Right when Pardo encountered her other self, scenes were unfolding in the dead center of the Domination Theater.
"Tsk, what a frail bunch of puppets. Is this really all the power you have?"
Facing the puppets lunging at him once more, Fu Li let out a cold snort. With a sweep of his dragon wings, several puppets were instantly swatted away, smashing heavily against the walls.
He wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but he felt that these puppets were significantly more fragile than the ones from his previous life. They were simply ganging up on him endlessly, without a shred of tactical coordination.
Fu Li naturally saw through their objective. They wanted to trap him here using a war of attrition. But what was the point of that?
Even with the addition of the 999 resentful spirits from this era, wiping them out was merely a question of time for him.
"I wonder how Pardo is doing."
Crushing another puppet's head with his hand, Fu Li exhaled a breath, anxiety binding him like invisible vines.
He remembered clearly that when he was teleported away, Pardo seemed to have grabbed his arm. However, he wasn't certain if she had been teleported along with him.
"Probably not. After all, Pardo has zero combat capability. There's not much point in bringing her here."
Although he thought this, Fu Li's attacks accelerated slightly.
Regardless of the situation, he had to clear this place out with the fastest speed possible. Only when he saw Pardo again could he truly be at ease.
---o---
At the edge of the Domination Theater, Pardofelis was currently locking eyes with another version of herself.
"Haha, Domination Theater? What kind of place is this? If possible, I don't suppose you could let me out?"
Although her tone was the picture of innocence, Pardo had leaped up from the ground the moment she arrived, hiding her chakrams behind her back while feigning complete confusion about the situation.
Upon closer observation, she realized that aside from the outfit, there were many differences between this other self and her.
For instance, while Pardo had heterochromia with a blue left eye and a green right eye, this other self was different. Her left eye was red, and her right eye was white, giving off a thoroughly ominous feeling.
In response to Pardo's scrutiny, Black Pardo simply gave a low, mischievous laugh. Lazily twirling a lock of hair with her finger, she spoke softly:
"Of course I can't let you out. But you don't need to worry too much."
"There is a poem from ancient Shenzhou: Boiling beans by burning the beanstalks, the beans weep inside the pot. Born of the same root, why such haste to fry each other? So, there is no need for you to panic. After all, you are me, and I am you."
"You are me? I am you? Don't make me laugh."
Pardo gripped her chakrams tighter, the fine hairs on her back standing up one by one. Clearly, she hadn't taken those words to heart.
"If my guess isn't wrong, you aren't me at all. You're the Herrscher of Domination, aren't you? Speak! Where did you take Li?"
"Hmm..." Seeing this, Black Pardo chuckled lightly and snapped her fingers. "You guessed half right. I am the Herrscher of Domination, but I am also not the Herrscher of Domination."
"What does that mean?"
Pardo frowned. She really hated this kind of riddle-speaking behavior; it was just like Aponia sometimes.
"What does that mean?"
Black Pardo repeated the question, and in the next second, she vanished into thin air.
When she reappeared, she was already behind Pardo. Leaning close to her ear, she curled her lips into a wicked smile.
"I am another you from the bottom of your heart—one who knows more of the truth than you, understands Li deeper than you, and loves Li more than you do. A phantom with a form."
"You're talking nonsense! What exactly is your goal?"
Pardo shuddered, spinning around to create distance and dropping into a combat stance.
"Goal? I have one," Black Pardo admitted openly. "I want to show you some things."
"I'm not looking." Pardo rejected the offer without hesitation, using her peripheral vision to secretly scan for escape routes.
Good. The surrounding environment is wide, and there are many paths. As long as I'm careful...
"Are you... looking for a way to run? You can, you know. You can try. Don't worry, I won't attack you. I'll just wait right here until you agree to my request."
Black Pardo interrupted her thoughts. Pardo looked up, meeting those serious eyes, and felt a sense of condescending laziness and arrogance.
It was as if she was the cat right now, and Pardo was just a rat waiting to be slaughtered.
Although unwilling to admit defeat, Pardo knew there was no reason to force a fight right now. So, after a brief moment of thought, she unhesitatingly fled into the distance.
Just as she had said, Black Pardo stayed where she was, boredly grooming her ears and tail.
One step... two steps... ten steps...
After running for about five minutes, just as Pardo thought she had successfully escaped, a familiar figure suddenly appeared on the path ahead.
The figure stopped grooming her tail and looked at Pardo with a faint smile.
Seeing this, Pardo immediately changed her trajectory and bolted down a different path.
Once, twice, three times...
Finally, after experiencing this "ghost hitting the wall" phenomenon six or seven times, Pardo stopped running, gasping for air.
Seeing this, Black Pardo stopped her movements and smiled.
"What's wrong? Not running anymore?"
"Haa... Fine, you can say it now. What exactly do you want to show me?"
Pardo exhaled, calming her breathing, though she did not lower the vigilance in her heart.
After attempting so many routes, Pardo knew clearly that she had fallen into an infinite loop of space. Escape was impossible.
The only hope of leaving this place was definitely tied to Black Pardo.
Since she couldn't win a fight, she figured she might as well see what kind of game the other party wanted to play.
"A wise choice. Then, please follow me, other me."
Black Pardo offered a compliment and walked unabashedly toward the route Pardo had originally tried to flee down.
When it came down to it, Pardo hesitated for a moment before following, albeit reluctantly.
Previously, she had walked in the exact same direction as Black Pardo was walking now. But this time, just as they were about to return to the starting point, a staircase leading upward appeared out of thin air.
"Please."
Black Pardo gave a faint smile and stepped onto the stairs without hesitation.
Pardo steeled her heart slightly, maintained a safe distance, and followed behind her.
The stairs were very long, winding upward layer by layer.
When Pardo finally finished climbing the flight of stairs, what she saw was a small attic suspended in the void.
Inside the attic, five gigantic, magnificent mirrors—edged in deep black wood and carved with starry patterns—sat quietly.
Black Pardo walked slowly to the first mirror on the left. Like the perfect attendant, she extended her hand in an inviting gesture.
"Come, Pardo. This is the truth you need to know, and the things you do not know."
"Oh."
Pardo responded with a grunt. Skeptical, she stood next to the mirror. But upon seeing the content reflected within, her pupils dilated slightly.
"This is... what?"
(Author's Note: I can't be addicted to Elden Ring anymore, I must write properly!!!)