"It seems you have overstayed your welcome. You should leave."
In a vast, kaleidoscope-like void, two individuals faced each other. One appeared dull, with unhealthy grey skin, dull purple pupils, messy red hair with loose strands, and tattered clothing. His expression was calm and indifferent, resembling still water. The other had a similar look but with more lively features, his skin healthy as that of a well-groomed 5-year-old. His hair and eyes shone with vivid colour, and he wore a beautiful blue robe.
"You are correct." He said softly. "This space mirrors your mind, which we refer to as the mental world. The only reason I haven't established influence here is due to its immense scale. I've never encountered anything as vibrant or vast as yours— even the 12 others before you are insignificant compared to it."
"If this place is my mind, then I control it. Aren't you afraid of what I can do here?" Alaric threatened, dismissing his words but curious about what he meant by there being 12 others.
The doppelgänger shook his head, a sly smile curling across his face. "You are free to do as you wish," he replied triumphantly. "But it changes nothing. I may have failed to break you — to make you turn your own knife — but I've studied your threat carefully. I now understand what makes you truly unique in this era. And I know exactly how to end you when the time comes."
Alaric's gaze hardened, the chill slipping into his voice. He couldn't believe he'd just made an enemy out of nowhere — someone hell-bent on killing him, for reasons he couldn't grasp.
"Why?" he demanded. "I haven't harmed you, nor do I wish to. So why do you want me dead? How would that benefit you?"
"You don't need to understand… yet," the doppelgänger replied, a knowing smile still on his face. "The less you know, the better for me. Why burden you with truths you aren't ready for?"
Alaric sighed quietly, adjusting his stance. "Then you should leave."
Slowly, he raised his right hand, pointing in the direction of his foe. The fabric of this space rippled, as if the very essence of reality twisted and churned in response.
Fading slowly, he said to Aleric, "If you do survive, we shall meet again, 13th chosen. And when that time comes, be prepared to die."
It faded completely a few moments later, leaving Alaric alone amid the now-quiet void. The once-darkening hues, desperately trying to hold influence over the space, began to return to their original brilliance, flooding the area with colour.
The consistently flowing colours grew more vibrant as time passed until they became overwhelming and overloaded his senses. This caused him to shrink back and shield his eyes with trembling hands, fighting to maintain his focus.
It took him ten agonizing minutes for his senses to adjust to the overwhelming spectrum. When he finally opened his eyes again, he saw subtle but crucial changes.
First, the colours now blazed brighter than before, more intense, almost unbearable. Second, their movement had accelerated—the whirlpool of hues spinning faster than ever. His mind instinctively knew this wasn't simply due to increased mental activity; it was a fundamental rise in his core thought process, now magnified five to six times higher than before.
Lastly, he notices the presence of a white sphere 5 meters in front of him. It exuded an intimidating aura that felt all-encompassing. His first instinct, after seeing it, was to get close and grab it, but he quickly stopped himself from taking a step forward.
He couldn't tell if it was dangerous or where this instinctual feeling came from. It felt dangerous just looking at it, but something deep down was telling him to approach and grab it quickly.
He was a cautious young boy, so he took his time observing it for a while.
'What if that doppelganger left it behind as a last resort to eliminate him?'
If that were the case, it would prove dangerous to approach without caution, but his newly awakened feeling of intuition told him otherwise.
He could feel that he shouldn't delay any longer, or he would regret it for the rest of his life. This is an opportunity that comes only to a few, and for a limited amount of time.
Feeling he couldn't delay any longer, Alaric approached it with outstretched hands. The moment he touched the bright light, it exploded into tiny photon particles and merged with his spiritual essence.
Urrrgrgggg
Clutching his head, he felt a massive amount of information flood into his brain; it felt like his head might explode with the amount that came flooding in like tidal waves.
A minute passed, but the pain had still not reduced; in fact, it seemed to have increased by an exponential amount. Usually, feeling such an amount of pain would knock him out, but something seems to be keeping him awake to experience every bit of it.
It took almost thirty minutes before the pain finally stopped, and immediately after that, everything turned blank as he lost consciousness.
|TLF|
Location: Grand Archives, Galactic Human territory.
POV: unknown
The moment Alaric was drawn into his mental world, a phenomenon occurred in the myriad worlds.
Archive mountain.
An elderly man with greying hair and a long beard that matched it sat cross-legged on a mat at the tallest peak. He wore a golden robe, and A vast ancient aura surrounded him as golden energy was being drawn to him from the area around.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he looked into the sky that had turned black as if it was about to rain.
"Another one?" he said softly, with a deep voice. "That should be impossible. The twelve are already accounted for... so why is there a thirteenth awakening now? And, within my domain?"
He shook his head slowly, as if dismissing a troubling thought. "Perhaps… this is heaven's way of rewarding my sacrifices," he mused. "I had no intention of entangling myself in this chaos, but it seems fate has other plans for me."
'I must hurry before the others find out his/her whereabouts,' he sighed softly before bringing his hands together with deliberate precision. Seals flashed through his fingers, one after another, as he tried to divine the origin of this new awakening, but ended up with nothing.
'It seems like the twelve before, the 13th is impossible to track through divination.' He thought with regret.
He sighed softly, "This will take a while, but I must find him at all costs."