Ancient City (5)

Cain stood at the forefront of the battle in the body of a Deep One.

"It should be possible; I don't have my body augments, but these things are pretty strong. As long as no one notices me..." Cain muttered to himself.

He was kidding himself; he was the most noticeable thing here. The conflict just kept escalating, with more and more elites from both sides funneling towards the fountain.

'I have to try...'

Backing away, Cain decided he would go around and try to get to the fountain where the least fighting was going on. Heading back to the hole the Deep Ones came from, he took a moment to look down.

He could see water flowing down the tunnel where the fountain should be. His vision was poor, but he could also see large eggs lining the walls of the vertical tunnel.

"Seems this was their breeding ground. There's also water flowing from the fountain? Haha, did I just find my break!"

Cain entered the hole and climbed along the ceiling, thrilled at his discovery of a hole in the fountain's bottom. Squeezing through the base, he began to climb, scales rattling.

If anyone saw him now, it was over.

Cain stood out starkly on the white stone. He kept climbing. Kept praying no one would notice. Unfortunately, someone did.

The one who saw him wasn't just anyone; they seemed to be a young mancer from Kiok. He was a young teen wearing wealthy robes and was even being escorted by multiple other mancers in shining armor.

"What is that creature doing? Kill it!"

What caught Cain even more off guard was that the guards hurriedly charged toward him, and no one stopped them from approaching him on the fountain!

'Why is no one attacking them?! What the hell!'

One of the guards created a spear of ice and pierced him in the heart. He continued to fly with Cain skewered, flying away from the fountain.

Cain had no time to talk to himself about the morality of possessing a body. He quickly did what needed to be done.

"Sorry."

The word "sorry" coming from a disgusting creature caught the knight off guard. But it all made sense as it burst into a crimson cloud that surrounded his whole body. It passed through the cracks and entered his body.

At that moment, he was stuck in the air, as in his mind, a whole new battlefield was brewing.

...

"What- where am I?"

The guard awoke in a castle of unknown proportions. His eyes seemed to soften as he surveyed the familiar halls.

"Young Master! Are you here?"

"I'm afraid whoever you're calling out to is not here. Again, I am sorry for having to do this."

Cain materialized, stepping out of a wall. He raised his hand and slowly brought it down.

The guard had no defense and fell to his knees under the pressure. His armor shook as Cain increased the pressure.

Then.....another voice echoed inside the castle's walls.

"You seemed to have improved in controlling the mind. I, too, have improved in this field as well. After all, I've been trapped here for a good amount of time. I even had time for deep thought. Now I have also come to understand quite a few things."

The voice erupted through the mind-scape. It was a voice Cain knew very well.

It was his own voice.

Realization dawned almost immediately. Shivers and goosebumps spread through his entire soul-body as the guard looked on in confusion.

"What's going on?"

As an answer to the man's call, an entity made of bloodied mist descended above him, breaking apart the roof.

He was wrapped in chains, but as he descended, they broke one by one.

The figure was the epitome of charm and grace.

"Fret not, my child, for eternal rest shall now come. Rest and know your duty is fulfilled."

As if his words were a soft lullaby, the fog swarmed him, the knight reflexively closed his eyes and his very being was consumed.

It was then the castle collapsed.

Both Cain and the entity found themselves back in the main hub of their mind.

The entity let out a low, rumbling laugh, taking delight in Cain's stunned confusion. "I can see you are having trouble processing this. Perhaps it would be easier if you just let me take over for a while. After all, I'm finally free!"

He left the implication hanging. Cain's thoughts raced, but the entity's true agenda remained veiled. What did he intend to do with this control if given it?

The entity's smile was like a perfect crescent, yet to Cain, it was a nightmare come true.

As the entity spoke, they both seemed to resonate with one another. Red clashed against green, and Cain finally acquired the urge to speak.

"H-how?" He stammered, his voice shaking.

The red wisp paused as if carefully considering his response. "Do you really think that crude amalgam of metal and flesh could truly destroy me?" His voice was chillingly calm. "It is a matter of the soul. And you and I, we are one and the same, though it took me all this time trapped here to fully understand that fact."

The wisp's words hung in the air. Cain's mind reeled as he grasped for comprehension, but it remained tantalizingly out of reach.

"One and the same?! You call me and you one and the same! You're a monster I created! A nightmare I have to expunge and repent for!"

"Oh, how I wish that statement could be true, my poor, poor self. I did have the same questions as you at first."

As if to answer Cain's next question, shards came from behind the red figure as memories played. It was in a dark space under an ocean. The entity was in a fetal position, holding its head.

"AM I THE REAL CAIN? AM I EVEN REAL? WHAT AM I?! HEHEHE I'M CAIN I'M CAIN I'M CAIN!"

