In an endlessly bright dimension filled with every colour imaginable except for black, a young girl no older than ten sat in the very centre of this dimension.

This girl was Sofia, and this was a time many centuries before she had been forcefully linked to Lone and then sent to an unfamiliar land.

"Why can I not just die?" she asked herself for the billionth time.

She never ate, but never starved, she could bleed, but never bleed out, she could refuse to breathe, but never suffocated.

Sofia slumped onto her side and stared into nothingness with a blank gaze in her dead eyes. "What is the point of immortality if I do not want to live?"

She idly created a shimmering jade-green barrier and controlled it to lop off her own head. Within seconds, the severed limb floated back to her neck and reattached itself.

“Such a pointless, forgettable existence,” she said to herself before spitting on the floor.

She did this for 30 straight years. Eventually, mutilating herself to the point an ordinary person would have died lost its charm.

"Maybe it would have been better if God could have ended my life... I should not have killed him when he exhausted himself... Even though he was the reason for my imprisonment... Maybe it would have been nice to have someone to talk to?" she mused.

She tapped her finger on the floor of the dimension before she had a thought. “I could just talk to myself. Ah, but I am a boring person with nothing fun to talk about… How about an exciting yet timid me? That sounds like an interesting dynamic.”

Day, weeks, months, years passed as she perfected her new personality. She wanted another person to talk to, not some cheap imitation made by her mind but a true, living, breathing person.

It took her 20 years before Sofia felt like she’d created a persona worthy of a true conversation.

“Hello,” she said to herself.

“H-Hi,” she replied to herself.

Smiling, she asked, “What is your name?”

“S-Sofia. What’s, uh, yours?” she asked back.

“My name is also Sofia. It is nice to finally meet you. To meet someone I can trust,” Sofia claimed.

“Y-You can trust me?” Sofia questioned.

“Oh, yes. More so than even myself,” she answered as her smile grew.

Decades and centuries passed as she talked to herself without end. She fell in and out of love with herself, had arguments, fights, even wars with her own mind.

There had even been a whole year where her other half had refused to speak to her, claiming she was too afraid of her violent and cruel nature.

Eventually, something… split. Sofia no longer felt in control of her body but seemed to be an observer from her mind as her limbs and fingers moved on their own.

“W-What’s happenings?” Sofia’s meeker persona questioned in a panic.

‘I have no idea,’ Sofia replied though her lips didn’t voice her words.

“I-I heard that!” Sofia gripped her head and screamed, “I heard that! In here! I-I can think! I, we, I’m not you!”

‘… What on Earth have I become… No, wait, perhaps it should be ‘what on Earth have we become’…’ Sofia muttered as she observed herself begin to feel all over her body as if discovering the sense of touch for the very first time.

More time passed and Sofia soon learned that she and her meeker self could swap who was in control of their immortal body.

The persona that she had made to avoid her loneliness had somehow evolved and become a fully-fledged person. Two minds, one body. Truly, a frightening thing.

Wearing her usual woollen jumper, the girl sat cross-legged as she talked aloud. "I… I want to leave this place…”

‘Why?’ Sofia responded from within their shared mind.

“I, uh, I really like you but… it’s boring and… lonely here. All we can do is sleep or talk to you,” Sofia answered with an innocent honesty that was foreign to her other half.

‘No one down there will be as nice to you as we are. You were not there but you have our memories. Recall what those knights did to us. Chased us for over a hundred years like some rare animal. Chained us up at the bidding of their lord and left us for dead as our eyesight was stolen from us. You aren't just going to forget those 300 years, now are you?’ her response to herself was cold, vile, and filled with hatred.

"I know... But I'm so alone. Even if they're bad, I just want a friend, no, not even that, just someone to talk to, to listen to… I already know everything about you," the girl explained as she cried silent tears out of her grey and lifeless eyes.

‘You don't need anyone else, you fool! You have us! We are friends, are we not?!’ Sofia shouted at herself.

Burying her head between her knees, she replied, "But you're just me. I’m you. It's not the same."

