'Who is this person?' Sydra wonders, surprised by the suddenness of the situation. Wanting to be prepared for any outcome, Sydra goes to grab his dagger, but he finds out that it isn't there anymore. Next, he tries to activate one of his abilities, but he finds himself cut off from all of his aura.
"You can stop that, I only wish to talk," The man in shadows says, walking past Sydra, "Follow me, the first thing I need to do is show you something,"
"Who are you?" Sydra asks, not moving from his spot, "And how am I sure you won't hurt me?"
"Are you telling me you don't remember the last time we met? We even had this big discussion of how you would never accept my powers, and everything," The man says, his eyes peering between the thin slit of his obsidian mask. Sighing, the man holds out his gloved hand to Sydra, "My name is Edge Vortex, and I'm the person who gave you the Vortex Lightning,"
"That's great, but I still don't remember you, and I don't think anything you say will change that," Sydra says, refusing to shake the hand of a man whose face he couldn't even see.
Suddenly, the man flashes forward and grabs Sydra's hand, sending an electric shock through it as he does. The electricity flows up Sydra's arm, before heading into his mind, where he feels a switch flip and all the memories pertaining to the last time he was with this man come crashing back in.
"You!" Sydra shouts, grabbing Edge's collar and shaking him, "You're the reason I lost control while on that beach, causing Robert to lose his arm!"
"Woah, hold on," Edge says, pulling Sydra's hand off him, "I think you're mistaken about something here. I was never the reason you lost control, that was your own doing, which if you came with me, you would see,"
Gritting his teeth, Sydra steps back from Edge, "Fine, show me what it was you had to show me, but I swear, should you try anything I will not hesitate to get rid of you with my bare hands,"
Instead of responding, Edge simply turns around and leads Sydra down a corridor. At the end of the corridor was a large metal door, covered in thick chains that were meant to keep whatever was inside from escaping.
'What needs so many chains to be kept locked up,' Sydra wonders, his running through countless possibilities. However, none of the possibilities that Sydra came up with turned out to be true, as he found out when Edge opened the door.
"Edge, you bastard!" A voice screamed as the door swung open, "When I break free of these chains, the first thing I'm doing is ending your miserable life!"
The voice was coming from a person chained to the floor, one who looked extremely similar to Sydra, except their eyes and hair were both pitch-black. When the person saw Sydra, their eyes narrowed and a vicious smile crept onto their face.
"Well isn't this a surprise," The person said, "It seems that my other half has come to visit. You wouldn't have happened to come to take my place in this chained prison, would you?"
"Who... who is that?" Sydra asked, the chained man laughing hysterically when he heard the question.
"Who am I? That's a good question," The man says, looking down at his body, "I guess you could say that I am the version of you who is willing to do anything to get what I desire, but if you wish for my name, then you should know that it is Shatter Glass,"
Pulling Sydra out of the room, Edge slammed the door shut, but not before Sydra heard Shatter screaming in pain from some unseen torturer. Edge then brought Sydra to another room, which was filled with several wooden chairs.
Sitting in one of the chairs, Sydra looked at Edge questioningly, "What exactly happened after I returned to my body?"
"That was one of the things I wished to discuss with you, right after we talk about what you're trying to do on the outside," Edge said, standing across from Sydra with his arms crossed, "Whatever it is, it's causing Shatter incredible pain, and he seems to be getting weaker,"
Of course, Edge was asking about the training Sydra had been doing, but Sydra wasn't certain he should tell him anything. Pondering for a few seconds, Sydra decides to explain a bit about what he is trying to do.
"That would explain most of what is happening," Edge says, "Guess I should tell you my side of things, then,"
Sitting down, Edge began to explain what had happened after Sydra had returned to his body in the valley of Divine Sheep. It seemed that while trapped in the room with Edge, Sydra's personality had split in two, one of which was Sydra, and the other being Shatter. While Sydra had returned to his body, Shatter had remained chained in the room, only briefly escaping when Sydra had lost control on the beach.
"He then returned to the room, and passed out, only to reawaken a two days ago, when you used your lightning for some reason," Edge says, peering at Syddra closely, "He seemed fine at first, of course still upset about the chains, but then he started screaming out in pain, blaming me for whatever it was that you were doing,"
"Alright, but where do you come in with all of this?" Sydra asks, "I thought that you were the reason I had the Vortex Lightning in the first place, and you were planning on using it to take over my body,"
"It's true that at one point I had every intention of taking over your body," Edge says, "But when Shatter appeared he stole the Vortex Lightning from me somehow, but in the process, he also took my personality, leaving me with no desire to control you anymore,"
"If that is the case, then do you have some idea of how I can achieve my goal to combine the two auras?" Sydra asks, "It may solve things here as well,"
"I do have an idea, but I'm not sure of its chances. You currently possess the Divinity Lightning, while Shatter is the reason you have access to the Vortex Lightning," Edge says, "If the two of you can merge, then I believe you will succeed in also merging the auras,"
"How would I go about merging with him?" Sydra asks, "And what would be the other possible outcomes if I did attempt it?"
"Currently we are inside a space within your mind, so merging with yourself would only require you to beat yourself," Edge explains, "But should you lose, then Shatter will take complete control of this body, and you will be erased from existence,"
Having everything laid out in front of him, Sydra wasn't sure what choice to make. If he managed to defeat Shatter, then the possibility of him losing control would be gone, but should he lose...
'No, I won't even consider the possibility of losing. I need to be able to use all the abilities I have at my disposal if I wish to defeat Holan and remove the seal on my abilities,' Sydra thinks as he stands up.
"Take me back there, I need to have a chat with Shatter," Sydra says, planning to come to a decision after talking to what was supposed to be his other side.
Returning to the room, Sydra heads inside while Edge locks it from the outside, only to open it once there was a winner. Squatting in front of Shatter, Sydra stares into the black abyss that is his other half eyes.
"What do you desire?" Sydra asks, "What are you trying to achieve, no matter the cost?"
"I desire the world to be in complete chaos, with me at the center of it all," Shatter says, his face becoming dark, "And I will do whatever it takes to make that a reality unless you kill me,"
Looking at Shatter, Sydra feels nothing but guilt, knowing that he is the reason for the other's suffering. Standing up, Sydra creates a sword of divinity lightning and cuts through all the chains restraining Shatter, "I'll give you one chance to make your dreams become reality, but to do so you'll have to beat me,"
Back on the outside of the door, Edge listens to the sounds of chains clattering against the floor, before everything around him begins to crack. Realizing that the battle between Sydra and Shatter very may bring down the entire mansion, Edge raises outside, planning to only go back in once the ground stops shaking.
Reaching the yard outside the mansion, Edge turns around to watch as the entire place crumbles to the ground and a man walks out of it, his body shielded by an Amber Shield.
"Sydra... Is that you?" Edge calls out, feeling pressured by the pure essence released by the person beneath the Amber Shield.