Reflection in the Void

"Where… am I?"

The words left my lips in a low, raspy murmur, as if my voice had traveled through an abyss before finally reaching my own ears. My consciousness was returning slowly, drifting between the fog of unconsciousness and reality—but which reality?

The darkness was vast, overwhelming, as if space itself had been swallowed by nothingness. There was no ground beneath my feet, no air around me, no sound except for the distant echo of my own voice.

It was strange. And yet… familiar.

My memories came in fragmented flashes. Just moments ago—or had it been hours?—I was helping Nikolas with his plan. The scroll… it was damaged. Something happened to it. Something went wrong. A roar came from the opening. After that…

Nothing.

Only emptiness.

I looked around, trying to keep my composure. I had seen too many strange things to be easily shaken—especially by something that felt eerily similar to past experiences.

"Alone again, huh…?"

I sighed, sitting down on the nothingness, feeling the weight of my own body against a floor that didn't exist.

"I'm starting to get used to this…"

But then, something shifted. A chill ran down my spine. Something was off.

My eyes instinctively dropped to my hands, resting on my knees. And I froze.

"Huh…?"

My hands. My legs.

They were there.

A soft, spectral white light surrounded them, faint yet undeniable, as if they weren't entirely real. But they were. I could feel them.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady the growing shock creeping up my spine.

I ran a few tests.

I blinked. My vision shifted.

"It works…"

I pinched my own arm.

"… OW!"

I stood up and took a few hesitant steps. Then I ran, jumped. My body responded, moving exactly as it should.

But… something was off. This was familiar, but… different.

A nagging suspicion began to take shape in my mind.

"Could it be because…?"

"At least you're not that much of an idiot."

A voice cut through my thoughts.

A child's voice.

A familiar voice.

My breath caught for a moment.

"Huh?!"

My eyes widened as I turned, my heart pounding against my ribs.

There, standing in the darkness, he was staring right at me.

Or rather… I was staring at myself.

But not the version of me I expected to see.

A child. Alexander's body. I knew it better than anyone. I had spent six months and a few weeks seeing that golden eyed face every single day.

"…No way," I muttered, a shiver crawling down my spine.

The child crossed his arms, tilting his head with a smirk.

"This is the first time we're meeting face-to-face, isn't it?"

His voice was clear, casual. As if none of this was strange or absurd.

"I'd say it's a pleasure to see you, but that would be a lie, so…"

He spread his arms theatrically, a smug grin on his lips.

"Un-pleasure to see you, Dalton."

My mind froze.

'What?!'

Before I could react, a wave of dizziness crashed over me.

The darkness around me trembled, as if pulled by some invisible force. My vision blurred. My limbs began to stretch, my body growing, shifting.

My bones seemed to realign, my muscles expanding, my perspective shifting.

It happened fast. Frighteningly fast.

And then… everything stopped.

My breathing was heavy. My hands… they were no longer small. I looked down, seeing my own arms, my own legs, my own height.

A shiver of shock and relief ran down my spine.

"I… I'm back in my body?"

The child in front of me just smiled. A smug, infuriating smile.

My eyes narrowed.

"Alexander." I locked eyes with him. I knew exactly who he was. And he knew exactly who I was.

His existence was never supposed to be separate from mine.

"If you're here, then that means…"

"…we're not actually the same being after all?" he interrupted, crossing his arms. "Or that the soul fusion process failed completely?"

The way he spoke, with that natural arrogance, made me narrow my eyes even more.

"I don't know either, okay?!" He huffed, rolling his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But there's one thing I do know, and I'm absolutely certain of it…"

He pointed a finger straight at me.

"You are a complete idiot!"

I stood there, stunned.

'What?!' That caught me off guard. "And what does a ten-year-old know about that?!"

Alexander let out a deep, exaggerated sigh, as if he were rapidly losing patience.

"How does a Dracknum fall for such a ridiculous illusion?"

That comment stopped me in my tracks.

Was he serious?

'So this really is an illusion…?' My mind started piecing together what he had just said.

He sighed, shaking his head.

"And just to be clear, even by your world's standards, I'm considered a genius, okay?"

I scoffed, trying to ignore the growing irritation.

"Okay, okay, genius… then tell me how to get out of here!"

For the first time, Alexander hesitated. His gaze flickered away for the briefest moment.

"I… don't know."

That was all I needed to notice it. I could feel it. The shame he was trying to hide.

My lips curled into a smirk. "Some genius you turned out to be."

He froze, his expression twisting in pure indignation.

"Don't change the subject, you idiot!" He stomped his foot, frustration dripping from his voice. "We wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for you!"

My smirk faded. My expression hardened.

"What are you talking about?"

Alexander stared at me for a moment. The silence between us was thick, suffocating.

And then… he smiled again.

