Bonds of Darkness: Swordmen's Redemption

Chapter Sixty: You Are Me

A/N: Hello, everyone! Before diving into this chapter, please ensure you've read "Chapter Fifty-Nine: I Am You" to avoid any confusion. Thank you and enjoy the read!

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Centuries and even millennia had brought him here. The realm of nothing that surrounded him now burgeoned into something far more palpable—his own mirrored self.

"You are me...?" Y/N's voice trembled with incredulity, grappling with the revelation. Death? Terror? What did these embodiments signify not just for him, but for themselves as a unified entity?

The shadow did not nod but instead flicked its armored claws, a gesture that sent Y/N crashing to his knees under the unbearable weight of an intangible force.

'Th-This is!' Y/N struggled against the crushing pressure, his breath ragged. He recognized this force; it was Monarch's Hand, a telekinesis that far surpassed any mundane manipulation, capable of exerting unseen but profoundly felt forces.

But this was different, deeper. It wasn't just the physical pressure that tortured him, but an emotional onslaught as well; it was as if a curse wrapped around him, echoing the voices of his companions and loved ones with malevolent whispers.

These weren't audible words but corrosive feelings, gnawing at his psyche like a spectral version of IX devouring his soul.

"Indeed. You should recognize this," the shadow spoke, its voice chillingly familiar. "A fragment of us, the ability to dominate—to destroy and conquer. Our enemies falter swiftly under such power. But consider the monotony that might ensue, no?" With a dismissive flick, the warrior released Y/N, who collapsed, gasping for air.

Gasping, Y/N felt overwhelmed, as if he were a sink overflowing, the emotional onslaught spilling over like a flood.

The shadow warrior continued, unrelenting, "You have not explored the full spectrum of your gifts. You focused too intently on the shadows, thinking them sufficient for offense and defense. But have you considered their impact on the environment itself?"

Silence followed, heavy and expectant.

"You give me silence, yet you have barely scratched the surface of your path. The role of the messiah you once envisioned—I have attempted it."

Catching the last bit of that declaration, Y/N finally found the strength to look up. "You have... tried? I thought you were just my ego."

The warrior shook its head, the fiery purple mane subtly waving. "Yes and no. Both answers imply I am you, but I am also not. Tell me, what did the Progenitor say about our roles?"

Y/N's mind flashed back to a pivotal moment, a conversation shadowed with gravity. "A side character turned co-author..."

"Exactly," the shadow affirmed. "Yet, we have not fulfilled that role, and it seems increasingly impossible."

The word 'impossible' struck Y/N hard. "Impossible...? The mere possibilities, the chances—they are there. It's just for me—and you—to realize them, no matter the time it takes."

The shadow regarded him with an intensity that turned the void around them palpable, its eyes glowing a deep, rich purple and black through the slit of its helmet. The air around them seemed to tremble with shared rage and revelation.

Then, as suddenly as it had built, the tension evaporated. "I was born from the Abyss, an incomplete, mindless concept," the shadow confessed.

Y/N recognized these words, similar to those the Progenitor had spoken. "Don't tell me! You—"