When Isabella woke up, she had no idea where she was.
She found herself lying in a cell.
"Where...are we?" Isabella said.
"I don't know..." Cassandra said.
"I remember being pulled into the mansion, but after that, everything went dark..." Isabella said.
"At least we aren't in our underwear like that time you were at the Iratus Estate..." Cassandra said nervously.
"Look, that was partially your fault, you know? If you hadn't told Tyranus about our trip to his office, we wouldn't have been caught!" Isabella said.
"H-hey...I feel terrible about that, okay!? And Tyranus already planned to attack you, regardless. Please forgive me for that, sister..."
"Alright... You're forgiven. Besides, it's all in the past. That was over thirteen years ago, anyway."
"Yaay! Isabella is merciful just like my darling Mizik!"
"Please stop fawning over him..."
"I can't help it! He's all I can think about! I was in the pit for so long and the only thing that kept me sane was the thought of seeing him again..." Cassandra said sadly.
"You're not sane at all! You're like an obsessive stalker!"
"Yes I am! I'm totally sane! I'm not sitting in a corner mumbling nonsense, am I?"
"No, but ever since you got in my head, all you think about is Mizik!"
"Can you blame me? You think about him a lot, too...ehehe..."
"Don't turn this on me!"
As she spoke, they heard the sounds of blades scraping together.
"Umm...Isabella...? Can you still use light magic?"
"Of course. I specialize in it."
"Can you feel that?" Cassandra said as the sounds got louder.
It sounded like the rattling of chains... There was a groan and the sounds of more blades...
"I do. Get ready to fight. I don't know how this will go," Isabella said.
Something appeared in front of the bars and Isabella gasped in horror.
* * *
I couldn't believe what was happening.
These things made illusions of my wife and aunt...
First, it was Walter...then Ulysses, my father.
Now...
"Mizik! It's so good to see you again! I was so scared! Do you have my nametag?" Aria asked.
"I still have it. But I'm not giving it to you. You're not Aria."
"Whaaat...? Of course I am, dummy!"
"Aria! It's so good to finally see you again! It's me, Rose! I'm Princess Isabella, his wife!"
"No, you're not..." I mumbled angrily.
"Rose!? Oh wow! You're so pretty without the armor! It's an honor to meet you, your Majesty! Although, I guess we already met, didn't we?" Aria said.
Stop it... You're not Aria! Please...make it stop...
I felt like I was losing my mind in here...
Every time they spoke, I felt my sanity slip further.
"Oh, stop it! You don't need to be so formal, Aria. You're family to me now!' The fake Isabella said.
She extended her hand to Aria after she spoke.
"Mizik! I'm so happy you found such a wonderful wife! I knew Rose wouldn't be able to resist you!" Aria said happily as she took Isabella's hand.
Make it stop...make it stop... I hate this place...
"Mizik? How about we go have dinner? I want to talk to Aria more!" Isabella said.
"I...can't take this, anymore..."
"Mizik?" Aria said.
I felt tears running down my face...
I was angry...and I was sad.
Their personalities were so accurate that it was painful... I knew for a fact that neither of them were real, but I still didn't want to hurt them...
Suddenly, the fake Isabella and Aria both walked over and hugged me.
"Mizik! Why are you crying? Aren't you happy to see us?" The fake Isabella said.
Of course I am... I treasured Aria as a dear friend and part of my family. And Isabella is my beloved... But...
I backed away from the two of them and wiped my tears.
I...should stop hesitating... I have to...
{Kill them all.}
Kill them all.
{Burn it down.}
Burn it down.
My status menu turned red as the familiar thoughts of violence returned to my mind.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. After I exhaled I looked at the two of them and narrowed my eyes.
"You...are making a mockery of my loved ones..." I said coldly.
My words were dripping with malice.
"M-mockery...? What do you mean, Mizik?" The fake Aria asked.
I slowly walked over to Aria.
"You died thirteen years ago. No one survived Avernia except me and Isabella," I said.
"What...? But I woke up here not too long ago... How can you say such things!?" Aria said.
"You are NOT Aria. Aria was killed by Difar after being raped in front of her family and forced to watch them die!!! You're far too innocent to be her and the last time I heard her voice, she was screaming in pain from being trapped in the pit. She became one with the Corruption."
The fake Aria looked at me in horror.
Without hesitation, I quickly pointed Vengeance at her in its pistol form and shot her in the forehead.
Her body fell quickly to the ground and I turned to Isabella.
"MIZIK!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING!?!?" Isabella screamed.
"Kill them all...burn it down... I'll take back what was stolen from me... I'll destroy...everything..."
I walked over to her and she backed away.
"You...if you come any closer, I'll be forced to defend myself!" She said as she pulled out a sword that looked identical to Bravery.
She also pulled out a shield instead of manifesting one.
A dead giveaway.
"Defend yourself? With what? That fake Bravery?" I asked as I stopped walking.
"Huh?" Isabella looked at her sword and her eyes went wide in shock. "This...this isn't Bravery... What's going on here!?"
"Seems like the illusions don't know that they aren't real... All the more convincing..." I said.
