Honestly, I could barely start to make sense of what was happening. The idea that my Alter Ego would ever attack had never even crossed my mind. I an, from my point of view, it would be practically the sa as attacking yourself — an absurd contradiction. But, as illogical as it seed, that was exactly what was about to happen.
Even with our connection broken, I still felt everything clearly. My senses, sharpened to an unnatural degree ever since I beca an anomaly, remained intact. It was as if the air around the lake carried an invisible tension, ready to snap at the slightest move. And I knew — not by deduction, but by pure, visceral instinct — that if I took even a single step into that water, he wouldn’t hesitate. My Alter Ego would tear apart without rcy.
While I was still lost in thought, the voice of the man who had guided us to the lake echoed nearby. There was a playful tone in his words, like he found the situation amusing: “Hmmm... well, this certainly wasn’t what I expected, but it’s still interesting”
The mont I heard those words, my eyes instinctively turned toward the man. Next to , Arthur frowned and asked cautiously, almost suspiciously: “What do you an by that?”
When Arthur asked, the man just shrugged, as if it wasn’t any of his business. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips before he casually replied: “I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about, Arthur Hensley. By the way” he added, tilting his head slightly with a sparkle in his eyes: “I’m a big fan of your work” He finished with a wider, friendly, almost reverent smile, like he was facing a celebrity.
I blinked slowly, trying to clear my thoughts before turning back to Arthur, who was still by my side. I watched his expression carefully — he kept one eyebrow raised, lips slightly pressed, as if pondering sothing.
His eyes fixed silently on the mysterious man for a few seconds before shifting to the lake ahead. Arthur stared at the dark, muddy surface with cautious intensity, as if expecting sothing to erge.
Then his gaze quickly scanned the surroundings, alert to any unusual movent. Finally, his eyes moved to my Alter Ego, observing him with quiet curiosity, and then rested on the sphere floating calmly just above the water.
At that mont, Arthur’s eyes narrowed, as if a crucial piece had finally clicked in his mind. Then they widened slightly — a subtle but telling sign that he’d reached an unexpected conclusion. He muttered sothing, his voice so low that any ordinary person would barely notice he spoke.
But to my extrely sharp hearing, his words ca as clear as a whisper scread into my ear: “I see... so that’s it. How did I take so long to realize which Virtue we’re dealing with? If it’s Chaos... everything fits perfectly”
I paused my thoughts for a mont upon hearing Arthur’s words. Sure, even knowing exactly which Virtue we were dealing with didn’t an I suddenly had full awareness of the whole situation.
I an, my mories are still fragnted. It’s true that I now recall so things, but those mories mostly involve Nekra and Althea — and even those two figures still co to mind shrouded in fog, with gaps hard to fill.
However, if there’s one thing I can be sure of so far, it’s that when I co into contact with the Virtues, my mories start to return — little by little, fragnted like echoes of sothing long forgotten. More specifically, this happens when I absorb part of their powers — that unstable fraction of energy that threatens to destabilize the very dinsion and cause unpredictable disturbances.
(But how exactly am I going to do that this ti without ending up dead by my own Alter Ego?) I thought, eyes scanning every corner around , carefully analyzing the situation.
My thoughts flickered for a few seconds, drifting between disconnected fragnts, until sothing tugged on the huge shirt covering my body, breaking that ntal fog. In the middle of that distraction, I instinctively turned my gaze.
The first thing I noticed was a stark contrast of black and white — and I wasn’t talking about snow or the sky about to darken, threatening a storm. I ant it literally, because the contrast was on a person standing before , a figure who seed to carry those colors like an aura, standing out in that silent mont.
I blinked, then looked over at Arthur. He seed completely absorbed in his thoughts, eyes distant, as if trying to solve so inner mystery. He didn’t seem to notice the boy approaching.
When I glanced back at the mysterious trio, I saw they were also oblivious to the presence closing in, their eyes fixed attentively on the sphere gently floating above the lake’s calm surface.
Honestly, rather than being surprised that suddenly another person had appeared — soone who definitely wasn’t with us before — even considering that the guy looked like a boy, roughly my size, what really struck was that no one had noticed him until then.
To be precise, in that very fraction of a second, the others still seed completely unaware of him, as if he were a shadow invisible to their eyes. It was strange to think that soone could go unnoticed right in the middle of all of us, especially in such a small, quiet place.
Anyway, this person — who I assud was a boy — had short hair, but not so short that he looked bald; it was just the right length to not go past his neck. One of his eyes was partially hidden under his hair, leaving only a single piercing gaze visible.
His hair was pure white, as spotless and cold as the snow that surrounded us that quiet morning. His eyes, on the other hand, were completely dark — not just the iris, but even the pupil vanished into a black abyss.
As my thoughts spun endlessly, my mind wondered where this boy could have co from. Suddenly, a soft, familiar voice echoed through the air, breaking the silence and drawing everyone’s attention. My first reaction upon hearing that voice was a strange sense of déjà vu — it felt like I’d heard it sowhere before, far away, tucked away in my mory.
