Salomé stepped back a few paces, breath short, watching her double with a mix of irritation and cold clarity. This duel was going in circles. Every movement, every attack, every dodge… everything was perfectly reproduced, as if she were fighting her own mind trapped in a mirror.
Her gaze slipped toward another presence, slightly withdrawn.
The mirror-being.
Suspended in the air, it seemed made of unstable reflections, wearing a mask bearing features borrowed from Salomé herself. It had not moved since the beginning, content to float in an unsettling silence, like a patient judge.
The words of Sakolomé's double echoed in her memory: "That one repeats faults and mistakes… then the other synthesizes them."
In other words, this passive spectator could become the key to the fight… or its worst nightmare.
Without thinking further, Salomé folded her wings and leapt toward the entity. But barely had she crossed a few meters when a shadow materialized before her.
Cliiiiik!
The mana blades clashed in a flash. The strike was stopped dead. Pushed back, Salomé recoiled in the air… and her double did the same, like a perfect echo.
She blinked, stunned.
— She… she stopped me from attacking the other one?!
On the ground, inside the protective shield, Lingyin followed every moment of the scene. His fist clenched: he wanted to intervene, but he knew a single glance from the Ōculus Vorago would put him in danger.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and murmured:
— I will find a solution…
Focusing, he extended his perception. A signal, weak but clear, eventually appeared in his mind.
Jin Muleo…
In the woods, Jin sat, lost in his thoughts.
— Hey, Jin!
Lingyin's voice echoed directly into his head, quick and pressing. In a few sentences, he explained the situation. Jin froze. Even without understanding everything, he felt the weight of urgency.
— I understand. I'm going to find Zelongue and the others right away. Inform us of your position.
— No need, Lingyin replied. Zelongue will find us.
Jin nodded and, without wasting a moment, dashed toward the castle.
Meanwhile, in the torn sky, Salomé and her double continued their clash. The mana swords crackled at each impact, sending showers of light across the forest. The blows rained down at a speed no human eye could follow.
Each anticipated the other perfectly. Every offense met its counterattack; every opening was immediately closed. The symmetry of the fight was almost unbearable: no victory, no defeat, only ruthless balance… ready to break at the slightest misstep.
— This is really… INFURIATING!!! — exploded Salomé, her gaze burning.
Suddenly, the mirror-being lifted its head slightly. Behind the mask with her features, its eyes glowed a deep red. The world seemed to wobble, as if gravity itself had flipped.
Splasshhh!
A spatter of blood splashed the air. Salomé grimaced: her double had just slashed her at the ribs, the tip of the mana saber still stained red.
She swiftly recoiled, a hand pressed on the wound.
— How… is this possible?
Her double stood upright, gaze fixed on hers. It was no longer just mechanical imitation. This strike had been calculated… and merciless.
— It's supposed to copy my movements… But that was an attack of its own will…
Inside the shield, Lingyin straightened abruptly, voice urgent:
— Salomé! It's because of the other one… The one with the mask!
Salomé turned her head toward the floating entity. Its red pupils glowed with an unhealthy light.
She frowned.
— I see… It found an opening, and my double… synthesized it.
Without wasting time, she rushed at the masked creature. But before her blade could reach its target, the red eye shone again.
Swuiche!
A metallic cold pierced her belly. Salomé stifled a scream, pivoting just enough to see her double withdraw the sword.
— …You bastard…!
She tried to counterattack, but the clash was brutal. Her double pushed back her blade with superior force, forcing her several steps back. Her balance faltered, she almost fell, but caught herself just in time.
The reflection prepared a new strike. Salomé raised her guard, ready to endure… but the mask's eye glowed again.
Srush…
A burn ran across her shoulder. Salomé stepped back sharply, breath short, wings trembling with rage and pain.
— Salomé! — Lingyin shouted from the shield. — Hold on! Help is coming, I've already called them. Your only goal is to buy time! Be very careful!
