"Come on, buddy. Time to go."
Zeke said in a pleasant tone that contrasted his actions, as he roughly grabbed the collar of the fake Zeke's shirt, pulling the duplicate up to his feet.
The duplicate grumbled.
"Fine, let's go…"
Nico followed closely behind. The young boy looked around curiously, keeping silent. He appeared nothing like the cunning, resourceful person that pulled me into this mission I knew. Even now, I still didn't really trust him.
I wasn't that far behind, following right behind Zeke. Isabella was beside, she had awoken from her short nap, all rested and her mental health much better from the brief respite she has received.
I spared her a brief look, before turning my attention towards the back of Zeke that was leading us. I had to give it to him— he was the stronger one compared to everyone here. With his Blessing ability being so powerful, even without much experience, he could overwhelm any foe. Having him around as an ally boosted my confidence, bringing me a sense of ease.
It made the fact that I have to fight him later on more dreadful. During these times together, as 'allies' I need to focus on learning his curse and weaknesses, before we are inevitability forced to face each other.
As I was pondering these thoughts, Zeke turned towards his duplicate while we walked through the dim tunnels, then asked;
"I have given you enough time, pal. Tell me the abilities of those two retainers you mentioned."
My ears perked up in interest, as I picked up the pace and began listening intently. Meanwhile, the duplicate, visibly flinched at the question.
"I really don't know much myself…."
But after seeing the suspicious glares the four of us was giving him, the duplicate sighed in defeat and relented.
"I was pretty close to number seven. He trained me personally. So, I did get to see some of his abilities…."
As he continued walking, he seemed to hesitate. A pained expression appearing on his void-like face, his eyes lowering and his 'eyebrows' knitting together in guilt. Clearly, he didn't seem to want to betray his master.
However, as Zeke 'nicely' patted the duplicate on the back, the fake quivered and quickly continued— his self-preservation winning over his fragile loyalty towards Lord Tanmi.
Gulping, he said;
"Number seven has this very strong ability that….let's him sort of create copies of himself that appears from the future."
My eyebrows shot up in confusion. Isabella as well seemed equally confused, while Nico remained blank, listening quietly.
"Clarify."
Zeke said, waiting for the duplicate to continue.
"It's like, he can attack in the present, while also attacking from the future."
Nico spoke up, gaining an understanding.
"Perhaps what he is trying to say is that number seven is capable of placing a copy of himself a few seconds into the future, that 'attacks' from the future, deliberately delaying his attack by a few seconds to confuse his enemies."
Isabella nodded her head in understanding, her gem-like ruby eyes sparkling with enlightment.
"That's a terrifying ability. We will have to be wary of that."
As she said that, I turned towards the duplicate and finished the part she left unsaid with a smile.
"Assuming he is telling the truth, of course."
The duplicate of Zeke trembled, quickly replying.
"I'm telling the truth! Why would I lie about this?"
Zeke chimed in, sacarsm dripping from his tone.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because of some misguided sense of loyalty towards you're master, or Lord Tanmi himself?"
The duplicate glared at Zeke.
"Do you trust me so little?"
I snorted, amused by those words.
"Like we are supposed to trust someone who takes on our faces and tried to kill us earlier?"
Isabella sighed and raised a hand.
"Okay, let's not get too heated. Regardless of him not being trustworthy enough, we should atleast consider what he had said and be prepared for it. Just in case."
Nico nodded, following closely behind us.
"What about the next one, then? Or the mysterious number one?"
The duplicate still seemed a bit upset at the lack of trust, but he still answered.
"I don't know much about number one, besides him not being much of a fighter. He relies alot on his spatial teleporation ability."
Reaching up he rubbed the bridge of his nose, continuing after a brief pause.
"As for the second guard. I don't know much about them. Even their gender remains a mystery to me."
My eyebrows raised in interest, but I didn't say anything, as we continued walking. Everything seemed to have become silent after those words, nothing else really needed to be said. We are approaching our destination, after all, with the duplicate leading us.
My eyes remained fixed on the back of the duplicate. My eyes caught on to something, but I wasn't really able to tell what. Just a small, black orb floating beside the duplicate, blending in to the void-like skin the creature had.
I was about to open my mouth to speak and call the duplicate out on it, but I saw him turn his head towards me over his shoulder, his frown twisting upward into a malicious smirk, that sent shivers down my spine.
Isabella frowned seeing this.
"What are you smiling for?"
Zeke, as well, had halted in his steps and turned towards his duplicate in doubtful silence. Nico was observing silently, not saying much.
The duplicate didn't respond. Instead, we all saw a spear whistling through the air towards the duplicate, stabbing him right through the throat.
We all blinked simultaneously.
The duplicate had vanished into thin air. The cloth acting as a rope tying his arms together had fell to the floor, leaving behind no trace of where he had gone. Just like it had been with my duplicate.
Nico faltered.
"W–what?"
Zeke observed expressionlessly, but that's mainly due to his mask. I can see his jaws clench in frustration. While Isabella beside me watched the scene with grim acceptance, as if she had been expecting this.
