I jumped to my feet, aware of what was coming, and turned before the boy could do anything. I then leaped backwards, creating distance as always, but unlike before, it wasn't enough.

The boy had once again gotten an upgrade and rushed me, fully aware of my current state. I hadn't yet recovered from the hits I had taken to the head, but I could still figure out that he was going to open with some kind of kick.

Then he jumped, and I recognized that it was a flying knee. Except it wasn't. The jump might have looked like it had some real power in it, but it was just a feint. While I was still expecting a flying knee, I received a very grounded right hook that made me release my dagger and sent me to the ground.

An unexpected attack with power in it would send anyone to the ground. It was the simple reality of fighting, and this time I was the one who had to grasp that reality.

My head spun as I tried my best to defend myself, but it was hopeless. I received hit after hit, and the situation only got worse.

Then the boy started talking, "Yes, this is how it's supposed to be. You're on the ground while I'm bashing your head in. I told you that you were the weak one. You still don't believe me?"

I ignored his words and capitalized on the opportunity, pushing the boy away with my legs before darting to go get my dagger.

Surprisingly, I succeeded. Had the boy been careless? No, he let me do this, didn't he?

"Good job," the boy said with a few slow claps as he started walking forward. "Now what?"

He started moving in erratic patterns I hadn't seen before, and before I knew it, he was right in front of me.

I swung at his throat, but he ducked just in time and grabbed my wrist. Then he tried stealing my dagger by taking it with his free hand and twisting it free from my grip, but was forced to divert his attention as I aimed my left elbow at his face from the side.

He dodged by moving his head backward and continued trying to steal my dagger, which eventually forced me to drop it, after which I unsummoned it, making the fight equal once again.

The boy saw this and took a hold of the back of my head before trying to knee me on the chin, but I swept his back leg from under him before he managed to connect. I put my weight on the boy as he slammed onto the ground and held him for a few moments before managing to summon my dagger and stabbing him on the leg before running away like I should've done earlier. I ran all the way to the other side of the room and leaned myself against the wall as I breathed heavily.

'That was close,' I thought.

I don't know what the boy thought when he started talking and let me get my dagger, but if he hadn't done it, I would most likely be dead right now.

The boy started inspecting the wound on his leg and then laughed. "Good thinking. Are you proud of yourself ?"

"Stop babbling and focus on the wound on your leg," I responded.

"The wound is fine. What I want to focus on is you. Are you feeling alright?"

"Why do you have to keep talking?" I asked in an exasperated manner. "Matter of fact, what are you here for? What is the point of this?"

"Man, I thought you'd never ask," the boy said while moving into a lotus position and leaning forward. "I'm here to kill you. Well, a part of you, but I like to use those words since once that part of you dies, the person you are right now will also cease to exist."

"Is this what you were talking about earlier? A part of me? You're here to kill yourself?"

"No, no. Not this part," the boy said while pointing at himself. "The part that is like a little child. That hopeless, weak, annoying, naive part."

I remembered the boy breaking the younger child's neck and asked, "Didn't you do that already? Why are you still here?"

"Oh, that was just a figment of your imagination that I killed. A representation of your weaker portion. I and him are in your mind mixed into a kind of mess. I just want to undo that mess by getting rid of the other side."

"If that's true, then you're just a figment of my imagination too. So if I just—"

"No, that's not really how it works. You think you can just stop severe hallucinations caused by sleep and sensory deprivation by believing that they aren't real. Besides, I could just be a part of the ruin, feeding you all this false information to drive you insane," the boy explained nonchalantly, and then raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes before saying, "Isn't that scary?"

I sat up straighter, with the wall as my support, and rubbed my eyes. Then I heard some erratic noises and quickly opened my eyes, thinking the boy was attacking, but he hadn't moved at all.

"Haha, you really are going crazy, aren't you? Sorry if my excitement is bothering you. I just haven't witnessed something like this live before."

I ignored the man's comments and focused on his earlier words. "So you want to get rid of that little child that lives within my mind? How are you going to do that?"

"By killing you. The fighting that you are doing right now is against me overtaking your mind. Honestly, I don't get why you're bothering, but since you want to keep that part of yourself alive, I wanted to show you exactly what would happen if you did."

"What do you mean? Nothing has happened to me. You're just growing stronger."

"Me getting stronger means you getting weaker, dummy."

"If you're really speaking the truth, then how am I getting weaker because of my inner child?"

The boy sighed. "Your own violence has made you weak. Not that using violence makes people weak. It's just that you don't handle it well. That child-like purity staining your mind doesn't allow you to," the boy said, pointing to my head.

Then he hit his palm with his fist and continued, "Violence is rough and gory. It's the reality that many avert their eyes from, but to be a proficient user of violence, one must accept it and come to love it for what it is. However, you're disgusted by it. That weak part of you wants to throw up when presented with the sight of a dead body, but I wouldn't even budge in such a situation. You see, I have accepted violence as a part of me. It isn't just a method for me. It's my method. I embrace it, and in exchange, it embraces me. That's why I'm strong."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"You're a vile creature," I said with a sneer as I looked at the boy in the lotus position, explaining his theories like he was some kind of enlightened monk.

