I jolted awake, heart hamring painfully against my ribs, panic clawing at my throat. Darkness pressed heavily around too deep, too silent. The bed beneath felt wrong; too cold, too hard, as though sculpted from polished stone rather than comforting layers of silk and cotton. I reached out instinctively, searching for the familiar shape of Smaug or even the comforting presence of Mara and Elira hovering nearby.
Nothing.
No dragon. No servants. No school.
Only emptiness, swallowing the echoes of my shallow breaths.
[Relax, drama queen. You're not dead. Yet.]
I drew in a sharp breath, the familiar sarcastic tone of my system cutting neatly through my mounting dread. "Where am I?"
[A dinsional training space, tailored specifically for you because you're clearly too dangerous to let roam free.]
I pushed myself up carefully, testing limbs that trembled slightly. My eyes adjusted slowly to the strange dimness around . The space was endless, an infinite horizon painted in shades of gray and silver, stretching out endlessly beneath a sky that seed to bleed into the ground without distinction. Mist curled softly around my ankles, whispering against my skin, cool and strangely soothing.
"Why now?" I asked quietly, rubbing my arms, uncertain if the shiver running through ca from cold or anticipation. "I thought we'd decided my magic needed a break?"
[Your magic doesn't get breaks. It grows or it devours. Pick one.]
I sighed. "Encouraging as always."
[Face it, you're hopeless without .]
Rolling my eyes, I cautiously stepped forward, my boots tapping softly against the smooth, mirror-like surface beneath . Each step created tiny ripples of silver light, like water disturbed by a gentle breeze. My reflection stared back at dark coat, gleaming silver embroidery, sharp eyes watching warily from beneath a curtain of silver hair. She looked calm, prepared. Powerful.
Far more confident than I actually felt.
[Your first task is simple enough survive yourself.]
"What does that even an?" My voice echoed oddly, softer, as though swallowed by the mist.
[Watch.]
My reflection moved, but this ti, not in unison with . Her lips curled upward in a slow, chilling smile, eyes narrowing with predatory intent. Then, without warning, she stepped forward, breaking free from her mirrored prison and rising to stand before as solid and real as any opponent I'd ever faced.
"Oh," I whispered, pulse quickening. "That…can't be good."
[Nope. Definitely not.]
My doppelganger tilted her head, assessing slowly, arrogantly. Her posture radiated authority, strength every inch the tyrant everyone expected to beco. Power humd beneath her skin, visible in the tiny sparks flickering at her fingertips.
"I don't suppose we can talk this out?" I tried lightly, offering a half-smile that felt weak even to .
My reflection laughed softly, her voice disturbingly like mine yet twisted with an edge of cruelty I prayed I'd never possess. "Talk is cheap," she said, raising a brow, "and you're stalling."
My heartbeat accelerated sharply, adrenaline flooding my veins as she lifted a hand lazily toward , and I barely managed to dodge as a bolt of violet lightning crackled viciously through the air where I'd stood re seconds before. Heat prickled against my skin, and the acrid scent of ozone filled my lungs.
"No warnings, then," I muttered, drawing power cautiously into my own palms. "Got it."
I lunged forward, instincts kicking in as my own lightning crackled, bright silver sparks dancing along my fingertips. My reflection laughed mockingly, easily deflecting my strike with a dismissive wave, and I stumbled backward, frustration mounting.
[Co on. You can do better.]
"I am trying," I hissed back ntally, sweat trickling down my neck as I ducked another scorching blast.
[Try harder. Or die faster. Your choice.]
Wonderful motivation.
My double moved gracefully, fluidly, effortlessly evading every strike I aid in her direction. Each of her movents felt familiar, each counterattack perfectly anticipated, as though she could see every thought before it ford in my mind.
"How do you defeat soone who knows everything you're about to do?" I growled, breathing heavily, irritation mingling with desperation.
My reflection smiled sharply, hearing clearly. "You don't."
"Wrong answer," I snapped, gathering power again this ti with purpose, with control, narrowing my concentration into a needle-thin point. The air around us shivered, distorted as I warped the fabric of space itself, reality bending obediently beneath my command.
My reflection's smug expression faltered, surprise flickering briefly in her eyes. But only briefly.
She retaliated instantly, the sa Abyssal Requiem flaring brilliantly around her, distorting my control and twisting my intent back upon itself. Our magic collided violently, the force throwing us both apart and skidding painfully across the endless mirrored ground.
Pain flared sharply along my shoulder, my cheek scraping roughly against the polished surface as I slid to an unceremonious halt. I rose unsteadily, breathing hard, muscles trembling, raw power crackling along my veins. My mirror-self had risen as well, watching warily now, a grudging respect flickering behind her defiant gaze.
"You learn quickly," she admitted quietly, standing gracefully once again, uninjured, unruffled. "But quickly enough?"
"Shut up," I whispered, half to her, half to myself, gripping my sword instinctively, even though I knew this battle required more than steel.
She lunged, faster than before, power blazing brightly in her eyes, a maelstrom of distorted elents swirling violently around her fire, ice, shadows, and lightning all blending seamlessly into a devastating force. I responded instantly, instinctively, mirroring her attack, my own Abyssal Requiem roaring defiantly to life.
We collided brutally, magic screaming around us in a storm of chaotic energy, reality tearing and repairing itself repeatedly as we each fought for dominance. My muscles burned, my vision blurred, but I refused to yield.
Because I wasn't simply fighting myself I was fighting the worst parts of , the parts I feared most, the unchecked power and arrogance that could easily devour everything I loved if left unrestrained.
[Rember, your magic alters reality itself. Don't fight her strength; reshape it.]
My breath hitched sharply, understanding dawning suddenly, clearly. Instead of eting my reflection's strength directly, I pulled back slightly, twisting the power she hurled at , not opposing but redirecting it. Fire beca ice, shadows twisted into blinding light, each of her attacks seamlessly transford into harmless beauty, dissipating harmlessly around .
Frustration twisted my reflection's features, her attacks growing erratic, desperate. And for the first ti, I saw true vulnerability in those familiar erald eyes. She lunged recklessly, aiming to overwhelm in sheer desperation.
I sidestepped smoothly, catching her wrist tightly, pulling her off balance, whispering softly into her ear. "Control, not power. You're just rage, fear weakness. I'm more."
Her form flickered briefly, uncertainly, before dissolving back into shimring mist, leaving standing alone, breathing heavily in the silent dinsion.
[Not bad,] the system mused approvingly. [First round goes to you. But don't get cocky. This is only the beginning.]
"Fantastic," I muttered sarcastically, collapsing wearily onto the mirrored surface, pulse still pounding fiercely, body aching from exertion. But despite my exhaustion, pride flickered quietly within my chest, hope kindling alongside it.
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