The Other Me (Part 2)

"Celine, you stay here. There's something I want to discuss," Mr. Anderson said once the conversation was over.

Rio and Rayven bid their farewells and left, leaving her with Mr. Anderson, who had walked towards the window, observing the Tower of Fate in the distance. "Do you know how I feel when I realize that this world is a blend of several worlds?" he asked.

"A sense of emptiness."

Mr. Anderson turned to look at Celine, who looked perplexed. "Why? Because everything we have achieved so far is thanks to the help of other worlds.

Have you ever thought about what might have happened if we had stayed in our original world? Would it have been possible for us to achieve all of this?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Even though we possess powers and can use magic thanks to the mana, we are still inferior compared to other races, and that has made us fear the possibility of other races taking advantage of that and launching an attack.

But look at Zent.

There is absolutely no doubt in that young man's eyes.

Someone who has no powers managed to defeat me mentally. We don't even know if he is aware of his strange ability or not. But just imagining that he truly faced death head-on by following his heart is enough to make every hair on my body stand on end.

Someone like that has gone through something we can't imagine. Just because they don't have powers doesn't mean their lives are easier, right? In fact, they might have to live much harder lives precisely because they lack them, compared to us.

What I want to say is, don't blame yourself, Celine. What happened was Zent's decision. As a knight, you must respect that. It's challenging, but that's the duty of a knight, our duty.

So, don't be too hard on yourself, Celine, or you'll fall into a deeper hole where the light is no longer visible, losing your way without knowing how to return.

I know Zent has taken quite a daring step considering he has nothing to protect himself, especially in a world that is so cruel to someone like him.

But sometimes, we need someone like that, someone who is not afraid to challenge death in pursuit of their desires, in pursuit of something greater, regardless of success or failure. It is people like them who will ultimately transform the world into something new, a blank canvas ready to be filled.

Please don't shut yourself down because of it, it has been a long time since I last saw Luna smile and it will be years before I can see hers again.

Don't let yourself lose your light as well, because I'm sure Zent will blame himself just as you are blaming yourself now. You surely don't want that, do you?" Mr. Anderson smiled.

He walked, then stopped beside Celine who was still silent in her place with an unreadable expression on her face. "Follow your heart, that's the only way to survive in a world like this," he said, knowing what the Knight was currently feeling because he had known her for a long time. Then he walked out of the room.

Meanwhile, Zent, who was still lying in the room showing no signs of waking up, was walking along with Z who wanted to show him something. According to Z, this 'something' had the potential to make him remember his past, a memory that, for some reason, had been sealed away from him.

Each flower there emitted a beautiful light that matched the color of its petals, while butterflies fluttered around, passing by the two people standing in the middle. A white garden chair was placed beneath a lush, leafy tree, with golden stripes visible on its trunk, forming a mesmerizing pattern.

Without wasting any time, Z sat down, stretching their body to relieve the fatigue after walking for quite a while. They then turned to Zent, who was still looking around in awe of the surrounding scenery.

"Isn't it beautiful? This is where I spend my time, aside from the peak of the altar, of course," Z remarked, pointing to the gigantic altar in front of them with their chin.

"I don't know why, but I feel comfortable here, something I've never felt elsewhere in this world. Even at the top of the altar, I only enjoy the view for less than 30 minutes before getting bored.

But here, I can spend hours. That's why I think this place holds an important memory for you, for us. Unfortunately, that memory has never surfaced in my mind. What about you?" He asked, full of hope.

Of course, I don't know.

I've only just set foot in this world that exists within my subconscious for the first time.

If I had never fainted, perhaps I would have never known that there is another version of myself living leisurely within it. "Same here, I don't know either. Nothing has surfaced in my mind," I replied, shaking my head, causing him to sigh heavily, deliberately making it audible.

"What's the use of your brain? Just for decoration? You only have a handsome face with a brain like junk.

Oh, before you feel flattered, I called you handsome because I'm handsome.

If we were different people, don't expect you would be handsome. You better look in the mirror before you smile like that," he replied arrogantly with a smirk that reminded me of Celine.

Damn, not just one, now there's two? How lucky I am.

"Oh, of course!" he exclaimed proudly.

"Now, you won't feel lonely with my presence. You should be grateful that I am still kind enough to accompany someone like you who doesn't have anything interesting at all.

Not to mention your face, even your life sounds so boring that just hearing about it would put anyone to sleep instead of being entertained.

If only I were the one outside and you were trapped in here, I would have made your life more interesting, like getting closer to the cold yet endearing Knight who is clearly interested in you," he complained.

"Celine likes me? You must be joking. What does she see in me?"

"THAT'S IT!"

How dare he-

"What does she see in you that makes her blush?! And how lucky I am to have you as a roommate. We should have a special relationship with her if you didn't undermine yourself so much!" he exclaimed passionately.

"You know how ironic it is for you to say that, while you yourself-"

"That's not important! What you should be thinking about now is how to approach her.

I can really go crazy if I keep seeing the two of you behaving like elementary school kids who have never dated before. Believe in yourself! Like you usually do when those negative feelings resurface. Don't let me hear that you feel unworthy, blah blah blah."

"I'm still not convinced that what you're thinking is right. I mean, someone like-"

"AAHHHH! Stop it! You're attractive, okay? How can someone be so oblivious to their own handsomeness? Everyone wants your face!"

When do I wake up? I can't stand being here any longer.

"Oh, you want to wake up? Why didn't you say so earlier.

You just have to imagine a door and walk into it, and voila! You'll return to the real world. Ahh, no need for more questions." He continued quickly before I could even speak, waving his hand. "I need peace now. Go away, my energy has been exhausted trying to tolerate you."

Suddenly, a white door appeared next to me, opening to emit a bright white light before I could even ask anything. He kicked me into it, and I couldn't do anything but watch him smile happily while waving goodbye.

Making me think...

Did I just get kicked out by myself?

"Ah... Finally at peace," Z stretched his body once again, leaning back in the chair while observing the slowly moving sky and smiling. "It has begun, Zent. Soon, your destiny will come to claim you. Hopefully, when that time comes, you will be prepared so that 'it' won't be repeated."

At the same time, each golden line on the tree trunk began to emit a bright light that moved upwards, starting from the base of the trunk and spreading throughout the veins of the leaves. Not far from there, the two rings above the altar also began to rotate.