At first, it showed the creature's insanity; it was experiencing confusion about what it was and couldn't find an answer.

Was it a parasite? Was it only a creation of pain and suffering?

The red wisp paused as if carefully considering his next words. "It took me a long time to understand, but I eventually uncovered the truth of our existence."

He slowly drifted closer to the green wisp. "In the beginning, we were both the same man - Cain. But over time, we diverged onto radically different paths. You sought redemption while I sunk into depravity."

The red wisp's voice took on a philosophical tone, "Despite sharing the same soul, we have become distinct beings with different motivations and goals. You cannot be Cain any longer than I can. We have both transcended him."

"That...impossible! Stop it! Stop messing with my head!"

"No, we are Cain! Not you and not me, WE!"

Cain clutched his head in anguish, digging his fingers into his scalp. From his throat erupted a guttural scream.

The world he knew was crumbling around him, reality dissolving like sand through a clenched fist.

"Why, why, why! Why did I ever create you! I should have just died rather than let Victor torture me!"

Again the entity couldn't seem to hold in his laugh. Only this time it was a condescending one

"No. You still don't want to accept the truth? During my time waiting, I thought long and hard in this place, as you saw. Am I really you? Am I truly Cain? What am I? How was I created? These were the things I thought about.

"So while you weren't awake, I would search, slowly regaining myself, I searched and searched. Not your memories...but my own. And now I know what I am."

His face then turned to a warm smile, "So know when I say this. I now understand we are both who we say we are. There is no longer any purpose in trying to differentiate who is who, as we are whole together. Understand and accept it."

As the red wisp spoke, the scene shifted. The calm ocean split and fractured like a mirror, revealing two disparate realities.

On one side, a serene seascape surrounded the green wisp, bathed in light.

On the other, a nightmarish realm of blood and shadow enveloped the red wisp.

As if his realm was ascending to this place, Cain's ocean of blood and despair materialized as pillars of crystalline blood created a grand temple with the remaining mist ghosts defending it.

"Good, you seem to understand now. Just keep being open-minded, and we can soon both get what we want."

It seemed to be going well, but at his words, the green wisp suddenly burst into a raging green flame.

"No, I refuse! You're just a parasite! A parasite that took my life from me!"

This response triggered the other wisp.

Now, the wise red wisp was no longer willing to keep this more naïve him in the dark. Even if it meant dealing a crippling blow.

As if to sympathize with its owner, the bloodied mindscape bubbled, and geysers of scalding blood exploded as the wisp made his outburst.

"I am not the parasite! YOU ARE! You were born from me! I have been locked away all this time, before Luna, before Free City!"

The red wisp's voice boomed, sending ruptures throughout the mindscape. Blood and shadows erupted around them.

Cain clutched his head, grappling with this revelation. "No...it can't be..."

"You were left and went on to live life while I stayed in that alley! Festering in my single thought, waiting for my chance to regain control! I AM CAIN! I AM THE REAL CAIN, NOT YOU AND NO ONE ELSE! ME!"

Their entire mind shook.

Everything was a farce, a stolen life built on false pretenses. Heavy sobs wracked Cain's body. He curled inward, wanting to shut out this harsh truth, to plead ignorance once more. But the red wisp's words had shattered his delusions.

This Cain staked his claim, he was indeed the 'first' Cain. The one who entered this world confused and was broken by it. From his broken bones to his broken mind.

From him, another was born through John's serum and went on to live.

All the while the other, was left asleep, in his endless squalor.

Only when Cain gave up in the face of endless torture was the other given a chance to awaken, to start again.

But he was once more sent into hell, only this time he didn't break. He continued to live for the goal he made so long ago, even if he didn't remember it being his.

It was only until now did he truly understand, yet at this point both of these 'Cains' were Cain. Two halves that equaled the whole.

"I...I"

"Yes, we are the same. Our minds are so muddled and intertwined that our soul itself has been split. We are two egos made from the same man; we are not Cain but are. It is confusing, I know."

The wisps seemed to slowly regain their human features, and the two Cain's looked at each other.

The one with red eyes was determined while the green one fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"All this time...I didn't know...I've been so wrong!"

"Yes and no. I do thank you for trying to take on my sins, but they are not yours to carry. Due to our differences, we are doomed to struggle against each other. But it doesn't stop us from being the same person. So let me take control, just for a little while."

Tears blurring his sight, Cain looked up to see his own jumbled figure.

"P-promise you won't hurt them, promise you won't hurt Conn-"

"I know. I have been watching. I know who to kill and who to spare. Even if we are to walk different paths, I won't get in your way as long as you don't get in mine."

"T-thank you."

Cain lowered his head. From there, the nightmare seemed to end, and now it was time for the finale. The time for a vile evil to bear its fangs.