Chapter 2: The Fall of a Regressor(2)

I was floating in a never-ending darkness.

Time didn't seem to be present here.

It was a familiar experience, and this one will be the last time I see this space.

What a fool you are, Lucas!

Wasting forty-nine chances, and all left is this one and fifth chance for you.

I sighed, if I could. 

I wonder what Chronos will think, seeing me in such a devastated situation... Surely, he will beat the shit out of me for wasting his artifact in such a way. 

I was a regressor, but this ability was temporary, not something like an inherent trait, but something I had obtained from a fortuitous encounter.

It was the result of my desperation.

I smiled, remembering the hazy old days of mine, when I was just a human who had entered the tower.

Things changed when I entered...

Was it the 300th floor, or the 400th one? Oh, damn, I have become an old man.

I chuckled, but no voice came out of my mouth, just inner thoughts which only I could hear.

Time was nonexistent, and this was driving me crazy. 

Why is it taking so much time? I thought.

Could it be that my soul was harmed by nihilistic energy? I had already died by that method four times, so such a thing should have no effect on my body.

Was it four times, or three times? I wondered, but then, the darkness started to crumble and light forced its way in, like a myriad of countless stars, engulfing my vision with their brilliance.

A scream tore out of my throat as my body shot up like a bullet.

The silver locks cascade over my face, embracing me with their silkiness. My heart was thumping, as if I were some kind of wild beast.

"S-shit..." I muttered, as my eyes encompassed the hell around me, or if you can say, a messy room of mine.

Cleaning.

It was one of the most exhausting things in every universe.

"Oh man, how the heck was I living in a place like this?" I already started feeling weak, just from seeing the trash bags, empty food cups and other bags filled with bottles.

Heck, some of them were spilt on the floor, too.

And then there was this disgusting smell.

I closed my eyes and accepted my fate.

But...

"Well...I should just leave it, I mean, what's the point of staying in a house that was meant to be left behind?" 

Time was and wasn't my ally, so I couldn't waste it on such trivial things, like cleaning. I stood up, and the sounds of my bones cracking could be heard.

It seemed that my sleeping position was messed up, too.

What an idiotic bastard. I couldn't help but curse my past self as I slowly made my way across the room.

My feet instinctively absorbed the sensation of the wooden planks beneath me, each step a reminder of how dirty this place is.

Eventually, I continued onward, heading toward the bathroom with a mixture of frustration and resignation.

I grasped the doorknob, and my fingers felt the cold metallic touch. With a lazy expression and movement, I twisted the doorknob to open.

My nostrils caught a pleasant smell, something very unexpected to me. I walked into the bathroom, and my feet stopped when I stood in front of the mirror.

"Wow, I guess I was quite a looker." I muttered while examining my face and body.

Or maybe not.

If Hercules had seen these skinny muscles under my skin, then he would have died from laughing. I was skinny, no fat, which was a good thing, but these muscles?

They were a fucking joke.

At the very least, I could take solace in the fact that my face possessed a certain allure, characterised by a sharply defined jawline and a petite, elegant nose.

My eyes were particularly striking, reminiscent of a rare and exquisite gemstone—crimson hues interspersed with delicate flecks of gold and hints of violet that caught the light in a mesmerising dance.

My skin was akin to alabaster, remarkably flawless, exuding a luminous quality that seemed to radiate under the brilliant glow of sunlight streaming through the open window.

"At least, something is useful about this body of mine...wait... aren't I cursing myself too much?" I suddenly asked myself.

"I think regressing for the last time has taken a huge toll on me, even if I don't realise it, my mind and body show it." I said it to myself in the reflection of the mirror, which was staring at me with its fierce eyes.

The hatred was palpable in his eyes, but I didn't care. This wasn't the first time I had seen some hallucinations like this and-

"If you are thinking and believing that I am a hallucination, then think again, and try to believe with your eyes again." The reflection, which I deemed to be just a hallucination, spoke.

I felt the venomous sting in the words that emanated from that mouth, yet I still found it impossible to accept their existence.

Deep down, I grappled with the realisation that perhaps my mind had endured a profound toll, or maybe I had entirely lost my grasp on sanity.

I fixed my gaze upon my reflection in the mirror and spat out defiantly:

"Be gone." Instantly, the terrifying reflection seemed to vanish—at least, that's what I thought.

It was still there, unwavering and fixed on me, its cold expression piercing right through my mental defences.

The chill it radiated sent a shiver racing down my spine.

"What? Did you think that telling me to go away would make me disappear?" My reflection asked me, those cold words dispelled whatever shred of doubt that had remained in my mind.

This isn't something ridiculous.

"Who... are...you? I asked him.

Hearing my words, the reflection gave me a smirk.

"You want to know? Then, listen to it carefully, epigone... I am You." His words struck my mind like a thunderstorm, causing it to rage in a hex of countless possibilities.

Silence had caught up to me, as I couldn't reason out anything. If this were a hallucination, I would have noticed it immediately, but this...

It was as if it were me, and at the same time, it wasn't me.

Could it be... Before my thought could finish, the reflection...no the other me answered.

"It is just as you thought, I am you, but from another timeline." There were no lies woven in those words; that firmed expression told everything.

Interesting. 

"Uh...so how the heck did you get stuck in this situation?" I asked the other me, the reflection in the mirror, didn't answer immediately.

He scratched his head and said in a hesitant voice, as if the answer he was going to give me was something I wouldn't like.

"Well...it would be better if you don't really ask about it, whatever I have gone through to regress in time, isn't something good to remember." He said.

I had worse expectations, but- wait... 

"How did you...regress...." I paused in between; this was the last turn, and from the looks of it, this Lucas seems to be more knowledgeable than I was.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to find that I am from the future, good, this works well for me...after all, I had regressed to guide you. As for the regression, it was something I had found out how to do in my timeline."

His answer was enough to fill the gaps, but it also raised new doubts in my mind. I couldn't understand the reason behind his purpose, nor could my mind was able to conjure one reason for it.

"Did something go wrong in this worldline?" I asked him, my ears all opened to hear the clue about this strange paradox that had enveloped my last chance in its embrace.

The other Lucas smirked and said:

"Something? The entire wordline was chaotic. Things weren't as similar as they were, for starters, do you know that the tower Nytheris doesn't exist anymore?"

At his words, my eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"