My eyes scanned the surroundings so quickly that, for a moment, I felt like my head might just detach from my body.
But honestly, who wouldn't react that way after crossing, without warning, something that looked like a portal made of water, and, when I blinked, finding another version of myself watching every move? Hard to blame my reaction.
"Where the hell are we?" Victor murmured behind me, his voice heavy with confusion. He was scanning the area with a furrowed brow, his eyes taking in every detail of the city: "It's weird... it feels familiar, but at the same time, something's off. Something I can't explain"
Just as Victor pointed out, something was wrong with this place. The reason? It was actually pretty simple. The building the giant serpents had destroyed while chasing us was completely intact, as if nothing had happened.
The serpents were still after us, but there was something strange about it... It felt like we had gone back a few minutes in time, to a moment before they showed up. Something like that.
Definitely, the strangest thing about the whole situation was what looked like a mirror in front of me. I mean, literally — it was as if someone had put a mirror in front of me, reflecting my image perfectly. However, there was a crucial difference: this "reflection" wasn't just an illusion. I could touch it.
As much as the figure in front of me was identical to me in every detail, something about it didn't fit. There was a subtle yet fundamental difference, hard to define—like, even though it looked exactly like me, we were two completely different people.
As I focused on the being in front of me — an exact copy of myself, behind me, Victor was pressing hard on his ear, like he was desperately trying to make contact. His tone was filled with urgency and frustration as he yelled: "What the hell! Is anyone listening? Emily? Damn it! Why am I only hearing static? What the hell is going on?!"
Honestly, I didn't know what to think about our current situation. That thing with the water — something my Alter Ego had done — somehow turned into some kind of portal. I have no idea how it works, but I'm sure I used some kind of anomalous power to create it.
Although it was subtle, I noticed for a moment that my eyes took on a faint bluish tint, as if reflecting something bigger happening. However, no matter how hard I tried to understand, I had no idea what the hell this anomalous power actually did.
As I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to catch any trace of what had happened, I realized that Victor had apparently managed to contact Emily. My keen hearing allowed me to clearly distinguish every word exchanged between them, but something about the conversation felt... off.
There was an unusual hesitation in her voice, a pause filled with uncertainty before her question: "...Victor? Is that you?"
I don't know if it was just my impression, but something seemed strange about the way Emily responded. She sounded hesitant, as if she couldn't believe Victor was really contacting her, or maybe it was something else. I can't explain why, but noticing this made me feel a subtle discomfort, an unsettling feeling, almost like I already knew what she'd say next.
"...The voice is the same... but how is this possible? The ID numbers are different..." Emily hesitated, her eyes fixed on the screen as her breathing quickened: "You... you really are Victor?" Her voice carried a mix of disbelief and anxiety, reflecting the confusion overtaking her mind.
Victor was stunned for a moment, like he didn't know how to respond to Emily. His voice, which had once seemed familiar, now sounded distant, as if it wasn't enough to confirm his identity.
His gaze, full of uncertainty, intensified when Emily mentioned his ID, a detail that left him even more baffled since, apparently, the document she had didn't match his.
For some reason, a strange feeling told me I understood what was going on, even though it was hard to accept. It was like everything was playing out right before me, and yet disbelief still took over.
I couldn't find another plausible explanation for Emily acting that way, except for the fact that, somehow, I was seeing myself there, in that exact moment. This thought, as insane as it was, led me to one conclusion: there was a time when all of this could make sense.
(Alternate Dimension) I thought mentally, making Arthur and Victor, who were right behind me, exchange surprised glances.
Honestly, my voice came out strangely calm, almost as if what I had just said was something normal. But what could I do? On the outside, I seemed unfazed, like nothing was wrong. But inside, I was about to lose control. My mind was spinning, trying to process what had happened, but I couldn't make sense of it. Seriously, what the hell happened when we crossed that water portal?.
Anyway, the relentless pursuit of the electric serpents continued, a growing nightmare that seemed endless. My Alter Ego, now transformed into a gigantic Wyvern, was slicing through the skies with terrifying speed, cutting through concrete buildings like a shadow with wings.
The serpents, on the other hand, were relentless and blind in their search, chasing us with an alarming ferocity. They weren't limited by the barriers of the physical world; instead, they simply passed through skyscrapers, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. With every move, huge buildings crumbled, collapsing into a shower of rubble and shattered glass.
The sound of the debris falling was drowned out by the roar of the serpents, whose bodies shimmered with blinding lightning that lit up the city in a macabre way, as if the very sky was collapsing. Clouds of electrified smoke spread through the air, creating an unbearable atmosphere of heat and tension, and each explosion of energy heightened the chaos unfolding.
The scene, which had once radiated a deceptive calm, was now turning into a dystopian hell. The streets, once calm and peaceful, were being consumed by this relentless force.
The world around us seemed to disintegrate, and the city, once full of life, was becoming a graveyard of concrete and steel, engulfed in an electric darkness that corrupted even the essence of the place.
Despite all the chaos around us, both my clone and I remained watching each other, as if we were silently analyzing one another. Somehow, it felt like we were studying each other, trying to identify the differences between us.
I could almost feel it, as if tangible, my clone exuding a darker aura, a reflection of something deep and unsettling, contrasting with the state I was in at that moment.
However, I couldn't help but blink in surprise when, suddenly, my clone in front of me began to flicker, like an ephemeral mirage on the verge of dissipating at any second. Something about the scene made a strange feeling flood my senses, as if a sudden itch had struck my eyes, forcing me to quickly shut them.