"Looks like number one came to save his sorry ass. And what was that spear? Who threw it?"
Zeke mumbled.
"And he was definitely lying. About alot of stuff. Maybe he wasn't even leading to their lair, but to an ambush—"
His words came true. From the darkness in front of me and behind me, figures outlined themselves. Five figures. Three behind me, two in front of me. All of them had a void-like body, similar to illustrations of a blackhole, they had milky-white drops as eyes, going lower and littered around their body— it was beautiful, i would of admired if, they weren't my enemies.
"Shit!"
I heard someone exclaim, but the moment my eyes left the two retainers in front of me, something happend. I felt a strong pain in my neck, causing my eyes to shut for a moment. When I opended them….
The tunnel had disappered— no, all of the tunnels had disappeared, replaced by a pure darkness, with the same milky drops littered around the sky and ground below me.
'Where the hell…?'
I tried making sense of my surroundings, looking around, searching for companions. But I found no signs of them. Instead, as I looked forward, I saw myself.
The duplicate of myself.
"You cheated."
I raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Where are—"
My duplicate grew angry, as he exclaimed.
"You cheated! Did you think I'll let it slide? No, I will kill you. I will tear you apart, while using you're own abilities against you."
I scoffed at his childish whinning.
"Still not over it?"
His face grew more red.
"Shut up! Fight me to the death, Morgan!"
I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Why is this guy so similar to Dorian? All that was missing was the 'mongrel' bit, really.
"Sure, I will. But won't you atleast let me in on where we are?"
As I said those words, it wasn't my duplicate who responded. Rather, from somewhere high above, I heard a voice. It was deep and authorative.
"This is a little pocket dimension I created since number four kept on whining about wanting a rematch with you, without disturbances."
I looked up, furrowing my eyebrows. That voice sounded similar— number one, perhaps? This is truly powerful, to be able to create a pocket dimension. While I was worried about fighting my duplicate again, the thought of having to find a way to escape this place filled me with an even deeper worry.
"What's happend outside, then?"
I said, not expecting a response. But surprisingly, I got one.
"The retainers and number five is engaging with them in battle."
I clenched my jaw, suddenly feeling guilty for leaving them. I couldn't even see what was happening outside, much less help them. All I could do now was hope that they were safe.
My duplicate shifted, then spoke up again, summoning [Fool's Rapier].
"Well, are you done now?"
I still had more questions, but after seeing how impatient my copy was to be put back into place, I held them back. Summoning [Fool's Rapier] myself, I got into a defensive stance and eyed my duplicate carefully.
"Just one question. What happens after I kill you?"
The duplicate scoffed.
"As if you can kill me."
I rolled my eyes, clarifying.
"Hypothetically."
The duplicate pondered, as if in deep thought, but wasn't able to think of answer to my question, his mind filled with nothing but getting vengeance towards me. Thus, it was number one— the voice from before— that answered so generously.
"The pocket dimension will collapse. The victor will be freed."
I raised an eyebrow, suspicious.
"Why would you free the victor? What if I win? Wouldn't this be the perfect chance to trap me?"
The voice was silent for a few seconds, then responded after some hesitation, as if he was being forced to.
"It would, but im unable to keep this up forever."
My eyes widened once again. Why, exactly, was this guy giving me so much information? Something was strange about him, but I didn't say anything. I dismissed those words and the strange behavior of number one as a way to mess with my mind— going back to focusing on what's right in front of me.
"I'm curious. What are you?"
I asked leisurely, as I got back into a fighting stance, preparing for a confrontation. This was one thing I have been curious about ever since the start of this mission. What were these creatures inside the mission? Were they real? Were they just NPC's created by The Mulligan? So many questions, without any real answer. It frustrated me.
My duplicate seemed confused by my question, after some silence, he answered with a shrug.
"We are the Nihileth."
I regarded my duplicate— no, this Nihileth with curiosity at what he had just said. A Nihileth…what was that? It sounded like a race of beings. The name itself sounded mysterious.
"What's a Nihileth?"
The Nihileth didn't seem pleased with my constant questioning, curiosity and stalling. To the point, he eventually snapped.
"Shut up! I came here to fight you! Not to be interviewed!"
I sighed, disappointed that I wouldn't be getting any answers today. I consoled myself by thinking of asking Mova later— the attitude he showed me during the bow-user's attack rubbed me the wrong way, but as long as I free him, I was confident I can get him to bind to me. However, that required finishing this mission, and to finish this mission I needed to get rid of these Nihileth's.
"Very well."
I observed the duplicate carefully, as he mimicked my stance, leaving no obvious openings. Like always, he seemed very well-suited for fighting using the Rapier, which brought me a sense of envy and excitement— would I be able to learn new techniques from him? I hoped so.
I though back to my companions fighting the others outside. I could only hope they were doing okay, I had faith in them. Zeke and Isabella won't be taken down that easily— by the time I come back, everything will be over outside. Or, atleast I hoped that would be the case.
Thus, I focused entirely on my duplicate.
'Let the rematch begin...'