Adrian lay on the floor, chest heaving, his throat raw from screams. The spirals along his arms flickered faintly, glowing with each pulse of his heart. His head throbbed with the echo of the other voice.
And then — silence.
The laughter was gone. The whispers hushed. The grip around his mind loosened.
He flexed his fingers. They obeyed. He staggered upright, legs trembling but steady, each movement his own. He touched his face, his chest. No more spirals burned beneath the skin.
Just him.
A sob tore from his throat. Relief, raw and overwhelming. He pressed his forehead against the cool surface of the wall, tears streaking down his cheeks.
"Still me," he whispered. "I'm still me."
For the first time in what felt like forever, he dared to believe it.
---
Hours — or what felt like hours — passed without incident. He wandered the twisting corridors, and though the Dimensional still writhed around him, the double didn't return. His reflection stayed silent. His body felt heavy, yes, but it was his.
He even managed to rest. Not sleep — not truly — but enough to close his eyes without spirals carving through his eyelids. Enough to let his thoughts quiet.
The hope was fragile, but it was real.
Maybe he had won.
Maybe the Dimensional had underestimated him.
---
But hope is the cruelest trick.
As Adrian walked, he noticed his shadow stretching farther than it should, bending away from his body even when he stood still. It twitched when he didn't. Its head turned when his didn't.
And then it smiled.
Adrian froze.
"No…"
The shadow whispered back in his own voice, smooth and calm:
Yes.
---
Pain ripped through him like lightning. His knees buckled, his chest split with searing heat. He clawed at the spiral that had once faded, only to feel it burning brighter than ever, pulsing like a second heart.
He collapsed, convulsing, as his limbs jerked violently out of his control. His mouth opened against his will, and his voice — the double's voice — spilled out.
"I told you, Adrian. This is balance. And balance always breaks."
Adrian screamed inside his own skull, thrashing, but his body betrayed him. His hands rose, his legs straightened, every muscle locked into place as though he were just a passenger.
The possession had begun.
---