Ever since we recovered the third artifact, the city seemed to be watching our every step. It wasn't paranoia: the walls changed texture as we passed, doors breathed a little deeper when we approached, and shadows that weren't ours slipped across the ground like living ink. The Labyrinth City was becoming more active. Or more curious.
Rai'kanna walked beside me, analyzing the changes in the street, while Elara kept an arrow ready. Vespera tried to decipher patterns in the movement of the windows, and Liriel frantically recorded every detail she could capture. Lyannis stayed close, always alert.
"Today it's… restless," Vespera commented. "Like it knows we're close to something big."
"Or like it wants to play with us," Elara replied.
"Games here never end well," said Rai'kanna, frowning.
We followed a wide street, with tall houses that bent upward like stone trees. The sky was gray, but it didn't look natural — it resembled an unfinished painting, with blurred brushstrokes. There was a soft hum in the air, as if the city were murmuring to itself.
"Takumi," Liriel called, "is the flame reacting?"
I touched my chest. The flame wasn't agitated or aggressive. It was… divided. I felt as if it were being pulled in different directions.
"It's strange," I replied. "I don't know how to explain it."
Lyannis stepped closer, worried. "Strange like before the vessel appeared?"
"Not the same, but… not normal."
Before we could discuss it further, a massive structure moved in the distance. An entire building slowly rotated to the side, opening a path where there had been a solid wall before.
Rai'kanna raised her wings, alert. "The city is opening a passage. Or setting a trap."
"There's no difference," Vespera muttered.
We advanced slowly. The ground felt solid, but every step echoed too far. A long corridor appeared ahead of us, lit by small crystals suspended in the air. They drifted away when we tried to touch them, like insects fleeing from light.
In the middle of the corridor, there was something unexpected: an arch formed by floating stones. At its center, a gray mist oscillated like vibrating water.
"Don't get close," Liriel warned immediately. "That's unstable."
"Is it a portal?" I asked.
"It's not a portal," she replied. "It's the city's interpretation of the concept of a portal. Whatever is inside there… is not meant to be crossed."
Vespera nudged one of the floating stones with the hilt of her dagger. The stone trembled and returned to its place.
"Seems calm enough," she said. "At least it didn't explode."
That was when the flame inside me pulsed violently.
Lyannis turned quickly. "Takumi?"
"Something is… calling," I murmured.
Before anyone could react, the mist within the arch moved. Not like wind, but like a distorted mirror rippling.
And then, without warning, a figure stepped out of it.
Me.
Same clothes. Same expression. Same everything.
Lyannis let out a short scream and stepped back. Elara immediately aimed her arrow. Rai'kanna moved forward a step, blocking his path toward me. Vespera cursed something I didn't fully understand.
The other version of me opened his eyes and looked around, confused.
"…where am I?" he asked.
The voice was identical.
But there was a difference: the gaze. A deep, almost cold calm. As if nothing could affect him.
"Takumi," said Liriel, "step back. Now."
I took a step back, even though I couldn't take my eyes off him.
"Who are you?" Rai'kanna asked, ready to attack.
The other me tilted his head. "I'm Takumi. Who else would I be?"
Lyannis took a hesitant step. "Is this… the city making a copy?"
"Not necessarily," said Liriel. "The city doesn't create simple duplicates. It creates possibilities. Reflections. Alternative versions… or repressed versions."
The other me looked directly into my eyes.
"You look tired," he said. "If you want, I can take over for a while."
The flame inside me wavered violently. Rai'kanna noticed immediately.
"Stay away from him," she warned. "Don't give this thing any space."
The other me smiled faintly. But it wasn't my smile. It was far too calm.
"I just want to help. After all, I am you."
"You're not," I replied.
He tilted his head again, as if analyzing my answer.
"Then prove it."
Before I could react, he lunged. He moved exactly the way I do — same rhythm, same step, same posture. It was terrifying. I raised my sword, but he dodged before I even completed the motion.
"He's reading your instincts!" Vespera shouted.
"Or he has the same ones," said Elara, firing an arrow.
The other me caught the arrow between his fingers and let it fall.
"That won't work," he murmured.
Lyannis ran along the side and attacked with her spear, but he blocked it with the back of his hand, effortlessly.
"You didn't need to use force," he said, looking at her. "I wouldn't do that."
"You're not him!" Lyannis shot back.
I advanced, ignoring the growing panic in my chest. The flame burned fiercely, responding to his presence.
"Why do you exist?" I asked.
He smiled — and this time the smile was heavy.
"Because the city wants to know who you would be if you weren't afraid of anything."
The strike came fast. He attacked using my own stance, as if predicting every move I made. I blocked, but the impact sent me stumbling back several steps. Rai'kanna moved to intercept, but he didn't attack anyone except me.
"This is personal," he said. "Between the two of us."
Liriel conjured glowing runes to contain him. The duplicate simply passed through them as if they were smoke.
"That's impossible," Liriel murmured. "He has no essence of his own, how—"
"Because I'm not a copy," he replied. "I'm what could have been."
The flame inside me vibrated with intensity. It wasn't fear. It wasn't anger. It was something between recognition and rejection.
I tightened my grip on the sword.
"Then tell me," I said. "What do you want?"
He stepped closer until he was only two meters away from me.
"I want to see which of us deserves to keep existing."
Rai'kanna lunged forward, furious. "No one touches him!"
Before she could strike, the world around us blurred. The street folded in on itself, the walls twisted, and the ground turned into a liquid mirror. The city was isolating the two of us. Rai'kanna tried to cross the barrier, but a translucent membrane repelled her.
"Takumi!" she shouted. "Don't fight alone!"
The duplicate raised his hand and lightly touched the barrier, the cold smile still on his face.
"But that's exactly what he always does."
I took a deep breath.
The flame inside me shone.
And the battle began.