The sky blazed crimson and gold as the sun melted into the horizon, casting long shadows across Aria's cobblestone streets. The dying light painted the marketplace of Aria in warm hues, transforming merchant stalls and weathered buildings into silhouettes against the fiery backdrop.

Aria's population had always been its defining feature, but the tragedy had changed that. The exodus wasn't dramatic, but it was visible, empty rental houses dotted the streets of Aria, their former occupants fled to other towns. They'd left out of fear, running from what had caused the event. The one who'd never been caught.

The Shadow Hunter, that's what the rumors called them. Though some said monster, others human, and still others whispered the word demon. The possibility of a demon made people shudder; such creatures were known for their grotesque nature and appetite for suffering.

Yet many remained convinced it was human an exceptionally powerful one. The prevailing theory pointed east, to someone from another kingdom bringing destruction to their town. But the questions persisted: Why target this place? Why massacre that particular guild?

These were some of the questions the local guards had asked, but none had been answered. In the small clinic building with its several cramped rooms, Leonard sat in a chair facing Mani. She rested on the bed, eyes fixed on a cup of tea that still steamed faintly, the surface reflecting her tired face. Leonard watched her, concern etched in his frown.

He sighed, leaning back as the chair scraped against the wall. "So, you're sure you haven't seen him? This man he wore a mask?"

Mani's voice was hoarse as she barely touched her tea. "Yes."

Leonard exhaled sharply. "This isn't getting us anywhere. I thought since you're a crystal mage, you'd have seen his face. You do see the things that attack people before they die, right?" His voice softened with each word.

"I told you," Mani replied, voice trembling, "he wore a mask the entire time. I couldn't see his face." She swallowed hard. "And... I don't want to talk about how he killed him. It felt—"

Leonard cut her off gently, "Alright, that's enough. We don't need to go there."

He studied Mani closely, thinking, *What a pity. I couldn't get anything from her. I wonder why the Black Cloud Guild took her in. She's just a crystal mage.*

*They aren't all that powerful.* He thought about their specialty, the life-tracking ability. But it's a double-edged sword that some people don't know about. It harms them mentally once activated. *Look at her now, trembling, fragile. Poor kid. She probably felt everything, even while unconscious.*

Leonard stood and headed for the door. *I'll tell the guards she's awake.*

Leonard grunted as he stood, pushing himself up with his knees for leverage. He glanced at Mani and said, "I'll be right back." Then he left the room, leaving Mani alone.

She stared at her the back of her hand, biting her lip as memories surfaced, the words she had spoken to Leonard when she first woke. She recalled the voice of the white-haired Mani, the other version of herself she was only beginning to understand, warning her not to reveal who Tyler really was or the truth about the Shadow Hunter.

Keep it a secret.

Mentally, Mani had asked why. The white-haired version only giggled, offering no answers.

Mani shifted her gaze to the steaming cup of tea and focused. The presence was still there, unshakable. She wasn't losing her mind. She knew that much. But having another version of herself inside her head, another voice that spoke even while she was awake, it terrified her.

What was this thing? It wasn't just the presence itself. It was how it felt, how it reacted, like an opposite version of her. What sent a chill down her spine wasn't just what it did, but how it sought pleasure in the darkest things.

She wasn't sure, but she'd seen it, in that endless black abyss it showed her, smiling, grinning with maniacal excitement as it spoke to her.

What horrified her most was what it wanted. The suffering she felt after using her skill, the pain of another person's death, that feeling, which she hated and despised, seemed to be what it craved. It claimed its goal was to grow stronger, but Mani knew better.

This thing didn't just want power. It took pleasure in....

She sighed softly, whispering, "Just what are you?"

She knew she wasn't talking to herself. A faint whisper drifted close, not a distant thought in the back of her mind, but echoing directly into her ears.

The presence sighed in return. "How many times do I have to tell you? You already know what I am. You already know what we are."

"What do you mean?" Mani asked, voice trembling.

Suddenly, the world plunged into darkness. The tea in her hands vanished, everything disappeared. She remained seated on the bed, but there was no cup, no steam.

