Sowhere in Mabi.
In a forest clearing atop a hill, a dozen tree trunks were driven into the ground, forming a rough circle. Atop each trunk rested a chunk of stone, set up for target practice.
And at the center of it all stood a madman clad in a dark cloak. His body was a ghastly map of deep scars, acid burns, and fla marks crisscrossing every inch.
His scalp was completely charred, leaving him bald and grotesque, and where his eyes should have been were dark, hollow sockets that seed to swallow light itself.
All of a sudden, Adam clutched his stomach and burst into a fit of manic laughter.
"Oh... oh goodness arcana... hahahaha!" He laughed so deeply that his stomach started to hurt. After a certain point, even his jaws started to hurt.
anwhile, hidden behind a tree just outside the clearing, the mimic glanced at the madman, wondering why he was laughing all of a sudden.
"Gege..." It grumbled—probably cursing to itself—then hid behind the tree again, afraid one of the short blades might co hurling his way.
After what seed like forever, Adam finally stopped laughing. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh, "Oh, that was funny. Very funny. Stupid. So stupid. Utterly stupid."
In the next mont, his expression shifted abruptly, changing from a carefree look to a demonic visage.
He drew the Blades of Fulgrim from his back, gripping them tightly. Then, with a fluid motion, he loosened his hold, allowing the blades to hang from the chains attached to their pomls.
And then... he erupted into a whirlwind of steel and madness!
The chains whipped through the air with terrifying speed, each end of the chain bearing a razor-sharp blade that sliced, smashed, and shattered everything in its path.
Stones toppled from their base, splintered into jagged fragnts, and the tree trunks groaned and cracked under Adam’s tyrannical force, so shattering entirely.
The chaotic dance of chains and blades turned the clearing into a storm of tal, sparks, and raw destruction. Adam’s every movent was unpredictable and violent, yet it was also beautiful and srizing.
In the blink of an eye, the whirlwind of chains vanished, and the Blades of Fulgrim returned to his hands. Adam exhaled a deep breath, then proceeded to observe his surroundings through the Sphere of Resonance.
Deep furrows were ford on the ground, tracing the chaotic trajectory of the blades and chains. Of the dozen tree trunks that were embedded in the clearing, more than half had been destroyed, while the remaining ones still stood, though their stone targets had been completely obliterated.
Adam tilted his head and murmured, "Not bad, I suppose."
"Gege! Gege!" The mimic complained in frustration. The tree it was hiding behind had been obliterated as well.
Adam’s lips twitched. "Ah, sorry..."
In fact, more than one tree beyond the clearing had been decimated by the Blades of Fulgrim because Adam was unable to control them properly.
The following mont, his lips curled up and he heartily laughed. "Still, it’s not a bad attempt, eh? Hahaha!"
But midway through his laughter, the strangely familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
"You’re pathetic."
Adam’s laughter ca to an abrupt halt. A startled look flashed across his scarred face, quickly giving way to a dark and angry expression. He looked around frantically and roared in fury:
"Pathetic? Bastard! Who the hell do you think you are? Do you have any idea how hard this is?! Who the hell are you to judge ?!"
The familiar voice replied coldly:
"If those practice dummies were innocent lives in need of saving... tell , how many of them would still be alive?"
Adam froze, unable to answer for a long ti. At last, he spat through gritted teeth, "But they’re not!"
The voice snickered, "Taking the easy way out, as usual."
"Bastard, who the hell are you?!" Adam roared, his voice laced with indignation. "Taking the easy way out? Do you even know what I’ve been through?!"
"Cry a river," the voice scoffed.
"That’s enough." Adam’s voice turned cold, and he started to radiate a terrifying, bloodthirsty aura. His grip around the Blades of Fulgrim tightened as he scanned his surroundings.
"Co out and face ," he spat through gritted teeth, his voice oozing with anger. "All you do is keep ssing with my head! Co out and face like a man, you coward!"
Suddenly, he realized sothing and couldn’t help but subconsciously tremble. He realized that this familiar voice had been clinging to him like a ghost ever since he awoke on the Coral Island.
"D-don’t tell ..." he murmured. "Are you... are you the reason I’m going mad?!"
The strangely familiar voice slipped into silence, seemingly taken aback by those words. But then... it burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The laughter thundered like the voice of judgnt inside Adam’s ears, and he couldn’t help but begin to feel fear creep inside his heart. His hollow sockets darted around frantically, and he scread, "Co out! Face !"
Finally, the voice stopped laughing. Then, it coldly said:
"You don’t recognize , do you?"
Adam gritted his teeth, scanning his background with dread. But all he could sense was the mimic and himself. There was no one else around.
"W-who are you?" He asked in a trembling voice.
"You claim I can’t judge you," said the voice. "You say I don’t know you, that I can’t fathom what you’ve been through. You even bla for your descent into madness. Don’t you see the irony in that?"
"Shut up..." The blades slipped out of Adam’s grip, and he fell to his knees. With trembling hands, he clutched his head. His lips curled into a wide, unnatural grin, and he laughed.
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
Though there was fear in his heart, he laughed.
Though there was confusion clouding his mind, he laughed.
"S-shut... haha... hahaha... shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He scread in agony, torn between laughter and horror.
The voice whispered:
"Even after all this ti, you still don’t recognize my voice, do you?"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Adam collapsed to the ground, curling into a fetal position, his body shuddering in fear.
"No," said the voice. "You know exactly who I am. You’ve always known. You just chose to ignore it."
"Shut up..." Adam kept repeating the sa phrase over and over again, his hands tightly covering his ears.
The familiar voice spoke again, his tone heavy with finality, carrying the weight of the undeniable truth:
"I am you."
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