The tension was rising with every moment. The oppressive silence surrounding us only made things worse—I could hear Ronan's and Elena's breathing, and if it continued any longer, I felt like I'd hear their heartbeats too.
But the silence didn't last. The darkness below stirred.
The sea of darkness rose upward like a wave. A fragment of it separated and floated slowly into the sky, stopping on the mountain's surface. It looked like a blot of black ink.
The darkness trembled, and then shapes resembling human hands reached out from it. They gripped the ground, pulling human-like figures out of the dark blot.
There were three monsters of darkness—but what made them truly terrifying was...
"They're copies of us!!"
I said in disbelief as I stared at the figures before us. They were exact replicas—same size, same appearance, even the same equipment. The only difference was that they were made of pure darkness and stood upside down, with their feet on the ground and their heads pointing toward the sea of darkness below.
"Nox, how do we fight them like this?"
Elena asked nervously as she stared at her own double.
I didn't answer her. Instead, I summoned chains that connected to the ground and coiled tightly around our feet. That way, we could walk.
"We don't have any other choice. Walking will be hard—you won't be able to jump, and I won't be able to use the chains to help you move. So take defensive stances and try attacking from a safe distance."
I said as I drew the Crimson Resurrection from its sheath, preparing to fight. The others followed, readying themselves as well.
We looked at each other in tense silence, waiting for the clash to begin.
We didn't wait long. The copies moved, charging toward us with speed.
My duplicate reached me first, aiming to slice me in two. I quickly raised my sword to block.
Clang!
The impact nearly forced me to my knees, my teeth clenched from the sheer force.
'This strength... it's level eight!!'
The power of the copy left me stunned—it was clearly stronger than me.
It pulled back its sword and spun swiftly, kicking me hard in the stomach.
"Arghhh!"
The air burst out of my lungs as I was hurled backward, crashing into the mountain. The chains around my feet shattered from the force, but I quickly forged new ones before I could fall.
My organs were damaged, my back battered from the impact—but I was already beginning to heal.
I spat out blood onto the ground and readied myself again.
I sprinted forward, ensuring chains still anchored me, then slashed horizontally at my copy. It blocked with ease.
Using that moment, I summoned spears of darkness from the ground to stab it from behind.
But a sudden wall of darkness erupted behind the copy, destroying my spears.
'They're using shard powers? No… wait. Looking closely, this darkness has a tint of rotten green.'
I didn't let my shock slow me down. I leapt back, forming a dark circle beneath me, attempting to set a trap.
The copy lunged again, stabbing at me. I narrowly avoided the thrust.
Chains burst from the darkness, binding its body to the ground. I jumped, using its body as a foothold to spring away.
Once outside my own dark zone, I encased the copy in a dome and commanded the darkness to crush it.
I thought I had succeeded—
But the darkness shattered as a torrent of rotten green shadows erupted outward. The copy emerged unharmed.
'This is going to be difficult.'
I thought grimly as our clashes continued. Sword against sword, shadow against shadow—we were locked in a deadlock. But I knew it couldn't last forever. The copy's endurance was endless. I, on the other hand, was already exhausted, with no way to recover.
Ronan was being pushed back by his own copy wielding foul winds, while Elena was the only one on the offensive—forcing her corrupted-light duplicate to retreat.
'That girl… her power is a complete mystery. How can she overwhelm a stronger version of herself with the same abilities? It makes no sense.'
I was lost in thought when an explosion of pain burst in my chest, dragging me back to reality.
"Arghhh!"
Air ripped from my lungs as I was blasted backward, slamming into the wall and carving a deep crater. Crawling out slowly, I dropped to my knees.
I coughed blood violently, my breathing ragged. My chest was shattered—both lungs and even my heart destroyed.
Before my body could heal, the copy appeared beside me, lowering its sword to sever my head. I barely managed to react—
Pressing my hand to the ground, I summoned a spear of darkness aimed at its arm.
Slash!
Luckily, I was faster. The spear severed its arm, sending both the hand and sword falling into the sea of darkness.
"Take this, mother fu*ker!"
I cursed, rolling onto my back as I raised my hand like a gun. A small orb of darkness spun rapidly On my fingertips before I fired it like a bullet toward the copy's chest.
It tried to conjure a wall of darkness in defense.
Crash!
The bullet slammed into the wall, but with its rotational force and velocity, it pierced through and continued toward the copy.
It narrowly dodged—the bullet grazing its side instead of its chest.
I didn't relent. I knew it wouldn't be enough to kill. Even before firing, I had already moved.
Charging the copy with both hands gripping my sword, I swung at its neck.
Chains of rotten darkness erupted to stop me—but I was ready. Shurikens of darkness spun at high speed, slicing through the chains.
'I copied Elena when she destroyed my chains. Creating something complex like shurikens was hard—especially since speed isn't darkness specialty—but I pulled it off after brutal training.'
I thought as my blade cleaved into the copy's neck, severing it completely.
The head plunged into the sea of darkness, the body following soon after. I stayed alert—it could still mimic my traits.
But the notification sound was what finally relieved me:
[You have slain an Eidolon — Level 8]
'At least they're killable.'
I exhaled in relief, then turned my gaze toward the others. Elena had already killed her copy and was helping Ronan, who was covered in wounds.
'Good thing she helped Ronan. If she had seen my chest shattering, she would've rushed to save me—and that would've left Ronan to die. Honestly, the copy should've thrown me into the sea of darkness. That would've killed me for good.'
The thought sent a chill down my spine. Gathering my strength, I made my way to Elena and Ronan.
She was tending to his wounds while he sat, breathing heavily. She looked at me with worry in her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Well, actually my head's killing me. I had to concentrate on fighting while controlling the chains holding us together—especially you, Elena. You were moving everywhere, even though I told you to stay as still as possible."
I scolded, pressing my nose in pain, my mental exhaustion at its peak.
"I'm sorry…"
Elena lowered her shoulders, guilt clear in her expression. That only made me feel worse.
Scratching my cheek, I tried to comfort her.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're safe. Let's just rest for now."
"Alright. Let me handle stabilizing us."
She summoned four pillars connected to the ground, then created a large platform between them wide enough for all of us.
"Light manipulation always amazes me… this is way better than my method. Why didn't you suggest it before?"
I asked, astonished by the stable platform beneath us—no more hanging upside down.
"Hehehe ~ I keep telling you I'm amazing, but you never take me seriously. Besides, your method worked well enough, so I didn't see the need."
She laughed proudly, puffing out her chest.
I shook my head in weary defeat—I didn't have the energy to banter with her.
"Nox, come here."
Elena called gently, patting her lap.
"Girl, what are you doing?"
I narrowed my eyes at her, warning her to be mindful of our surroundings.
"Ronan's already asleep."
I turned to check—and sure enough, he was out cold, like a corpse.
"Stop staring and come."
She opened her arms, inviting me.
I gave in, lying down in her lap as she wanted. Truthfully, I wanted it too—but the situation didn't feel right.
Elena stroked my hair softly, smiling tenderly.
Then she leaned down, pressing her lips gently against my forehead. A delicate kiss—then she pulled back, still smiling.
"I promised you a kiss, didn't I? There you go."
Her face flushed red, white hair falling over her cheeks.
I slowly reached up, tucking her hair behind her ear. I gazed into her eyes, filled with love and warmth, and that only made me hate myself more for treating her poorly. I dropped my hand, turned my head away, and closed my eyes, trying to sleep.
Elena continued to stroke me gently until I drifted off. Deep down, I felt nothing would attack us anymore. There was no need to worry.