“You are still here. What? What are you trying to do? This body is now mine!” The entity possessing me made no effort to hide its satisfaction. “You are still around, but soon you will no longer be.”

These words, which I suddenly could hear clearly, were intimidating, but they set my mind ablaze with indignation.

“Who are you?” I asked, trying to conceal my emotions.

“How can you not recognize me?! You puny worm! I am Emperor Zer Ilkaar! I slew the seven-headed hydra with bare hands. I was worshipped in the lands from the Broken Peak mountains to the Wuurde Desert. I am one of the few who even tamed the flame of the Seraphim Sword! I…”

“Hold on, slow down. Emperor of what?”

“How dare you interrupt me! You don’t even know my name! What an outrage!”

“I just want to understand: who are you? Are you a spirit or maybe… a demon?”

“Demon?! Demon?!” The emperor’s voice echoed through my mind, rumbling with outrage. “You insolent worm! Oh, I will relish as the fragments of your consciousness fade into oblivion! And after you disappear, I shall erase every memory of you. Even from the dog that once glanced at you and wagged its tail. Everything! Will! Be! Erased!”

In my very being, I could feel him tremble with fury: either at my lack of respect or at my continued presence. He was keeping me out of my own body. It felt like trying to open a door he held shut from the other side.

Despair washed over me in waves. I never faced anything like this before, and the overwhelming feeling of helplessness plunged me into an abyss. My very self was fading, drying out, disappearing into nothingness.

I… Did I lose? Am I dead? I…

My vision blurred, and the last thing I saw was the body of a little girl in a dirty, patched dress. Was she alive? I wanted to know if she was alive.

I…

My wish. Fleeting at first, but then it flared up, like a spark dispersing the darkness of the abyss, and pulled me back.

It can’t end like this. I must rescue her.

This plan somehow became very important to me. I couldn’t let the child die from injuries. But to take her to a healer, I had to complete a task of equal importance: reclaim my body.

Another attempt.

And yet another.

I tried to remember the feeling of being in my flesh. Moving around. Breathing. Feeling my heartbeat.

Then I suddenly found myself hanging in a black void. I could feel my arms and legs, but they were fleshless. Perhaps this place was my subconscious, or some deeper layer of my mind I didn’t even know I had. Was I alone, or the emperor seizing my body was somewhere around?

“Zarakel, was it? Are you here?” I called out.

“Zarakel?!” the emperor flared up. “I am Zer Ilkaar!” For a moment, I thought I heard him grinding his teeth, but then his voice was back, arrogant and commanding: “I must correct the stupid mistake that allowed you to cling to this mortal world. I will destroy you and erase you from the annals of creation.”

As he said that, I finally saw the one who had so brazenly possessed me, albeit with perfect timing.

The figure before me was a tall man with piercing red eyes, ash-gray shoulder-length hair, and a face that seemed to be carved from stone: a masterly portrayal of wild, primordial masculinity. A golden circlet adorned with green and blue stones graced his high forehead. The figure exuded strength that was palpable even here, in this immaterial world. Behind him hovered a dense, light-purple sphere with a golden spark flickering inside.

By pure instinct, I sensed that if I could reach that sphere, I’d be able to reclaim my body. This insight felt like a suddenly awakened piece of knowledge that had been dormant somewhere within me all along. Perhaps I also had the knowledge of how to do that, but it remained silent.

While I was sorting out my insights, the man facing me, apparently reluctant to waste any more time, waved his hand, sending at me a ball woven from crimson bolts of lightning.

Caught off guard by this sudden attack, I still tried to dodge by moving to the right. But the magic missile was faster. A wild pain shot through my left arm, paralyzing my body. I collapsed onto the flat black surface beneath my feet. All I could do was glare up at my enemy.

“You almost managed.” A sarcastic smile formed on the captor’s lips. “Your feeble attempts to rescue yourself have amused me so much I will grant you one last wish.”

“Why did you possess my body?” I rasped, trying to buy time. For what? I didn’t know. I had no idea what I was waiting for: another sudden insight or maybe a helper, although I realized no one would come to my rescue here.

“Are you sure you want to waste your wish on this answer?”

“My only wish is for you to leave my body. Do it!” I screamed.

“Don’t be a fool. Accept your fate. Your death is already a fact. Anything beyond that can be discussed.”

“Then, since you’re going to kill me anyway, may I ask two questions?”

“O Great Chaos.” The emperor slapped his face and, shaking his head, continued: “This will be a tribute to your dead shadow that will join my army of things untouched by sunlight. You have two questions, and you will get two answers before you vanish into oblivion.”

“Why me?” The trivial question of anyone who found themselves in a mess was the first to cross my mind, but I really wanted to know the answer. Was he attracted by my misfortune or something else?

“You will not understand, but here’s your first answer. Beings like me can see more than mere mortals. And what I saw in your body captured my interest. After leaving the Hall of Wailing, I fled as far as I could until I noticed you—or rather the potential contained in your body. It’s close to what mine was in the times when I still lived.”

Nothing useful, I thought, but in the meantime, I’d come up with a question that could help.

“Where did that lightning come from? The one you struck me with?”

