In a grey world where time has stopped, we stand face to face against each other.

Me, and the symbiote inside me.

I glared daggers at him. The anger boils the blood within my veins. My teeth grits and grind just looking at him.

The Symbiote just looks at me nonchalantly with a neutral smile. A mass of black ectoplasm. If you squint your eyes hard enough, his appearance is no different from mine. It’s as if we were twins.

Clenching my fist till they bleed, I kick the ground with full force.

Phwoosh!~

My body propels forward at close to supersonic speed. Arm outstretched forward aiming right between his eyes. I reach close to half a meter before his face when suddenly…

BOOM!

The force dissipates behind the Symbiote but my fists is caught by his.

The symbiote grabs my fist tightly and prepares to swing me into the ground. I grab the hem of his black shirt and we are both pulled into the cold hard floor.

The two of us, former brothers in the past, thrash around in this boundless world. Our punches, kicks and jabs cannot connect. One attacks, the other counters. An endless cycle that repeats in a battle of two souls who are the same.

“Hah… hah…”

“Hah… hah…”

I don’t know how many hours it has been. The last time I came to this place, a year in here does not move the hands of time in reality. Exhausted and pushed beyond what is humanly possible, we collapse onto each other’s shoulder with our skirmish ending in a draw.

“Fuck you… You piece of shit.”

“Same to you… cunt.”

How long has it been since we fought last like this? A battle to see who has the strongest mind and will. Even with our bodies immovable, our lips continue spouting insults and slurs at each other.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

In the end, none of our arguments won. How can an argument win when there’s no one around to judge?

“hah…Hahahaha! It’s nice to see you again…”

“hah… hah… Hahaha! Same here…”

We laugh at each other’s pathetic attempt to blow off our emotions within. The guilt and pain we’ve sealed up inside this bottle of ours… We’ve reach a somewhat mutual understanding of how stupid we really are.

“It was you wasn’t it? That day where you pushed me forward.”

I spoke to him as if our fight before didn’t happen.

“Yea… had to or else you will regret it the longer you waited.”

We push off of each other and our bodies fall onto the floor. Our gaze stare up into the blank sky above as if everything we’ve held inside has finally been released.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Same here.”

There’s no more hatred for each other. The pain of the past, though we do not say it, we’ve both have decided to put it behind us.

“But you know…” The symbiote feebly pushes himself to sit upright.

“You truly are an idiot. Asking for my help at the last moment, just as your second chance is about to be taken away from you.

“A second chance?...” I can’t help but wonder what kind of second chance he’s talking about.

“Hah… no wonder why I’m always the smart one between the both of us- Gurgh!”

I kick the symbiote in the stomach. “Shut up, asshole… but what do you mean by a second chance?”

The symbiote bends over holding onto his stomach tightly from the pain. He takes a deep breath and recompose himself.

The symbiote lets out a deep sigh. “Hais… that girl, Lusaia, she is our second chance…”

Lusaia… is our second chance? Why?...

“I am you and you are me. I know what hurts you and you know what hurts me. Reino, I know you hate me because of the power I offer to you. You also hate yourself because of how you choose to utilise that power… And I don’t blame you for that.”

The symbiote makes a solemn frown as he lowers his head in disappointment.

“As a symbiote, it is never my intention to harm you but I have…”

But now, he looks up at me. His eyes refreshed as if new life has been injected into them.

“Now, I can atone for all that. This power that we own… At last, it is for ours to use. No more mindless killing! No longer are we bound because of higher powers! No longer do we need to bother about our existence that shaped our past world! We can finally leave it all behind!...”

The symbiote pauses as he looks to me.

“…So, Reino, don’t hesitate any longer… I know you’ve been beating yourself up because you think you’re a terrible father. Which is why you’re an idiot. That is all in the past. It is time to accept that child as our daughter and move on… What do you say, old pal?...”

The symbiote stretches a hand towards me. On his face, a smile brimming with newfound determination.

I too can’t help but smile as well…

“You were never a burden to me… Old friend…”

The power we once used in anger, it has found a new purpose.

I took his hand and my vision of this grey world begins to fade…