I gasped as I opened my eyes. Damn, my head hurts... Did I fall on a cliff or something? Because my head wasn't the only thing that was throbbing in pain right now. I looked at myself and noticed several burns on my black dress shirt and shorts along with my hands. No, it's not only that I found myself covered in wounds and burns I wasn't supposed to have in the first place. Instead of my bedroom, I was in the ravines of the Demon Territory. I tried hitting myself several times, but no matter what I do, I realized that this wasn't a dream at all. I was far away from my home and yet, I never recalled running away after my master passed away.

About time you wake up, kid.

That voice...

I turned around and gasped at what I saw behind me. A large black dragon covered in scratches and stab wounds around his scaled body. A dragon that I knew who it really was.

"Casia?! What happened to you?! No, strike that... What happened to both of us?! Who would do this to us?!"

I was so panicked about our current situation that I had to ask so many questions coming from my head right now. Not only that but seeing Casia in this state almost made my heart drop. He was supposed to be the strongest dragon I know. He couldn't be beaten so easily!

Yeah, about that, kid. I hate to be the bearer of weird and bad news, but you're the one who defeated me.

My eyes widened. I was the one who defeated Casia? But that's impossible! He's a powerful dragon who can never be beaten by any humans outside the Territory!

Hey! I might be a Drago Nox, but I never said I'm unbeatable!

Uh, right... Back on topic...

"How could I defeat you? I tried sparring against you several times and no matter what I do, I ended up losing all of them," I said out loud as I recall those painful defeats, but never one that Casia mentioned. "Heck, I never defeated your dragon form, let alone your human form!"

I was getting to that part. You defeated me, but I didn't specifically say it was you.

I raised my eyebrow when he said those words. "Is that one of your cryptic lessons or advice again?"

I then hear Casia growl which sounded like a sigh. I mean there is another part of you that defeated me.

"...Excuse me?" I asked. "If you're talking about possession, then there is no way somebody is doing that to me. You said that demons cannot possess each other due to our Mana Hearts..."

That's not what I mean. You have a part of yourself that seemed independent of your main personality.

"My...main personality?" I have no idea what he was talking about. I could hear him growling again when I thought of it.

Do you remember another Talent I have after dealing with an interloper?

Another [Talent]? I hummed as I tried wracking my head around it. "Um... Your [Telepathy]?"

My dragon tutor started to cackle, a sign that says "It's incorrect". That is a skill from my [Mental Manipulation], not a Talent. I have [Minor Psychology Knowledge Talent], something I extracted from a so-called mind-reading human who doesn't even have that skill in the first place. From what I know after a few observations along with some notes the former owner left behind, it seemed you were experiencing amnesia and a sudden personality shift.

"Uh... I don't get it."

It means you became a different person while you were blacked out.

I frowned at his strange answer. "I still don't get it," I repeated. "And why "Minor"? Why can't you extract a "Major" version of that [Talent]."

I wish I could, but there are some personality aspects that I rather not extract and I rather let them burn than let his sadism and malevolent traits endanger you and the former owner. Oh... I think I understand what he said, but I'm still not happy that he's not answering clearly. You recalled several times that you had the same blackout episodes, correct?

Now that he mentioned it, I did faint a few times while helping my Master. Even when I'm resting, my eyes went dark at one moment. The next was that I found myself surrounded by drawing scattered around my bedroom floor before Casia told me I did them for an hour while he was gone. And I didn't bring out any crayons and paper from my desk drawer at all before it happened!

"I think so... What's so important about them? And what does it have to do about me beating you up without knowing I did it?"

It seems that the same persona emerged within you and started going off his own without your knowledge. It has been a headache for me and the former owner. But at least we managed to suppress it within you. Until now.

I couldn't believe what I'm hearing. There's another person...living within me? And it's not a possession? I still couldn't believe all of this. "Why didn't Master tell me all about this?"

If we would, you might do something reckless against something you have no knowledge of. Not even the owner couldn't figure out how to deal with his own as well.

Huh? What did he mean by that?

"Wait, are you s- Ugh..."

What the... Why am I sleepy all of a sudden? I tried to keep my eyes open, but...

This isn't me...

Huh? Was that...my voice?

This isn't what I want!

What...am I talking about?

Dammit, I couldn't waste my time over this!

"C-Casia!" I weakly shouted. "I-If what you're saying is true... Then try to convince me... The other me to get me back to my mansion!"

But V-

I simply smiled and said before he could say anything else. "S-Sorry, Casia... But I can't...stay awake...for long..."

