The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail

Throughout his quest to discover the philosopher's stone, Link had been through countless perils. He had journeyed to the peaks of distant mountains and far across the seas, facing forces and creatures which only existed in myth and legend. He had actually walked among the hanging gardens of Babylon, and he'd had the incredible opportunity to explore the ancient city of Atlantis buried deep beneath the waves, but nothing he had seen in his travels had so thoroughly captivated and enchanted him as did the sparkling black surface of the mirror into which he now looked.

He knew that the artefact he required was sealed within, but he could scarcely remember what that artefact was now that he'd seen the box - it almost seemed unimportant now. Seth seethed in the background, either immune to the object's magnetic influence or infuriated by the fact that he was unable to touch it. That was why, of course, it had been chosen as the place of keeping for the sacred Book of Shadows, which contained important information about Link's quest towards spiritual purification and integration. With the Book of Shadows, he could finally begin to understand what drove Seth and consequently he would be able to predict Seth's future strategies for attempting to seize control of the situation at the critical moment. Dimly, Link realized that when he looked at himself in this polished black looking glass, it was as if he were looking into Seth's eyes, not his own.

Unless I can prevail against my shadow-twin, he thought, I shall never forge the stone within my soul, and therefore I will never be able to produce the outward manifestation of the alchemical spirit.

He knew, of course, that his spirit was strong: that was how he had finally found his way to the reading room which contained the mirror, hidden away within an endless maze of bookshelves only accessible by going straight down through a central shaft within the London clocktower Big Ben. His spirits had however fallen somewhat when he saw Seth pacing up and down the oblong room, surmising quickly that while he had wasted his time wandering around for hours within the maze that was the bookworm's wet-dream, Seth had somehow found his way directly to the room in question. Fortunately, Seth's efforts to take the book were immediately frustrated by whatever bindings had been placed on the object, but it was clear that there was something about Seth's spirit which must be much stronger than Link's own, as the library of absent-mindedness had produced little effect on him.

Tearing his eyes away from the hypnotic image of himself-as-Seth, he suddenly felt once more anchored in reality and somehow knew that what he had been feeling had been admiration and envy. Troubled, his eyes landed on an engraving along the bottom of the mirror's frame which read, "Look within and you will see, the rot within is gold in me; Do not deny that we are one, or you will die burnt by the sun". His brow furrowed as he pondered this puzzle, shortly reminding himself that whatever it was that he would have to do, it would be something that Seth by nature could not do, for Link knew that if it were accessible through any avenue to Seth, he would already have acquired it - his determination had proved itself sufficiently by this point.

In an instant it came to him: confession. Once it had occurred to him, it was so obvious; Seth could not admit to his sins because he was the embodiment of them, and to admit that they are wrong would be to admit that his nature is twisted - from his perspective, these qualities were not wrong, but rather a consequence of the way he had been born, so to speak. Plus, the only person who could be trusted to have possession of such a powerful tome would need to be self-aware to an uncommon degree, and confession is the straight and narrow path to self-awareness. Instinctively, he knew that the mirror would require three secrets in order to grant him possession of the book, and he searched his soul in silence for some time. We cannot know how long it was, for there was nothing to mark the time in this room, save for the pacing back and forth of muttering Seth, which Link was of course tuning out.

At last, he sat forward, but he did not speak his secrets, instead glaring now at the image in the mirror. For the first time since he had left his village, he considered returning home, but quickly caught himself - returning to what home? Nonetheless, he felt himself torn between his desire to fulfil his destiny and his reluctance, to put it mildly, to expose himself so completely in front of his sworn enemy, who would no doubt savour the experience like no other. He hesitated for the longest time, but finally he remembered the words of his mentor Philemon one late night in the mountains. “No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.”

The first secret was the easiest, but it still stung to hear Seth's knowing snicker in response, mocking - as if to say *'no kidding chump'*. "My pride blinded my vision and that is why Philemon is now lost to me." Suddenly Link was having second thoughts - what did it mean for his destiny if he admitted to being as bad as his mortal enemy? What, he thought, is to become of me if I do not like the vicious creature that I may see in the mirror when this process is complete? He had always felt that blindness, malevolence and the willingness to be vicious were the qualities which separated him from Seth, but now that distinction was fading from view as he was forced to take stock of his own character. Was he vicious? This question hung in the air, menacing him, but shortly he forced himself to utter, "My wrath compromised my judgement when I pursued the burning man who destroyed my village."

Remembering the moment, he momentarily saw red and felt an overwhelming desire to defend himself and justify his actions, but with a great effort of will he suppressed that compulsive urge. Yet he felt suddenly afraid, because what he had so far had to say was nothing compared to his third confession, the third secret he had to disclose. This was the critical issue, he knew, and he could neither lie nor hide from the sight of God. Yet what if he was not redeemable? He shuddered to think of what his hell might look like; he had a very creative imagination. Suddenly he noticed that Seth was watching him very closely, and this reminded him of the stakes. It reminded him that Seth was waiting to find out whether or not Link had realized that the two of them were quite alike - two of a kind, almost. It reminded him that the biggest difference between the two of them was that Seth would never admit that there was anything wrong with his choices and behaviour, and this brought directly to the foreground of Link's mind how desperately he wanted to dash the cup from Seth's hands and seal his lips to further admissions.

Dreading the sound of his own words in his ears, he wrenched from his lips, "It was my ambition, just as my father said before he burned in the great fire, that brought down that terrible catastrophe on us. It was my ambition, and I denied it. It was my ambition." At this, he heard a sharp intake of breath. Until that moment, Link had always blamed Seth, and just as the book slipped into his fingers Seth's voice was in his ear, "We both know that given what you've just said, you can't be trusted with that brother. You've admitted you're worse than me: at least I'm not doing what I know to be wrong. If you take that book after the admissions you've just made, you'd be a fool to think you can control its powers. Give it to someone who knows what they're like. Give it here."