Now that I was returned to the present, the distinct taste of blood faded from my tongue. I sat for a few minutes, replaying the scene in my head before Galarion sent a gentle probe. The smell of lemonade and the taste of chocolate made for an interesting sensation to experience through the thought-speech impressions.

Although, as the probe settled and Galarion retracted his tentacle, I sensed the smattering of mana he channeled.

"Do you think you can replicate that? I'm sure we could work with Teddy on learning illusions."

Galarion took a second but slowly shook himself while also nodding. "Need connection. Hard to insert without being inside."

"We'll figure it out sometime. Can you scan my memories for when I inscribed the rune onto my tail?"

Galarion tried, even pushing himself deeper and melding more closely with my thoughts, but to no avail. Whatever other-me did to make the rune perfectly appear on my tail eluded me. It was as if the memory was gone, but even then, my physical body should have remembered the experience.

After several minutes of failing, Galarion huffed and retracted. His little body deflated as he pouted inside my head.

I sent over the equivalent of a reassuring head pat and stretched, flicking my tail into view.

The fact that I can't remember either means my memory issues affected it, or it has something to do with him-me.

I groaned at the thought.

You're being a coward, Cyrus. You know where to find the answers. So why are you whiffle-waffling now?

Except, I knew why. Even if I wanted to deny it, I was hesitating. I wasn't scared. My emotions were still being muted, and the lingering sense of disconnect never fully left—not even during physical activities.

Actually, where were the memories? I sorted through my thoughts and discovered one—something muddled—but judging from the height of the people in the memory, it was one from my childhood.

The scene started to play out before a titanic tentacle made of shimmering colors and bandages breached through the scene and sucked it away, sending me back into the present.

Oh.

I tapped my temples and crossed my arms. "Galarion, you're not eating my memories, right?"

Galarion froze, and the ambient humm from the link went still.

"Galarion. I know you can hear me," I continued.

"Y-yes?"

"Are you eating my precious memories that have finally returned to me after being locked for so long?"

Splat!

My familiar emerged and trickled down the front of my face, using my ears as leverage. His eyes–now two googly-eyes suspended in glass orbs–pressed closer.

"Not eating! Sorting! I promise!"

"Sorting? You're organizing my memories?"

He shook, rattling the googly-eyes. "Yes. No. Master brain is wrong. Memories broken. Not tasty! I'm sorting them so you won't hurt. You're strong, but fragile. Like helmet-man! So I absorb, and you consume like snacks."

"Like snacks… You're making the memories more bite-sized?"

"Like when you made the fish for the old villagers!"

Wha-ooooh. That makes sense.

"You're helping me absorb them easier. Thanks, buddy."

"Of course! Tasty food, later?"

"I promise, but can you do me a favor?"

Sensing the seriousness in my voice, Galarion shifted into a more muted form and slowly nodded.

"Yes?"

"I'm about to confront… Me. Something. I'm not too worried, but just in case I want you to monitor my thoughts okay? If I suddenly start behaving wrong you have full permission to take control, like you did with that blood monster in the underground. Got it?"

"I understand. You can count on me!"

I smiled and slowly pushed him back into my head. The movement stirred Alex and she rolled over, resting her cheek against my stomach. I brushed her hair behind her ear and sighed. I'd deal with my terrible coping mechanisms after. For now, I closed my eyes and willed myself into my soulspace. Directly, where I knew I'd find the gremlin.

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At first, things looked fine, the world glowed with mana at the bottom but the depressing lack of pink in the sky reminded me of my promise to go hunting once things wound down.

I admired the glow, enjoying the feeling of my soul around me. Something I never really thought of as comforting. But a rhythmic tapping of glass on glass shattered what little peace I scrounge up.

I balled my fists and willed myself onto the island, stopping before the obsidian throne.

"You must be me if you're enough of an edgelord to-"

I cocked my head and stared at the throne. The empty throne.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Looking up, my familiars were on their pedestals. Partially manifested with their faces serious. Even Zagreus contained himself, his four heads faced away and toward the throne. They looked past it, the anxiety and tension bleeding through as I stood among them.

Chomperz landed on my shoulder and he sat up, balancing himself. I looked at him but he did as the others, and faced the source of the tapping.

Even you, huh?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I breathed in then out, and forced my legs to move.

As I rounded the bend, he came into view. Almost an exact copy, except the fire on his tail burned brighter while flames adorned his horns. He wore a ragged hoodie; plain and grey without the designs of my familiars.

He turned around, and a memory tried to surface. Pain, fire, terror!

Ding!

I winced as the sound echoed. Galarion's mana thrummed through the realm, pulling the memory free. Strangely, the gremlin also winced, plugging his ears.

"Can't go a minute without trying to traumatize yourself? Really?" he growled, with a similar voice but harsher.

"It's not a willing thing at the moment," I snapped.