As soon as I said that last word, my world went dark again.

----------------------------------------

I slowly opened my eyes. I got up and looked around to see that I was in my bedroom again.

Wha... What happened to me? I recalled that I had a lesson with Casia, I suddenly ate some Mana Crystals, and...

The owner of the house...

I remembered. I remembered that I confronted him about my sudden changes. I remembered that he has the same face as me. I remembered that he told me everything I knew was a lie. And... And...

I remembered that I'm not supposed to exist here in the first place.

I looked around at my supposed bedroom. I felt like there was some kind of a black bag right beside me along with those glasses that were supposed to be broken, but I don't know at this point. I took a look at my hands next. At first glance, I still have my adult hands. But what about my reflection? Was everything I saw a dream? But it seemed too real and everything he said seemed true. But I felt like everything was a lie. It didn't make sense. Everything about my existence was a lie!

I tried to find a logical explanation against the owner's explanation. I tried telling myself that everything he said was a lie. I tried to tell myself that he was nothing more than a figment of my imagination.

But what was the point? Which of my memories were fake? Which of the facts were real?

I don't know anymore. I just don't...

"Looks like you're awake, owner."

I quickly screamed when I heard that baritone voice nearby. Then I quickly took a deep breath when I saw it was Casia sitting right next to me on the chair from the desk.

"Oh... Casia... You almost give me a heart attack." I would have sighed again, but I realized what he said. "Wait, what did you just call me? I thought you called me a "Fledgling". I'm not an owner."

As soon as I said this, Casia's expression suddenly changed from a smile to a frown. "Oh, right. Looks like you're the face again," he muttered, yet I noticed he still retained his gentle tone despite how he seemed disappointed in me. "But it looks like you've managed to speak with the owner, correct?"

The owner... Right, the owner... I felt like he betrayed me. Like he went behind my back to spite me or something. This feeling... It disgusted me. Why would he still comfort me even after knowing that I'm nothing but a fake in his eyes?! Was he still reading my mind? Did he know that he wanted me to suffer like this?!

"Do I look like I'm the type to happily see a young child in distress like you?" Casia suddenly said to me. "Just so you know, I spent the whole new moon looking out for you so you won't go outside doing something reckless that would endanger the owner."

He mentioned him again. He said that the owner was me. Was everything he said true? I needed to know. I need to know!

"Casia... Do you have a mirror with you?" I quietly asked.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Why yes. Let me get it from the desk drawer."

I let him get the said item for a while. I know I'm still an adult from my hands and voice alone. But the owner said I was a child masquerading as an adult for some reason. I needed validation of my own existence, but was there anything that could have helped me deny those facts any longer?

Once he got the hand mirror and gave it to me. I took one look at my own reflection. And to my dismay and horror, I only saw a young boy with black hair staring right at me with the same horrified look on his face.

That's it, huh? This was me. That young boy in the mirror...was me all along. I couldn't hold my despair any longer. I let out my tears of anguish while trying not to show them right in front of Casia.

That man was right. He was me all along. I'm nothing more than an imaginary friend of that mysterious man who called himself Vander. I don't know why I existed in the first place, but I was living in a lie all along. A lie created from my denials and my refusal to let go of them. Everything I did to survive was nothing.

"Fledgling..."

How could someone who was nothing more than a figment of someone else's imagination have to exist?

"Fledgling!"

What was the point of me living when I'm nothing in the end?

"Fledgling, listen!"

I am nothing in the end. Nothing! Why am I living at all? Might as well get a knife and kill myself and that son of a b-

SLAP!

Huh? I suddenly felt...a sting of pain on my cheek. Was that..not an illusion?

"No, it isn't," Casia responded in the sternest tone I ever heard before. "I don't care what you're thinking right now. Vander is real. You are real. That pain I gave you is very real. Whether you were born as a construct of the owner or not doesn't determine your existence. As long you have the motivation to live, that is enough proof that you are real."

I don't know what to say. I don't know if I could believe him or not. I don't know what to believe anymore...

"Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But let me tell you this. The owner is not the only conspirator who had to keep up this charade. I also did so, but we did so because we're genuinely concerned for your mental health. And no, it's not for our personal reasons. You are considered a member of our little family. And ever since the former owner passed away, he was driven by loneliness to the point that temporarily leaving for my lair almost drove him mad with grief."

I grew silent as I glared at the dragon in his human form. "So are you saying I'm acting as a security blanket to him?"

