At the exact moment [Shu] completely collapsed, Shu also reached his limit.
But he hadn't completely lost the ability to move.
The world seemed to have finally quieted down; the buzzing and the pounding heartbeat were no longer haunting his ears.
Of course, it was also possible that his hearing had completely failed under the unbearable burden, making even the rhythm of his heart difficult to capture.
But it didn't matter.
He was still standing.
That was enough.
He raised his head and looked at [Shu] lying on the ground not far away.
He received no feedback of victory; he didn't even feel the relief of a heavy burden lifted.
He had indeed won.
Exhausting all means, betting everything, even hiding a "trump card" that was practically cheating, he had finally... "defeated" his other self.
And now, he could see [Shu] watching him, waiting for him.
"Ugh—"
Shu's body twitched, and then, he made one last attempt to stand up.
This process was harder than any before. His body felt like it was filled with lead, yet simultaneously like glass that would shatter at a touch.
But in the end, swaying unsteadily, he stood up.
In a spinning world, he took a step, staggering toward where [Shu] had fallen.
His steps were unsteady, as if he would collapse again at any moment.
A distance of a few meters felt as long as a century.
Finally, he reached [Shu]'s side and looked down at him.
[Shu] watched his final struggle, his eyes holding not a trace of unwillingness, only a dimness capable of swallowing all light.
In his heart, he mechanically repeated the thought that had appeared the moment he fell—
It's finally over.
He struggled for so long, fought with himself for so long, and now, all grievances and divergences between him and himself were finally over.
All emotions were swallowed up, leaving only endless silence.
Not another word was spoken.
But Shu's thoughts seemed somewhat different from [Shu]'s.
Looking at these eyes that were now distinct from his own, the corners of his mouth twitched.
An ugly smile mixed with blood and dirt blossomed with difficulty on his stiff face, yet unexpectedly revealed a hint of childish smugness.
He stood beside [Shu] like a withered tree for a moment, then extended his hand toward [Shu] lying on the ground.
This time, it wasn't an attack.
He just wanted to pull the other up from the ground.
The battle was over.
No matter how divergent their ideals, no matter how contradictory their paths, this self-judgment they had personally chosen had finally come to an end.
He reached out his hand, perhaps just wanting to help the other up, or perhaps... as a formal yet incredibly awkward declaration of reconciliation.
To himself, and to the other scarred "me."
However—
The instant he extended his arm.
Shu's somewhat unfocused pupils suddenly trembled!
Crack—
He saw, on the surface of the skin of his extended arm, without warning, a crack appeared.
The crack was crystal clear, straight, with sharp edges.
Like the zigzagging fissures appearing on a mirror after suffering a heavy blow from the outside.
Inside the crack was not flesh or bone, even though Shu's face was still stained with large patches of his own blood.
Immediately after—
Crack...
Crack-crack-crack—
The continuous, subtle sounds of shattering glass came from within his own body!
Not just the arm...?
His chest, neck, cheeks... even the edges of his vision... zigzagging "cracks" began to erode his existence.
"This is..."
The trembling amplitude of Shu's pupils began to increase.
He slowly withdrew his hand and looked down at his own body.
The cracks were spreading uncontrollably. Wherever they passed, the skin lost the texture of living tissue, becoming cold and stiff.
He seemed to be an exquisite statue made of glass, finally beginning to shatter at this moment.
Mirror Image... Herrscher Core...
An enlightenment cold enough to freeze the soul flashed through his chaotic consciousness.
"So... that's how it is..." He let his hand drop, the smile on his lips unable to be retracted, instead growing a fraction wider under this sudden change.
[Shu] was slightly stunned. Instinctively, he widened his eyes that were about to close and looked at Shu.
And Shu just looked down at him with a smile, no longer having any thought of reaching out to help him.
He understood now.
Both Shus were "real."
But the nature of "Mirror Image" was not simple duplication or splitting.
It was a cruel self-cannibalization program.
When two identical "Mirror Images" engaged in a death match due to irreconcilable contradictions and finally determined the "stronger" side, the battle itself would trigger the final directive at the core's base layer—
The victor would self-collapse due to fulfilling the mission of "Mirror Image Unification."
The loser would naturally perish as the "eliminated" defective product.
There was no winner.
From the very beginning, there never was.
The "Herrscher of Mirror" was never a tool to grant him dual existence or power.
It was a malice... tailor-made for the individual "Shu," destined from the start to end in mutual destruction.
The "Shu" who had always been tense, fighting, calculating, and playing a role suddenly let go at this moment.
Ah... so that's it.
How... laughable.
An extremely faint breath escaped from his throat.
It was a breath tasting of rust, finally exhaled after holding it for so long.
His tense shoulders slumped by a millimeter.
Something heavy that had always pressed deep in his consciousness seemed to suddenly... become lighter at this moment.
Not disappeared.
But when he finally stood from a third-person perspective to look at himself, he could finally see, and admit it.
So "I" have always been... this tired.
Disguising as "Stelle," managing the shop, dealing with acquaintances, participating in farces, and even during the fiercest ideological conflicts, a part of his mind was always maintaining "what Shu should look like."
But now, there was no need.
I'm going to shatter anyway.
Like a prisoner finally sentenced, no longer needing to suffer for a slim hope.
He could even... just exist "as Shu" for these last few moments.
Unwilling?
Yes.
Like a small pebble thrown into a deep pool, it only caused ripples on the surface of his consciousness that were almost invisible.
Reflected in the ripples were fragments: the crisp bell when the shop opened, the arguments with his other self without any reservations, the boisterous faces of fans holding support flags... those "presents" so ordinary they were almost luxurious.
Couldn't... protect them...
But this regret was faint, like looking through a thick layer of frosted glass, the touch blurred.
Too long.
He had become accustomed to compressing "self" emotions, isolating "self" existence, sealing "self" insecurity.
So much so that when the cage suddenly opened, the bird imprisoned for so long only dared to timidly poke its head out and emit a weak, almost inaudible chirp.
So I can also... feel regret.
So I... also wanted those things.
These realizations quietly surfaced and quietly sank.
There was no intense remorse, no surging sorrow.
He only felt a bit of cool perception—
Ah, this is my feeling.
It is the temperature of snow.
That is all.
[Shu]...
No, it should be Shu, staring at him blankly, watching that figure clearly turning into glass, yet revealing a calmness never seen before.
Then, Shu turned his gaze away, looking toward the gray Antarctic sky.
The cracks on "Shu's" face had spread to his jaw.
He didn't speak.
Only on the final tick of life, briefly, did he retrieve a tiny bit of silence belonging to "himself."
This silence lasted only for two heartbeats.
Immediately after—
The sky changed.
HUMMM——————————————————————!!!
A terrifying aura—vast, deep, ancient as if from the beginning of the universe—tore through Earth's quiet starry curtain without warning, crushing down violently from beyond low earth orbit!
This aura was so abrupt, so tyrannical, that the already disordered and thin ionosphere above Antarctica let out an overburdened wail, generating massive swathes of unnatural, eerie auroras out of thin air!
The entire planet's atmosphere seemed to tremble in synchronization!
And this was merely the declaration of existence itself.
Just like a person standing beside an anthill; without needing to step, the shadow cast was enough to throw the colony into apocalyptic panic!