Dean was baffled. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Indeed, he knew that Tyler was up to something, but never he had imagined that he would mark an injury on his palm just to see whether the fake version would be affected or not.
It turns out the fake male lead wasn't really a complete copy of the original. Then what were these fakes? An illusion?
A frown crossed his forehead as he continued to think deeply. Perhaps there must be a reason why getting hurt in the dark wouldn't injure the fake versions as well.
It was likely similar to the moment when they met their fake versions for the first time.
When Dean had met his fake version, the latter had had actually enacted the way the real male lead had always imagined in secret, pushing Tyler against the wall.
Similarly, Tyler's fake version was squatting on the ground and joined their group peacefully.
And he still didn't know what was going on with Adam's fake version. So he could conclude that these illusory characters wouldn't copy them all the time.
But hadn't Tyler said earlier that this stage was nothing but a mirror world inside a mirror world? So there seemed to be restrictions where these fakes would copy the originals and when they wouldn't. And as soon as they could figure out these restrictions, they could pass this level.
As Dean continued to ponder over this, Tyler lowered his head, blew out the fire, and it was dark again.
"The fakes have disappeared again," Tyler stated as a matter of fact before continuing. "That means they only copy us when we're present before their eyes. If we aren't present, they would simply become an expressionless people, and if we come in their vicinity, they would start acting based on what we have thought of recently."
Now that explained why Dean's fake version had attacked Tyler at that time. The male lead couldn't help but feel guilty in his heart. Thankfully, Tyler didn't say a word about it and continued his explanation.
"We can pass this level as soon as we get rid of those fakes."
"How?" This time, Adam couldn't help but voice out doubt.
"We can't see our reflection in the dark." This time, Dean impatiently explained. He still didn't want Tyler and this man to converse with one another, disregarding his presence. He was still burning inside with jealousy whenever he thought about Tyler giving that man more attention than him.
He took a deep breath and darted his sharp eyes toward the direction where Adam was standing. "That's why our clones can't appear here in this dark road. If you're so curious, you're welcome to go and try hurting yourself in the light."
"No, I'm fine." Adam swallowed the rest of his queries and reluctantly uttered these words, lowering his head.
Just then, Tyler tore a piece of his cloth and snatched Dean's hand forcefully.
"Wha-"
"If you say a word, I'd kill you!" Tyler spoke coldly, stopping Dean from even admitting the fact that he was helping the male lead. After this, he wrapped the piece of cloth on the injured hand gently. When he was done, he squinted his eyes and looked through the injury again several times before getting satisfied enough to let go of Dean.
But the male lead was already feeling warm in his heart after seeing this person's actions. A smile formed on his lips, and he almost got out of character to gather Tyler in his arms before he controlled himself.
He'd have to wait for the good things to happen.
Truthfully, Tyler didn't want to help this male lead in any way, but seeing the blood oozing out of the palms like water, his expressions softened, and he quickly decided to use the first-aid treatment to heal the injury. But he certainly couldn't do it in the light and especially see the expressions on the male lead's face.
He himself didn't want the male lead to see the blush on his cheeks, which had appeared while wrapping the cloth. So he blew off the match stick and quickly wrapped the fabric around Dean's palms.
"Let's walk toward the intersection again," Tyler said suddenly, changing the topic.
"Why?" Adam asked again, but this time, his voice was timid. He was still clueless as to what was happening around him. All he knew was that Tyler and Dean seemed to have found an important clue about how to get out of this stage. So he would just blindly follow them.
"We have to turn off the firelamps and enter the other path that was filled with light."
"But didn't you say that we can be much safer in the dark?" Adam asked in confusion.
Tyler glanced at the person with glasses coldly and didn't reply. Even the male lead scoffed in disdain, thinking how dumb this person was!
Adam couldn't help but look in the direction of those two people and again decided to shut his mouth. Clearly, he got many hints that he shouldn't speak at all. But why would he always open his big mouth and mess things up?
What Adam didn't know was that the answer to his question was very simple. The brightened path was clearly the way out, but if they were to enter it, the fake versions would enter the path either, and they would continue to stick to the fake versions even after passing the level.
It would turn the mirror world into such a mess that they wouldn't be able to trust their own companions and would end up dying one after another.
And who knows? Perhaps the speed at which their powers were sucked would be multiplied!
So the only way to stay alive was to find a way to get rid of these fake versions.
Dean thought of this and glanced in the direction of Tyler, who seemed to be walking beside him. If they were heading back to the intersection they had encountered previously, didn't that mean this was his last chance to spend his time with Tyler in the dark?
The male lead couldn't help but lick his lips at the thought. He still wanted to kiss the hell out of this person, but he was still holding his desires in the depths of his heart. What else could he do? He was afraid that Tyler would refuse to see his face in any future worlds if he were to force such a thing.
So he would patiently soften Tyler's heart hiding his darkened side until the latter is completely under his control.
Thinking of his, his lips stretched to form a smile, and he deliberately brushed his hands against Tyler's more than once.