"Yes, our minds are one."
The Phantom Twin’s voice was mine—same timbre, same cadence—but layered with an eerie certainty.
"More precisely," it continued, "we share the same brain. I know everything you know. And right now? You should unsummon me before you pass out."
I didn’t argue. The moment I canceled the ability, the Twin dissolved into wisps of shadow, leaving behind only the faint scent of ozone.
A headache immediately spiked behind my temples.
I braced my palms against the grass, sucking in sharp breaths.
So it consumed mental energy—or maybe raw stamina. Either way, it was good. Without aura to fuel abilities, I wouldn’t be able to use them otherwise.
My vision swam as exhaustion pressed down on me. Every muscle screamed for rest, every cut and bruise throbbed in unison. Even my thoughts felt sluggish, like wading through tar.
I need to move. Need to—
A portal tore open beside me—emerald-green, swirling with that familiar, serpentine energy. Virion’s signature.
Except it wasn’t Virion who stepped out.
Zephyr emerged instead, his silver hair stark against the forest’s gloom. His glacial eyes swept the battlefield: the splintered trees, the bloodstained grass, Vex’s crumpled form. Finally, they landed on me.
I nodded, though the motion made my skull pulse. "After resting a bit."
Zephyr’s gaze dropped to the blackened blood on my lips, then to the shallow cuts littering my arms. "Your body. Do you need an antidote, or—?"
"No." I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, smearing the poison-tainted blood. "Let’s think of it as... training."
A flicker of something—approval? Amusement?—passed through his eyes before vanishing behind that usual mask of indifference.
With a grunt, I pushed myself to my feet. My legs trembled, but they held.
Zephyr didn’t offer help. He didn’t need to.
Instead, he grabbed Vex by the collar, dragging the assassin’s limp body toward the portal like a sack of grain. "Let’s go."
I followed, one shaky step at a time.
The portal swallowed us whole.
The world twisted and reformed as we stepped through the portal. The scent of crushed grass and blood gave way to something crisp and cosmic - the familiar weightlessness of Virion’s domain.
I blinked against the sudden brightness. Above me, Virion’s serpentine form coiled lazily in the air, his emerald scales shimmering with starlight. Around him floated those familiar cartoonish stars, bobbing cheerfully through the void.
"Lie down," Virion commanded, his voice echoing strangely in this space. "And undress."
I hesitated only for a second before nodding. This was Virion’s cosmic playground - if he wanted me naked, there were worse places for it. As I stripped off my ruined clothes except my underwear, a cloud formed beneath me, impossibly soft yet firm enough to support my weight.
The moment I lay back, the stars sprang into action. One group dove into a nearby cloud that had turned liquid, emerging with what looked like water made of moonlight. Others began scrubbing at my wounds with surprising gentleness.
"Ah-!" I hissed as they hit a particularly deep cut. The cleansing stung at first, but then... relief. Cool, soothing relief spread through my muscles as the stars worked, their touch alternating between firm massage and feather-light strokes. The poison’s lingering burn faded, replaced by a warmth that seeped into my bones.
Virion floated closer, his small form hovering opposite me. "You were good," he admitted, "but reckless too. You made many mistakes, like not finishing him off when you had the chance or intentionally prolonging the fight, which nearly cost your life." His tail flicked dismissively. "But since you won and learned something useful, I’ll let it slide."
The stars chose that moment to press particularly hard on a bruise, making me grunt. Virion’s eyes narrowed to slits. "And... it seems we have a few things to talk about."
I knew what he meant - Vex, the White Lotus, the fight, all of it. I only hope he won’t ask about Phantom Twin.
"Yes," I agreed, "but let’s talk tomorrow. I’m really tired now."
Virion studied me for a long moment before nodding. "Hm, alright. And, you can rest easy." He gestured with his tail toward where Zephyr stood with Vex’s unconscious form. "I’ll put that one in my prison. He won’t be able to escape."
"Thank you," I murmured, already feeling my eyelids grow heavy. The stars’ ministrations had worked their magic - the pain was gone, replaced by a delicious warmth that pulled me toward sleep.
As my eyes finally closed, the last thing I saw was Virion and Zephyr exchanging a look I couldn’t decipher.
Then darkness took me, soft and complete.
Moments Earlier - The Forest Clearing.
As the emerald portal closed behind Amaniel and Zephyr, who gave one last glance behind, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence. The only signs of the fierce battle were the scarred earth and splintered trees, already fading into the night’s embrace.
A single black feather drifted down from the canopy, landing softly on the bloodstained grass. Then another. And another.
With a flutter of wings, a small black bird alighted on a broken branch, its beady eyes scanning the area with uncanny intelligence.
In a swirl of dark mist, the creature transformed into a stunning woman clad in a gown of black feathers that shimmered with violet undertones. Her long hair cascaded like liquid night down her back, and her crimson lips curved into a thoughtful smile.
"Director, you were right indeed," she murmured, running a delicate finger along the edge of a dagger mark in the tree bark. "Her partner is by no means ordinary either." She tilted her head, considering. "To become a primordial being’s disciple and be chosen as ’her’ partner... his luck must be truly exceptional."
A breeze rustled the leaves, carrying the faint scent of ozone and blood. The woman’s eyes flickered to a particular shadow beneath the oldest tree, her smile deepening.
"Were you planning to just watch, pretty boy?" she called lightly. "I thought for certain you would intervene."
The shadow remained still, giving no response. Yet the woman chuckled as if hearing some unspoken reply.
"Well then," she said, brushing a feather from her sleeve, "since I’ve confirmed the boy is safe..." Her form began to dissolve into swirling darkness. "See you at the academy."
With a final amused glance at the empty clearing, she leaped into the air. Black wings unfurled where arms had been, and soon the raven was but a speck against the moonlit sky, disappearing into the night.
Only then did the shadow beneath the oak tree stir. For the briefest moment, long silver hair glinted in the moonlight before vanishing completely, leaving no trace of ever having been there at all.
The forest exhaled, and the night carried on as if nothing unusual had occurred.