The night was still.
Moonlight poured gently through Mila's window, painting her room in silver.
Her breathing was slow, peaceful until her fingers twitched slightly.
Then, her expression changed.
Her brows furrowed. Her body tensed.
And in an instant, the peaceful dream turned into something else entirely.
She found herself standing in a vast, colorless plain.
The air shimmered like glass, endless white stretching in every direction.
"…This place again?" she murmured, her voice echoing faintly.
She turned and froze.
There, standing across from her, was herself.
Same face. Same body.
But instead of silver hair and blue eyes, this version had black and red streaked hair, and gold eyes glowing faintly like molten fire.
The reflection smirked. "Took you long enough."
Mila's heart pounded. "You again…"
The other her, the alter ego Milly, crossed her arms. "Oh, don't sound so surprised. You knew I'd show up sooner or later."
Mila stepped back slightly. "Why now?"
"Because you're losing control."
Milly's eyes narrowed. "You've been using my power without understanding it. The meteors, the storms, the pain in your head it's all you. You just don't want to admit it."
Mila's jaw tightened. "That's not true. I've trained to control everything Arthianos, Flamedro Tonado, Blagos Endos. I've mastered them!"
Milly let out a humorless laugh. "Mastered? You think controlling a flame means you've mastered fire itself?"
Her tone shifted, low and dangerous.
"You still hide behind this… 'Mila' mask. You're scared of what you really are."
"I'm protecting people," Mila snapped. "You're reckless. Destruction follows every time you show up."
"And yet," Milly stepped closer, her golden eyes burning brighter, "every time you lose control, it's me that saves you."
The air crackled between them.
The ground trembled faintly as heat rose from nowhere.
"Face it," the alter ego said softly. "The meteors don't come from Arthianos. They come from us. Me. You just pretend it's something else because it's easier to blame a dragon than your own heart."
Mila's hands shook. "…You're lying."
Milly smiled faintly. "Am I?"
Suddenly, behind her, the sky of the white void split open dozens of crimson meteors raining silently from above.
They fell without sound, each one reflecting her glowing eyes.
Mila fell to her knees, clutching her head as pain flared again. "Stop it… stop showing me this!"
Milly knelt down in front of her, her expression softening just slightly.
"You can't run from yourself forever," she whispered. "If you want to stop the meteors… stop pretending I'm your enemy."
Their eyes met gold and blue and for a moment, the world froze.
Mila whispered shakily, "Who… am I really?"
Milly leaned closer, placing a hand against her other self's chest.
"You're me," she said simply. "And I'm you. The question is… will you keep denying that?"
The void began to collapse, light tearing through the cracks in reality.
Mila gasped as her surroundings shattered her alter ego's smirk the last thing she saw before everything went white.
She shot awake, heart pounding, covered in cold sweat.
The moonlight still glowed faintly through the window.
"…Me…?" she whispered softly, touching her chest.
The air outside rumbled faintly.
Somewhere above the academy, another meteor burned through the clouds silent, unseen, and hers.