Adrian sat against the wall, shaking, clutching his chest. The spiral where his heart beat throbbed like a second pulse, each vibration louder than the last. His skin crawled with the memory of his reflection's touch.
And then he realized—he wasn't alone.
Across the room, something stirred.
At first, he thought it was just another warped reflection, a ripple in the Dimensional's shifting surfaces. But then it stepped forward, dragging itself out of the wall with a wet, sucking sound, as though the world itself was birthing it.
It was him.
Adrian.
But taller. Straighter. Its skin pale as bone, its veins black, spirals carved into its arms like tattoos that pulsed faintly with light. Its eyes were bottomless spirals, spinning inward forever.
When it spoke, it didn't sound like an echo anymore.
It sounded like Adrian's voice perfected.
"I'm what you were always meant to be."
---
Adrian scrambled to his feet, every instinct screaming. "You're not me!"
The double smiled. Its lips didn't split grotesquely this time. The smile was human, terrifying in its familiarity.
"I am you," it whispered, stepping closer. "Just… finished."
It moved with grace Adrian had lost—steady, confident, untouched by exhaustion. Every step echoed louder than it should, like the Dimensional itself bent to its rhythm.
"You're weak," the double said, circling him. "You're breaking. And every time you scream, every time you run, I grow stronger."
Adrian pressed his hands against his head, trembling. "Stop—stop—"
The double leaned close, its spiraled eyes inches from his.
"Why would I stop," it whispered, "when I am almost ready to step out… and live your life?"
---
Adrian lunged at it, desperate, clawing at its face—only for his hands to sink through like liquid, as though he'd plunged them into mercury. The double's skin rippled, absorbing the touch, and for a split second, Adrian saw his own reflection staring back at him from inside the double's body, screaming silently.
He recoiled, horrified, stumbling backward.
The double laughed softly.
"You can't destroy me," it said. "Because I'm already inside you. I'm the part of you that doesn't break. The part that belongs to the Dimensional."
Adrian shook his head violently. "No—you're not real. You're—"
The double leaned in close, lips brushing his ear.
"I'm more real than you are."
---
And then it did something new.
It raised a hand—his hand, but steadier, stronger—and touched Adrian's chest. The spiral in his flesh pulsed in response, syncing with the double's touch.
Adrian screamed, body convulsing, as if something were being pulled from him. His vision blurred, and for a terrifying moment, he couldn't tell whether he was looking at the double or if he was the double.
His sense of self fractured, splitting like glass.
The last thing he heard before collapsing was his own voice, whispered from the double's lips:
"Sleep. I'll take it from here."
---