Salomé tightened her grip on her weapon. She no longer had the luxury of hesitation. Every second was a tightrope walk… and the slightest misstep would be fatal.
Salomé kept silent, eyelids closed. In her mind, the last minutes replayed again and again.
Every time… Every time the masked creature's eye flared with supernatural red, her double struck with surgical precision, finding the perfect flaw to injure her.
She reopened her eyes, a determined gleam in her gaze.
— Heh… I finally understand how you work.
Opposite, her double remained silent, blade still ready.
Salomé regained her guard and charged. The masked eye lit up again. This time, the attack targeted her head… but she dodged with a quick movement.
— I knew it!
The double's eyes widened, surprised. Salomé seized the opening to slash his shoulder cleanly.
The reflection recoiled, jumping back, hand pressed on the wound from which blood flowed in abundance. Salomé, a thin red trail at the corner of her lips, gave a hard smile.
— You won't fool me twice with the same trick. You copy my gestures, my thoughts, everything, to the millimeter… like a mirror. You live up to your name, mirror creatures.
She paused, sizing up her opponent.
— But copying my techniques again and again will never be enough to defeat me. At this rate, we would neutralize each other indefinitely. So… to fight me, you first imitate my attacks. Then, when the one with the mask detects a flaw… you strike at the exact moment I lower my guard.
Her eyes narrowed, voice low but sharp:
— My mistake was thinking you were just a simple reflection. But the truth… is that you remain a mirror as long as no flaw appears. And as soon as there is one… you become autonomous.
Her mana exploded, the ruthless fusion of the Domain of Domination and the Ōculus Vorago. The eyes in the sky became two burning vortices swallowing all will, all strength, all status. The air vibrated as if bending under an invisible command.
The double, frozen behind her, wanted to respond… but could not. The position broke his symmetry, and in this absolute field, copying had become impossible.
Salomé's draconic wings spread like divine judgment.
The force lines of her Predominion closed on her reflection.
— Submit.
A sinister cracking echoed. The double's mana disintegrated, absorbed, collapsed on itself. The mirror creature's pupils emptied of all light. Its movements ceased, its transcendence evaporated as if it had never existed.
Even the observing mask, farther away, shuddered under the pressure; its red eyes went out for a moment, cut off from all function.
Salomé finally turned her head, breath still burning with violet mana:
— This field… is my law. You will not escape it.
Salomé fixed the masked creature, extended her hand firmly: "Disappear!"
Without waiting, it vanished instantly, fading like a shadow swept away by the wind.
The fight was over. Though wounded, Salomé had won the victory. She dissipated her Predominion and the Ōculus Vorago, judging they were no longer needed.
Sitting gently on the ground, she tightened her wounds. Lingyin's protective shield broke at that moment. He hurried to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder:
"Salomé, how do you feel?"
A faint smile split her face despite the pain:
"I feel a little bad… mostly because that double tore the outfit you made me."
Lingyin, surprised, looked at her with worry:
"But Salomé, you're severely injured!"
She reassured him in a sure tone:
"It's nothing, I will heal. Don't worry."
Out of breath, Salomé let her thoughts wander. Fortunately, her double wasn't able to reproduce Predominion alone, without having seen it first. Otherwise, it could have been catastrophic. Fortunately, given her position, he couldn't copy her.
Suddenly, Jin Muleo arrived, followed by Ysolongue. Ysolongue approached, face marked by concern:
"Salomé…"
She looked at him, eyes still piercing despite fatigue:
"Where is Zelongue?"
Ysolongue replied with a small smile:
"He said he's not coming. He's convinced you will win this fight."
Salomé burst out laughing, amused:
— Huh? He's really crazy!
Ysolongue held out her hand to her:
"Wait, I will heal you."
A pink mana glow enveloped Salomé who closed her eyes softly, enjoying the respite to tell Lingyin everything that had happened.
Yet, despite the explanations, a shadow persisted: who really was this creature bearing Sakolomé's appearance? And above all, what did it want?