"I'm saying that you have a reason to exist and it's connected to your existence." Casia stood up and turned to the door. "I think you should talk to him right now. If you want answers, I will tell you once you two talk each other out properly. It's better than making more misunderstandings and unnecessary despair and burden on yourself. I will be downstairs to fetch your dinner."

He then walked out of my bedroom and now, I was alone.

Well, I'm not exactly alone. If everything he said was true. If the owner's claims that I was a facade of him were true...

I simply took a deep breath and closed my eyes. He's another me, right? I didn't have a choice but to believe them. I had to focus on myself and clear my mind from all of the distractions around me.

"Can you hear me?" I said it out loud. "If you're here, then show yourself."

I took another breath. I'm not sure about this. I doubt he would answer me because I'm just a...

You called?

I quickly opened my eyes when I heard my own voice reply to my call. I looked up and saw the very same man standing beside me while still wearing my face that was staring at me with a pair of purple eyes and a smirk.

"I'm surprised you're willing to chat despite the harsh revelations you have to learn about both of us," he said. "I know you have all the questions you want to ask me, so if you want, we can do that interview thingy that my master me-"

"Why don't you stop goofing around?!" I shouted in frustration. "You're me, right? You're the real part of myself. A demon who only made me because you're jealous of humans, right?! So tell me, me! Why did you make me?! Why did I exist with fake memories of my non-existent life in the first place?! If you only wanted me as your yes-man or imaginary friend, that's fine! But I'm not going to play along and let you get everything you want from me!"

Now that I said all of that to another me, I gasped with a few breaths and slowly realized what I said. I couldn't hold my frustrations any longer and I had to let them out so he needed to know how much he made me suffer through his secrecy from my true nature. I was hoping to get some catharsis from calling this so-called other self out. But at the same time, I felt a shot of pain that seemed to ache my heart a lot. But at least he...

"I deserved that."

My eyes widened. That was what I wanted to say next. I get he was me, but I don't understand why he accepted so easily. After I gave him some harsh words for his treatment of me.

"Don't get me the wrong way. I simply had to keep everything a secret for a reason. You have a habit of running out of my house when you took over. And when you did, there is a chance you might not able to survive against an onslaught of demons by yourself. I'm aware my methods were harsh, but I did so out of your safety."

I huffed. "It's not like I'm going to forgive you even if your reasoning is justified. You and Casia lied to me. I thought I was a human lost in the Demon Territory. I didn't know why I'm stuck here. I know that I didn't come from this world. Yet even if I tried to remember, all I get are migraines, false memories, and me blacking out just as I learn everything and wake up with nothing to recall. I felt like you two took advantage of my condition. Even if you're me, you didn't say anything at all. Give me one good reason to believe you after all of the lies you two gave me for so long that I can recall!"

I sniffled as I wiped the tears and snot from my face. I couldn't remember my past clearly. I couldn't remember why I existed. I kept repeating these questions in my head, but I did so because I don't know who I am or what I am in this world before the revelations set upon me thanks to this man. Even if he didn't answer all of my questions, I know I was nothing more than an unwanted facade made from this man's imagination.

"Because in all honesty, I have no clue why you existed within me at all."

...Huh? I didn't expect that answer from the guy who lied to me. "Is that another lie to make me feel better?" Suddenly, the man punched me and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I was supposed to be a figment of his imagination, yet I could feel it too vividly. "Ow! Do you have to punch me that hard?!

"Do you have to be a downer and keep accusing me and Casia of lying all of the time? I've admitted that we lied already. I already told you our reasons. But you never give me a chance to tell you that you suddenly popped out of nowhere without my knowledge!"

Judging by his tone of voice, he sounded frustrated and he lost most of the nonchalant attitude he had before. I noticed he wasn't in the mood to joke around like before. Was he telling the truth this time?

"I just popped out? As in I was created without your knowledge so suddenly?"

To my surprise, the self-proclaimed other self nodded and he slowly sat down next to me. "Yeah. I didn't imagine you or even think about you. And yet, you suddenly popped out of nowhere. I didn't know about your existence at first. I thought I fell asleep after one of Casia's lessons and I found myself waking up in random parts of rooms in several situations that I know I didn't do. Vases of lavender were found on the floor broken beside me, drawings I have never seen before, and in some cases, I found myself waking up outside of the mansion on Casia's arm. They said they found me doing those stuff, but I didn't remember doing them."

"Are you sure you're exaggerating? Maybe Casia did all of that to frame you because he was jealous or something?" I asked.

