Kade's chest tightened—his counterpart manipulated the space the same way the imprint had twisted memory. Except now it wasn't showing anything. It was pushing.
Pressure closed in on his ribs like invisible hands squeezing.
Kade staggered back. "You're not supposed to attack. Seren said—"
The double's voice sharpened.
"Seren is not here."
The pressure intensified. His vision blurred at the edges.
"You are fracturing. You refuse to accept yourself. So I will break the parts you reject."
Kade forced a breath in. "Try."
The shard's light rippled through his arm and burst outward in a short pulse. The pressure shattered like brittle glass.
The double blinked once—expression still calm, but the void flickered behind him.
Kade rolled his shoulders and steadied his stance. "If you're supposed to be the ideal version of me, you're doing a terrible job."
"I am not an ideal," the double said. "I am the path without pain. Without loss. Without guilt. You could have had peace."
