I don't know what to think.

Dad looks somewhat concerned at me, but not even remotely the way you would expect from someone in this situation.

No existential panic or deep seeping horror.

"Are you alright, Iori? You look suddenly so out of it." (Chr)

Why isn't he reacting to all this?!

It's not like there's nothing to react to.

Like maybe the sprawling tentacles, the fact that there are two of me in the room, or that I'm a frickin demon!

Just any kind of reaction!

Why is there nothing coming from him?!

The crazy twin devil of mine meanwhile smirks complacently and waves me off, while walking back into my room.

"You can thank me later!" (I∞)

How the fuck am I supposed to react right now?

I don't even know what's going on!

I'm in demon form in front of my, until now, oblivious dad who doesn't even bat an eye!!!

"I-Iori? What was..." (S)

"I seriously don't know." (I)

"You don't know? Well, maybe you can tell me and we can figure something out together." (Chr)

Okay, I somehow need to process this.

So I should catch myself and analyze this situation.

Once I focus all of my senses, especially the non-human ones, I notice that there's still this... light, for lack of a better term, around Dad.

Just not really as a presence, but somehow like something very intangible.

It's difficult to describe, but if auras are like a cloud of smoke that is always around people, this "light" is like one layer further from this sense.

Like an even deeper dimension.

Though, for this reason, it's so far away that I can't interact with it.

Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to hurt Dad, but at the same time, he definitely isn't acting normally.

"Uh, well, do you see something there?" (I)

I point at the tentacles growing out of my room that Mum definitely can see.

"What do you mean? Oh, was that another trick? I'm sorry, but not all of them can work out the first time you show them. Luck is a big factor when getting started." (Chr)

Right...

So he can't see this.

Then what about...

"So what do you see here?" (I)

I extend my claw in his general direction and let it grow, careful not to hurt him.

"Iori, what are you doing?!" (S)

Concern in her voice. Certainly a degree of panic.

"I'm sorry, Mum, but I need to check this." (I)

Dad meanwhile just looks at my claws.

"Hm, I think you still need to work a bit on your fingerwork if that is what you mean. I would advise you to start with coin tricks. Those are easier to pull off and you don't need to worry about damaging the object like with cards. Here, give me your hand." (Chr)

He latches on to my claw and something crazy happens.

Where he touches me, my demonic growths disperse and promptly he holds my completely normal human hand in his own.

He pulls out a coin and places it in my palm.

"Here, this is a quarter. Try moving it with just your fingers from one end to the other. Once you get a hang of it you should have a far easier time with other tricks." (Chr)

...I don't know what to say.

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"Iori, what is going on?" (S)

"She's just a little disappointed, is all. It can't always work. No reason to worry." (Chr)

Uh, what do I do?

Yes, I am freaked out right now, but throwing it all on Dad would be wrong.

"Yes. It's just all a bit much at once. Though, I would like to go to my room for a moment and figure something out." (I)

"As you wish sweetie. I know at your age one wants to have time for oneself. But know that if ever anything is really bothering you, you can just come to me with it. I'll always be there for you." (Chr)

"Yes... Thank you Dad." (I)

It's heartwarming.

For a moment I felt like long before my transformation, when I knew I could rely on my parents with everything.

However, I need to excuse myself now as I have to beat up my future self.

So I storm into my room and let the tentacles close the door while growing back and then lock it from the inside, before facing the intruder.

The room turns dark, fleshy mask creeps along the floor, walls, and ceiling, while my voice echoes with thunderous depth.

"What, did, you, do?!" (I)

"Huh, it really slipped my mind how easily irritated I was back then." (I∞)

"ANSWER!!!" (I)

"I only made sure that Dad won't be able to recognize that anything is off about our family. It's the perfect solution! You can stick together as a family like you always were, and he won't notice anything that might disturb him." (I∞)

"You, you messed with his mind?! I promised myself I'd never do this and now you do it to Dad of all people!?" (I)

Black tears start dropping down my face while anger wells up from within me.

"Heck no, I didn't! His mind is perfectly pristine! I wouldn't dare touch it." (I∞)

How can she say this?

I just saw the result.

"Stop messing with me! Dad is acting weird after what you did! He doesn't even react to my appearance." (I)

"But I'm speaking the truth. You can call it a normalcy field. It basically filters everything that isn't perceived as normal by him out of his perspective and close vicinity. Nothing paranormal around Dad will reach him in a way that might put him off. No sight, sound, or attack out of the ordinary can influence him. Naturally, there are some complicated factors to account for. Mum, for example, is naturally not filtered out. Yet her demonic powers are to a degree. The field is intricate enough that it's going to adjust his perception so that everything makes sense to him in a way that it's literally the same as reality, just minus the weird stuff. You can be sure that I'm good enough to pull this off. It even works to protect him to some degree. Well, if the planet explodes it might actually strain this a bit." (I∞)

I don't care how elaborate this thing works!

