2 Before

Chapter II: Before

I looked around me, and then up at the imposing structure under the storm clouds. A magnificent castle once, this structure gave off some seriously dark energy. Lightning touched down every so often with a bright flash. One bolt came uncomfortably close to hitting me that I had to close my eyes.

Opening my eyes, I didn't see a trace of the castle. Instead, I found myself in the dimly lit shop of a seer, gazing into her crystal ball on a table with a client. I couldn't see the client too well at first, but once my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, the figure revealed itself to be... me?

After a brief moment or two of gazing, the crystal ball started to glow. "The time is upon us. Gather your companions. You must depart for The Dim Citadel immediately. Noxtel won't be expecting an attack at this time. You can put him down for good. But you should still be careful. After all, the king and queen are ill and the kingdom must remain safe."

The other Nick shifted, annoyed. "Don't worry. Noxtel won't stand a chance."

The glowing orb shone with a brilliance that I had never experienced, not even after the lightning struck. I opened my eyes again, only to see the other me fighting a monster. The monster was terrifyingly strong, and it made me nervous and afraid just looking at it. Twisted horns, razor sharp fangs, claws sharper than anything I had ever seen. The other me was struggling. It was clear that he was strong enough to best hundreds of them, as the room was littered with corpses similar to that of the monster he was fighting. Unfortunately, it looked like he was tiring out, and he just barely killed the last one standing.

My vision blurred, and when they regained clarity, the scene shifted once more. Now, I see the other Nick facing off against a much more intimidating figure. This figure was twice as tall as the average human, standing about 11 feet tall with twisted horns that curved around the back of the figure's head, almost like an inverted tiara. They were ripped with muscle that gave the impression of a martial artist, yet their skin was a cerulean blue with intricate crimson red runes. The figure, like the other monsters, had razor sharp fangs and claws ready to rip and tear anything in its path to pieces.

I shook myself out of my trance when the intimidating figure spoke in a booming voice "Seems like you couldn't resist delivering yourself to my doorstep. Quite the Royal pain in my ass, aren't you... Guess I'll just have to kill you here!"

The other me beckoned to his companions from behind him to come forward, "Ralph, Angelica, let's show this alleged ArchDemon what we're made of."

The group of three went to attack the ArchDemon head on, but before they could get very far, he vanished.

"Ladies first," the ArchDemon whispered in a chilling voice, just before he bashed Angelica over the head with his fist. She crumpled to the floor, barely breathing.

The other me didn't even have time to react as the ArchDemon vanished yet again, appearing behind Ralph this time. The ArchDemon then proceeded to repeat what he did to Angelica with Ralph.

Again, the other Nick didn't have any time to react as the ArchDemon vanished for the third time. My eyes grew wide with horror as my other self was about to be struck.

"This was fun. We should fight again sometime, if you ever get the chance! Not that you'd survive this!"

"Noxtel! You bastard! I'll--" the other me didn't get to finish his sentence before he was struck on the head like the others.