I was no longer alone. The moment the being's fingers touched my chest, my body convulsed. A surge of something ancient and raw tore through me—not magic, not power, but a presence. It wasn't just inside me; it had always been there, lurking in the depths of my soul, waiting. And now, it had woken up. My vision fractured.
For an instant, I saw two worlds at once—the broken glass plain beneath my feet and something else, something deeper, a place beyond time and thought. Dark waters churned beneath a black sky. A vast silhouette loomed at the horizon, a towering figure with shifting, silver-ringed eyes, watching, waiting. And then—it spoke.
"So… you have finally heard me."
The voice was my own. No. Not quite. It was deeper, richer, layered—a mirror of my thoughts, yet not mine. I staggered back, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The presence coiled around my mind, not aggressive, not hostile—just there, entwined with me like a second heartbeat I had never noticed before.
"Who are you?" I whispered, though I wasn't sure if I had spoken aloud or only in my thoughts.
The voice chuckled, low and knowing. "I am you… and you are me."
The answer didn't make sense, yet it did. Because deep down, I had always felt it—the pull toward the dark, the whispers at the edges of my mind, the feeling that I was something more than just a forgotten child of the slums.
The entity shifted, stepping from the dark waters and onto the fractured ground beside me. It wore my face now, but its features were sharper, more defined—as if I were looking at a version of myself carved from shadow and silver flame.
"You have lived in the light too long, Kaelen. You have denied what you are."
I gritted my teeth, fists clenching. "And what exactly am I?"
The reflection smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Not yet whole."
The moment it said those words, my chest burned. A sensation like fire and ice colliding, searing into my very soul. My knees buckled, the pain splitting through me like a jagged blade, tearing apart something unseen but vital.
And then, memories that were not mine rushed through my mind like a storm— A towering throne of obsidian mist, a battle waged in the sky between beings of light and shadow, a hand reaching out toward me, calling me by a name I did not recognize. A war. A choice. A betrayal. My own voice screamed through it all—except it wasn't my voice. It was his. And just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended.
I hit the ground, gasping, shaking. When I looked up, my other self stood over me, his gaze unreadable.
"You will remember in time." And then—he stepped forward.
I had no time to react before his hand pressed against my forehead. And the world broke apart.