She did this to him without his consent.

Or mine!

"His thinking isn't influenced in any way. Only his perception. Basically an advanced version of pink glasses. For all accounts, he's still dad as he was just moments ago. I didn't change the slightest bit about him." (I∞)

I'm not sure.

Isn't his perception a vital part of his thinking that defines who he is?

It makes me anxious just to think about it.

"C-can this be reversed?" (I)

"Well, sure. It was made by me after all. If you put in enough effort to understand the principles and unravel the spellwork of course you should eventually be able to do so. Not that it would be easy. Also, I honestly wouldn't know why you'd want that. After all, you just got exactly what you needed. And frankly, if your future self is giving you advice, you should be more inclined to take it. After all, it's coming from your wiser self." (I∞)

My future self?!

I'm starting to get pissed off!

"You are nothing like me! As if I would ever act as you do!" (I)

There's barely any resemblance to my person.

She's conceited, ignorant, and acts without a care in the world!

"Ah, didn't I mention that I became slightly crazy?" (I∞)

Yeah, sure, what else?

Just one more thing to add to the list.

Can I scream?

I want to scream.

"So you're telling me I'm about to go crazy in the future?" (I)

"I said 'slightly'. Nothing big. Maybe I'm a little shrewd. I only did a tiny mind alteration." (I∞)

"You, you messed with your brain!?! We promised to never do this!" (I)

"If it's on myself it's fine. Also, I wanna see how you fare after one or two millennia... oh well!" (I∞)

"Ehm..." (I)

There are some quite convincing points to her statements speaking against my ability to blame her on that matter.

"As I said, it's nothing big. The simple issue is that human minds aren't fit for immortality. Yet as there's no real way out for us, in our situation we had two possibilities. Live forever and slowly go crazy with the passage of time or, and that's the one I took, voluntarily becoming crazy on my terms." (I∞)

"Wh-what did you do?" (I)

If what she says is true this will have quite a bit of relevance for me.

"I changed myself in a way that I see every day as novel. I still do remember stuff, but it's a bit more detached from my conscious experience. So when something happens it's always as if it's the first time. I could watch the same series a hundred times and still be surprised at the twist. Or I play a game again without experiencing any kind of dejavu if I want it to be like this." (I∞)

Talk about millennia and different concepts of time.

If I understand her right here, she simply got rid of her ability to feel bored in a way that she won't feel the weight of the time she experiences.

"But was this really worth it? I mean, didn't you lose your original personality by doing so?" (I)

"If you're this far you eventually need a coping mechanism. In my case, I altered myself to look at each new day with childlike wonder. Naturally, I retain all my memories, but the outlook is different. I could easily make use of them. Just like you, for example, use your powers you don't want to think about. Just adding a bit more novelty to rereading a novel you binged years ago. It's not as bad as you think. The downside might be that it makes me a bit jiggly. Because I never feel any weariness or exhaustion I don't have much of a sense to hold back anymore. However, I'd still say that my general character remained the same. I'm not much different from you." (I∞)

Says the one who traveled back in time on a whim to change something that apparently happened long ago for you.

"Stop saying I'm not different from you! I have rules! Things I would never do! You just step in here and act like you could do whatever the fuck you want! You have no right to mess with my life like this!" (I)

"Au contraire! I have every right. You might not perceive it like this now, but it's inevitable that you become a part of me. You have no choice on that matter. And as such your life as well as your whole existence belongs to me." (I∞)

"Shut up!" (I)

I hate this!

I hate her!

I don't want to hear this!

I don't want this to be true!

I don't want to be like this!

Someone I can't even recognize anymore!

"Why would I? It's nothing but the truth. You are a past me and will eventually reach your future me. It's only a question of time. And as you just witnessed, time is such a fickle thing, so simple to bend. So basically there isn't a distinction at all." (I∞)

"Shut the fuck up!" (I)

I step forward to punch her in the face, not caring if I'm going to regret this later, far in the future, but before I can throw my fist at her, something grabs my arm from behind.

Or rather, many things.

As when I look there I see myself as well as a dozen tentacles taking hold of it.

"Didn't I tell you to keep it together?" (I2)

Did I mention that I'm in no state where I want to face more versions of myself?