I stood on the edge of that alley, watching the people pass by. However, no one seemed to notice my presence. Although their clothing was similar to that of my world, it had a distinct, almost eccentric style, hard to define.

Time passed, and the people continued with their routines. I realized that staying there wouldn't get me anywhere. My heart ached... but not for a physical reason. It was the weight of longing, the deep desire to reunite with those I loved: my family.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and imagined them searching for me relentlessly. The anguish of not knowing where I was, the desperation on their faces... No. I refused to leave them behind.

"I will return to my world. I will go back to my family."

My thoughts cleared. The uncertainty that had tormented me began to dissipate. My family was my greatest blessing, my reason to move forward. I smiled faintly, still carrying the weight of everything that had happened.

I stood up without hesitation and decided to try something. The goddess had mentioned that I had abilities or blessings. How exactly did they work?

I closed my eyes and focused. I envisioned the word in my mind: "Cloning."

In an instant, a duplicate of myself appeared before my eyes. It was me. Every detail, every feature, was identical.

Surprising. Finally, that goddess had done something useful for me.

Without wasting any more time, I left the filthy alley. The neon lights surrounded me, dazzling my pupils. The city was beautiful, a vision straight out of a cyberpunk dream.

At that moment, a floating vehicle stopped in the middle of the vast street. It seemed to be a commercial area. Several armed men stepped out from inside. Laser guns? Their uniforms were military, but with an extravagant design, like something out of a science fiction movie.

Each of them began shooting into the sky before someone who seemed to be their leader descended.

"We've reached the designated area, research general."

"Good, that's good. I want you to investigate and find the lost product. It's of vital importance for the experiment."

"Understood!"

A soldier, who appeared to be the commander, took out a communication device and spoke coldly:

"We’ll begin the Black Swan Operation."

Immediately, the soldiers dispersed, entering the nearby establishments. I stayed hidden. I didn’t know these people, but their gear and weapons didn’t suggest they were the "good guys."

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

I watched for several minutes. Gunshots echoed inside the buildings when suddenly, one of the soldiers emerged, dragging a small girl with white hair.

She was malnourished.

She wore only a thin patient’s garment, the kind used in hospitals.

She was covered in blood.

The soldier brought her to the thin, elderly man they called the "research general."

My fists clenched.

Should I act?

My instinct screamed that I should do something. But... what if they shot me? What if I died?

My body didn’t move. Fear paralyzed me again.

I didn’t want to suffer anymore. I didn’t want to die again.

I was afraid again. Terrified of being noticed and having something done to me.

But... something inside me burned.

If I kept running, what awaited me? Dying miserably again?

A flame of hatred for myself consumed me.

My body moved almost instinctively.

I approached them.

A lot of thoughts ran through my mind in that moment. I was scared. Deep down, my entire body trembled.

Yet, I stood firm and, without hesitation, spoke:

"What do you think you're doing with that girl?!"

One of the soldiers raised his weapon and fired beside me.

A burst of light shot from his gun, grazing my body.

"Leave now, or next time, the shot will be to your chest."

"Wait..." the research general stopped him.

He approached me with a curious look.

"Everyone in this empire has an identification code on their necks." His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why doesn’t this one have it?"

A chill ran down my spine.

There was a brief silence before his expression turned colder.

"You know the punishment for being a wanderer is quite severe, right?"

While the general spoke and the soldier distractedly listened, my mind only thought of saving the girl.

My clone, without me noticing, acted on those desires.

It moved swiftly, struck the soldier, and took the girl in its arms. It ran toward the alley without hesitation.

But then...

BANG.

A shot pierced its chest.

My clone fell to the ground, still holding the girl.

My heart trembled. Tears filled my eyes.

I couldn’t even save an innocent girl.

Not even with the power of this stupid goddess.

Two soldiers approached the bodies.

"General, the girl is dead."

The elderly man frowned with contained fury.

"Idiot!" he roared, pulling a gun from his belt.

Without hesitation, he shot the soldier who had pulled the trigger in the head.

The body collapsed lifeless to the ground.

"Now that I no longer have my lab rat, I need another..." he muttered with disdain. "And I think I have the perfect specimen... a filthy wanderer."

He turned to the other soldiers.

"Take him."

One of the soldiers came over and hit me hard in the back of the neck.

Though the pain was intense, I didn’t lose consciousness.

But instead of resisting, I let myself fall to the ground.

I couldn’t faint, so I just went along with it.

Meanwhile, another pair of soldiers collected the bodies.

"What do we do with these?" one of them asked, pointing to the bodies of the clone, the girl, and the fallen soldier.

The research general looked at them with disdain.

"Throw them in the trash. They’re useless."

The soldiers obeyed without question.

One of them looked at my clone’s body with curiosity.

"General... This wanderer... did he have a twin?"

"Tch... I don’t care. Just get rid of it."

That’s how simple life was for a human in the eyes of those people.

Or... maybe, in this world.

As they took me away, my mind burned with thoughts.

I think I’m starting to understand how things work.

I won’t make the same mistakes again.

I won’t be so foolish anymore.

Never again.