The boy looked disappointed after I spoke, and he leaned his face on his palm, which was supported by his elbow being pressed against the leg with the stab wound on it. He was surely in pain right now, but his expression didn't change even a little.

Then he started talking, "Come on, we aren't that different. You were in your right mind when you were in that birdcage. You even had a few friends there, so what's your excuse for torching the place? Surely you can't just blame everything on me."

"I had to do it. The ruin gave me no choice."

"What if you just didn't do it and failed to comply with ruin's will on purpose? That was a choice, wasn't it? Sure, you would die, but those people would have been spared."

"Those people weren't real. I had to prioritize my own life."

"They were as real as anyone in your life has ever been," the boy retorted with a tone that sounded like he was disappointed in me.

I squeezed my hands into fists. "They were not real!"

The boy waved his hand and moved on. "Fine, think what you will. What about the people in that forest? They were real people, but you had no qualms with killing them if it meant that you would survive. You have any defense for that? Still think we're so different?"

I lowered my head and stayed quiet as different thoughts went through my mind. I didn't want to hear anything more.

"Do you see it now? We aren't that different. You just have all the negative qualities I lack."

I raised my head and challenged the boy to prove his claims, "What negative qualities?"

The boy smiled, having waited for me to ask. "You have begged for help. Do you think that I would do that? Though I admit that you're good at manipulating and guilt-tripping people to give you what you want, you do it half-heartedly. You feel bad for the people you trick. Do you think I ever felt bad for any of my subjects? Do you think I felt bad for those pieces of trash that I burned down at the facility?" the boy said, even sounding a little angry for a moment, but he quickly calmed down. "I don't think you even fully realize the full extent of what you did to that guide. You made him forsake his revenge to save you, but you're incapable of letting go of the hatred you hold in your heart to save yourself. You didn't even say thank you to the man while you waited to be transported on top of that ice wall. You could have said thank you, maybe even bowed, and moved on with a pure heart, but you can't because you're a childish, bitter idiot that can't even feel good about himself after a success. So do you really think that we're so different after all? To me, it just looks like you're hiding from your deeds under the mask of a victim while you still long for the part of you that feels nothing for others, so that you wouldn't need to feel so hurt and useless all the time. You want to be powerful, so why keep resisting?"

"Resisting what?" I asked in a tired and somber manner, with my shoulders slumped.

"Resisting me! You want to be strong and to make it out of this place, so why not just let me kill you? Why fight back? This whole process would go much more smoothly if you just chose to die voluntarily."

I sighed, making my shoulder slump even more, before leaning against the wall behind me with my gaze on the roof. "I know it. I know that you're better than me. I'm well aware that you can get me free," I finally admitted, but then I looked the boy in the eyes, and my gaze hardened as I continued, "However, you can't get me what I want. You can't fulfill my desires. Not all of them, at least. The type of life you offer isn't the kind that I'm striving for, and that is why I reject you... That is why I will always reject you... That is why, deep down in my heart, even though you saved me and made me strong, I have always hated you."

"Then you leave me no choice," the boy said with clear disappointment in his still nonchalant voice, and stood up. "You know, I didn't want to do it like this. After all, you gave me life, so I thought I'd give you the chance to have an honorable exit, but I guess I'll just overtake your mind by force."

I stood up as well before mocking the boy, "You can barely stand."

"For now," the boy said before putting his hand on one side of his chin and making one rapid movement.

A loud crack resonated through the room before the boy slumped onto the floor, and I started to turn as my heartbeat hastened.

Then the boy appeared, and I attempted to strike him with my dagger. However, the boy simply brought his hand into the way of the strike and let the dagger go through his hand before moving his back foot further away and delivering a push kick to my stomach that sent me all the way to the other side of the room.

Additionally, as a consequence of not being able to process the events fast enough and brace myself properly, I hit my head on the wall. After the impact, my mind was clouded, and I struggled to keep my consciousness as I sat with my back leaned against the wall once again.

Then I saw the boy walking towards me with my dagger in his hand. He inspected the pommel, where he saw the yin symbol, and showed it to me as well before tapping on the symbol and saying, "See? You're an actor."

His words didn't register with me, and I pressed myself against the wall, hoping it would swallow me and let me escape this place.

'This is it,' I thought, on the verge of tears. Even though my end was only a couple seconds away, I didn't try to squeeze out any grand last words. I knew what kind of worthless creature I was. Nobody wanted to hear what I had to say. Nobody cared.

Suddenly, I felt something warm flowing out of my right eye and down my cheek. I touched it before looking at my fingertips and realizing that it was a tear of blood.

A sad smile emerged on my face as I closed my eyes and prepared to disappear. 'I'm pathetic.'

Then there was a clang sound, and after opening my eyes confusedly, I found myself in the preparation room with my dagger lying on the ground, the symbol on its pommel having disappeared.