The laughter began as a small sound that barely vibrated in the air, then grew and then exploded.
—Ha... ha... ha... ha!
It wasn't a normal laugh.
It wasn't nervous.
It wasn't forced.
It was a laugh full of something broken.
For a few seconds no one moved. The entire forest seemed to hold its breath. Even the wind stopped blowing between the trees.
—I'm sorry... I'm so sorry —Towa said while trying to calm her laughter— Did you think your friend was still alive inside this body?
She slowly opened her arms, as if welcoming an invisible audience.
—How sweet... you really thought that.
Yoru felt an emptiness in her stomach.
Rika gripped the bow so hard that her fingers began to turn white.
The white-bearded man breathed with difficulty, but his gaze didn't leave for a second.
—She's already dead —Towa continued with a calm smile—. Her soul faded. It was erased. As if she had never existed. She's not trapped. She's not asleep. She's not waiting to return.
She paused.
—Nothing remains.
The silence that followed was heavier than any blow.
—I have her memories —she said, touching her chest— Her memories. Her thoughts. I know what she felt. I know what she dreamed. I know what she feared.
Her eyes turned white for an instant.
—I am her now.
The words weren't shouted. They were said calmly. And that was what hurt the most.
Yoru felt her eyes fill with tears without permission. She tried to hold them back. She brought a hand to her face and wiped them away with rage.
She didn't want to cry in front of that.
She didn't want to give it that satisfaction.
But pain doesn't understand pride.
Maybe the worst thing wasn't hearing that Towa was dead... The worst was knowing that maybe it was true.
That maybe there was nothing to save.
That maybe the only way to free that body... was to destroy it.
—Fight seriously —Yoru said, looking at the ground.
Her voice trembled, but it didn't break.
—Fight with all your strength... because I'm going to fight seriously.
She raised her gaze.
—And I don't want to kill my companion without having given everything.
The tears escaped again. This time she didn't try to wipe them immediately.
She took a step. Then another, until she lunged forward.
—!Aura of Decay!
Her red gloves shone for barely a second before her fist impacted.
Towa raised the sword just in time.
The blow crashed against the metal.
But something changed.
The blade began to darken. A black energy spread like ink stains on water.
And a dry sound... and after that, a crack. Then another. Until the sword broke into pieces.
The fragments fell to the ground with small metallic echoes.
Towa observed the remains in silence.
Then smiled.
—This really is interesting...
Her eyes shone with real emotion.
Not fear.
Not concern.
But emotion.
Behind her, the white-bearded man was already moving.
His axe descended with fury, straight to the neck.
At the same time, Rika tensed her bow from a distance. An arrow formed with pure magic appeared between her fingers.
It was a perfect attack. From behind. From afar. From the front. Looking in all directions, it seemed there was no way out.
Or so it seemed.
—Skill... Mirrors of the Creator.
The world stopped for a second.
There was no explosion.
There was no blinding light.
Just a strange sensation.
As if reality became soft. And the air had become heavy from one moment to the next.
The trees began to reflect each other.
The ground seemed like a polished crystal surface.
The sky duplicated itself without logic or reason. The shadows multiplied too.
And then they understood.
They were inside her skill. Within the reach of it. They were locked in.
The man's axe didn't touch anything.
Rika's arrow got lost in an infinite reflection.
Towa opened her eyes.
Completely white. Without pupils. Without life.
Like two mirrors.
—I've already adapted —she said with a soft voice— The body responds to me. The magic recognizes me.
The man tried to move, but the space seemed to change every second.
—The only way to get out is to break my skill with a stronger one in magic... —she continued— Or kill me here inside.
She smiled, knowing it was almost impossible. Now she had full control of the fight and its direction.
—And that's not going to happen.
The man roared and threw his axe at one of the Towas that appeared in front of him.
It went through her. But it was only a reflection.
Another appeared behind.
And another.
And another.
In seconds, the place was full of clones.
All with the same smile.
All with the same white gaze.
—Damn it! —the man shouted while spinning on himself.
Swords began to appear in the hands of each clone.
Rika fired an arrow, piercing two. Then three. But they kept appearing.
—This isn't over here! —she shouted, desperate.
Yoru launched blows wrapped in her dark aura. Each impact destroyed one.
But for every clone that fell, more appeared.
The man was the first to fall to his knees. A sword pierced him from behind. Then another. And his axe fell from his hands.
Even so, he tried to get up.
—Today... you'll pay...
He didn't finish the sentence.
A blade crossed his chest. His body fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Yoru screamed as she ran toward him, but a clone blocked her path.
She destroyed it.
Another appeared.
And one more.
Rika began to concentrate energy.
—Skill... Firmament of Hal-
A shadow moved behind her.
A silver blade shone for barely a second.
Then, silence.
The sword pierced her throat cleanly. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Her eyes opened in surprise. The bow fell from her hands. Her body fell face down.
The blood began to spread slowly.
Yoru stood motionless.
Watching.
Shaking her head.
—No... no...
A clone hit her in the side. Another cut her in the arm.
She fell to her knees.
She tried to get up.
—Towa... —she whispered.
She didn't know if she was speaking to her friend or to the monster.
Three swords pierced her almost at the same time.
The pain was quick.
Then, nothing.
Her body fell next to the others.
The copies began to fade.
The reflection of the world broke like invisible glass.
The forest returned to normal.
The trees stopped duplicating.
The air moved again.
The sky became one again.
Towa stood in the middle of the bodies, while the blood touched her boots.
Her eyes returned to normal.
She looked around.
The white-bearded man was motionless.
Rika lay in her own blood.
Yoru was a few steps away, with her eyes half-open.
The silence was absolute.
There were no screams.
There was no wind.
Towa took a deep breath.
She observed her hands.
Then she looked at the body she occupied.
—What a resistant body... —she murmured.
She walked slowly among the corpses.
She stopped in front of Yoru.
She observed her for a few seconds.
—You fought well.
Then she turned toward the sky to see that night was beginning to fall.
—Thanks for making me have fun today.
There was no one who could hear her.
—I'll remember you as my great battle friends.
The last spark of magic in the air faded.
And there she remained.
Standing, in the middle of three lifeless bodies, smiling.