Her eyes blinked rapidly as a sharp gasp escaped her lips. Surprise, and a flicker of terror, filled her expression. The world before her had simply dissolved.

She found herself back in the terrifying black void. To her right, the figure crouched, resting its jaw in both pale, skeletal hands. Its eyes were wide, pupils pure white. It smiled, no teeth showing.

Mani yelped, "Ah!" and slid to the side of the bed.

The white-haired version chuckled softly, rising to a full height, eyes locked on Mani. "You're so easily intimidated. No wonder you're scared to death of that so-called Shadow Hunter."

"Stop it." Mani's voice cracked. "Tell me. What are you? You keep saying I already know, but I don't. Just tell me."

The white-haired Mani stared at her, the smile gone. A serious, almost disappointed expression settled over her face.

Stolen story; please report.

It sighed and said, "I'm disappointed. I thought you already knew by now. Looks like I'm going to have to explain in detail, what I am, what we are."

Mani interrupted, voice sharp, "No, it's what you are. Why do you keep saying we? I'm different from you."

The serious expression on the white-haired version vanished, replaced by a twisted grin. She laughed, low and chilling. "What do you mean? It's always been we. Without me, you're not you. I complete you."

Suddenly, she vanished beside Mani and reappeared on the bed, on all fours, looming over her. Her pale, white eyes locked onto Mani's as if piercing into her very soul. She finished with a whisper, "And I'm not complete without you."

Mani recoiled, pushing her body back, creating distance between their faces. The white-haired figure disappeared, so abruptly it was as if she'd never been there at all. And then she reappeared, just as suddenly, as if being pulled into existence itself. No smoke, no sound,nothing.

This was happening in Mani's mind. This place. The black void. She was here, but not fully.

Now the figure was directly in front of her. Mani opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Remember what happened to Mom?" it asked.

Mani nodded slowly. "Yes. But what does that have to do with anything?"

The white-haired figure smiled, a hint of something dark in her eyes. "Well, you don't really know what happened to mother but I do.

What are you saying? Mom just went mad. She simply couldn't-"

The white-haired Mani cut her off sharply. "No, she didn't go mad. Well, in a way, I suppose you could say she did, but not really."

Mani frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

The white-haired version began pacing around the bed, lifting her feet unnaturally high with stiff legs, like a soldier on parade. Her footsteps echoed sharply on the solid black ground, each tap ringing like a clap in an empty hall, sending a ripple of unease through Mani.

"Well, you see," she said, voice deliberate, "when a crystal mage, or whatever they want to call us, loses ten people they've connected with… those ten deaths unlock something." She hesitated, searching for the right words. "A kind of skill. You could call it… unique."

Mani echoed uncertainly, "A unique skill?"

The white-haired Mani nodded slowly. "Yes. And this unique skill… is me."

"Huh?" Mani's confusion deepened.

"Let me explain." The figure continued her slow circuit, now right behind Mani. The steady tapping of her footsteps sent a chill through the void, the sound stark, unyielding, and unnerving.

"After those ten lives are lost, something manifests inside a crystal mage. That something is me, or something like me." Her voice lowered, taut with meaning. "The same thing that manifested within your mother. Within our mother."

"But how?" Mani's voice trembled, barely above a whisper.

Her other self appeared silently to Mani's left, her footsteps tapping sharply on the unyielding black ground, each step a cold, hollow sound that echoed like a warning. "I'll get to that. Patience," she said with a faint, unsettling smile.

She stopped, eyes glinting with something dark and knowing. "You see, when this thing manifests, it can… change a person." A low, almost cruel chuckle escaped her lips.

Mani's heart clenched. She knew exactly what that meant, drive a person mad. But if that was true, could it do the same to her?

Suddenly, the world around her dimmed, shadows swallowing the edges of her vision. Was she still in the clinic? Still holding the fragile warmth of the tea cup? Doubt clawed at her mind as her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She looked down uneasily at her trembling ankles.

"Hey!!!"

The sudden, booming voice shattered the silence. Mani jumped, startled. The white-haired version was suddenly on all fours atop the bed, eyes locked coldly onto hers.

"Don't be afraid," it whispered with a mocking softness, creasing one cheek. "I wouldn't hurt you."

