In the silent, infinite expanse of the Mind space, time was no longer a linear progression; it was a stagnant sea frozen frozen for eternity.
Dreleon remained cross-legged, his soul-form shimmering with a violent, unstable light.
The Red characters of the manual began to dissolve into a misty, ethereal nourishment that seeped into his spiritual pores.
The 'intent of Separation' grew from a mere thought into a physical blade of the mind.
It felt like a claw of the sharpest beast, slowly tearing through the very center of his being.
For hours—or perhaps years—there was no outward sign of progress, there was only the grinding, silent agony of a soul refusing to break.
But the nourishment of the ancient words acted as a catalyst.
It strengthened the core of his spirit even as the blade worked to divide it.
Finally, with a mental sound that resembled a glass mountain shattering, the connection snapped.
A sensation unlike anything Dreleon had ever experienced washed over him, unlike anything.
It was a terrifying expansion, like suddenly, he had four eyes instead of two.
He felt the ground in two different places.
His consciousness was stretched thin, like a wire pulled to the point of snapping.
Moments later, the disorientation began to settle.
On the sea of clouds of his mind, a second figure stabilized.
First it was only half-body; but then, it recovered at an impossible speed, taking a form identical to Dreleon's—the same skeletal frame, the same golden eyes.
Dreleon gasped, clutching his chest as his soul-form knit itself back together.
He looked up, expecting to see a hollow puppet, looking like himself.
Instead, the 'Other Him' stretched its arms and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"Hah... finally," the second Dreleon said, his voice laced with a dark, mocking edge.
"Finally, I am free of that cramped cage."
Dreleon froze.
"You... are you me?"
"No! I am me; Imposter," the mirror-self replied, a cold smile spreading across its face.
Outside, on the high clouds, the Snake was watching the jade platform pulse with chaotic energy.
She let out a sharp, amused sneer.
"Hiss... the brat actually did it.
He split the core."
Suddenly, her sapphire eyes widened slightly.
"Oh.
I forgot to tell that boy about the 'Ego-Resonance.' If the emotion is too strong, the split creates a rival, not a slave."
She went silent for a moment, then shrugged.
"Whatever.
He is a Royal.
If he cannot conquer himself, he can never guard the princess.
I am sure he can handle it... or he will die trying."
Back in the Mind Palace, the atmosphere turned lethal.
"You aren't me," Dreleon hissed.
"You're just a fragment, I split."
"Then try to convince me," the Mirror-Dreleon challenged.
The fight began with a surge of mental pressure.
Dreleon lunged forward, using his physical combat techniques translated into soul-movement.
He aimed a decisive strike at the clone's throat, but before his hand could connect, the air in front of him hardened into an invisible wall.
Space Telekinesis.
The clone didn't move his body.
He simply flicked his gaze, and the Space around Dreleon's arm tightened like a steel.
Dreleon roared, using his own telekinetic strength to break the hold, but the Mirror-Dreleon was faster.
The clone swept his hand, and a wave of compressed space slammed into Dreleon like a physical battering ram.
Dreleon was sent flying across the infinite sea of clouds.
He tumbled, but mid-air, he seized the space behind him, creating a solid foothold to launch himself back.
"Is that all?"
the clone mocked.
The Mirror-Dreleon began to manipulate the Mind Space with terrifying efficiency.
Unlike the original Dreleon, he didn't just push and pull; he treated the space like a weapon.
He seized the emptiness between them and used it as a weapon, controlling the flow of battle.
Dreleon felt his own soul-form being stretched in opposite directions, his limbs being pulled by invisible, telekinetic hooks.
Dreleon gritted his teeth, focusing his mind to stabilize his existence.
He realized that in this space, his traditional techniques were failing.
The clone had a raw, instinctive grasp of Space Telekinesis that Dreleon had suppressed under layers of logic and caution.
The clone raised both hands.
Suddenly, the clouds around Dreleon were seized.
The clone used his telekinesis to compress the clouds into dense, jagged spears of white vapor.
With a sharp gesture, hundreds of these cloud Spears shot toward Dreleon.
Dreleon moved frantically, his mind working at overclocked speeds.
He threw out his own telekinetic nets, trying to deflect the spears, but for every one he stopped, three more grazed his soul-body.
The pain was unlike physical injury—it felt like his very thoughts were being shredded.
"You are too slow, just give me this body," the clone said with a mocking smile.
The Mirror-Dreleon closed his fist.
The space around Dreleon's neck began to shrink.
It wasn't like a hand choking him; but more like it was the world itself getting smaller around his neck.
Dreleon struggled, his golden eyes bulging as he fought to push the space back with his own telekinesis, but the clone's will was like a crushing mountain.
The Mirror-Dreleon stepped closer, looking down at the struggling Dreleon with pure contempt.
"You have the thought of being a hero, but think you are too weak to act.
Let me take this body, and; I will show you how easy being a hero is."
Dreleon's vision began to flicker, the dream he saw countless times appearing again, hearing stories of great human figures in his training days, aspiring to become one himself.
His soul was being crushed by his own ambition, used against him by a reflection that knew no heroism.
He was losing.
In his own mind, to his own emotion, he was being erased by his own power.
But unknown to everyone; something sinister, a black-red energy was stirred in his heart.