The wind howled in my ears.
A powerful feeling of weightlessness wrapped around my body.
I forced my heavy eyelids open. All I could see was the sky moving further and further away.
'Am I... falling?'
My brain was a mess. My memories were like torn pieces of paper, scattered and broken. I couldn't put a single full picture together.
I tried to grab onto something, but my fingers only felt the cold air rushing past.
I fell helplessly. It felt like a century passed, but it also felt like only a second.
Bang!
Boom!!
My back slammed into hard rock. Sharp pain shot through me.
Then came the heavy thud as I finally hit the ground.
My consciousness was already blurry. Under this massive impact, it flickered like a candle in the wind before going dark...
...
I don't know how much time passed.
At the end of the darkness, tiny sounds reached my ears like thin threads.
It was blurry at first, then it became clear.
Someone was talking.
"These two... they look so much alike! Are they twins? Or brother and sister?"
"Wow! Look at this crater! It looks like this person fell straight from the sky! And they're okay? That's crazy!"
...
I felt a pair of hands carefully checking my body.
The movements were gentle and curious.
The girl speaking had a clear, energetic voice. She sounded like a flickering flame.
"It's a miracle... there are no injuries at all..."
"Yangyang, how is the other one doing?"
Another voice spoke from the side. It was cooler and calmer. That must be the person named Yangyang.
"...Her condition is strange... she shows clear signs of drowning..."
"...But there are no external wounds. Her breathing is normal, though her heart should be beating faster."
"That's so weird. One looks like they fell from the sky, and the other looks like they drowned..."
The words came in bits and pieces. It felt like listening through a wall of water.
I gathered all my remaining strength. Finally, my heavy eyelids trembled and opened just a crack.
The blurry shadows came into focus. The first thing I saw was a face leaning close to mine, full of concern.
She had bright red hair tied into a neat braid. Her eyes were as bright as amber.
She saw me open my eyes and immediately shouted with joy, "Hey! You're awake!"
At the same time, the girl named Yangyang looked up from nearby. "This one is awake too!"
I tried to sit up. A wave of weakness and dizziness hit me instantly. I swayed, almost falling over again.
The red-haired girl reached out to help, then hesitated. She let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
"I'm so glad you're awake! Otherwise, I would have had to use my secret move... the ultimate life-saving technique every Junior Patroller must know!"
As she spoke, she made a serious face and mimicked a pressing motion with her hands.
"CPR!"
My head was spinning too much to understand her words. I instinctively pressed my hand against my forehead, trying to fight the waves of nausea.
"...Chixia."
Yangyang's voice came again, sounding a bit helpless as she stopped her friend.
The girl named Chixia realized what she was doing. She stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
"Ah, haha, sorry, sorry. You just woke up, and here I am talking non-stop."
My mind cleared a little more. Curiosity pushed me to look around.
We seemed to be at the bottom of a narrow valley or a crack in the earth. Stone walls rose on both sides. In the distance, there was a small opening that looked like an entrance or an exit.
Then, my eyes locked onto something.
Right next to Yangyang, another figure was struggling to sit up.
It was a girl with black hair and golden eyes.
The moment I saw her, my heart skipped a beat. A strange feeling rose from deep inside me... a mix of familiarity and a sudden shock.
It wasn't just that she looked like me. It was a creepy feeling, like I was looking into a mirror at another version of myself!
At that exact moment, she turned her head and looked at me.
When our eyes met, I saw the same shock and confusion on her pale face. I also saw a flash of instant caution!
There was no time to think.
In this weird situation that I couldn't understand, my body reacted before my brain did.
I balled my hand into a fist and put all my strength into it!
I swung a punch at the "me" sitting across from me!
On the other side, like a mirror, she did the exact same thing!
Bang!
Our two fists crashed together. A dull thud echoed through the air.
Power, speed, angle... everything was identical!
A huge force pushed back against us. We were both blown backward at the same time. We slammed hard into the rock walls behind us, letting out the same groan of pain.
'The power is exactly the same?! Even our thoughts and reactions are synced?!'
'What the hell is going on?!'
Terror washed over me like a tsunami. I stared intensely at the other "me." She was also looking up from the impact, her eyes filled with disbelief.
We both pushed ourselves out of the dents in the rock walls. Small stones crumbled and fell around us.
This sudden fight left Yangyang and Chixia stunned.
After a short pause, Chixia rushed in front of me. She spread her arms to block me, her voice urgent.
"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! Why did you two start fighting all of a sudden?!"
Yangyang also quickly stood in front of the other girl. Her calm voice was full of confusion. "Aren't you two... companions?"
They wore almost the same clothes and looked so similar. Anyone would think they were close.
But I didn't have time to explain. All my focus was on that girl. I shouted the words instinctively:
"Who are you?!"
The question burst from both their mouths in perfect unison.
"Huh?"
Another simultaneous sound followed immediately.
The eerie synchronization made both of them freeze.
"I am the Rover!"
Once again, they spoke at the exact same time with zero delay.
This time, a chill ran down their spines.
'How does she know what I'm going to say?!'
They stared at each other. The hostility and caution in their eyes were replaced by deep confusion.
This bizarre scene left Yangyang and Chixia completely stunned.
They looked at each other, seeing nothing but bewilderment in each other's eyes.
Chixia scratched her fiery red hair. Her face was a mask of confusion. Finally, she spoke up hesitantly.
"Uh... are you both... named 'Rover'?"
Chixia's question hung in the air, thick with doubt.
But the two "Rovers" had no time to answer.
Their gazes remained locked. The air was heavy with tension and an unbelievable, eerie synchronization.
After a brief silence, I instinctively took a slow, testing step forward.
At the exact same moment, the "other me" across from me took the same cautious step.
We both stopped at once.
I frowned and tried tilting my head slightly to the left.
She tilted her head to the right at the same time. It was like a mirror. Perfect.
A chill crawled up my spine.
Refusing to believe it, I raised my right hand and spread my five fingers.
Her hand, identical to mine, rose with the same rhythm and angle.
'Synced again!'
This time, beneath the shock, there was a strange curiosity.
It was an instinct that went beyond hate. It came from a deep confusion about my own existence.
We were like puppets on invisible strings. Or like someone standing before a mirror, watching their reflection move on its own.
I stared into her golden eyes. They were filled with the same shock and confusion. I tried to read her thoughts.
But I only saw a reflection of my own emotions. The sharp hostility was melting away. It turned into disbelief and emptiness. I saw that exact same change on her face.
She seemed to see the same thing in my eyes.
We relaxed our combat stances at the same time. We were still cautious, but the deadly tension faded like a receding tide.
A strange, wordless understanding formed between us.
She wasn't some mocker trying to copy me.
And I wasn't an enemy she needed to kill.
We were... like two sides of the same soul.
"...What on earth," I heard my own voice say. It sounded dry.
"...is going on?" Her voice overlapped mine, finishing the sentence.
We fell silent again. This time, there was no anger or fear. Only a deep, soul-shaking confusion remained.
Chixia watched our bizarre, silent synchronization. Her mouth hung open. She froze in place and whispered.
"This... this is way beyond just looking alike..."
Yangyang looked back and forth between us. Her eyes were full of questions.