Chun.

Chun barely had time to react before the first copy lunged at her, its movement eerily fast and fluid. She ducked, barely avoiding a clawed hand that slashed where her throat had been a second ago. The air whistled with the force of the strike, sending a chill down her spine.

She spun away, but another copy was already on her, its blank face inches from hers. It had no eyes, no nose—just a twisted, stretched-out grin that mimicked Joker's unnatural smile.

This isn't real.

She clenched her fists, forcing herself to focus. If these things were like illusions, there had to be a way to fight them.

The second copy swiped at her, its hand elongating like liquid shadow. Chun leaped back, barely dodging the strike, but the ground beneath her shifted suddenly, trying to trap her feet. She stumbled, barely keeping her balance.

Joker cackled from the sidelines. "Oh, this is even better than I imagined! Can you tell which one is the real you?"

Chun gritted her teeth, ignoring him. The copies were moving in sync now, their heads tilting at the same time, their smiles widening. Then, as if controlled by a single force, they attacked all at once.

Chun exhaled sharply. She had no weapon, no magic—just her instincts. But that would have to be enough.

She dodged the first strike, twisting her body to avoid a sweeping arm. She caught one of the copies' wrists and, using its own momentum, flipped it over. It hit the ground, but instead of staying down, it melted into the shadows and reformed behind her.

So they can't be taken down that easily…

Another one lunged. This time, Chun reacted differently. Instead of dodging, she stepped toward it. As it swiped at her, she ducked under its arm and slammed her elbow into its stomach. The copy staggered.

A crack appeared on its blank face.

Chun's eyes widened. They can be broken.

Joker's laughter suddenly stopped. His grin faltered, just for a second.

Chun's heart pounded. That's it. That's the weakness.

She darted forward, weaving between the figures. She struck another copy, then another, each hit making the cracks on their bodies grow. They moved unnaturally fast, but now she knew what to look for.

One of them lashed out, its fingers stretching into sharp blades. Chun dodged to the side, grabbed its arm, and snapped it backward. A sharp, ear-piercing screech filled the air as the copy shattered into black dust.

Joker clicked his tongue. "Tch. You're no fun at all."

The remaining copies hesitated. For the first time, they weren't attacking all at once. Chun smirked, rolling her shoulders. "What's wrong? Losing confidence?"

Joker's grin twitched, and then he snapped his fingers.

The shadows surged.

The broken fragments of the fallen copies lifted off the ground, swirling together. The remaining figures fused, their bodies twisting into a single towering shape.

Chun's confidence wavered.

What stood before her now was no longer a mere copy. It was something far worse.

Its body was a shifting mass of faces—hers, Zhang's, even some of people she didn't recognize—constantly morphing and reshaping. It let out a low, distorted laugh, a mix of a thousand voices overlapping.

Joker spread his arms. "Now, let's see how long you last against your fear."

The monster lunged.

Chun barely had time to react before a massive clawed hand swung toward her. She jumped back, but the sheer force of the attack sent a shockwave through the air, knocking her off balance. She hit the ground hard, gasping for breath.

The monstrous figure loomed over her, its many faces grinning down at her. Its shadow stretched toward her, swallowing everything in its path.

Chun clenched her fists. She wasn't going to let this thing win.

Not now.

Not ever.

With a sharp breath, she pushed herself up and charged straight at it.

Chun's breath caught in her throat as the shifting mass lunged toward her, its many faces contorting into expressions of pain, mockery, and despair. Her own face twisted into a grotesque grin, whispering, "You'll never make it out of here."

Another face—Zhen's—stared at her with hollow eyes. "It's your fault we're trapped."

Parker's voice followed, distant yet suffocating. "You're not strong enough to save anyone."

Chun staggered back, gripping the Lovers card tightly. The pulsing energy within it felt distant, as if her fear was drowning it out. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Every step she took felt like sinking deeper into an endless abyss.

The monstrous form let out a chorus of laughter. "Oh, but isn't it true? The doubt, the guilt—they live inside you, buried deep. I'm simply bringing them to the surface."

Her hands trembled, but she refused to let go of the card.

No. This isn't real.

She clenched her teeth, forcing herself to breathe. She had to fight back, or she'd be swallowed whole.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she lifted the Lovers card. A faint glow flickered around it, barely holding against the creature's presence.

"I don't care if you're my fears," Chun said, her voice steadier than before. "That just means I have to face you."

The creature hissed as she took a step forward. The light from her card intensified, pushing against the nightmare.

The game had begun. But she wasn't about to lose.

---

The creature hesitated, its many faces twisting in confusion.

Chun took a deep breath. Her fear was real—but it was hers. And if she could acknowledge it, then she could also overcome it.

The Lovers card began to glow.

Bright. Strong.

Chun's heartbeat steadied. She could feel the energy rushing back into her, filling every fiber of her being.

She raised the card high. "I'm done listening to you."

A radiant surge of light erupted from her hands, shattering the shadows like fragile glass. The twisted faces screamed, their voices warping into a shrill, dying wail. The creature thrashed, its form unraveling, its mass disintegrating into dust.

Chun stood her ground, watching as the nightmare crumbled before her.

Then—silence.

She exhaled, her shoulders trembling. It was over. For now.

Chun took a shaky breath, her legs still trembling from the encounter. Even though the shadowy creature had vanished, the weight of its words lingered, like whispers clinging to the edges of her mind. But she couldn't afford to let fear take root again.

She looked down at the Lovers card in her hand, its glow fading until it returned to its usual state. It had protected her—but why had it hesitated at first? Had her doubt made it weaker?

No time to think about that now.

Chun turned her gaze toward the darkness ahead. The path was unclear, the air heavy with something unseen but undeniably present. She wasn't alone in this place. Something—or someone—was watching.

