "Mr. Allen and Ms. Polly thought that with the help of a young Mage, they could drive out the demon and save their little town from its claws. And they did succeed—just for that moment."
"I suppose you did not know this, sir. They made a deal with me, so naturally their souls belonged to me."
When he said "belonged to me," his face became horrifying in the mirrors. 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 almost a roar. "Every soul in that town is mine! Mine! Do you understand?! You damned Mage! They made a deal with me, so their souls became mine!"
"There may be no clause concerning the trade of souls in Castle Rock's laws, but Kamar-Taj's rules state it quite clearly, Leland Gaunt." He Shenyan spoke softly. "Demons should be driven from the mortal world."
"Ancient One is dead," Leland Gaunt replied coldly.
"Yes." He Shenyan suddenly began to laugh, his smile so dazzling that Leland Gaunt found it absurd. "What are you laughing at?"
"I imagine that when Ancient One drove you out of our world back then, you must have looked utterly ridiculous. Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh."
"It seems you still have not understood the situation." Leland Gaunt grinned, his teeth protruding as he extended his right hand. A mirror appeared. Within it lay a white-haired Witcher, swinging his blade in the darkness against imagined Monsters.
"This time, Ancient One will not interfere with our wager again. And you—sir, you must play by my rules!" He transformed back into that courteous appearance, as though his previous Anger had never existed.
"Stop putting on that polite act, you twisted, lowly thing. Even the worms in Hell look more pleasing than you do." He Shenyan did not care about his threat in the slightest. He sneered and cursed aloud, making Leland Gaunt's expression difficult to maintain. The corner of his eye twitched. "All right, all right. It seems some people simply refuse to give up until they see the coffin."
As he spoke, he prepared to clench the mirror and give the Witcher a little amusement.
But he discovered that no matter what he did, he could not close his hand into a fist.
"Isn't that strange?"
"It has been around ten years since you were driven out and last returned, Leland Gaunt. For a demon like you, capable of traveling between worlds, ten years is nothing. But for a human like me, a great many things can happen in ten years."
"Enough, even, for me to become as strong as Ancient One." Pure white light ignited in He Shenyan's eyes. For an instant, they seemed like two tiny stars in the midst of exploding.
"That is impossible!" Leland Gaunt began to scream. He could accept failure, but he could not accept being defeated by someone he regarded as an insect—and twice at that, even if the first time he had been defeated by a scheme.
This time, he had sensed the Mage's arrival and intended to reclaim his dignity, never expecting that he had already...
Leland Gaunt regretted it so deeply his intestines would have turned green, if he had any.
"Try saying something else. Why do all of you always say that this is impossible?" He Shenyan mocked. He struck out with his palm, using the purest Kamar-Taj Combat Style in Ancient One's manner, landing it squarely on Leland Gaunt's face. His face melted and warped, deforming beneath that white-glowing fist like putty.
Leland Gaunt's response was to fall to the floor. He stared blankly at He Shenyan as though he had not processed what had happened. He Shenyan understood the reaction. Demons were like that. It had been too long since they had tasted defeat, so they had forgotten how to react when they lost.
"Now have a taste of this. Ancient One threw this punch for me back then. Now I want to see for myself what it feels like."
With an exhilarated smile, He Shenyan began savagely beating the demon obsessed with mortal souls.
As for Gaunter O'Dimm, also known as the Master of Mirrors, theories about his true identity had existed for a long time. Some people guessed from the initials of his name, G.O.D., that he was a deity, while others said he was a demon from beyond this realm. But according to CD Projekt Red's lead writer, his image was based on the classic character Leland Gaunt from Stephen King's novel Needful Things. For convenience's sake, I will simply establish that the two are the same person—or demon.
It is worth mentioning that if you have watched Rick and Morty, I recall that one episode also featured a demon merchant who sold people what they needed. That was clearly a reference to Leland Gaunt.
Also, I strongly recommend all of Stephen King's novels. To me, he is practically a god.
Needful Things needs no further introduction. It is unquestionably a classic.
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