"No… No…" Leo stammered, his voice broken, the words spilling out like a chant. He could only repeat himself, a mantra of disbelief.
[Do you finally understand? You are my toy.]
"Stop it! Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do?!" he shouted, his voice laced with rage and desperation.
The doppelgänger's laughter filled the air, cold and mocking. "Oh, is my toy getting feisty? How adorable. But you haven't earned the right to know more." It let the words hang, unfinished, thick with threat.
It was painfully clear: the system wasn't going to give him any answers.
Leo realized he couldn't wait for an explanation. He had to act. Now.
With a sudden surge of adrenaline, he swiped up a handful of sand from the ground, flinging it into the doppelgänger's face in a desperate attempt to blind it. He couldn't let the system stop him. The tree—his only hope—was within reach, but he'd have to move fast.
*Whoosh*
