A mirror.

Two mirrors.

Four mirrors.

A hallway of infinite reflections and no walls. The looking glasses form a maze that he couldn't recognize yet knew too well.

Some of it was him, some was the remnant that he usurped from those long deceased, and a couple more was simply the product of his illicit escapades.

He was running faster and faster, trying to catch the tiny white light that flickered just beyond what he could reach. The mirror he ran through showed the life of others, as if speaking right to his psyche; "Who are you?".

He'd lost who he was. Of course, the mirror gave no answer. The small silver frame served only to confuse and bring him to a slow pace as he trudged through, passing by the same reflection a few times over. His fingers brushed against it lightly and found themselves blackened.

Black? Why were they covered in charcoal?

'That must be my own skin.'

Maybe his bones? Perhaps the bone that lay between his index finger and thumb; that would make sense.

Though the last few times he had entered and passed through a looking glass, his body would break like brittle ceramic and scatter throughout the threshold in countless sharpened fragments.

Now... no mirror lay broken at his feet.

As if a recollection from years past, he suddenly found himself stuck within a momentary flashback.

An image.

A woman.

A knife.

A motion that is foreign to him; a stabbing? The words and ideas began to converge to form a coherent concept. It was as if time froze when his gaze landed upon the female that knelt there, fear, tears... sadness in her eyes. He knew that emotion, it was the emotion he saw in the mirrors that surrounded him at all times.

A harrowing sadness of the mind and soul.

The woman would be stabbed, once, twice, a dozen, a hundred times more, she would die a gruesome and horrific death.

She screamed out as he took pleasure in watching. In that moment of shock, realization, anger, hatred. A horrifying sight to behold. The emotions ran rampant, everything became clear and in focus. It's amazing how much pain one person can experience. She was dead. No one even cared about her.

A mother who; after giving birth, would be murdered by her own son.

...

Bnnnnnnnnnnn.......... Bnnnnnnnnnnn........... Bnnnnnnnnnnnnn...........

The sound of the universe bellowing to him. Asking a question. Asking "... Are you happy...?".

He answered, oh how he answered. "Yes!" But nobody believed him. Not even himself, not that he was capable of lying to the universe or anything.

That's right, deception was not necessary; lying didn't work in this case either. What did he feel? He wondered.

Bnnnnnnnnnn... Bnnnnnnnnnnn........ Bnnnnnnnnnnn.......

Once again it speaks, louder this time. Angrier, in fact. A look of disdain is thrown his way, a grimace that shows teeth, it shows him that he has a problem. There was no real look, no real glance. It was all an idea communicated to his being.

...

"....bu....!....bul......Zabulus...! Wake the hell up!"

A shout sounded, dragging him from his reverie.

His non-existent eyelids fluttered open as his body floated aimlessly. It felt weightless. Oh, it became all so clear now.

Those mirrors are his fragments.

Now that he is within his soul; within himself, he had no need for external perceptions and the influence they exerted upon him, no need for illusory things, things that aren't real.

Vetro had a worried look on his face, perhaps the worry was not directed at Zabulus himself, but rather at the state of this body; this soul that they share. "Was that... that same woman you met at the beginning of your freedom?" An abstract question is asked, not a 'What did you see?' but an inquisition to know if she's still present in your memories and subconsciousness.

"...The fuck would you know about that?" An aggressive question is sent his way as Zabulus floated above Vetro.

"I can... see your memories too, you know." Although a little timid, it came out clearly and loud enough for the both of them to hear.

"None of your business. Now sod off before Your soul gets ripped from your ass and goes straight to hell." He spat in fury.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

'What's with this guy now?' Vetro wondered silently.

Zabulus floated aimlessly about, as all the cultists remained frozen still in a trance.

Idalia and Guillerme are gone. Aeneus is gone. Alice is nowhere to be seen. They have fled his grasp, and he cannot help but feel an immense frustration at what he's being faced with.

"That's right."

?!

"Who said that?!" He panicked and scrambled away from his original position, floating in the middle of a sea of glowing shards.

The voice he heard just now. It wasn't so distant, not so forlorn. Rather, he recognized it closer than not.

"You failed yourself once again, deceiver, and still you cling to false promises."

The voice echoed over and over until it had no chance to fade. Then again and again. As he scrambled through the shards and found nothing but cuts and tears across his face, he felt a pang of hurt pierce through his chest.

Why...?

Why are you here...?!

"I am here, because you are. Zaig■."

What?

"I am because You are."

The fuck's that supposed to mean?! Why are you being cryptic for fuck's sake?!

"Stop wasting time. I know what you seek... WE know what you seek. Your identity; your self, it is here."

??

Identity? I had an identity! It's who I've always been! A sinner! A sinner! It's who I've been until now... why would I-

"You were a SINNER. You had SIN. Do not forget the latter. Once you are cleansed, your identity shall be reestablished."

But... If it's being cleansed then it means... there were flaws, there's mistakes.

"Yes, ZAIG■. Yes, Zabulus. Yes, Young Lamb. Yes, Child of God. All of them... You've made mistakes. Many of them. And these are the errors of a fool's miscalculated actions."