She pressed forward, her footsteps echoing eerily. The environment around her felt unnatural, shifting slightly whenever she looked away. One moment, she was walking on stone, the next, it felt like grass beneath her feet. Shadows twisted along the walls, forming shapes that resembled people before dissolving into nothing.

A trick of the mind? Or was this place alive?

A sudden flicker of movement caught her eye.

Chun's muscles tensed as she spun around, heart pounding.

A figure stood in the distance, partially obscured by the dim lighting. It was humanoid but… wrong. Its proportions were slightly off, its head tilted too far to one side, as if trying to listen to something only it could hear.

"Who's there?" Chun called out, her voice steadier than she felt.

The figure took a step forward. The dim light revealed a face—a familiar one.

Her own.

Chun's breath hitched. No. It wasn't just her reflection. This doppelgänger wasn't perfect. The features were too smooth, the eyes empty, devoid of any real emotion.

"I am you," the copy whispered, its lips barely moving.

Chun took a step back. "No, you're not."

The doppelgänger tilted its head further. "But I could be. If you let me."

The words sent a shiver down Chun's spine. This wasn't just another illusion—it felt different, more solid, more real. It wasn't just a projection of her fear. It was something else entirely.

A threat.

She clenched the Lovers card again, bracing herself. "What do you want?"

The copy smiled, a perfect mirror of her own expression—but there was no warmth behind it. Only emptiness.

"To replace you."

And then it lunged.

Chun barely had time to react before the copy was on her, its hands grasping at her throat. She gasped, stumbling backward, her body slamming against an unseen wall. The impact knocked the air from her lungs.

The doppelgänger's grip was ice-cold, tightening with an unnatural strength. Chun struggled, kicking at its legs, but the copy didn't flinch. Its face was still twisted into that hollow smile, its eyes locked onto hers.

This wasn't just an attack.

It was trying to consume her.

Panic surged through her veins, but she forced herself to focus. This thing wasn't her. It wanted to be, but it wasn't. And that meant it could be stopped.

The Lovers card pulsed in her hand.

Chun willed its energy to surge outward, to push this false version of herself away. A blinding flash of light erupted between them, forcing the doppelgänger back. It screeched, its form flickering, distorting—losing its shape.

Seizing the moment, Chun wrenched herself free and stumbled away, gasping for breath.

The doppelgänger writhed, its body breaking apart like glass. But even as it shattered, its hollow voice echoed in the space around her.

"You can't run from yourself forever."

Then it was gone.

Chun dropped to her knees, hands trembling.

She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

But she had to keep going.

She forced herself up and pressed forward, deeper into the unknown.

Somewhere out there, her friends were waiting.

And she would find them.

No matter what it took.

Chun pressed forward, her body still trembling from the encounter. The shadows around her seemed to thicken, closing in like silent watchers, whispering things she couldn't quite hear. Every step felt heavier, as if the ground itself was trying to pull her down.

She didn't know how long she had been walking. Time felt strange in this place. It stretched and twisted, making minutes feel like hours, or perhaps it was the other way around.

Then, she heard it.

A sound.

At first, it was faint, almost indistinguishable from the whispering shadows. But then it grew louder, more distinct—a rhythmic clink, clink, clink.

Chains.

Chun's breath caught in her throat.

The sound came from ahead, beyond the shifting darkness. And worse, it was moving toward her.

She glanced around for a place to hide, but there was nothing. Just the endless void and the eerie shifting of the world around her.

The chains rattled again. Closer now.

Then, a voice.

"You shouldn't be here."

The voice was deep, hollow, yet oddly familiar.

Chun turned, her heart hammering against her ribs. A figure emerged from the darkness, dragging a length of heavy chains behind it.

At first, she thought it was another illusion. Another trick of this place.

But then she saw its face.

Her breath hitched.

It was Roy.

But it wasn't him. Not really.

His body was covered in cracks, like porcelain shattered and barely holding together. His eyes glowed a dim, lifeless white, and the chains wrapped around his arms seemed to be a part of him, digging into his flesh as though they had grown there.

Chun took a step back. "Roy…?"

The figure tilted its head, as if struggling to recognize her. Then, it spoke again, its voice layered with something unnatural.

"You shouldn't be here," it repeated.

Chun's grip on the Lovers card tightened. This wasn't Roy. It couldn't be. But it looked like him. And that made it worse.

"What happened to you?" she whispered.

The cracked version of Roy didn't answer. Instead, it lifted one hand, the chains coiling around his arm like living serpents.

Then, with terrifying speed, he struck.

Chun barely dodged in time, the chains slicing through the air where she had been standing just seconds ago. She stumbled backward, nearly losing her balance.

"Roy, stop!" she cried.

But he—or whatever this thing was—didn't stop.

The chains lashed out again, forcing Chun to dodge left, then right. The strikes were fast, precise, too precise. If she hadn't been moving, she would have been caught in an instant.

But she couldn't keep dodging forever.

The Lovers card pulsed in her hand.

She had to fight.

She had to break whatever was controlling him.

Taking a deep breath, Chun focused on the card's energy, channeling it outward. A golden light flared around her, cutting through the darkness.

The fake Roy flinched.

That was all she needed.

Chun charged forward, dodging one last chain strike before swinging the card like a blade. The golden energy cut through the chains, severing them. The fake Roy let out a distorted, inhuman cry as the cracks on his body deepened, spreading like fractures in glass.

For a moment, she thought she had won.

Then, the world shifted.

The ground beneath her feet vanished.

Chun fell.

Down into darkness.

She reached out, but there was nothing to grab onto. The shadows swallowed her whole, and all she could hear was the echo of Roy's voice, distorted and distant.

"You shouldn't be here."

And then—

Silence.