Face to Face

Maya's heart pounded in her chest as she and Leon edged closer to the heart of the ruins. The energy trail was brighter now, pulsing beneath their feet like a beacon guiding them toward her double. She had prepared herself for this moment—or at least she had tried to—but now that the encounter was imminent, fear and uncertainty gripped her like a vice.

The ruins around them seemed alive with anticipation, the air thick with an electric tension. The crumbling structures loomed overhead, their jagged edges casting long, eerie shadows across the ground. The faint whispers that had followed them earlier grew louder, though Maya couldn't tell if they were real or just a product of her imagination.

Leon stopped abruptly, holding up a hand to signal Maya to stop. "She's close," he whispered, his eyes scanning the crumbling arches and shattered windows that surrounded them.

Maya nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She gripped the small device Leon had given her—a compact scanner that could detect anomalies in the energy signature. It hummed faintly in her hand, its display flickering with a series of glowing dots that indicated proximity. Her double was just ahead.

"Stay behind me," Leon said softly, his voice barely audible above the wind. "We don't know how she'll react."

Maya hesitated. Part of her wanted to hide behind Leon, to let him handle the confrontation. But another part of her—the part that had grown stronger since the rift had opened—refused to back down. This was her fight. Her life.

"I can handle it," Maya whispered, stepping up beside Leon. "I need to talk to her. To understand what's happening."

Leon shot her a look but didn't argue. He nodded and continued forward, his movements slow and deliberate. Maya followed close behind, her senses heightened, every nerve in her body on edge.

They crept through the ruins, the shattered remnants of some forgotten civilization towering over them like silent sentinels. The path narrowed as they descended into what looked like an ancient courtyard, overgrown with vines and twisted, alien foliage. At the far end of the courtyard, standing in the shadow of a collapsed monument, was her.

Maya froze.

It was like looking into a mirror—only the reflection wasn't quite right. Her double stood with her back turned, her posture tense and rigid. The long, dark hair was the same, the build was identical, but there was something off. An unnatural stiffness in the way she held herself. A darkness that seemed to radiate from her.

Leon stiffened beside Maya, his eyes narrowing as he sized up the figure. "That's her."

Maya nodded, her mouth dry. "I need to talk to her."

Before Leon could protest, Maya stepped forward, her heart racing. Every step felt heavier, like she was walking through water, her legs trembling beneath her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come. How do you start a conversation with a version of yourself? A version that had broken the rules of reality itself?

Her double turned slowly, her movements precise, almost mechanical. When their eyes met, Maya felt a jolt of recognition—and fear. The face was hers, but the eyes were wrong. They were cold, calculating, devoid of the warmth and uncertainty that defined Maya's own gaze. This wasn't just another version of her. It was someone else entirely.

"Maya," the double said, her voice soft but laced with an edge of contempt. "I wondered when you'd find me."

The sound of her own voice, twisted and distorted by the other Maya's cold tone, sent a shiver down her spine. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I don't understand. Why are you here? Why did you cross over?"

The double tilted her head, as if amused by the question. "You already know the answer."

Maya shook her head. "I don't. I don't know why you would risk everything—why you would put both of our lives at stake like this."

The double's eyes narrowed. "Because your life is the one that doesn't belong."

The words hit Maya like a physical blow. She took a step back, her mind reeling. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been living a lie," the double said, taking a step closer, her voice cold and detached. "The life you think is yours—it was never meant for you. You're a mistake. An anomaly. I was the one who was supposed to live that life. You're the one who crossed over, not me."

Maya's head spun. "That's not possible. I never—"

"You don't even realize what you've done, do you?" the double interrupted, her voice rising with anger. "When the rift opened, it was because of you. You pulled me through. You took my place in your world and left me trapped here."

Maya's breath caught in her throat. Could that be true? Could she have been the one to cause the rift, to displace her double? The idea was too horrible to comprehend. "No, that's not… I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," the double snapped. "You were too busy living the life that wasn't yours to notice what you'd done. But I noticed. And now I'm here to fix it."

Leon, who had been watching the exchange with growing concern, stepped forward. "Maya," he said cautiously, addressing the double, "we can fix this. We can find a way to separate you two without anyone being erased. But you need to stop this now."

The double's gaze flicked to Leon, her eyes narrowing. "You're not part of this," she said coldly. "This is between me and her."

Leon didn't back down. "It's not just between the two of you anymore. The convergence is happening. If we don't find a solution, both of you will be lost."

Maya's double laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "You think I'm afraid of that? You think I haven't considered every possibility? I've seen what happens when the convergence completes. I'll survive. She won't."

Maya's heart pounded in her chest. "You can't know that. We don't know what will happen."

"I do know," the double said, her voice ice-cold. "Because I've already seen it. I've crossed into worlds where the convergence happened, and I've seen what's left. It's always the stronger version that survives."

Maya took a shaky breath, her mind racing. "And you think that's you?"

The double's smile was sharp, cruel. "I know it is."

Maya's chest tightened with fear and anger. "You don't have to do this. We can find another way. I don't want to lose myself any more than you do, but this—"

"It's already too late for that," the double interrupted, her voice a harsh whisper. "There is no other way. There's only one Maya who can survive this, and it's not going to be you."

Before Maya could react, the air around her double shimmered, crackling with energy. The space between them distorted, the same way the air had rippled when the guardian had appeared. But this time, it was different—more chaotic, more dangerous. Maya's double raised her hand, and a pulse of dark energy surged toward Maya, fast and lethal.

Maya barely had time to react. Leon lunged, pulling her to the ground just as the blast shot past them, colliding with the ground where she had been standing. The force of the impact sent debris flying, and Maya's ears rang as the shockwave reverberated through the ruins.

"Run!" Leon shouted, dragging Maya to her feet as another pulse of energy rippled through the air.

But Maya couldn't run. Not now. Not when everything was at stake. She had to face this version of herself—she had to find a way to stop her.

With a surge of adrenaline, Maya broke free of Leon's grip and turned to face her double. "I'm not going to let you destroy me," she shouted, her voice trembling with fear and determination. "I'm not the mistake. You are."

The double's eyes blazed with fury. "We'll see about that."

And then the air between them exploded into chaos.