What?... Why would I be the fool? I never claimed anything otherwise... Why should I be labeled?

"Fool."

Don't call me that-

"Fool, you were a fool. Fool."

This... bitch. Who the fuck are YOU to be calling me a fool?! Fuckin bitch, where the hell are you?! SHOW YOURSELF TO ME YOU SACK O' SHIT!!

"It's you."

...What?

"It's always been you, Fool."

No... No... NO NO NO NO NO NOOOO!!!!!

"I am the amalgamation of your mistakes, I am because You are a fool; a mistake in your calculations, an error, a glitch; a misconceived entity; rather, I am no entity. I was... created for the sole purpose of making sure the future you wish for could be accomplished, to create infinite possibilities for you. For it shall be soon that the world's possibilities shall crumble. What is it that you want more? To conform to its whims or to force its whims to conform? Whichever it may be, a new age is fast approaching."

Don't fucking tell me to die!!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF ME YOU FREAK!!!

"In the end, I was able to construct your identity, that's what mattered to me most."

Uuuugh, GAAAAAAAAAAAHS, go fuck yourself. Get out of MY body... out of my damn soul!!

"Do not misunderstand, I am a part of your soul. Getting rid of me is as good as death. Yet... you are incapable of death. Not even the singular escape from this tortuous fate is available. But fear not, I will not hinder your objective nor will I steal away this moment."

...Well what the fuck do you even want with me now, then?

"All that we need is for me to cleanse you. All that I wish to know is the path of our fate. To live, to die, to grow, and to deconstruct it all. But how can you tell me which path you choose? I'll ask instead, is this the choice you choose? A lonely life, a constant war, a fight that never ends, is this your final decision? Can I let you go knowing this? Can I do this to you knowing this?"

You're not doing it on your own! Fuck, this hurts... and you, whatever you are, are getting the fuck outta here and-!

"If it'll calm your nerves, go ahead and pretend, like we're separate from each other."

How can I be calm?! You just threatened me and... wait, what now?

"...I didn't threaten you. What kind of morbid thoughts do you have to be saying something as bad as that? Shh..."

Tell me, then. Where the fuck are you even?! You're in this place but I don't see anything at all...

"Who are you?"

Shut up, now ain't the time for pointless banter-

"Answer me and I shall answer you."

I asked first! And... that isn't even a question! You can't ask me questions about that kind of bullshit, anyway! How the hell am I supposed to explain shit that doesn't even have anything to do with this?!

"Zaig■,"

SHUT THE FUCK UP. DON'T CALL ME THAT!

"Fine. I won't say it again... At least, not now. You haven't gotten it yet, have you? Don't you remember the world's last hope? We, of all people, would know of the threat."

I don't even care... I just want to wake up and... and...?

"Hm? Forgotten your goal now, haven't you?"

Fuck off, bitch! Don't tell me I forgot everything I was working towards! I... it's... it's been a long few days! How the hell would I be able to-... Fuck. I can't remember what I was doing... and what the fuck is with these stupid mirror shard pieces floating all around here? They're flying all over the fucking place! It's like they're stuck in the air. This room doesn't have walls... no ceiling... no floor. Yet. I'm floating too. But unlike them, my face isn't covered in fragments. Why are they here? What are the shards... all over the cultists as well. Those shards in the cultists seem different. No, all of them are just the same shade as mine. None of theirs has those markings. They're just cut exactly like mine... but all the tiny sharp fragments seem exactly identical... how is that...? Is it because I created them... and if I did, where was my self at that time, when I created them? When I crafted them. My creation. That... sounds about right. I've always had a self and I've created all kinds of things, and my creations also became independent somehow. It's as if those were always here, as if everything else existed. As if everything was a figment of my imagination. Like... like if I were a god. As though... I'd... be an actual one if the mirror fragments were the real things... well, they weren't the real thing... So there's nothing wrong with thinking this, right? ...Of course not. What am I, an idiot? It's better not to think too much on it anyway... There were too many damn things going on at once. I wouldn't be surprised if a small portion of this was all one big damn dream. How was I supposed to understand what was happening, and why was it that I felt like there were others watching me... The other reflections that I was seeing weren't exactly like what's been happening right now. Those reflected scenes in the past, back when I was younger, my heart and soul. And it felt like there was always an outsider's presence in these events. Like an interruption. It was almost like those past reflections, memories, are incomplete and they are missing someone... or something. Yet... that doesn't seem to bother me anymore.

"Your identity is being distorted."

My identity is fine! I know who I was and who I am and it has nothing to do with any of this shit! My memory is perfectly fine and there's no mistaking anything! Stop giving me that patronizing attitude.

"Don't deny who you were."

There's nothing to deny because there's nothing here anymore.

"What has become of you?"

A god.

A god.

Gods.

A god who wants to be a god.

To make sense of chaos, to bring my own truth to the meaning of it.

"You aren't really sure why it is that you have become who you've been, and it seems as if you are back on track to the right path."

A fool?

The fool.

I am a fool and a fool cannot exist, therefore, I will die.

I can't die.

So what am I?

Yes, I already know it.

God is who I am. God is who you are.