An Impersonator?

"...You remember my name?" There was no hint of surprise in Messa's voice as she said that. She pulled down her head to reveal her face. She had no horns. There were two worn-down stubs in place of where they once were. Hollow purple eyes with no pupils stared at him. Her flowing silken white hair dropped down her neck, glad to be free being stuffed under that hood for so long.

Of course, years have passed since then and Messa looked a lot more mature now. She was no longer the cute-looking demon from back then. She was a stunning beauty that could probably even rival the White Witch.

"Sorry... I don't remember yours," Messa said, her voice so monotone that it was almost lifeless. It sounded like she lost her soul and was an empty puppet that someone was controlling.

"But at least you recognize me."

"Yes."

"..."

There were so many things Kies wanted to ask her, like why he was abandoned, what happened to the village, and especially about the contents of the letter that has been bugging him for all these years, but this wasn't the time. They were on opposing sides, unlike before in the past. They were now enemies with conflicting goals.

"We may have been on the same side, but don't expect me to hold back... And I don't expect you to either." Kies unleashed all the magic he had stored up in his core. A shockwave exploded from his body, blowing away everything in the vicinity other than him, the queen whom he put a barrier on, and Messa who blocked it with her own magic.

Other than them, everything else was blown away. The walls, the ceiling, even the ground. Nothing was left. Everything returned to grains of sand from which it was created. The winds began spinning around the castle, forming an unpassable wall, trapping everyone who was inside of it and keeping everyone else out. No one will interfere with the battle. No one can, not one of this caliber.

Kies couldn't afford to take Messa lightly. It was far more powerful than the demon king's that he felt from back then. However, his magic wasn't weaker than hers. They were roughly on the same level unless Messa hasn't released everything yet. If so, then he was done for. For a demon this young to possess magic on par with him, who was basically one of the Gods who created this world and its inhabitants. He may be an incomplete one, but that still showed just how scary she was.

"We don't have to fight... You can still..." Messa didn't finish what she was saying. She stopped once he saw the look on Kies' face. It was blank, emotionless just like her's. Kies didn't know how she was feeling since her face was void of any expression. It was the same for Kies. Neither of them could read each other and figure out what they were thinking.

It was one of the fundamentals of battles. Don't let your enemies know what you're thinking.

"Why?" Messa asked, breaking her emotionless facade and sounding somewhat hesitant to fight him.

Was she trying to ask him why they had to fight? "Because we have to," he answered, interpreting that as the question.

"No, not that." That wasn't what Messa wanted to ask him. "What I'm trying to ask is, why are there two are you?"

"...Did I hear that right?"

"Why are there two of you," Messa repeated the question again, making Kies raise an eyebrow.

"Two... of me?" There were two of him? He had a twin? Why hasn't he heard of this until now? What was going on?

"You don't know either?"

"As far as I know, there's only one me, the one standing right here right now," Kies answered. Could it be another Aeos that she mistook for him? If that was the case then he wasn't alone in this world. How strange... He really thought he was the last one. He was sure that none of the other scattered fragments of the Stormcaller were big enough to develop into a new Aeos. He was certain of this because these words came from the Stormcaller himself.

"I see... You're not a fake, I can feel that. But he isn't either. Your magics are the same... How is this possible?" Messa asked. It was a question that Kies couldn't answer since he had no knowledge of any of this.

"Can you introduce me to this other me?"

"I cannot... Not yet. He will be here soon."

"Soon. Then I will wait for him. Before that, tell me, are you still going to try and stop me," Kies asked, prepared for a tough fight. If she was still going to stand in his way then he didn't have a choice.

"..."

Messa was quiet. She blinked a few times but stayed silent. Her eyes were fixated on the floor, heavy in thought. She was trying to decide if she wanted to do this or not. She wasn't sure. Kies was supposed to be her ally, but why was he on the other side instead? Why was he with the humans? And the even bigger question? Why was there also one on her side? Who was really the real one?

Messa was unsure of what to do. She needed the other one here to clear things up. For now, it was best to not pick a fight. It was not worth it for the queen. Even if the queen escaped, the kingdom will ultimately fall soon enough. They worked in the shadows for years to make this plan succeed. The queen was no longer needed. However, letting the queen stay alive is a variable. It was still risky. But if she wanted to kill her, she would have to fight Kies...

Kies waited for Messa's answer patiently. No one was going to breach in here. They could try but they were going to get ripped into pieces unless they had magic strong enough to protect themselves. He didn't have to worry about more enemies. The only problem is that he couldn't move either while using this spell unless he wanted to get shredded by his own magic. So until Messa made a decision, he had to keep the whirlwind going.

"I... I will withdraw," Messa finally said after a long minute. She wanted to avoid fighting him for now, not until she finds why there are two Kies and which one is real.

To Kies' relief, Messa turned to leave. He didn't want to fight her either, not when there were so many things he wanted to ask her. In order to ask her the questions that have been plaguing his mind for so long, he needed her to be alive.

But before Messa left, she stopped and without turning around, asked, "What's your name?"

"It's Kies."

"...That's not what he calls himself..." Messa unfolded her wings. They weren't her physical wings. The ones she was born with got savagely torn off by the humans. No, these wings were made with her magic. They looked like an exact replica of her actual wings and no one could see the difference.

"How nice. You can fly again," Kies commented, feeling happy for the demon.

"You... You're the real one!" Messa exclaimed, her eyes widening. There were only a handful of people who knew that she lost her wings since she was too embarrassed to tell others about it. She hid this from everyone, even the king.

The other Kies "lost" his memory and didn't know this, which she found a little weird, but didn't pay much attention to. Ammine theorized that it had something to do with absorbing such a powerful fragment, and they didn't question it any further than that. It was clear now. The one standing before her was the real one. The other is a pretender.

"Yes, I am me," Kies said.

"Then who is the other one...?" Messa grew worried. She lifted herself into the sky with her magic wings and sped away, faster than even Ammine.

"Well then..." Kies was glad that the matter was settled without any bloodshed. He felt the thieves outside the storm, trying to get in. Kies could kill them, but there was no point. Leaving it up to the soldiers to capture and extract the information from them was a better idea.

Kies grabbed the queen again, dusting off the sand on her with his wind, and took off. He lowered the storm winds surrounding the castle and entered the city again.

Taking the queen to the herbalist was his mission, but before that, he should take her to her two sisters who are probably worried sick about her right now.

Clouds were starting to form in the sky above Otane. An omen that something bad was going to happen.

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