When two worlds collide

Chapter 14

The atmosphere was thick with tension as Y/N moved cautiously through the dense forest, every step calculated. The clearing ahead was bathed in an eerie twilight, the air electric with the simmering energy of chaos magic. Wanda walked beside them, her focus intense, her eyes glowing faintly with red magic. They had been tracking the doppelgänger for days now, hoping to corner it before it could cause more damage.

But this wasn't just any doppelgänger. This was Y/N's. A perfect mirror image of them, but darker, more dangerous, and with an intent that no longer felt merely mimicking but malevolent.

Y/N clenched their fists. They still remembered the first encounter. The doppelgänger had blindsided them, almost taking them out entirely before vanishing into the shadows. Now, it was stalking them both, growing stronger, feeding off the connection it had made with Y/N during that first confrontation.

"Are you sure about this?" Wanda asked, her voice low but firm. She could sense Y/N's unease as they approached the clearing.

"Not even a little," Y/N replied, their tone light despite the seriousness of the situation. "But we don't have a choice. It's getting stronger, and it's not going to stop until it... replaces me."

Wanda's gaze flickered over to Y/N, and she reached out, her hand gently brushing against their arm. "We're in this together, okay? We'll stop it before it gets the chance."

Y/N nodded, offering her a small smile. "I know," they said, though their mind still churned with the weight of what was to come. The fear of facing themselves—or rather, a twisted, warped version of themselves—was unsettling in a way nothing else had ever been. But they couldn't back down. Not now.

As they neared the center of the clearing, the air seemed to grow colder. Y/N's breath formed faint clouds as they exhaled, their senses on high alert. Wanda's magic pulsed around them, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Then, without warning, there was a shift in the atmosphere—a subtle but unmistakable ripple in the fabric of reality. Y/N froze, their hand instinctively reaching for the blade they carried at their side.

"Do you feel that?" Wanda whispered, her voice barely audible over the growing tension.

"Yeah," Y/N muttered. "It's here."

Before they could react, a shadow moved at the edge of the clearing, and the doppelgänger emerged from the darkness. It stepped forward with an eerie grace, its eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger. The creature was identical to Y/N in every way—same height, same build, even the same confident smirk that Y/N often wore—but there was something deeply unsettling in its expression. It was as though it was enjoying the game, relishing in the fear it instilled.

"Finally," the doppelgänger purred, its voice a perfect mimicry of Y/N's but with a sharp, malicious edge. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd catch up."

Y/N felt a chill crawl down their spine as they stared at their twisted reflection. "You don't belong here," they said, their voice steady despite the fear bubbling just beneath the surface. "This ends now."

The doppelgänger's smirk widened. "Oh, but I do belong here," it countered, stepping closer. "I belong *everywhere* you do. Because I'm you. The better version, at least."

Wanda's magic flared brighter, the red glow casting long shadows across the clearing. "Back off," she warned, her tone dripping with authority. "You're not taking anything from Y/N."

The doppelgänger turned its gaze to Wanda, its expression darkening. "Ah, the Scarlet Witch," it hissed, venom in its voice. "You're quite the protector, aren't you? But you're wrong. I'm not taking anything that doesn't already belong to me."