"A Signature... like what Ozai has?" Stefan asked.
The clone nodded. "Though, don't compare us to that dimwit." He stepped forward, slow and deliberate.
"You and me are ssssomething else entirely." He gently took Stefan's hand, fingertips pressing lightly against his.
"Nobody... is like uss."
Suddenly, the mouse scrambled down Stefan's shirt and sank its teeth into the clone's hand. The clone jerked away, hissing.
"Why you little—" He reached for the mouse, now perched protectively on Stefan's palm.
But before he could grab it, Stefan turned, shielding the creature with his back.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Can I go back or not?"
The clone smiled. "Of course. Keeping you here was never my plan." He turned and climbed into the glowing tree.
"I just wanted to talk to my counterpart, that's all."
Branches rustled, bioluminescent leaves drifting down like quiet snow as the clone moved through them.
"However," he called down, "I'd like to offer you my help."
"Your… help?" Stefan asked.
The clone emerged again, a bright red apple cradled in his hands, its skin gleaming unnaturally in the tree's white light.
"I can show you more of us, our potential. All you have to do..."
He jumped down, now standing in front of Stefan.
"Is take a bite."
Whispers echoed from the surrounding darkness, voices chanting softly:
Eat. Eat. Eat.
The mouse scurried up Stefan's arm to his shoulder, tugging at his collar, pulling him back from the clone in desperation.
"W-why do I have to bite the apple?" Stefan asked, the voices dimming with his hesitation.
"Aren't you me? Why can't you just help me?"
"Ah," the clone hissed softly. "I understand why you're cautious. I'm hurt it's toward me, of all people—but I underssstand."
He lifted the apple to the light, its surface almost too perfect to be real.
"Think of me as a computer. I am all-knowing… but only permitted to act with the conscious mind's approval."
"These apples are my way of requesting access—partial control over aspects of your being."
He locked eyes with Stefan, his white irises almost piercing.
"All you need is one bite."
Stefan stood frozen.
He shook his head slowly.
"N-no. That sounds… wrong. I can't explain it, but I don't trust you."
He cupped the mouse in his hands, its tiny squeak almost a whisper of warning.
"You tried to hurt it. Why?"
"That… thing clouds your judgment. It doesn't belong here."
The clone's hand extended toward the mouse.
"It is a rodent. A parasite. Give it to me so I can rid the garden of it."
The mouse squeaked again, hiding inside Stefan's hoodie.
"No. Bring me back," Stefan said, voice quiet but firm.
The clone scowled, frustration cracking across his face.
"Think, Stefan. I can—"
"I don't want what you're offering. Bring me back. Now!" Stefan snapped.
The clone froze. A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
"What are you going to do?" he muttered.
"What?" Stefan asked.
"If I send you back, what then? That woman will just kill you again. And again. And again."
"You need me. You need to awaken what you truly are. That is the only way we make it out alive."
His voice echoed unnaturally, the air around them tightening with his words.
"I've always been the only one who understood you. Everything I've done—everything I will do—is to protect you."
"So let me do that. Now."
He stepped forward, holding out the shimmering apple like an offering.
Stefan hesitated. The mouse peeked from his hoodie, eyes wide.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Stefan whispered, lifting the mouse and placing it gently on the ground.
The mouse squeaked once, confused.
Stefan turned to the clone.
"Okay... let's do it."
The clone's smile widened, too sharp to feel warm, as Stefan reached for the apple and raised it.
Eat.
Eat.
Eat.
Eat.
The chants began louder this time. Pressing at the edges of his mind. The mouse suddenly ran, scurrying off into the shadows.
Stefan opened his mouth—
And bit into the apple.
"Thank you for this opportunity, me. I won't let you down," the clone whispered, just as Stefan's vision blackened completely.
"Bear witness."
**********
Rain fell across the desolate battlefield as Ozai and Aquila fiercely engaged in combat, sparks flying with every blow.
Ozai swung his spear at Aquila, but she dodged entirely, grabbing him in a crushing bear hug as she ascended into the sky, laughing maniacally.
"What's the matter, Orion?" she mocked. "Another one of your friends is dead. Are you going to cry?"
Ozai chuckled darkly as they rose higher into the storm.
"Nah. It's just unfortunate for you," he said, his eyes beginning to glow orange. He broke one arm free from her grip and raised his hand, a swirling red light forming in his palm.
"That guy being alive was your only saving grace. But now that he's gone—"
A shimmering red railgun materialized above them, its glow intensifying until it bathed them both in light.
"I don't have to hold back anymore." Ozai grinned as he kicked off Aquila's body, breaking free from her grasp.
Aquila looked up, stunned, as the railgun unleashed its beam—a blast brighter and more powerful than the one used on the monster earlier.
Ozai cackled as he free-fell to the earth, flipping midair before landing gracefully. The beam slammed into the ground behind him, outlining his silhouette in its crimson blaze.
As the light slowly dissipated, Aquila crawled from the crater. Smoke drifted from her scorched wings and body. She coughed, laughing weakly.
Then, she raised her hand toward the sky. One star began to glow—its white light turning violet as it appeared to swell.
It wasn't growing.
Something was descending from it.
A purple beam slammed into the ground before Aquila. The shockwave forced Ozai to shield his eyes as debris scattered.
The light coalesced into an intricately patterned spear, silver-tipped, glowing with purple accents and a radiant sigil on the staff.
The symbol: a straight line curved at one end, with two triangles flanking either side.
Aquila grasped the spear, violet sparks crackling along its shaft as she twirled it confidently.
"That weapon is useless to you now," Ozai laughed, conjuring a glowing red rifle. "You no longer have the goddess's faith. You can't wield the power tied to her relics."
Behind them, Stefan's head lay unmoving in the grass—until a long, root-like vine sprouted from it. It slithered through the field like a serpent, connecting to his body.
The moment it linked, Stefan's eyes flashed pure white. His pupils sharpened, narrowing into slits.
"Eight decades ago, when I betrayed the goddess, I used my Signature's energy to override its influence—to corrupt it." Aquila traced a finger down the spear's blade.
"It wasn't hard. I still had a fading connection to the weapon. And year after year, I fed it—my mana, my will, my hatred."
"That's impossible," Ozai muttered. "No matter how much energy you channeled, the goddess's light is gone. It's just a pretty spear now."
"You think so? Then let's find out."
The air began to hum as a violet glow ignited at the spear's tip. It swirled like a vortex, pulsing like a heartbeat before erupting into a continuous stream of lightning.
Ozai dodged, but arcs of violet lightning followed him, scorching his clothes and branding his chest with burning trails.
He stumbled, catching himself.
"Dammit…" he raised his rifle to fire. But every bullet melted before reaching Aquila, disintegrating near the spear's radiant core.
Aquila smiled and raised her weapon. Another pulse of lightning lashed out, wrapping around Ozai and lifting him into the air.
His hair stood on end. He groaned in pain as she swung him like a puppet—then hurled him into a tree.
The tree collapsed in flames, burying him in burning limbs.
Aquila began to walk forward, but then—
A white light shimmered in the distance.
"...Oh?" she whispered, turning.
There, rising slowly, stood Stefan.
His slouched form straightened as the root twisted and locked into place along his body. Over his heart, a glowing sigil shimmered—a U-shape crossed by a curved line.
From the mark, a white serpent shimmered into being, its form shedding starlight. The air around it shattered into silver particles as the snake curled around Stefan's shoulders, hovering protectively.
Aquila froze, watching him.
"Well… would you look at that," she said quietly.