The moment I opened my eyes again, I realized my Alter Ego had completely disappeared. I looked around, scanning the sides and the sky above me, but found no sign of it. There wasn't even the slightest indication it had ever been there, by my side, not a trace of its presence.
That only increased the confusion already overwhelming me. I tilted my head to the side, blinking slowly as I tried to comprehend what had just happened.
But, undeniably, the strangest thing was happening to Victor, who was still communicating with Emily... or with whatever was trying to pass itself off as her. His voice was distorted, a cold echo that seemed to scrape the depths of the mind: "Ah! I get it now! Hehe, now I understand! Hehehaha!"
The laugh, low and dissonant, made the air around us vibrate in an unsettling way, as if something dark was approaching, ready to swallow everything. The atmosphere seemed to close in on him, the weight of the darkness intensifying with each word.
Emily's voice, which had once sounded familiar, now began to distort, like a muffled whisper emanating from some dark place. Her words became a tangle of sounds, as if something, or someone, was infiltrating her voice, blending with her essence, creating a tone that would send shivers down anyone's spine.
The voice was no longer solely hers; something sinister intertwined with it. My eyes slowly shifted toward Victor, and when I saw his expression, a chill ran down my skin.
His eyes, once fixed, were now wide open, and his face showed silent terror as he listened to the words, or what seemed to be a twisted attempt at Emily's voice.
In a swift, almost mechanical motion, he removed the communicator from his ear with unusual dexterity. Before I could understand what was happening, he turned abruptly and, with an agile and panic-laden gesture, threw the device toward the serpents still chasing us.
But even in midair, even though it should have been far from where we were, the voice echoing through the communicators didn't fade; instead, it seemed to grow, booming in our ears with increasing intensity.
Each word felt like a chilling whisper, coming from a throat that shouldn't exist, yet it echoed relentlessly: "I understand! Ahahahahaha, so that's it! Hehehehe... I won't let you escape! You'll stay here forever... Forever! Ahahahaha... Hehehe!"
The sound of the laughter dragged on, reverberating like a desperate scream lost in the void, a promise of eternal torment, as the pressure around us intensified, making the air heavier and suffocating.
A completely hysterical, disproportionate, and macabre laugh echoed through the communicators, as if the very essence of madness had seeped into those sound waves. Every burst of laughter seemed to carry a strange weight, a perversion, as if it was fed by something beyond human understanding.
As the laughter spread, the sense that it was getting closer intensified, and the voice, once clear and audible, began to distort, twisting into a sigh of pure deformity.
My eyes, locked on the communicators, couldn't look away, and for a moment, time seemed to slow down. It was as if the communicators, now with a sinister aura, were slowly floating, heading toward the colossal serpents, like prey marching toward its inevitable fate.
And in the next instant, Victor's eyes widened, Arthur did the same, and I couldn't hold back my reaction, my eyes also widening. The reason? Something grotesque and incomprehensible.
From the communicators, a sinister distortion emerged abruptly, as if an invisible force was sucking everything around it, tearing even the very essence of the environment.
It started as a small, almost imperceptible whirlpool, but quickly transformed into a voracious vortex, growing at a terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, it expanded so much that, within seconds, the abyss devoured the serpents.
"Ahahahahaha! You can't escape anymore! You'll be trapped here forever!" the voice from the communicator echoed, now unrecognizable, as if any trace of Emily had vanished.
The laugh that followed, full of disdain, reverberated off the walls, filling the atmosphere with a growing sense of despair. The tone that had once been familiar now sounded distorted.
The voice was completely distorted, a chaotic mix that seemed to have no shape or emotion. There were no traces of identity, neither male nor female, just an incessant distortion, as if it were about to swallow everything around it and drag any being into a bottomless abyss.
It was a threatening, constant, and imminent presence. And through all of this, I just kept blinking, absorbed, watching that bizarre scene unfold before my eyes. My thoughts? Honestly, nothing clear came to mind.
I could only reflect on one thing: anomalous powers were truly madness. How communicators were capable of creating all that distortion in a single instant was simply unbelievable.
The serpents were already doomed, their massive and monstrous bodies being dragged forcefully into the communicators. As they drew closer, their shapes compressed, distorted by the pressure, and, in the next instant, they were swallowed whole, as if sucked by quicksand, disappearing without a trace.
"My god... that thing... was in my ear just seconds ago" Victor muttered, his voice trembling and cold sweat running down his pale face.
Personally, from Victor's perspective, the situation must have been absolutely terrifying. I mean, he nearly met the same fate as the giant serpents. It was a life-or-death matter.
As I watched the serpents being swallowed one by one by the darkness around them, a feeling of tension lingered in the air. Suddenly, a dark mist began to form around me, emanating from my body with a soft initial flow.
Gradually, the mist intensified, taking shape and gaining density until, in mere moments, it violently overflowed, expanding and swallowing the space ahead of us.
As before, the mist formed a circular pattern. In the next instant, when the water reached the edge, it turned toward me. I blinked my eyes, looking back at my reflection in the water.
That's when I noticed the surface of the water flickering for a brief moment, as if something was disturbing its calm. My eyes, for a moment, took on a soft, ethereal blue hue that vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had fulfilled its purpose and faded away without leaving a trace.
I blinked my eyes again, a strange sensation flooding me after the event. It was as if something was connecting inside me, like two distant points finally coming together.
That's exactly how I felt when I looked into the mirror. In the next instant, my Alter Ego, now transformed into a Wyvern, crossed the circle with an unexpected force, making me involuntarily shut my eyes.