Chapter - 2 : Alter Ego

"!!"

"Hu-huh?"

"What!? Where am I?"

I jolted awake, confused and disoriented, my heart pounding in my chest. Everything was unfamiliar.

"Oh... right. Today was my first day of school..." I muttered, the fog of sleep starting to clear. But something still wasn't right.

The place I found myself in now wasn't any part of the school I recognized. It was dark—too dark, like a void. I couldn't see anything around me, yet I sensed the faint presence of light somewhere, like it was just out of reach. There was no sound. No echo. Just an eerie, suffocating silence.

I took a few hesitant steps forward, trying to understand where I was. But nothing changed.

"Am I... dead?" I whispered to myself, my voice trembling slightly.

The vast, empty space around me felt like an eternity, like I was floating in some endless abyss. It seemed too isolating, too eternal. Death was the only explanation that made sense.

"So, this is it?" I wondered aloud. "Is this heaven or something?"

I touched my chin, trying to process it all. "If I'm dead, it feels... different than what I imagined. Shouldn't there be angels or something?"

Suddenly, a voice cut through the darkness, startling me.

"Oi! Don't declare yourself dead just yet!"

I spun around, searching for the source of the voice, but the blackness made it impossible to see anything. My heart raced, panic setting in. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Wh-who's there?!" I stammered, trying to steady my shaky hands. The silence returned, and the more I waited, the more uneasy I felt.

No reply.

Just as I began to relax, thinking I imagined it, a cold chill shot down my spine, freezing me in place. My body trembled uncontrollably.

"Oi, calm down. There's no need to freak out," the voice came again—this time, much closer, right near my left ear.

I whipped my head around, but there was nothing. I couldn't breathe, the fear twisting tighter in my chest.

"Wh-wh-who are y-you?" I forced the words out, my voice shaky. "I-I'm not scared... y-you know!" My legs felt like jelly, but I needed answers.

The voice laughed softly. "You're talking to your own alter ego."

"Wha-what?! My alter ego?" My confusion deepened, but strangely, a part of me started to relax. "Wait... seriously?"

"Yup, it's me. I'm your alter ego," the voice confirmed.

Relief flooded through me. "So... if you're my alter ego, does that mean I'm not dead? What's going on? Where am I?"

"Hold your horses, Max," the voice chuckled. "I know you're confused, but I came to tell you something important. And don't worry, the rest will be revealed in time."

As the voice spoke, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness. It was me—except... not quite. His eyes were an unnatural purple, and his hair was longer, messier, giving him an unsettling appearance. His smile was twisted, not quite right.

"Maxwell, listen carefully. You're not dead. We're in an alternate dimension. What you just experienced—the black figure, meeting me—don't tell anyone. Not even your closest friends. For now, I've manipulated their memories. No one remembers the black figure, and everything is back to normal. Even the students that were injured are healed."

"Wait, but... why can't I tell anyone?" I asked, curiosity gnawing at me.

His smile widened unnervingly. "The answer is simple: no one in your life cares. You're alone, Max. You've always been alone. So, it's pointless to tell anyone."

Those words hit me like a punch to the gut. A part of me knew it was true, but hearing it out loud still stung. "Yeah... I guess that's true," I muttered under my breath, feeling a wave of sadness creep in.

But something felt off. "Is there another reason I can't tell?" I pressed, eyeing him suspiciously.

He didn't respond, but his smile deepened, as if there was more to the story. I got the sense there was another reason, but he wasn't going to share it with me.

"You'll be going back soon," he said casually, like it was no big deal. "Just remember what I told you."

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. See you around, Max 2.0." I waved him off, but before I could leave, I saw something—a flame, burning brightly in the distance.

Before I could make sense of it—

"Ugh... my head hurts..." I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Where am I?"

I looked around and realised I was back in the classroom. Everything seemed normal, but something felt... off.

"Wait... what?!" I gasped. It was as if time had reset, like the incident had never happened.

"So, Max 2.0 can manipulate reality... but what about the black figure?" I thought, trying to piece everything together. It made no sense. Why had no one heard anything during the chaos? Why hadn't anyone come to help? The more I thought about it, the more questions I had.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching. "Oh, crap! The other students are coming back." I scrambled to my seat, grabbing my bag and sitting on the middle bench. The classroom was arranged in three rows, with about 10 benches in each row. I sat in the middle of the middle row, hoping to blend in.

As I waited for my classmates, I kept thinking about the black figure. Was it human? A ghost? Or something else? My mind raced, but it was useless. I didn't have any answers—just more questions.

Class went on normally after that, though I felt like I'd forgotten something important. I couldn't shake the feeling. Eventually, it was recess. Our break lasted from 11:50 AM to 12:30 PM. Most of my classmates were chatting, trying to make friends. I watched them for a few seconds, then it hit me.

"Ehh!! I almost forgot my goal!" I mentally facepalmed. "How could I forget? I'm supposed to change myself this year!"

I looked at the two students sitting next to me—one on my left, one on my right. "Alright... time to start."

I turned to the guy on my right, trying to introduce myself. "Uh... he-hello? Wh-what was your name again?" I stuttered. "Did I mess up already?" I thought, cringing.

The guy smiled. "Hey, I'm Steven. Nice to meet you."

The one on my left nodded. "I'm Travis."

"Stuve... Stuve... Trai... Trai... Could you say it again? I'm not good at pronouncing names." I laughed awkwardly. "They probably think I'm an idiot."

To my surprise, they laughed too. Somehow, I managed to make friends—don't ask me how. While we were chatting, I suddenly felt a tense, heavy stare in the room.

The air grew colder, denser, making it hard to breathe. My bones trembled.

"Wh-what's happening?!" I gasped, struggling for air. It was only affecting me.

My vision blurred, and I felt like I was drowning in cold water.

"You... are... al—" A high-pitched voice, almost like a child's, whispered, but I couldn't make out the words.

Before I could grasp what was happening, everything went black.

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To be continued…