"Like hell, he would. If he did, Casia wouldn't waste any time trying to get me back in the mansion before the wild demons found me or trying to pick up the broken pieces while pushing me away so I won't step on them by accident. I did originally think Casia did them for the same motive you've mentioned. But weeks before my master's passing, he mentioned to me that something was possessing me lately. And that was only after I learned Demon cannot possess each other nor be possessed by spirits of any kind."

He sighed as he took out some kind of notebook from the bedside table drawer. "It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I found myself in the ravines of the Demon Territory where I saw Casia was defeated by me. I was disbelieved at first. But then, he told me the true nature of my current condition. After that, we tried everything to protect myself... No, ourselves from your reckless antics while trying to figure out more about you and why did you appear within my head. And if it's possible, maybe try to help you through your issues."

I didn't know what to say next. I still couldn't believe that I was nothing more than another personality that even he has no clue how or why I appeared to him. But there was another thing that made me wonder after hearing his story.

"But I don't get it. Why do you want to help me? I did nothing but unknowingly took over your life by existing and yet, you still let me stay here. I thought you might throw me out or kill me so you can get your body back. What was the point of keeping someone like me here like an unwanted doll unknowingly thrown in your bag by accident?"

I still lost all hope of existing. I don't care what kind of answer he would give me. I wanted to get this over with. Wanted to know his true feelings about me now that I know the truth.

"...Because you have something that I don't have."

I raised my eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"When you left those strange drawings, I saw items on them that I never saw before! Things that the master didn't even think of inventing before! I was so curious about those drawings that I couldn't sleep for days without dreaming about them! And that's before the master and Casia let me read those special [Memory Books] if I turn 18! Heck, just thinking about them made me wonder if I'm secretly a genius in my past life! Can you imagine?! A super prodigy who made super magical items before my rebirth!"

I frowned when he mentioned something I forgot. "Don't say that. I don't remember anything about my past, but I felt it was very shitty for me to live back then. I felt like I was unwanted for all of my life. No one even bothers to stop and take one good look at me if I need someone to help me. Despite your claims, I'm not a genius. I'm just a loser who can't remember my past."

"Why do you think that? Because you felt that's what they see in you." The man huffed. "Anyone who said that is either stupid or a stranger who doesn't give a damn who you really are."

I groaned. "Why do you believe that, Mr. Hopeful?"

"It's not me being hopeful. Casia and my master said I don't have to let those kinds of people determine who I am as a person regardless of my demonic nature. I have my own talents and those heroes have their own. If anyone tries to judge you based on strength or intelligence, then they are truly blind to your hidden potential. In other words, they are bullies and idiots thinking nothing but themselves. And sometimes money. Casia's words, not mine."

His words didn't affect me, yet it was enough for me to crack a smile. "I guess you're more confident about yourself than me, huh?"

"You can say that." The man stood up from the bed while keeping his eyes on mine. "I was glad I was reborn into the Demon Territory. It's a dangerous place, yet I can only see it as my large playground. You'd be surprised how much I learn by living here. Casia said I can't change your mind overnight, but I can at least help you change your perspective of our new home. If you can give me a chance, then I will tell you everything."

I could see he was about to leave or disappear or something. But I didn't want him to do so, not after his words made me reconsider myself. "Like why I was born as another you?"

"Yeah, that. You should ask Casia about that. His answer to our problem is a bit too...complicated for us to understand. It's better to let him fill in on what is happening to us. Maybe there's a chance for us to separate, though I feel like that's too much for me to see you gone."

That's reassuring. But either way, I should take his advice for now. Since he truly doesn't know anything, I should give that guy a break. "Alright, thanks, other me. I think?"

He then chuckled. "I have a name, you know. I already told you all about it back then. At least try not to be rude and call me by my name properly."

Right, right... At least I remembered it this time.

"Alright, Vander. I'm guessing you already gave me a name or something while I'm gone," I snarked.

"Nope. I would be rude if I do that without your permission. That and I don't want to suffer Casia's stern lectures about it. But if you want, just let me know, okay?"

I stared at my copycat for a while. "No more lies this time."

He then grinned before showing me his pinky finger. "I promise. No more lies from this day onward. If anything, I should ask Casia to give us a lie-detecting skill to do so."

I quickly shook my head. "I doubt he would," I said. "I'll see you later, I guess."

As I blinked, the man, Vander, disappeared. So I'm alone again. Well, Casia should be back with my dinner, so I laid down on my bed, wondering about him and my other self.

I still think they were lying and yet, I felt they weren't. I shouldn't let my paranoia get to me. There were still more questions for me to know and not even Vander could answer them.

For now, I closed my eyes and let my mind rest for a while...