“Has the world forgotten how to use spirit? How long have I been on the other side of the veil?” the emperor wondered.

“A question can’t be answered with a question,” I smirked, shaking my head.

“Lightning is a form of my spirit. Each person is born with a power-absorbing potential that depends on their strength. The stronger your spirit, the more you can do, up to extending your lifespan. For instance, today you will be killed by a man who has lived seven hundred years.”

Spirit? What the... Hold on. Spirit!

On the brink of death, my mind worked at its peak, and I recalled that during the war, we’d had combat masters fighting on our side. There had been a conversation among the regular soldiers, and one of them mentioned something like this. What exactly did he say?

“And now... farewell,” the emperor’s deep voice snapped me out of my recollections.

I could not remember the soldier’s exact words. I was not sure it would’ve helped me anyway; I had no idea how to feel my spirit, let alone materialize it. But before my eyes flashed the recent image of the little girl enduring heavy blows without crying for help or pleading for mercy.

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How? How, for the Triune’s sake, could I give up in this world where even a child could endure anything to survive?

Spirit or willpower? Or maybe the strength of her shadow?

What did that little one rely on to bear all the hardship?

What did she have in her to endure their blows without uttering a single scream?

Where did she get such strength?

I had no answers. But thinking about those who could beat up a child on a whim, just to feel powerful against a weaker one, I sensed another wave of anger surge inside me.

A sudden roar bursting from the very core of my being filled me with strange energy. The air around me trembled; the space gave a quiver as if a giant touched it gently, like a musician striking a string. I heard a loud crack. In front of me, the layers of reality parted, revealing a shadowy figure emerging foot-first: its bare foot, then its arm, and finally the whole creature.

I froze at the sight. It was another me, my exact double, but completely black like a living shadow, with long hair and empty eye sockets. In his right hand appeared a massive two-handed sword, its blade and hilt patterned with golden lines of strange symbols crawling from the sword onto the doppelganger’s body until they covered it completely, layering one over another, flowing through it as though searching for their place.

“Ah, I wasn’t mistaken, and I couldn’t be. Your potential is truly impressive, but that’s no help. I have learned many new techniques while in prison. Shadow Sphere!”

We were immediately plunged in even deeper, impenetrable darkness.

“Can you feel it? The inevitable?” His voice echoed from all around. “I only have one thousandth of my past power, but it’s enough to end a little nothing like you."

I didn’t know where to expect the attack from. The enemy seemed to be everywhere at once, but amidst this chaos, a different voice rang out:

Well, how long are you going to wait? Direct me! I’m your weapon! I’m your rage, your anger! Use me or die, out of fear to plunge this world into chaos! But, dammit: MAKE! YOUR! FUCKING! CHOICE!

The deep, powerful voice of my doppelganger struck me like an electric shock.

Fear? No. I’ve been afraid for too long.

“Kill him!”

The space gave a shake as the clone’s sword slashed the darkness. With a crack, the black, ash-like shards of the recently formed sphere rained from above.

“Impossible!”

The enemy’s furious scream came from behind. I instinctively turned around, just in time to see an incoming fist. My defensive move altered its trajectory, and it struck my chest. The doppelganger beside me reacted immediately. Before the emperor’s arm could retract from my body, it was severed at the elbow.

“You! You can’t be stronger than me!” he yelled, leaping fifty feet back.

With a burst of scorching energy hitting the air, a giant figure began to take shape, appearing out of nowhere. This abomination had colossal arms with bulging muscles, legs that could belong to a well-trained horse, and a mouthless head with huge empty eyes and horns growing from the temples. Clad in the armor worn by ancient warriors, it held a blade in each hand. Leaning toward me, the colossus paused, waiting for its master’s command, which came promptly: “Attack!”

The titan swung both arms, bringing the blades down on my doppelganger’s head. My shadowy twin dodged effortlessly, diverting the tremendous force of the impact into the ground with the slanted edge of his two-handed sword. The giant’s body tilted forward, losing balance, its swords slicing through the black void. My doppelganger swung his two-handed sword in a semi-circle and brought it down on the monster’s conveniently exposed neck.

All happened in a flash. One moment the colossus stood, and the next, its head rolled toward the emperor’s feet.

“Run to the sphere!” my doppelganger yelled, panting and slowly fading away. The final strike had drained him of strength.

Wasting no time, I dashed forward, but my legs suddenly gave way. My body began to fall slowly, as though in a dream. The overwhelming fatigue forced me onto all fours. I shook my head, struggling to grasp what had happened.

“Ha, ha.” Zer Ilkaar sounded tired. “Did you think you could use power without consequences?”

He spoke in gasps, each word accompanied by heavy breathing. The giant’s death had affected him badly. I realized that, since we were using our spirit, materializing my rage had spent my own strength.

“Can you... reach... the sphere? I’m recovering... faster... than you. Your character is... nothing... against... my experience... you greenhorn."

“Go to hell! This is my body!” Gathering the last bits of willpower, I slowly stood up and limped towards the purple sphere.

Before me appeared a two-handed sword, almost identical to the one wielded by my gone twin. Grabbing it, I gradually picked up pace, feeling strength come back. Eventually, I broke into a run, racing for my life.