But this time, there was something darker behind it.

"Do you really not know… or are you just playing dumb?"

His voice cut through the silence like a razor.

A shiver crawled down my spine. What the hell did he mean by that?

His golden eyes burned with something I couldn't quite place—anger, frustration, or maybe… disappointment?

"You have access to everything," he continued, his voice teetering between fury and bitterness, "and yet, you waste every single opportunity."

With every word, his expression darkened.

"Look at me!"

He pointed at himself, fists clenched, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

"I'm a compulsive reader! I have the knowledge of at least a thousand different things in my head! Look at me—dark hair, golden eyes… I AM A FUCKING DRACKNUM, DAMN IT!"

His voice echoed through the emptiness around us, reverberating like thunder.

"And you inherited that when you took over my body!"

I narrowed my eyes, feeling the anger bubbling inside me.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!"

Alexander let out an exasperated huff, crossing his arms like he was trying to keep himself from exploding.

"Of course you don't get it. If you did, we wouldn't be in this ridiculous situation."

He stepped closer, frustration carved into every inch of his expression.

"Listen closely, Dalton Xavier…"

His tone had changed. It was deeper. Sharper.

"The Dracknum bloodline is immune to illusions! They're natural-born hunters! And yet, you spent SIX FUCKING MONTHS in the Black Forest—completely unnecessarily!"

I froze for a second.

"…What?"

"Yes! SIX MONTHS wasted! Sure, the wolves were a nice bonus, they taught us a lot about—"

He stopped abruptly, as if something had just hit him.

For a fraction of a second, his golden eyes softened. His jaw tightened.

I could see the pain in his words.

But he didn't stop.

"On top of that… Leopold gave you an insanely overpowered item!" He gestured wildly, his face turning red from sheer frustration. "And you didn't even know how to use it properly!"

I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off before I could even try.

"You… do you even realize what you inherited? The powers you have? There are over twenty basic spells, Dalton. More than twenty. And yet, you…"

He gritted his teeth, breathing heavily.

"…You learned four. Four."

His hands trembled slightly, his whole body brimming with disbelief and anger.

"How does anyone manage to be this… this…" He swallowed hard, inhaling deeply before finally exhaling:

"…this stupid?"

He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head.

"But I have to be honest. Your idea of increasing the flow of magic in and out to strengthen spells was… interesting. It should've been impossible under any other circumstances, but since it actually worked, I'll count that as one of the few times you've been smart."

He jabbed a finger directly at my chest.

"You have the blood of a hunter running through your veins! You are a Dracknum!"

"And not to mention… not to mention…" His breathing grew ragged, his voice cracking mid-sentence.

I watched him struggle to catch his breath, yelling so fast and so much that he could barely keep up with his own thoughts.

And then—

"Not to mention that you're a Dracknum! And on top of that, you didn't even use my memories properly!"

He was gasping, his eyes blazing with pure frustration.

"Who the hell gets poisoned by a DAMN PHANTOM BERR—"

"ENOUGH!"

My voice exploded through the void, cutting him off mid-rant. My fists clenched so hard that my nails dug into my palms.

My breathing was heavy. My whole body trembled.

"You don't know a damn thing!"

For the first time, Alexander's eyes widened. But I didn't stop.

"I was happy with my life, OK?!" My words came out raw, unfiltered.

"Yes, I lost my parents! But I moved on! I had friends, I had people I could trust, I had family who were still there for me!"

My vision blurred.

"I was studying at one of the best universities in the world!"

My hands shook.

"But all of that ended because of a DAMN TRUCK!"

My voice echoed through the emptiness around us.

Alexander just stood there, staring at me—his eyes wider than ever.

But I wasn't done.

My breathing was ragged.

"I spent hours, days, years in a white void!"

My throat burned.

"Alone! WITH NO ONE!"

My nails dug even deeper into my skin, my teeth clenched so hard it hurt.

"Reliving my life, my memories, my moments—just so I wouldn't LOSE MY SANITY!"

My vision trembled, but I kept going.

"And then, just when I thought it was finally over…"

My eyes locked onto his.

"I found out I was revived and thrown into this world to do WHO KNOWS WHAT!"

My voice broke at the end.

Silence.

Alexander stared at me, his fists clenched, his jaw tight. His golden eyes burned with an emotion I couldn't place.

And then… he stepped forward.

His teeth clenched so hard I almost heard them grind.

"BUT YOU THINK I ASKED FOR THIS?!"

He inhaled sharply, his voice shaking.

"You at least had something. Family. Friends. You mattered to someone, Dalton."

I could feel it—maybe because of our connection, maybe just from the look on his face.

But just looking at him made my heart ache.

"Dalton, you at least got the chance to exist."

His gaze dropped, his voice barely above a whisper.

"…And me?"