"Thou art I!" The fighting had been drawn out and repetitive, that was inevitable considering the two partaking in the battle knew what the other was thinking at all times and only matched their opponent with the same if not similar move.
So with no other options the duel eventually turned into mocking the other person in hopes of pissing them off and messing them up.
"Do you not realize how trivial this is? Just admit your faults so we could get this over with…" The clone said, exasperation on his face as he rolled and threw a vial of acid into the portal that appeared in his former position.
"Oh if that's all it takes. Well first of all I'm quite greedy, distrustful of others, and possessive of my belongings. Is that enough? Can I go home?" Ivan responded by looping the portal above his clone, he lifted it with gravity magic and locked the place of his clone momentarily.
"That's not enough! C'mon, you need to believe it! Let's say for instance… your aspirations. Mother never really approved of them. But how did you— we, feel?"
"Well, I—"
"Ah-ah-ah~" The clone shook one finger in front of him, bursting out of a cloud of ash. "That question was rhetorical, I know how we felt. Resentment for having your one goal in life denied of you. Guilt for not living up to mother's expectations. And regret— oh did we feel regret~"
𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙂! 𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙂! 𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙂!
The clone briefly ended the interrogation of Ivan Korei, locking himself in a shell of solid ice. It opened only a slit before the entire dome melted and flew towards Ivan like an arrow strung from a bow.
Ivan lifted one hand to intercept the giant icicle, holding it in place with his field of gravity. With a snap of his fingers it dispersed into steam.
"Honestly this dungeon was something I dreaded the most, at least after figuring out the theme. 'Counteracting the negativity in your heart and accepting them as yourself', with such a cliche and vague theme the likelihood of us completing it is lower than any dungeon we've faced before."
His words brought nothing to the clone's attention, at least he couldn't tell if he was receiving praise or being ridiculed for being a part of a trial that basically recited childhood lessons about 'being yourself'.
So in response the clone dashed toward Ivan with a bare palm, his right hand glowing in striking blue light.
"Really… copying even my homemade abilities as well? That's fucked up!" Ivan pulled a dagger from his storage space, a slight cut in the lines connecting the tattoos would be all it takes to disable the destruction or creation inscriptions.
The only problem was getting close enough and committing the deed without being blown up into chunks.
𝙎𝙒𝙄𝙎𝙃 𝙎𝙒𝙄𝙎𝙃
The clone deftly dodged each swipe with style, whiffing his own attacks in the process. It was all decided upon who would get the first strike. Even if the clone had the ability to regenerate at the very least Ivan would have somewhere from a couple seconds to minutes to take advantage of the situation.
𝘾𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂
Another problem was breaking through the white bracers that covered his arms. Only a small slit was visible through the breathing cracks on it, made specifically so the tattoos can output mana without burning through the armor.
They were on par. Every move was countered and so far no progress was made. Though one thing was clear, the clone didn't have to worry about stamina.
"That's the thing about being an abstract of the dungeon. Here I don't have to worry about anything!" He taunted Ivan with a crude smile. Since none of its words were invoking negative emotions the next best bet he had was annoying him.
"... My mother is a good woman, she's strong, smart, and never complained about having to take care of me— us, on her own. That's why I wanted to do something for her… I watched enough films and consumed enough media to know resurrecting the dead was a bad idea…"
"Yes, our father. We resent him for leaving us, and yet it wasn't entirely of his own volition."
"Mhm… he was just doing his job, his job as a father to provide for his family, and his job as a police officer to protect the people…"
"But everything went wrong when he was momentarily transferred to another district. Hehehe~ I remember it just like yesterday! Instead of enjoying his Christmas with his family he took on voluntary work… and because of that, he ended up on the wrong side of a bloody knife!"
"My memories of him are vague, so there's probably not a lot you can get off of me… listening to my mother praise him, it sickened me. And from that I felt sick of myself…"
The clone dove back, transmuting a barrier in front of him. From its pocket space dropped a dozen marbles. A pungent smell filled the room. Both their eyes watered and their heads went light.
