They both looked stunned as they listened to me. They exchanged glances, then turned back, their faces suddenly calmer.
One of them spoke softly.
"We kind of knew the reason. After my master told me about it… We already knew."
It dawned on me then—that he must have told them everything. And somehow, they didn't seem angry. It seemed like they understood why I'd acted the way I did.
But inside me, I felt compelled to tell them that I regretted it, not out of hatred or bitterness, but simply because I couldn't bear the thought of how I'd behaved.
They had come here for me. They'd endured all this because of me. Guilt twisted inside my chest. That's why I'd apologized.
Yet they seemed happier that I'd come back at all—more than they cared about my apology.
After a few moments, the room fell quiet. We all sank into our own thoughts. The silence was heavy until I finally spoke, breaking it.
I began telling them everything that had happened to me—including the moment I was teleported here. The more I spoke, the more shocked they looked. Some things they already knew. Other things left them speechless.
Deep down, I knew there was no point in meeting like this unless they knew the whole truth. If I truly trusted them, I couldn't keep hiding it.
Telling them the truth would cost me dearly, and I knew it.
When I finally finished speaking, the silence became even heavier.
Aleyas listened to it all, then stood and quietly left for her room. Brons remained there, staring blankly, trying to process it.
I knew this would happen. I could see it in their eyes. And I could tell from the way Aleyas avoided my gaze that she was stunned and hurting, trying to make sense of it all.
Meanwhile, I just sat there, as if nothing had happened.
I knew lying was wrong. But still even now, everything I was doing felt wrong. But I couldn't keep holding onto lies.
I'm not good at lying. It's not that I can't lie—it's that I can't lie to people I trust. To people who have earned my trust through everything they've done for me.
They were my friends, yet not mine. But they were still people who cared for me as if they'd been waiting for me to come back all this time, without ever saying a word.
Eventually, I went upstairs and lay down in my bed, staring at the ceiling, sleep quietly pulling me under.
Then I woke up… though it didn't feel like waking up.
I was standing in a place that felt utterly different. In front of me was someone who looked exactly like me—a perfect reflection of my own face and body.
But he wasn't me.
There was something darker in his eyes. The longer I stared, the more I realized: this could not be me.
Suddenly, he lunged forward. I didn't move. I didn't even flinch.
He grabbed me, slammed me to the ground, and began choking me. His voice dripped with rage and hatred, each word sharp with malice:
"Give me back my body... give me back my friends."
I felt frozen with confusion.
Was this a dream? Was this Conscious?
Was this the person I thought didn't exist—the true owner of the body, the Ray of this world?
All the turmoil and contradictions inside me seemed to collide. But somehow, I stayed calm.
Part of me thought… maybe this would be a good ending. To be forgotten. To fade away without regrets. No more burdens. No more pretending.
But then, he spoke a single word that shattered everything.
He hissed, venom in his voice:
"Give me back my aunt."
That was the moment everything changed.
It hit me like lightning. If he knew about my aunt… then he was not the ray of this world, no, he was just my problem. This wasn't some invented fantasy.
Suddenly, I was sure: this world is real.
I broke free of his grip, flipped him onto his back, and grabbed him by the throat instead.
"This life… this body… Bron and Aleyas… none of this is fake," I shouted at him. "If you were the Ray of this world, you'd never mention my aunt like that!"
Then choked him till he was dead.
I looked around and saw where I was standing.
I was in water. It was shallow at first, reflecting a sky scattered with small, gentle clouds, bright blue like a peaceful summer day.
But the ground beneath my feet began to give way. Slowly, the water rose around me, submerging me deeper and deeper, as if I were losing control of everything.
The light overhead grew dimmer and dimmer until it felt like eternal darkness had swallowed me whole.
I felt like letting everything go—my thoughts, my purpose, my very sense of self.
Giving up seemed so easy. All I had to do was stop fighting… and die.
As those thoughts began to overtake me, I heard a sound that snapped me back.
A knock at my door.
I blinked and looked down at my hands. I was awake.
Still trembling, I pushed myself out of bed and walked over to the door.
When I opened it, there was Aleyas, standing there, her face pale and fragile, looking more vulnerable than I'd ever seen her.
She sat down on my bed while I remained standing near the door.
For a moment, silence hung in the air. Then she began to speak, her voice soft and trembling.
"You're not the real Ray."
Everything she said left me a little confused. It didn't fully make sense, but somehow it also did.
She continued, her voice faltering.
"Ray would've never pushed himself into the castle. He knew the danger. He wasn't someone like that. I know there's more to this… but my mind already knows. Even if you were the real Ray… you wouldn't have gone there without a reason."
I knew she was right. Even if I'd been the original Ray, I wouldn't have gone to that castle unless something had driven me there.
She kept speaking, pain flickering in her eyes.
"I still can't believe it… that you're not him. Do you remember those small spots you talked about? Those fragments you remembered that came to you out of nowhere? It still doesn't make any sense. You look like him. You act like him. There are only small differences between you now. The more I look at you… the more you resemble him."
I couldn't blame her. Everything about me—my personality, my behavior, even my gestures—mirrored him so closely it was natural for her to think we were the same person.
She fell silent again for a moment, gathering herself. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"When you leave here… will he ever come back?"
I couldn't answer her right away. I stared down at my hands, lost for words, unsure what truth might hurt her less.
Finally, I said the only thing I could:
"I… I don't know."
Hearing that, I saw her face crumple, as if she were about to break into tears.
She stood abruptly, as if to flee the room. But before she could leave, I caught her wrist.
Slowly, she reached out her hand, hesitating, then pulled me into a hug.
It was soft. Gentle. She buried her face against my chest, and though no sobs escaped her lips, tears streamed down her cheeks.
When she finally pulled back, she looked up at me, a small, trembling smile on her face.
"It doesn't matter if you're not him… or if you are. What matters is that you're our friend. And we'll help you achieve anything. Together."
Her words hit me harder than anything else had.
Maybe that's my biggest weakness—the thing that makes me human.
I looked up at the ceiling, my thoughts spiraling.
Is there only one real "Ray"? Does the real Ray come back if I die… or disappear? Or did we fuse together somehow?
So many questions. And every answer only led to more questions.
As my thoughts were in all the place.
"They are people I never truly considered friends… but they trusted me, and they're ready to do anything for me."
I still couldn't call them my friends.
And I wondered why.
Was it because I was weak? No… it wasn't weakness.
It was just… me.
How can I call people my friends when I'm not even sure if I'm really me?
But deep down, I also knew… if any of them were in trouble, I'd do the same for them. Even if I couldn't bring myself to call them my friends.