But Emperor Zer was not going to give up. The space stirred, and the purple sphere with its shining spark inside was blocked by a wall of soldier shields, concealing the source of light. I looked up to hear the whistle of hundreds of arrows coming down.

“Rahhhhh!” Swinging the sword and planting it in front of me, I envisioned a mantlet, a huge shield covering me entirely. The blade immediately flattened and began to transform into a shield that deeply embedded itself into the ground at a sharp angle.

How did I know what to do? What force was driving me? There was no time to ponder, so I shelved these questions for later.

The arrows tapped against the metal-clad shield. Hiding behind it and tucking my head into my shoulders, I struggled to make sense of what was going on until I realized it was a battle of our willpowers and characters. The stronger these were, the more you could do in this world.

Perhaps my shield would’ve collapsed, sending me into oblivion, but my opponent couldn’t resist gloating and that somehow helped me.

“It’s been thousands of years, and humans still lack basic reasoning? You must understand you stand no chance against me. You know, I’ve got a better idea. I will not erase you. Instead, you will remain here as a helpless observer, unable to do anything but suffer while I live a life in your body. A fitting torture for a pathetic worm. And most importantly, you won’t end up in the Hall of Wailing. Once your will is broken, you will lose.” Emperor Zer’s laughter resounded through the space.

“Shut up!”

A scream erupting from the depths of my being replenished my energy. Arrows were still pounding against the shield, as if the emperor cared more about breaking my defense than about destroying me, which he could’ve accomplished by striking from another side.

My weapons are my willpower and my mind, I finally realized. As this idea settled in, I channeled my rage to unleash a wave of all-consuming fire against the arrows. In an instant, there were flames all around me, heating the space up and distorting it.

“No! No! You can’t be stronger!”

“Rahhhhh!” I cried again.

With each shout, my spirit transformed the attack. The fire turned into dazzling bolts of lightning that guided themselves toward their target, scorching the enemy’s mind and extracting a wild scream from him. Then the lightning turned into invisible bonds, tying up the emperor’s twitching figure, pressing upon him from above and from below with such force that the immobilized Zer collapsed to his knees.

How long can I last?

My strength was melting away like snow from a mountain peak when brought down into a sunny valley. Like a clay pot full of water had cracked and the liquid burst out and I had no idea how to fix this leak.

All of this was new to me, and maintaining my will to prevail was not easy. But I had no choice.

“No point struggling on,” the emperor gasped, and his bonds began to crack. “Do you think your will is so strong? Do you think your character’s power is greater than mine? Accept your fate as a mortal shell!”

Watching him break free from the entangling vines, I didn’t wait for him to fully shake them off. Springing up, I ran toward the dome formed by ancient-looking shields, the coveted light-purple spark glowing between them.

“You dare not! Stop! You have no idea what you’re doing!”

The emperor’s last words were lost in a bright flash as my clenched fist broke through his defense and touched the shimmering spark. My eyes itched with the dazzling light; then I felt the cold ground beneath me.

I was back in the alley, looking around slowly as my eyes adjusted to the changed environment.

How long was I out? Damn. I immediately remembered the guards, but seeing the burning torch, I realized it had only been a minute or two. The bodies of the four bandits were still on the ground, but they were not my concern. My priority was to save the girl who was the reason I’d gotten into this.

Why is it so hard to move?

My body ached with every small move as if I’d been working in the mines for three days without straightening up. The girl’s body was surprisingly heavy, but I had no choice but to lift her and move forward, measuring every step carefully to avoid falling.

“Your Qi vessel is depleted because you used your life energy alongside your willpower,” a tired voice came from the side.

“You’re still here?!” I nearly dropped my burden in surprise.

“Where should I be, you goat-herder’s offspring? You were only able to defeat me in the mental battle because my powers haven’t fully recovered. To my disgrace, I underestimated your desire to live, you lowly worm.” His voice was filled with contempt, but still it was an attempt to justify himself.

“As far as I’m concerned, you can go back to wherever you came from, you self-absorbed ass,” I snapped back. “The last thing I need is a split personality.”

Gasping with rage, Zer began to shower me with curses, promising to destroy me once his powers fully replenished, but I didn’t care. I could put up with that until I figured out how to get rid of this unwanted companion.

“Get rid of me? Huh. Just because you overcame me once, you now think you’ve got your life back? I will have no rest until I take over your body.”

“I did it once. I can do it again. Stay away from my head.”

“You idiot. Our minds are now connected.”

“Get lost. Can you just explain why you’re still here?"

“Because you’re an idiot. You touched the veil of the mind while I was undefeated. Now we’ll have to share this body until the hall guards come for our souls. Or until I regain my strength and finish you off.”

“The veil of the mind? The hall guards?”

“Pathetic creature. O Spheres! How could someone like that defeat me?”

“What an annoying demon.”

As we had this conversation, I had approached Lara’s house without even noticing it. With my hands occupied, I used my feet to knock on the door.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The door echoed under my kicks.

After a short while, I heard a latch being removed. My childhood friend stood in the doorway.