"In the end, despite how chivalrous he was, he abandoned his family. That is undeniable. He pushed a man into a corner and got the ending he should've seen. And for that your mother suffered."
"To say I resent him would be an overstatement… whether it be his face or his words, I can't remember any of it. I just can't help but think, 'what if?' What if he hadn't died, would I be pursuing the dreams a normal boy would? Graduating with good grades, landing a stable job, living life with my love till the very end. It's too late for regrets… I know that."
"So you wanted to create something— someone, for you to push your ideals on. And that's why you sought to create humanity. Like an animal you had the urge to leave your mark on the world. But then—"
"I just couldn't do it. Canis and Felis, I couldn't look into their eyes and just tell them that they'd be responsible for everything I left behind should I die… So I gave each of them a choice, like an injured bird I'd nurse them to maturity, whether they left the nest or not was up to them."
"But we can't deny the thought that ever left our mind, we had created the new life we sought. Sure they weren't human but they were pretty damn identical. We could've easily pushed them to their limits— see what heights they could reach before they break. The data would've been valuable, and with the magic we have now the product would be immensely more impressive~"
The clone whispered like a devil, enticing Ivan with ideals of another future. It's words were certainly true, compared to when he first made the homunculi he had a ton more resources now. More magic, more skills, and more ideas.
"That was the point, they were too real… Sure when they were first brought into this world they were more akin to feral animals than people. But as time went on they grew, as any person would."
Ivan dropped both gauntlets to his sides before peering at the sky as if to reminisce.
"I learned about Felis' favorite snacks.. And her dream when she got affected by the Haltina trial… she wanted to be my real child. A real human, whose ties to me ran with blood. And Canis… though not exactly a talker is cute in her own right! She wants nothing more than to sleep away from all the danger of the world… Hey, you wanna know something funny? When I asked her why she decided to stay with our group and not run away when I presented the opportunity she said this, 'this world is too dangerous to sleep in, too many interruptions… so I wanna see your world, you said it was peaceful right?' Hahahaha!"
The clone did nothing, it only stood still and watched Ivan as he laughed at the sky without worry of being attacked. He looked down at his fist, the clone only had one thing on its mind. 'My power… it's weakening…'
The clone allowed the rambling to go on, despite Ivan saying things it already knew. He turned his attention back to Ivan when he noticed him staring at him.
"Hmph, I can't deny that I had bad intentions when I created the girls. In fact they were supposed to be experiments more than anything while I readied up for the true homunculus. But… I don't know if I lacked resolve or if I just got soft… in a sense they've acted out just as I wished, they're living the lives I wanted…"
𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙉𝙂 𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙉𝙂
Bracer met bracer, the use of magic or skills was leading to nowhere. What Ivan did notice was that the clone's physical capabilities were only a shadow of what they were when they first began.
"This is it… the end is nigh… 've completed my goal. To pass this trial, all you gotta do is survive this!" The clone flung a barrage of flash grenades from the pocket space. Seconds after it ripped off its own arm, the arm of destruction. Holding the arm of destruction with the arm of creation, a surge of red and blue lightning filled the air.
It was going to explode. The clone was creating a singularity by both reconstructing and destroying the space around it simultaneously. Evolution magic to the max, each second that passed only put more strain on its body.
Particles flew into the air, and the four limit meter had been exceeded. "If your ideals are truly worth denying your duty for, then let it be your life on the line to validate it all!"
A suicide attack that left no defense available.
The clone's body was engulfed by a white light, and in it Ivan was barely able to see the visage of it rip apart like wet paper.
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It's 11PM, my eyes are drowsy. Yeah they're rookie numbers but everyone sleeps at their own time. I've actually been trying to shift to a 12AM-6AM bedtime rotation. Having enough time to work both in the day and night.
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