Chapter 41 - Euryphaessa

"𓂀 ✶⟊☍ ⟡⸸⚚⧫⫷Ϟ"

The doppelganger's screeched in an incomprehensible tone, like a shattering glass echoing in a blank room.

A system interface that appeared before Seven. 

|| If I kill you… ||

Again.

And again.

|| If I kill you… ||

|| If I kill you… ||

|| If I— ||

System interfaces overflowed and began to overlap against each other, until one interface glitch disappeared only to be followed by another until the sound or glitching echoed inside his head.

Urghk-kh…

He dropped the sword as he squinted his eyes and clutched his temples.

But as he did, a vision of his head rolling flashed before his eyes in which he immediately ducked and the doppelganger's sword brushed above, cutting a strand of his hair. 

'Sword.'

He thought. 

A sword appeared right in his grasp. 

Without any hesitation, he swung the sword in an entirely uncalculated manner like a toddler playing with their dinosaur toy. 

Clang! Cla—

The doppelganger with an unorthodox swordsmanship like a strange amalgamation of Seven's own instincts into its own.

But if one would observe thoroughly, it was not random but more like something efficient. Its blade did not flow randomly, but connected from each and every swing.

Clang!

It continued for minutes. 

Into hours.

Days. 

Until Seven could no longer see how long they were sparring without a pause, as the only light from the darkness was from their left-eyes and the spark between their swords.

The only downside was that neither of them could use Zaen to reinforce their swords.

Clang! Cla—

Until…

Thud!

The doppelganger landed a clean kick towards Seven's abdomen. 

Seven flew back and landed in the shallow water with a wet splash, knees bending to absorb the nonexistent impact. 

The pain was not real. 

But the pressure was.

Hff…

Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up again.

He squinted his eyes and took a proper look to the other him. To his surprise, the doppelganger simply stood there now with hands slacked at its sides. 

Chest rising. 

Falling.

Like it was… reaching its limits. 

But behind it, he realized it was not breathing but… 

Looping. 

The chest rose.

Fell.

Then again.

The timing was so perfect as each cycle was exactly three seconds like it was pre-programmed. Looking down, he observed himself but shook his head as he stopped breathing when he did. 

Hawthorne effect.

Instead, he raised his sword again and stepped into a striking distance carefully, as a second-long future vision still not displayed the doppelganger making a move. 

It was right.

It did not move. 

With the tip of the sword, he jabbed a light touch to the doppelganger's shoulder and it froze.

Literally. 

|| Protagonist System Activated || 

Suddenly, a red system interface appeared before his eyes. 

|| Anomaly Quest: Death is NOT the End ||

|| Status: Failed ||

Seven took a step back.

Seven days had already passed, yet to him, it felt like it had not even been a day. And if the system was telling the truth, then it only means one thing: 

Character erasure.

"What the—"

Crack.

The doppelganger's body cracked. 

A thin fissure split from the center of its chest to the edge of its jaw, glowing gold faintly underneath with a blue-like stone.

Its eyes turned empty. 

The golden glow in the left one dimmed… then vanished.

|| Character Erasure: F̷̝̳̅a̸͕̅͘i̶̤̮͊̅l̵̢̹͒e̴̛͈̅d̴̩͎́ ||

The doppelganger lifted its head and smiled widely. 

Too wide. 

If that was even a word. The doppelganger had too many teeth and fangs like that of a wolf nor a vampire. 

|| Emergency Solution: Assimilate Host ||

Right after the system interface displayed those words, the artifact, Præscientia, pulsed violently. 

His left eye seared white-hot and began to bleed.

Pain lanced across his skull as the water below began to rise. It was not a splash nor a surge, but… rise. 

Straight up.

Like reversed gravity and enveloped them both in a cocoon of glassy liquid.

He floated instinctively, struggling to breathe, only to realize…

Hff..

Haah…

Hff…

He could.

He did not need air here.

He was floating underwater and was breathing freely. 

On the other hand, the doppelganger drifted closer with a placid face and mouth half-open. It was not swimming, but gliding. 

Once again, in a distorted and muted tone, it spoke.

"⟊⚝⛧⟁𐰴✶⚚⩔⸸"

|| You are the anomaly. ||

"⫷ ✶⟊ ⸸𓂀 ⚚☍ ⟡⧫ ⫷Ϟ⧙"

|| I am Seven Hart ||

Disoriented, the usual calm and nonchalant Seven panicked and screamed as he swung his sword.

But.

The sword dissolved.

His arms dissolved next.

Then his legs.

The doppelganger. 

A strange numbness crept in like an overwhelming sense of being unmade as if his name were being erased from everyone's memory.

Thump!

He was now back in a complete darkness, but he could not even feel himself now. 

Thump! 

Also, the only thing he could hear was his constant heartbeat. 

Then…

Thump.

A hand reached into the void and plucked him out.

Seven collapsed to his knees, coughing air, and was soaked to the bone. 

He was no longer in the realm. 

He was no longer fighting his mirror-self. 

He was no longer floating underwater.

Instead, he found himself kneeling on a marble floor surrounded by crumbling pillars, a golden starlight above, and a woman's voice. 

"Child. Seems I was one second too late."

He looked up.

Golden hair. 

Skin like candlelight. 

And a thousand eyes behind one.

But to call her merely beautiful would be to mistake lightning for gold or fire for warmth. 

'Euryphaessa?'

He immediately recognized her.

Her golden hair flowed upward, not downward, as though gravity bowed differently for her. It shimmered like threads of living sunlight.

Her skin was smooth and luminous as if it was the light itself.

Her pair of golden eyes stared at Seven, identical to his artifact.

But within that single iris danced a thousand others— miniature eyes rotating like stars, orbiting in slow sacred spirals within the pupil. 

She wore no armor, gown, nor ornaments. 

She only wore a robe of starlight blacker than night, but embroidered with shifting constellations that rearranged with her thoughts.

Behind her, the space cracked like broken mirrors and each shard reflected a different Seven Hart: 

Laughing.

Crying.

Dead.

Broken.

Victorious. 

And Seven Harts of futures and failures.

She was divinity.

She was consequence.

And she… looked annoyed.

"I told them he wasn't ready yet."

She said those words in a tone like a soft hum of music to Seven's ears, contrary to her divine appearance.