"Were you alive all this time?" I asked cautiously.
"Hm… not exactly that concept. But close enough."
Louis—no, the thing wearing my face—answered with an evasive smile.
Not that concept?
His wording nagged at me, and then… it finally clicked.
"Then… are you a doppelgänger?"
"Oh? How did you figure that out?"
His tone was playful, as if he were genuinely impressed.
A memory surfaced—an old manga I'd read long ago.
Doppelgängers.
In this world, they weren't just legends—they were real.
A being that could perfectly copy someone's face, voice, and even abilities.
Not a living creature.
More like a spirit taking on form.
And now one stood in front of me.
My exact face.
My exact posture.
Even the way it breathed felt familiar.
Its gaze locked onto mine, unblinking.
Seeing myself look at me like that was… unsettling, to say the least.
So this is the trial Lumine mentioned.
If Lumine had prepared this, then of course it wouldn't be simple.
