"I think you might be misunderstanding something!" Zain shouted at his reflection.
All he had to defend himself was the family dagger, an heirloom passed down through generations of his noble lineage. His reflection, however, conjured a long sword from thin air in seconds.
"This is truly unfair!" Zain muttered under his breath as his eyes swept over the unevenly armed sides, He only had a dagger, while the Reflection could summon any weapon from thin air in the blink of an eye.
Clutching the dagger tightly, Zain bolted through the door, racing down the stairs. His reflection leapt effortlessly, landing directly in front of him.
"I've watched you make mistake after mistake, day after day," the reflection said, advancing with furious, confident steps. "You proved me right."
"Proved you what?" Zain stammered, backing away in fear.
"That I deserve to be in your place while you… were destined for burning hell!" His reflection's eyes blazed with hatred, and Zain could feel it radiating from him.
For a tense second, they stood frozen. Then the reflection raised his sword high. In a split second, Zain slashed his family dagger toward the reflection's face, leaving a deep scratch, and shoved him back, seizing the moment to flee.
The reflection closed his eyes in pain, fingers pressed to the wound, and black smoke seeped from the scratch.
"I will kill you, Zain!" the reflection screamed, rage echoing in his voice.
Meanwhile, Joey slowly opened his eyes, feeling the gentle wind caress his silky black hair. The calm waves lapped at the shore, and the scent of damp sand filled his nostrils. The vision around him sharpened as he pushed himself to stand.
It was a seashore—blue waves, soft winds. Memories crashed back into him all at once.
"Oh my God… I'm alive! What were those creatures below? Why…
"Memories crashed into Joey's mind like relentless waves interrupting him, each one pounding him with a headache as sharp as gunfire. The image of his mother poised to throw the child made his pupils shrink, and he leapt to his feet, frozen in disbelief at such an unthinkable act. For a long, suspended moment, he stood there, face etched with utter astonishment, unable to grasp the reality of everything that had unfolded.
As he looked around for answers, he noticed inscriptions beneath his feet, which had gone unnoticed while he was unconscious.
He knelt and read: "Thank you for your trust in us! We will meet again." As soon as he finished, the words dissipated like black smoke.
"The test… this is… the test," Joey murmured, voice trembling with confusion.
"I will kill you!!" the reflection shouted at Zain, rampaging through the palace. Zain dodged the sword strikes one by one, the dagger clutched tightly, its weight in his hand a comforting reminder of his heritage.
"Why don't we talk about this?" Zain shouted, desperation in his voice.
"If this was your opinion in me from the start, why didn't you appear earlier? Why didn't you protest then?" Zain demanded.
"Because only here… can I hurt you, Zain," the reflection replied with a smirk. "And who do you think gives you nightmares every night since Liz was killed?"
"You're a shadow of me… a consort type of creature… How can you be so cruel on me?" Zain asked, trembling.
" you're supposed to stand by your original owner never betray or lie to them, never turn against the one whose body you inhabit. You're meant to obey your true master, not destroy them....you ment to obey me!"
The reflection smirked, eyes blazing. "Rules?...obey! You think your knowledge of the underworld binds me? I'm more than the stories you've learned… I am what you have ignored, what you have feared, what you have never faced!"
"Yes, Zain…You… are… weak!" The reflection's eyes turned whiter as he lunged.
Zain barely avoided the blow, but the sword grazed his shoulder, blood spilling down his arm. He tightened his grip on the family dagger, feeling its cold reassurance. "This test… it's real," he muttered in shock to himself.
Joey was walking away from the beach, his mind still foggy from everything he had seen. He wandered through the outskirts until he stumbled upon a residential area that looked strangely familiar. Each house seemed ordinary, yet there was a weight in the air, as if the streets themselves remembered him. He kept walking, following instincts more than logic, until a street emerged that tugged at his memory. Yes… this was it ...the street where he lived!
For hours, Joey's steps circled the familiar homes. Every attempt to take a different path brought him back to the same street, the same house. It was as though the world had folded in on itself, trapping him in a loop. Panting and dizzy, he finally leaned over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
"Damn… am I walking in circles?!" he muttered, frustration mixing with fear.
Meanwhile, Zain was racing through the chaotic reflection of this world. Anything that stood in his path was smashed aside effortlessly by his mirrored pursuer. With experience and knowledge inherited from his family's long lineage in the Underworld, Zain was aware of the stakes; he knew the Reflection was more than a mindless threat , it was a test, a predator that mirrored weaknesses. Gripping the dagger, a slender but deadly weapon attuned to the rhythms of combat and the supernatural dealings of his ancestors, he pushed himself forward.