“Oh my, looks like he likes you” said the voice in an almost playful tone, as a slight smile ford on my face.
The mont I turned my gaze toward the voice, I found myself facing a woman who looked about the sa age as Laura and Emily. She stood before , a gentle smile lighting up her face, as if she were watching sothing adorable and delicate. Her eyes sparkled with serene calmness, giving off a feeling of familiarity and comfort.
Just one look was enough to flood my mind with mories — it was her, the sa woman who had guided to that mysterious seal, or whatever it was, the mark that awakened Nekra. It had been so long since I last saw her that in that mont, I almost thought sothing had happened to her.
Anyway, the reactions to the woman were quite varied. Arthur looked visibly surprised, his eyes widening slightly as he processed the situation. The other three mysterious figures remained impassive, with firm and unreadable expressions, as if nothing could shake their composure.
The first to break the silence was the man I had initially seen while we were walking in the snow, his voice calm and steady, carrying a tone of authority that grabbed everyone’s attention.
“You’re late, Eve” the man comnted, letting out a sigh full of impatience as he rested his hands on his hips.
Hearing the man’s scolding, the woman let out a short, almost restrained laugh before expressing her thoughts with a light tone of amusent: “Forgive , Mr. Oliver, but this is Adam’s first ti seeing snow. I didn’t think a little detour for a walk would take so much of your ti” she said, casting a gentle glance at the man as the cold wind lightly tousled her hair.
Listening to their exchange, my first thought was that the na was completely unfamiliar to — it seed like the first ti I had ever heard it. As I processed this, a deep, firm voice broke the atmosphere: it was Arthur. His words cut through the silence sharply, as if carrying a heavy weight: “You, and that crazy woman who brought the Virtue of Death into our dinsion...”
As Arthur said those words, Eve turned her gaze to him with a mix of curiosity and slight surprise. Slowly, she tilted her head to the side, her hair falling softly over her shoulder, while a thoughtful glint appeared in her eyes. Then she narrowed them slightly, studying him carefully.
In an almost subtle gesture, she clapped her hands together with a soft snap that broke the montary silence: “Ah, I rember you. Hmm... alone this ti, from what I can see?”
Amid that confusing exchange, I looked away again to the boy still gripping my clothes firmly. His gaze, completely dark and intense, stayed fixed on , but honestly, I had no idea why.
The next mont, the boy — whom I would later find out was nad Oliver — started pulling on my clothes more insistently. His finger clearly pointed toward where the sphere, along with my Alter Ego, was resting. I couldn’t quite understand what he wanted, but from my point of view, it seed Oliver wanted to take him to the sphere.
But even if that was really what he wanted to do, unfortunately, at that mont it was impossible. Especially because if my foot even touched the lake’s surface, I would be imdiately impaled by my Alter Ego, whose threatening presence hovered silently, ready to strike. While pondering this impossibility, Eve calmly approached, her serene face contrasting with the tension in the air, and gently stroked Adam’s head with a tender, almost maternal gesture.
“I know exactly how you feel, Adam” Eve said, a sweet smile on her face, an expression so calm and kind that it seed to completely contradict the restless, almost insane woman I rembered from the last ti we t: “You want to see her soon, don’t you? But unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a bit longer. We can’t get close now, at least not yet”
Adam tilted his head, his brow furrowed in a confused expression, as if trying to decipher what Eve was trying to say. Honestly, I didn’t quite understand what she ant either.
Noticing the doubt on Adam’s face, Eve gave a light, almost conspiratorial smile that seed to hold a secret. Then, as if an idea had just occurred to her, she stood up and walked toward the lake with calm and determined steps.
Looking at the still waters, she said softly: “Well, I guess it’ll be much easier to show you than just to tell you”
The next mont, her feet touched the surface of the lake. I have to admit, at that mont I honestly expected sothing terrible to happen — that she’d be impaled, maybe pierced, or even crushed. Anything but the silence that followed.
But, to my surprise, nothing happened. I blinked, incredulous and confused, unable to understand what I was seeing. I turned to look at my Alter Ego. He remained motionless, fixed on the glowing sphere, oblivious to what was unfolding before us.
It was as if Eve didn’t exist to him — or worse, as if the only rule was precisely to forbid my approach. Was I the only one who was prevented? The more I tried to understand, the more confused I beca about the intentions and actions of my Alter Ego.
However, completely contrary to my expectations, under everyone’s stunned gaze, Eve slowly turned to us, with an enigmatic smile curling just one corner of her lips.
Suddenly, as if sothing inside her exploded, she simply imploded. The muffled sound of flesh tearing echoed through the air, and a deep red liquid spread quickly, staining even the dark, still surface of the lake.
Fragnts of organs flew in all directions, so parts falling with a soft splash into the water. Despite the impassive front I kept, I couldn’t deny that the grotesque and unexpected spectacle genuinely shocked .
(What the hell just happened?) I thought, as my eyes locked with Eve’s gaze, which had rolled a few inches in front of . Her intense, shining eye stared directly at .
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