"Illusion!? I'm...the real Isabella! Remember? Like when you were being tortured! You thought I was an illusion made by Cassandra! I'm real! Really!"
"No. You're not. Isabella is currently sharing her body with Cassandra. She has two souls in one body. Furthermore...she also holds the real Bravery."
"Mizik, I don't know what you mean! Please don't hurt me!" She said as her eyes filled with tears.
"I don't really want to do this. You might not realize it, but you aren't real. I can tell that for a fact. This version of you is a mockery of the real Isabella."
"B-but...shouldn't there be a way to tell!?" She said desperately.
"Of course. If I shoot you, the bullet will bounce off of your skin. Your natural defense as well as Vengeance's unwillingness to harm a true wielder will protect you."
"Yes! That should prove it! Please, go right ahead!" Isabella said, seeming to gain her confidence back.
"If you insist."
I shot her in the head and she fell to the ground.
I just rolled my eyes and started walking again.
I glanced back at the two bodies as I walked to see that they had dispersed into more of the fog.
Nothing is real here... Nothing is real here...nothing is real...
A few minutes later, another door opened and Michael walked out of it.
"Damn...that was crazy... Woah, hey! Mizik!" He said as he ran over to me.
Before he got too close, I changed Vengeance into a shotgun and blew his head off.
Like the others, he fell to the floor and lay motionless. If that were really Michael, he'd have been much quicker to block it. Regardless, I continued onward until I heard screaming.
Then Akari ran around the corner of the hallway and bumped into me.
She fell back to the floor and looked at me as I pointed my shotgun at her.
"AHHH!!!! PLEASE NO!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!! NOT BY ANOTHER MIZIK!!!" She screamed.
Another Mizik?
As I looked up, I saw another version of myself turn the corner.
"This is...me?" I said.
The other Mizik looked up at me in confusion.
"What's going on here...?" He asked.
He slowly approached but kept his distance.
"Ehhhhh...which one is the real Mizik!? They're both so scary!!!" Akari said fearfully as she looked at both of us.
"That's easy. I'm the real Mizik. And I'm tired of you constantly causing problems, you damn fox!!!" The fake Mizik said.
I just sighed.
"Are you the real Akari?" I asked her.
"Eh? O-of course I am! This beauty of mine can't be replicated anywhere!!! I was with you until we were pulled into this place...then I sort of...ran away..." Akari said ashamedly.
Yeah, it's definitely her.
"Fine. Stay close and I'll deal with this fake me," I said.
"Fake? I'm not a fake. I'm the real Mizik."
"Tell me about how well Isabella and Casdandra are getting along," I said.
He paused for a moment and shook his head.
"Isabella and...Cassandra? What are you on about...? Have you seen Isabella?" He asked as had leveled his sword at me.
It looked like Vengeance, but...wrong somehow.
"Haven't seen her. Not since before we were pulled into this place," I said.
"Fine. I guess I'll just have to kill you too, then," he said as he readied himself.
I rolled my eyes and changed Vengeance into a sniper rifle.
"That's...my sword! How the hell do you have it!?" The fake Mizik said.
"Easy...because I'm the real Mizik," I said.
I manifested several chains of magic to bind him in place. Then shot him in the head before he could move an inch.
He fell to the ground and Akari looked at me.
"You're...really the real Mizik?" She said.
I nodded.
"And as long as you're the real Akari, I won't hurt you. You weren't lying were you?" I said.
I wanted to kill her. I wanted her to not be real... It would probably feel cathartic to shoot her.
"No! I wasn't! I'm real! I ran away after we entered this place because umm... I was kind of scared of what I saw..." She said.
"What did you see?"
"Lots of undead...working as servants in the mansion... They scared me, so I ran..."
Damn coward. Ah...I really wanted to kill you...
"Fine. Do you know where Isabella and Cassandra are?" I asked.
"Well...I met Cassandra earlier, but Isabella didn't seem to be around. She was really mean and acted like she hated you or something. Or maybe that she secretly liked you? Did they split?"
"No...that isn't possible. Iris already confirmed it. Also, Cassandra is an obsessive stalker. But the version you talked to is how she used to be."
"That's really weird... On a side note, why do you keep expecting me to believe you're friends with a goddess? There's no way I'll believe that!"
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. Like I said, it won't change the fact that it's the truth," I said as I started walking.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Akari said as she ran after me.
I made sure to activate Lethal Strikes and changed Vengeance into a bladed shotgun.
As I walked, I could still feel my sanity slipping.
I didn't want to be here anymore...
Alright...let's go get Isabella.
* * *
Isabella and Cassandra both looked on in horror at the creature standing on the other side of the cell.
It looked like an undead insect monster with large mandibles.
Isabella could feel herself instinctively shaking from looking at it. The monster's head extended out of its body and seemed to move through the bars like a centipede.
"E-ehhh... Wh-what is that!?" Isabella said.
"Sister! Use your light magic! Kill it!!!" Cassandra shouted as it reached one of its clawed hands through the bars.
Isabella immediately blasted it with a pillar of light and divine power.
"SKREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
The creature crumbled to dust and Isabella breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ugh...that was terrifying..." Isabella said.
"It's okay, sister! If you want, I can handle the bugs! I'm not afraid of anything like that anymore!" Cassandra said.
"That's only because Mizik said he'd reward you... Speaking of which, where do you think he is?" Isabella asked.
She immediately regretted saying that.
At once, Cassandra started to panic.
And TRULY panic.
"Mizik!? MIZIK!!! WHERE IS HE!?!? MY DARLING MIZIK COULD BE IN DANGER!!! I HAVE TO PROTECT HIM!!!" Cassandra shouted.
"Calm down! And he's MY darling Mizik! Don't forget that!" Isabella said.
"Don't worry, Isabella. I don't mind sharing! But we need to find Mizik before we can do that! Please!"
"Ugh...you're so difficult..."
Isabella walked up to the cell door and grabbed the bars.
She pulled on them and the bars bent easily for her.
She stepped through them and over the pile of ashes from the monster she killed. Then began walking down the hallway.
Torches were keeping the corridor lit and every cell she passed by had something different in it.
Some of them were fearful individuals covered in horrible scars while wearing rags. Some were just corpses rotting on the floor, and lastly, a few of them weren't human at all.
Several times, undead creatures tried to reach through the bars and attack Isabella.
Fortunately, she prepared for this and blocked their attacks with her barriers.
"This place is creepy..." Cassandra said.
"Stay back, Cassandra. My defense goes down way too much when you're in control. If we get hit, it'll hurt really bad..."
Instead of responding, Cassandra just stayed back.
They continued walking for a while just like that until eventually, they reached a different section of corridors.
This area seemed to be composed of a darker gray stone and was sparsely lit.
In the distance, they could hear the skittering of large insects.
Suddenly Isabella began to feel very nervous.
"What's wrong, sister?" Cassandra asked.
"I think I heard bugs... Lots and lots of really big bugs..." Isabella said.
"Hmm...maybe you should get Bravery out. She'll be helpful for getting you to face your fears," Cassandra said.
"It's not that easy! I've always been terrified of them since I was little! You know that! It's just like you and the undead! Or getting dirty..." Isabella said.
"I'm facing my fears for Mizik! With his love, I can do anything!" Cassandra said proudly.
"That's still my husband you're talking about..."
"Maybe so, but if you can't be brave for Mizik, what would he say?"
"He would be understanding and not angry. Although in this situation...it would cause him more worry than necessary..." Isabella said.
"Don't make trouble for Mizik! You can do it! Together, we'll make Mizik the happiest man in the world!" Cassandra said.
"Again, that's my job and not yours. I'm his wife! You're not!" Isabella said.
"Like I said, it's okay! We can just share him! I'm sure he won't mind!"
"I mind!"
"Huh...? But isn't that irrelevant...?"
Suddenly, out of the darkness Isabella looked on as a swarm of giant centipedes began making their way towards her.
"Um...Cassandraaaaaa!!!" Isabella said.
"Okay then, I can help out," Cassandra said.
Cassandra pulled out Deception and mouthed the words of something in complete silence. She then channeled a barrage of black lightning bolts that bounced and arced from enemy to enemy while violently exploding into more black lightning bolts.
Once the centipedes had died, a few seconds passed and they began emitting a cyan-colored magic.
Then they got up and started slowly making their way towards Cassandra.
"E-eh...? They were...undead centipedes...?"
Cassandra took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Compared to everything else...they're nothing. My love for Mizik is enough to triumph over all."
Cassandra held up Deception and multiplied it using form two.
The copied daggers began levitating and formed a large circle in front of her.
"Next..."
Cassandra activated form three: magnify.
The daggers began glowing and she held out her main dagger again.
Cassandra once again mouthed the silent words of a spell. Instead of black chaos lightning, she decided to use magus stream.
Deception glowed brightly with pure magic and fired several beams toward every floating dagger.
Then they let loose with a barrage of magical lasers that melted the centipedes into slag.
Finally, she let loose with one more spell.
She mouthed the words and want it through the ring of daggers. A hellish wind of black snow that froze the remains of the centipedes solid.
Cassandra smiled as she now stood in silence.
"I did it! I conquered my fear for Mizik!"
Then she multiplied herself and each of her clones took one of the floating daggers.
Without being ordered to do anything, they spread out according to her will and surrounded Cassandra.
"I wonder if seeing so many of us would make Mizik happy... I should try it! He'll be so overjoyed!" Cassandra said as she leaned her head in her hand.
"Stop trying to seduce my husband!" Isabella said internally.
Cassandra smiled and shook her head.
"I can't do that, sister. What if Mizik gets lonely? I absolutely cannot let that happen!"
Despite Isabella's protesting, Cassandra continued down the hall with her clones.
A sinister smile crossed her lips.
"I'm going to destroy whoever separated me from my darling Mizik... And if they hurt him...hehehehehehehehe..."
Isabella could feel the extreme amount of malice towards whoever had started all of this.
And she knew, since Cassandra and her were sharing the same mind, that Cassandra planned to make them suffer.
They would regret ever being born.