‘Then we can simply make more of us! We made you, did we not?’ Desperation oozed out of Sofia’s every word.

A very weak smiled spread across her physical face. "Maybe... I, uh, I want to sleep now."

She curled up into a ball and tried to ignore the heavy pains in her chest as she began to drift asleep. It was then that the entire dimension shook and began collapsing around her.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Standing up rapidly, the girl looked around with those blind eyes of hers as the colours started to fade.

Even if she couldn't see the colours, she could certainly sense them. Her entire 'vision' was filled with darkness suddenly. A pitch-black darkness.

Memories flooded into her mind, memories of her other self that she didn't want to recall.

"What the... Where is this?" a strange and masculine voice said in confusion.

A few moments passed as she watched him fumble about like he wasn’t familiar with his own body. "What the fuck’s going on?"

Out of instinct, Sofia screamed at the top of her lungs. She was in a terrifyingly dark place with an unknown person, and this horrified her immensely.

Though a part of her was excited to meet someone new. She quickly and decisively sealed up her other self with layers and layers of mental barriers.

It was something she did often. Only when her other side got too aggressive or angry with her. Still, she knew how against meeting others she was. This chance wouldn’t be messed up by her.

"A child? Is someone there? Are you okay? Where are we? Do you know anything?" the voice asked slowly and carefully once its owner had heard her screaming.

She held her mouth shut and began to hyperventilate. She had no clue how to interact with another person besides herself.

Instead of responding she tried her best to calm herself by just inspecting the person’s body closely.

He was tall, had tails, oddly enough, and every part of him was blazing in a bright golden light. He was like a beacon in this dark place.

In truth, the girl cared not for what this man looked like. She just wanted a new friend, and maybe this was her chance.

But still, she had to approach this carefully. She didn't want a repeat of God. Granted, that man had done some terrible things to her other self. This person had done nothing bar ask some questions thus far.

"I'm a teacher so you don't have to be scared. I’ve got no idea what’s going on, but maybe we can figure something out if we work together?” he requested in a kind tone.

Sofia ignored his words and instead focused on the fact that he couldn’t seem to find her. ‘So he can’t see like I can… He can’t see magic…’

"I was in my dimension... I was just minding my own business, but I don't know where we are either. Who are you, Mister Fox?" She ended up sounding far more frightened than she had intended, but it was commendable nonetheless that she was trying her absolute best.

The man responded simply, "Soph."

'Huh? That's a bit like my n-name though?' She was very confused.

"Soph!" The darkness around her evaporated and was replaced by the face of Mister Fox's concerned expression.

She was lying on top of him with several of his tails held between her arms. "Lone?"

"Were you dreaming? It seemed almost like a nightmare... You were thrashing about pretty badly..." Lone's tone indicated how worried he was about her.

Soph let go of Lone's tails and hugged him tightly. "Mmm, it was both? I'm sorry if I woke you up..."

Lone just sighed and smiled wryly. "So even you with all of your lacking common sense can have nightmares, huh?" He gently returned her hug.

Soph buried her face in his chest. "Is it bad that I'm like this? Ignorant, I mean."

Lone shook his head instantly even if she couldn't see him right now. Well, she could see him if she just focused and used her Mana Sensing.

However, her emotions were all jumbled up right now, so she wasn't concentrating much on her passive skill.

"No, it’s not bad. Ignorance should never be disparaged. The lack of a will to get rid of your ignorance should, however. Just keep being yourself," he suggested.

'Myself? Which self, exactly?' Soph kept her somewhat cynical thoughts hidden.

She definitely didn't want to reveal her other side to Lone, not after she had become friends with him and gotten a proper person to talk to out of him. Not when he made her feel so… warm.

She could never risk letting him see her more hateful, uglier side. Not now, not ever. "O-Okay... I'll try."

The two stayed like that, simply hugging for a while. Once Soph finally separated herself from him, he ran his fingers through her hair and gently held her cheek - something she, for some reason, deeply enjoyed and even yearned for sometimes. He smiled at her and said, "Hungry?"

