Trial of eclipse (2)
"Fuck! How much longer do I have to walk?" Alden cursed, unable to see the mirror getting any closer.
Not only was the distance not closing, it even felt like it was increasing even more.
His body was sweating profusely, his face etched with exhaustion. His legs trembled, barely able to carry him, and his breathing was shallow.
'Why the hell am I still doing this?' he asked himself.
Moreover, that was the least of his problems, as the darkness was causing hallucinations; he was hearing voices... sinister voices.
He couldn't tell if they came from within him or echoed from the world around him.
His senses were distorted, and he didn't even know anymore if he was walking forward or backward.
He just kept moving, step after step, but the voices grew louder and louder, as if feeding on his despair.
"How...how long has it been?" Alden muttered under his breath, though the question was useless.
Time didn't even matter anymore. "Three hours, four? I don't even know anymore. I've been walking forever, and the distance..." He glanced back at the mirror. "The distance isn't closing."
Voices from darkness grew louder.
"You are nothing, Alden."
"You are just trash."
"You don't belong here."
The voices began to mimic Cedric. Alden even saw a figure—Cedric—forming within the darkness, gazing at him like he was some insignificant bug.
Alden shook his head."This is all pointless. What am I even trying to do?"
He couldn't walk anymore; his legs gave up as he slumped on the ground.
"I'm nothing. I'm not special like the protagonist. I'm... just... an ordinary person." His voice shook, laced with self-deprecation.
As he fell to the ground, the voice started getting even louder, the darkness coming close to him as if to drown him inside.
"Nobody wants you, Alden. You are just a mistake."
"Why are you even alive? Everybody hates you."
"Just give up.... It will be easy that way."
The words hit him like a punch. The darkness now surrounded Alden, threatening to swallow his soul.
He couldn't see anything now; there was just darkness, nothing else.
'Yes... I should just give up... I'm not strong enough. I can't do this anymore. I'm just...' Alden's eyes went hollow.
But then, from deep within, a tiny spark ignited in his mind, resisting the darkness.
"Damien."
The name surfaced in his mind and struck like a bolt of lightning, a light piercing the darkness within him.
How long has it been since he referred to himself as Damien? Ever since that day, he hasn't referred to himself as Damien.
He remembered his life as Damien—a life where he was not unwanted, where people cared about him… where people loved him.
The love of his parents, their quiet faith in him, flooded back, overwhelming him.
He started recalling every person who loved him and cared for him, those memories acting as an anchor to pull him out of the darkness surrounding him.
Ever since arriving in this world, he had been denying his identity, trying to cope with the trauma… refusing to believe what had happened.
"Why was I choosing one identity while abandoning others? What if I don't have to choose?"
"I am not just Damien anymore, nor am I only Alden. I am both...." His mind started to clear a bit.
As he embraced his identity as both Damien and Alden, his mother's voice echoed in his mind. "Damien, you're stronger than you think. Don't ever forget that."
And for the first time, Alden didn't push it away. He let the warmth of that memory fill him. I was loved. I was worth something. And that hasn't changed.
The voices of darkness were growing more sinister and desperate to suppress him even more, but the memories of his life as Damien were acting as an anchor; they were holding onto him. The darkness was not affecting him anymore...
He stood up, and the darkness began to clear. He could see again.
He saw that he hadn't even moved from his place and the mirror was still at the same distance.
Was everything since I arrived just a hallucination?
He wondered, his eyes clear for the first time in a while.
He took a step forward, then another. His feet moved with purpose now.
"I am Damien, and I am also Alden now. And I'm not going to give up."
This was the first time he accepted his identity since his transmigration without rejecting the other.
The mirror was shining ahead of him, and with each step, the distance between them began to close.
His heart, once heavy with uncertainty and self-doubt, now beating with quiet resolve.
As he finally accepted his identity, his mind which previously felt heavy felt light now. All the memories and emotions of Alden which previously only felt like normal memories now became something he had lived through.
The reflection in the mirror began to shift. For the first time, he saw not just himself—but both of them.
Damien covered in light and Alden covered in darkness, and as he came closer and closer to the mirror, the light and darkness began to merge.
The figures of Damien and Alden merged into one, forming a sphere of darkness with glowing red edges—just like an eclipse.
As he came in front of the mirror, he looked at the eclipse; he reached out his hand to touch the eclipse.
As he touched the eclipse, all the remnants of darkness also began to vanish.
He knew now. He wasn't alone. He wasn't lost. He was exactly where he was meant to be.
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading! I'm all for feedback, so drop a comment or review if you feel like it. Would love to hear your thoughts!