With a nod and a sigh, you turn back towards the dead king's chambers. The walls are still filled with the resting dead, the king still sits slumped on his throne. You only realize once you've arrived that Hebdekial never told you where the heart was, nor what it actually looked like. You hope it's not actually a fresh, oozing heart, but you think about the hole in the mirror demon's chest, and you know you won't be that fortunate.
You walk past the walls of the dead, wondering if the heart is among them. You're careful not to touch anything, but you look them over as best you can. When that fails, you check the urns along the wall. Some hold rusted coins and strange rocks that might have been valuable once, but now serve only as a distraction. However, to your surprise, most of them are empty.
Finally, you approach the throne; perhaps the heart is hidden with him. As with the corpses in the walls, you're careful not to disturb the corpse of the king, but you circle the throne, hoping that some clue will present itself.
Just as you're about to give up and return to the mirror demon, a sudden glint of green catches your eye. You circle around the throne again, looking for some tell-tale shimmer of light, and your efforts are rewarded. Behind the throne, hidden behind the array of dead flowers and simple urns is a small chest about a hands breadth wide and and long. Unlike the urns. The chest is wood, not clay, and it is ornately carved with the eye-patterned designs, the same kind from the pillar that gave you the ability to see in the dark.
You haul the box out and find it surprisingly heavy, despite its small size. The latch is a simple kind that hooks open and closed, and you decide to take a peek. Inside the box is a shriveled chunk of black meat. Like a fist-sized bundle of burnt jerky. Part of you is relieved it's not fresh and bleeding, but most of you is disgusted.
You quickly latch the box closed and head back towards The tunnel of mirrors.
[You Wander the Caverns]
Hebdekial is waiting for you when you arrive. He watches you eagerly as you approach.
"Did you find it?" he says, his voice too-loud, too harsh. You must have flinched, or perhaps he hears his own tone, and he coughs. "Sorry, sorry," he says, holding up his hands and speaking as though trying not to spook you. "I mean, did you find it?"
You show him the box.
His jaw drops.
"Open it!" he says. "Open it, open it! Please!"
You do, then turn the box so that he can see the blackened lump of heart meat inside.
"That's it! That's my heart! Please give it to me! Let me have it, please!"
You take the heart out, your face contorting with revulsion as you touch it. You press the heart to the mirror, as if you were putting it in his hand. To your mild surprise, the heart passes through with no resistance, and Hebdekial's fingers wrap around it. The second he makes contact with it, a strange glow emanates from his hand, and the heart is bathed with light. The black gunk and dried ichor flake away and disperse into nothingness, revealing a pure and golden light beneath-- a strange object made of solid light.
Slowly, hands shaking, Hebdekial brings the heart to his chest and slots it into the wound. Immediately, the cracks in his skin widen. Like the heart, the broken flesh begins to flake away, revealing a light too bright to look at beneath.
"Thank you," he says. His voice has taken on an odd quality that causes it to reverberate in your head. You wince and look away from the light.
"Sorry," he says. Even as he falls apart, he manages to raise a hand towards you. More burning light gathers in his palms, and just as the light becomes too much for you to bare, there is an explosive flash. You're knocked backwards by the blast and land heavily on the stone floor.
When you get up, the room is dark again, and Hebdekial is gone. In his place is a broken mirror surrounded by shards of glass.
You push yourself off the ground, then nearly collapse as a sharp, shooting pain streaks up your left arm. Had you a voice, you would have screamed. You're left on the ground, gasping and breathing heavily until the pain subsides.
When you try again to get up, you have no issue. You sit up and examine your arm.
There, on the meaty part of the forearm, just under the inner-elbow, is a strange mark. It appears to be some kind of strange, elaborate sigil, not unlike the script in the Book of Names, but encircles in an odd pattern, making it resemble some kind of badge. When you touch it, it is flush with the rest of your skin, as though it were a tattoo. You lick your thumb, then try to wipe it off. It does not leave.
[Acquired Hebdekial's Blessing]
With nothing left here for you, you decide to move on.
-->[Move on.]