The man stopped writing.
He hesitated, delaying the finishing touch.
At some point, a similarly stooped figure had appeared before him.
It sat opposite the man, a sheet of paper also laid out before it.
Both held the same pose.
At that moment, it was as if a mirror stood before the man. They were each other's reflection, two shadows forming a pair.
The "reflection" raised its head. Its gaunt face, sunken eyes, and the blazing fire within them were unmistakably his own.
The face flickered and changed—one moment it was him, the next it was not.
The man stared, mouth agape, at the "reflection" that had materialized out of thin air. An inexplicable chill crept over him.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning exploded in his mind.
His head throbbed with intense pain.
It felt as if something was trying to burst out from between his eyes, splitting his skull.
His head hurt. It hurt so, so much.
Innumerable, unfamiliar memories flooded his vision.
