Trial of eclipse (2)
"Fuck How much longer do I have to walk?" Alden cursed as he couldn't see the mirror getting any closer.
Not only was the distance not closing, it even felt like it was increasing even more.
His body was sweating profusely, his face filled with exhaustion, and his steps were shaking, not having any more strength to walk, his breathing was shallow.
'Why the f**k am I still doing this?' he was asking himself.
Moreover, that was the least of his problems, as the darkness was causing hallucinations; he was hearing voices... sinister voices.
He didn't know if they were coming from inside him or echoing in the surroundings. His senses were distorted, and he didn't even know anymore if he was walking forward or backward.
He just kept his leg going without stopping, but the voices were just getting louder and louder as if feeding on his despair.
"How...how long has it been?" Alden muttered under his breath, though the question was useless.
Time didn't even matter anymore. "Three hours, four? I don't even know anymore. I've been walking forever, and the distance..." He glanced back at the mirror. "The distance isn't closing."
Voices from darkness grew louder.
"You are nothing, Alden."
"You are just trash."
"You don't belong here."
The voices were mimicking Cedric; he even started to see the figure of Cedric in Darkness looking at him as if he were some bug.
Alden shook his head."This is all pointless. What am I even trying to do?"
He couldn't walk anymore; his legs gave up as he slumped on the ground.
"I'm nothing. I'm not special like the protagonist. I'm... just... an ordinary person." His voice started shaking, filled with self-deprecation.
As he fell to the ground, the voice started getting even louder, the darkness coming close to him as if to drown him inside.
"Nobody wants you, Alden. You are just a mistake."
"Why are you even alive? Everybody hates you."
"Just give up.... It will be easy that way."
The words hitting him like a punch, the darkness now all around Alden as it was going to swallow his soul.
He couldn't see anything now; there was just darkness, nothing else.
'Yes... I should just give up... I'm not strong enough. I can't do this anymore. I'm just...' Alden's eyes went hollow.
But then, out of somewhere, a tiny spark shone in his mind, resisting the darkness.
"Damien."
The name just made its way into his mind. It struck him like a bolt. The light shining in the darkness of his mind.
How long has it been since he referred to himself as Damien? Ever since that day, he hasn't referred to himself as Damien.
He remembered his life as Damien, a life where he was not unwanted, the life where there were people who cared about... people who loved him.
The love of his parents, their quiet faith in him, flooded back, overwhelming him.
He started recalling every person who loved him and cared for him, those memories acting as an anchor to pull him out of the darkness surrounding him.
Ever since he came to this world, he was denying his identity... not wanting to believe. Trying to cope with trauma...
"Why was I choosing one identity while abandoning others? What if I don't have to choose?"
"I am not just Damien anymore, nor am I only Alden. I am both...." His mind started to clear a bit.
As he started his identity as both Alden and Damien, a memory of his mother's voice resounded in his mind. "Damien, you're stronger than you think. Don't ever forget that."
And for the first time, Alden didn't push it away. He let the warmth of that memory fill him. I was loved. I was worth something. And that hasn't changed.
The voices of darkness were growing more sinister and desperate to suppress him even more, but the memories of his life as Damien were acting as an anchor; they were holding onto him. The darkness was not affecting him anymore...
And he stood up; the darkness started to clear. He could see again.
He saw that he hadn't even moved from his place and the mirror was still at the same distance.
"Was everything ever since I arrived just a hallucination?" He thought his eyes clear for the first time in a while.
He took a step forward, then another. His feet moved with purpose now.
"I am Damien, and I am also Alden. And I'm not going to give up."
This was the first time he accepted his identity since his transmigration without rejecting the other.
The mirror was shining ahead of him, and with each step, the distance between them began to close.
His heart, once heavy with uncertainty and self-doubt, now beating with quiet resolve.
He wasn't just one or the other; he was both. And maybe that was enough.
The reflection in the mirror began to take shape, and for the first time, he saw not just himself, but them.
Damien covered in light and Alden covered in darkness, and as he came closer and closer to the mirror, the light and darkness began to merge.
Both the figure of Damien and Alden Merged into one to form a sphere filled with darkness, but its edges were glowing in reddish light, it was just like Eclipse.
As he came in front of the mirror, he looked at the eclipse; he reached out his hand to touch the eclipse.
As he touched the eclipse, all the remnants of darkness also began to vanish.
He knew now. He wasn't alone. He wasn't lost. He was exactly where he was meant to be.
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading! I'm all for feedback, so drop a comment or review if you feel like it. Would love to hear your thoughts!