"We both know that's only partially true." He bared his fangs and patted the ground beside him at the edge of the island. "Coming or what?"

I stayed standing but a nipping at my ears pushed me forward. Chomperz pointed to the ground before crossing his arms.

"Really? You too?"

"He's being pushy now that another part of-"

At first I wasn't sure what I was seeing, until Chomperz landed atop of the gremlin's head. Golden threads surrounded Chomperz arm and more sprouted from the edge of the water like lurking tentacles from a kraken.

He opened his mouth and brought it dangerously close to clone-me's nose before tapping his foot.

The gremlin chuckled. "Not yet? You'll have to eventually, you know. But fine, I'll keep your secret for now."

Chomp!

The dragonling rejoined me on my shoulder and nudged his head forward. Cautiously, I moved closer and stopped beside the gremlin.

"I won't bite. I'm full of myself, but not enough to think I'm that tasty," he growled.

I eased myself down, a meter apart while keeping my tail coiled and ready. "What do I call you?"

"Cyrus."

"Not a chance."

He shrugged. "While a weird creature with zero social awareness might enjoy being called 'Gremlin' I don't. If I have to choose, then let's go with Mordred."

"You gotta be kidding me."

"We both know there's a reason you chose Mordred and not Arthur or any other more heroic name. Don't act like it was all an act. That's insulting to the both of us."

I growled and resisted closing my eyes in frustration. "Fine. Mordred it is. So why all this?"

"To have fun?"

"What are you? Who are you?" I asked, ignoring the bait.

Mordred cocked his head. It was one thing to see yourself in a mirror but to have a clone of yourself copy your mannerisms felt downright creepy.

"Short answer or long answer?"

"Am I this much of a dick?"

"Mostly to isaac," he responded. With a shrug he tapped the ground with his claws. "Short answer, is I'm the mentally repressed psyche you called 'Gremlin.'"

"Long answer?"

"I'm the manifestation of your repressed emotions given pseudo-life through a combination of circumstance, your terrible coping mechanisms, and some passive skills. Sprinkle in a healthy dose of trauma along with magic fuckery and our demon heritage, and you get me," he explained.

I glared at my clone. Mordred flashed a smile and I forced myself to sit. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to impale him, skewer the bastard with my tail and wring his throat. In the distance, a faint chime echoed inside the realm and I snapped out of the anger.

What the fuck?

Mordred's smile slipped and he dragged his claw against the ground. Nails on a chalkboard, he stopped before I launched to my feet.

"You disgust me," he growled.

"My pleasure. Is there a point to all this?"

He shook his head and the flames along his body roared higher. "You wield your anger like a toddler screaming at the world."

"The point?"

"IT'S PATHETIC!" His voice shook the realm and the calm lake of mana crashed together with waves lapping at the island's edge. "I am a demon. I am WRATH! Not rage. Because of you, I am a weak imitation to our kind!"

I blinked and Mordred stood before me. He grabbed my collar and dragged me up. My tail snaked around, stopping at his throat while I grabbed his arm and wrenched it away. Or at least, that's what I tried to do. His strength bested mine, and he maintained his grip.

"I'm stronger than this! We're surrounded by our spirits, did you forget what our passive does? Even after months of having the best adventuring team in the kingdom train you, you repress it!"

My tail ground into his skin but a quick flick from his tail pushed mine away. Before I could attempt another stab, he pulled me in and reared back.

Slam!

He pushed my head up. "I could kill you. Destroy you. Get rid of the weakness before me."

Chomperz held up his paw.

"Are you intervening now? He need's-"

I spat as blood trickled down my broken nose. "Liar. I was never good at it. It makes sense that you aren't either."

"Oh?"

With a yell, I kicked him in the chest, and pushed him away. I landed and rolled, summoning an athame into my hand. It carved through the air, leaving bleeding pink lines that wisped away.

Mordred regained his footing and slashed the air with his tail. It snapped like a whip, creating a sharp thwick in its passing.

"Why do you keep switching between I, and you?"

He laughed, and cracked his neck. The flames around his horns lowered but grew in intensity while the reality around him started to turn grey.

"You really want to know?" he asked.

"Fuck off."

He shook his head. "Fight me, and I'll tell you. Simple as that."

"Fighting my inner demons? How cliche can you get?"

"I'm you. You already know the answer."

The greying of the world stopped a meter out. Colors weren't fully muted but amongst the black glass of the island, the golden runes were hard to make out. I eyed his tail, feeling mana flowing at the tip.

Fuck it.

I sent mana into the athame and nearly dropped the dagger as metal flowed out of the hilt. It grew in length, stopping at around four feet. The blade glowed with a wide spectrum of light as the dagger-turned-spear bounced off the ground.

Mordred grinned. "Neat. You needed the handicap anyway."

"Oh shut up," I groaned.

"Make me."

Under the eyes of my familiars and with Chomperz hovering in the air between us; I charged.

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