Leaning closer, lips curling into a slow, unsettling smile, it murmured, "Such lovely skin."

Then, as if a shadow itself, it vanished, only to reappear instantly, standing directly before her.

"Where was I? Right." The smile twisted again, sharper this time. "Our mother became like this because she fought it. But fighting only makes it worse."

Its eyes darkened. "It cripples you. Steals your sleep, your appetite… your will. You become trapped, unable to move or react."

"That's not true," Mani whispered, voice breaking, struggling to keep her own fear at bay.

"That never happened to Mom. She just went mad. This is only happening to me. I'm just going crazy. It's normal with everything I've been through."

The other version suddenly burst into harsh, echoing laughter, ha ha ha ha ha ha. Mani's eyes widened in shock, staring at the twisted figure before her.

"That's what you want to believe, isn't it?" it said, voice dripping with cruel amusement. "Sure, it would be better if you were just crazy. If this was all a figment of your imagination. Maybe then you could get better. Rehabilitated. This could just fade into a hazy memory you barely remember."

The grin on its lips deepened, savoring Mani's growing terror. "But come on. We both know it's not true."

Mani's voice trembled. "No, you're not."

The white-haired figure leaned closer to the bed, eyes shining with a dark thrill. "I wish I could give you more time to accept it. But I can't. I need to tell you everything, right here, right now. You have to know."

Mani stayed silent, her gaze fixed tightly on her trembling ankles. She was too afraid to look up.

This thing wore her face, but it wasn't her. That grotesque, twisted reflection terrified her more than words could say.

"Good," the white-haired figure said, then continued. "You see, Mother didn't want this thing to take over her. She didn't want it. She knew she would change, become something different. More like me. Honestly, if it had fully taken her, you wouldn't think of your mother the way you do now. She would be… very different."

She paused, eyes darkening. "What manifests in crystal mages when they unlock this unique ability is like another side of themselves, except a person is already whole. When this manifests, when I appeared, it's every dark part of you all at once: your selfishness, your hate, your pleasure, your thrill, your greed, your gluttony, and above all, your sociopathy. Your ability to only think for yourself."

The white-haired figure's voice sharpened. "Just like back then, when you didn't think about Dad. Why do you think Mom started to become so selfish? It was consuming her."

Mani screamed, "No!"

The white-haired version laughed coldly. "That's true. You saw how she acted, how unfeeling she became, how cold her smiles turned. She didn't even love you anymore."

"That's not true!" Mani cried out.

The white-haired figure's grin twisted cruelly. "Even your father didn't love you. He blamed you for everything. He still does."

She laughed again, a harsh, echoing sound, ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Mani's eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and resentment as the laughter faded.

"But don't worry," the figure softened slightly. "I'm not like the others. I'm different. I care for you. I don't just want to take over you. I want us to become one."

"No," Mani replied, voice shaking. "I don't want that. I don't want you. I don't want any of this."

The white-haired Mani tilted her head, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Aw, but it's inevitable. Even your mother couldn't stop it. If you try to fight… you'll end up just like her. Trust me, it's far more painful than it looks."

She stepped closer, voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "She could still hear everything, you know? She could still see it all. She just couldn't respond. Couldn't eat. Couldn't sleep. Imagine how that feels."

Suddenly, she vanished and reappeared right in front of Mani, kneeling on the bed. Her pale eyes locked onto Mani's without blinking. "Maybe your father even buried her while she was still alive. After all, there was no pulse to feel, no breath to hear."

Fury surged through Mani, and without thinking, she lashed out, slapping the white-haired Mani across the face. The figure's head snapped to the side, but the grin never left her eyes.

Without a trace of anger, she turned back to Mani, then abruptly vanished again.

She reappeared immediately, standing before Mani once more. "That's what I like about you," she said, voice dripping with mockery. "When you don't know what to do, you just strike back. So clever."

Shut up! Shut up! Just get me out of this place!" Mani snapped.

But the white-haired Mani only smiled wider. "Not yet. I'm not finished."

She leaned in closer, voice low and sinister. "Alright, I'll make this quick." She licked her lips slowly. "To put it simply… I'm a soul eater."

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