“Quite the plot twist.” Cedric arched an eyebrow sceptically. “…but why go out of your way to tell me this? You don’t really expect me to believe you have my best interests in mind, do you?”
“I do, actually.” Cedric’s shadow smirked. “Because contrary to what dumb and dumber believe, what’s best for the ego and what’s best for the shadow are often one and the same.”
“Yeah…” Cedric relaxed his body slightly, but didn’t take his eyes off his shadow. “I’m going to need you to elaborate on that bold claim of yours.”
“You don’t believe me. Understandable.” Cedric’s shadow smiled warmly. “Don’t worry though, it’s easier to catch a lie than make one when the air is thick with mistrust - and by the very nature of my creation it is impossible for you to trust me.”
“You’re avoiding answering my question.” Cedric tensed up again. “How does helping me benefit you?”
“…Fine. Look, the simple answer is that even if I don’t care about something you care about, I will care about it when Cedric becomes whole again.” Cedric’s shadow sighed. “In other words, you and I are the same person most of the time, so any misery I let rise from the emotional masochism you call ‘friendship’ will inevitably come back to bite me in the rear.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“So if something happens to Andie or Dyllan, I’ll be upset, which will make you upset when I’m in my physical form.”
“When we’re in our physical form.” A growl slipped from the lips of Cedric’s shadow. “However, it’s not all bad. Your joy will also transfer.”
“So you want what’s best for me, because more often than not, you are me.” Cedric smirked. “And you want what’s best for my friends, because I want what’s best for my friends.”
“Unfortunately.” Cedric’s shadow paused, glancing around warily. “We’ll finish this later. Even the dumb-ass duo will eventually realize their fight isn’t getting them anywhere, so you should get yourself out of the metaphorical splash zone. Bye.” As his shadow turned to leave, Cedric noticed a drone clinging to his back. It was almost exactly the same as Cedric’s Virtue, but it was black and green with a minus symbol, instead of white and red with a plus sign. “Reach through the darkness, my Cunning.”
And with that, Cedric’s shadow vanished.