Nodding lightly, Soph replied, "Yup."

"Okay, you go take a morning bath then and I'll cook breakfast for us. I plan on going back into the forest today, so no lazing about, 'kay?" Lone ordered in a slightly playful tone.

Soph pouted. "Just 'cause I don’t know everything like you do, that doesn't mean that I’m lazy.."

"Haha, that’s fair, still, how is that half the time my tails find themselves in the grubby little mitts of a person who is neither training nor making herself useless somehow else, hmm?" Lone replied with a warm smile.

Soph stuck her tongue out in defiance. "I'm not lazy. Doing nothing and being lazy are different."

"I guess they are. Anyway, go on and have a bath, unless you'd rather I washed and you cooked today?" Lone suggested as he stroked his stubble.

Soph shook her head and crawled off of the bed. "Bathing is fun, cooking is too but you’re better at it than me. I prefer tasty food."

With that, she scampered off to the bathroom. Just as she reached the door, she turned around and looked at Lone with a somewhat lonely expression on her face. "Lone."

"Hmm?" Turning his head to face her as he was getting properly dressed, Lone gave her an inquisitive gaze.

"You... You won't ever leave me, will you?" Soph's expression changed from one of loneliness to one of desperation in a split second.

Lone’s cheeks flushed. "Fuck, that’s… heavy. Well, I have no plans to do so. We’re kind of joined at the hip thanks to The Summoning Room. Why?"

"No reason." Soph left the room and made her way to the bathroom, leaving Lone perplexed.

"What an odd girl," he muttered under his breath.

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After he was finished getting dressed, Lone heated up the bathwater for Soph via his Creation Magic skill and then went to work preparing a light breakfast for the two of them.

He decided on porridge, which required the help of his ever-handy Creation Magic since he didn't know nor have the ingredients to make any kind of porridge.

Lone added extra sugar to fit both of their palettes. Something that he and Soph had in common was their sweet tooth, it would seem. Although, Soph's was far worse than his was.

After he had made the porridge, he added some honey to Soph’s bowl and then left them to cool down.

A few minutes passed before Soph came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel once again.

Lone was already resigned to the fact that telling her to stop doing that would lead nowhere. He was just grateful she didn’t walk around naked.

Her long golden-blonde hair was carelessly brushed against her ankles, almost touching the floor as it dripped everywhere.

Lone frowned. "You really need to learn how to dry your hair."

Soph occupied the seat next to his and dug into her porridge. "Yummy." Satisfaction filled her face as she said, "My hair's too long. I like it when you dry it."

"I mean, I like it too but it’s not really normal for me to dry it," Lone remarked.

"Why? You're my friend, no, best friend! Right?" Soph asked with a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

‘Did I just get friend-zoned? I’m pretty sure I didn’t, but still… harsh words, Soph, harsh words.’ Lone sighed. "I mean, I'm the only person here, so by the process of elimination, of course I'm your best friend."

Soph blushed. "Oh, yeah... Hahaha..."

Lone frowned. "What's up with you today? You're being a bit... weird. Not normal weird. New weird. Was it the nightmare?"

Soph flinched. "N-Nothing. And n-no… I was ju-just worried about you since you keep getting hurt and I'm so useless."

Lone had a feeling that she wasn't being truthful. 'It was definitely her nightmare-slash-dream thing, right?'

He shook his head lightly. It didn't really matter. For whatever reason, she had become even more insecure overnight. There was only enough room in this fortress for one insecure person and his name was Lone.

"Okay." He put his hand on her wet head and rustled it despite its dampness. "Thank you. Your concern means a lot to me. Also, stop putting yourself down. You're plenty useful, okay? I don’t enjoy repeatedly saying this to you."

"Thanks... and sorry…" Soph's face was red from a mixture of bashfulness and joy.

Lone sighed a little. “Now, with that out of the way, finish breakfast, train a bit then hunt. Sound good?”

Soph nodded a little. “Mmm, sounds good.”