Finally, Zain reached the palace door. With a swift motion, he opened it and stepped into a quiet garden, a stark contrast to the chaos he had just escaped. Exiting through the small gate, he realized he wasn't at his grandfather's palace anymore! But in front of a modest, unremarkable house. Suddenly, a loud crash behind him made him spin. The Reflection had broken through the door.
"Run, but you can't hide…", it hissed, its voice crawling over his nerves like ice.
Back on the street, Joey tried different paths, desperate to escape the looping streets, but every turn led him back to the same familiar house. His patience was wearing thin.
"So what now?!" he shouted, frustration spilling over.
By that time, Zain emerged onto the street, scanning left and right. A flicker of hope ignited when his eyes landed on someone familiar. Across the street, a voice he hadn't heard in what felt like ages rang out, "Joeyyyy!"
Joey's head whipped toward the sound. There, waving and running toward him, was Zain. His heart leapt. Relief, disbelief, and joy tangled together as he realized someone he knew, someone alive , was right there.
Zain arrived, hands on his knees, catching his breath. He lifted his head toward Joey, voice trembling with unspent excitement:
"This is the first time I've ever been so happy to see you!"
Joey stared at him, unsure how to respond. Part of him wanted to laugh, another part to cry. Zain's gaze drifted behind, wary.
"He… where did… where did he go?" Zain muttered, scanning the surroundings.
"Who… who is chasing you?" Joey asked, concern cutting through his awe.
"The only one that ever made me shiver… in my entire life… I've never been this scared before…" Zain said, eyes fixed on the empty space.
"You know, when you face something for the first time, you never really know how to handle it… what's real… and what's just an illusion."
"Yeah… tell me about it,"Joey responded voice calm but thoughtful, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Zain. As he wasn't surprised by his words. At the same time Zain was surprised by his calm response.
Suddenly aware he had shared too much too soon with someone he had just met. Zain stopped talking and looked around in silence.
"Mm… are you okay?" Joey asked softly.
-"Yeah… I'm fine…" Zain replied, masking his lingering tension.
"Let's get out of here," Zain said, motioning forward. Joey nodded, and together they started walking. But as they reached the last house on the street, Zain stopped abruptly. An invisible wall blocked his path, separating him from Joey.
"What the…!!!" he exclaimed, pounding the unseen barrier.
Joey examined the wall and realized he could pass, but Zain couldn't. Frustration and exhaustion clouded his face.
"Why me? Why does this place want me to stay here?" he demanded.
"There's something you haven't completed… you have to finish it," Joey said, reading aloud the words that had appeared on the wall: "You cannot leave before you finish what is left uncompleted."
Zain stared at the wall, considering, before pressing a hand to his forehead and sighing.
"So… how do I find him again?" he asked, voice heavy with surrender.
"Who do you have to find?" Joey prompted, but Zain didn't answer. Joey's eyes scanned the writings, whispering, "Open the door of any house." The words faded as mysteriously as they had appeared.
Joey noticed Zain trembling, his shoulder slightly injured. Helpless, he bit his lip, unsure how to aid him. The test ahead was terrifying, potentially fatal.
"What are you going to experience?" Joey asked quietly .
Zain smiled faintly, pulling the dagger out again, its inherited steel gleaming in the dim light.
"Myself. Iam fighting myself."
"This is why you're afraid…regrets… maybe anger toward yourself…", Joey murmured, his voice low but steady.
Zain approached the wall, letting it support his weight. Face-to-face with Joey, a faint smile played across his lips.
"How do I defeat the part of me that wants to take my place and control my life?"
Joey placed a hand on Zain's shoulder, catching the glint of determination in his eyes.
" You don't have to hurt it physically… just show it who is responsible. This at least will make it weaker I think ... Everyone is where they ment to be. no other creatures can replace us."
Those words pierced Zain's heart and mind. Never had he felt such understanding from anyone,even without him talking much. let alone someone he barely knew.
"I'll be back… wait for me here, and I'll show you who the winner is!" Zain declared, bolstered by Joey's encouragement.
Joey smiled, nodding, watching as Zain walked toward the nearest house. He opened the door, glanced back, winked with a confident smile, and disappeared inside.