"All I want," Ronzonius said calmly, hands now folded behind his back once more, "is to test your strength... of spirit. Not muscle. Not magic. But conviction."

  He stepped toward the mirror wall and gestured to a single mirror, one that now reflected not Alice, but Elara… standing across from her doppelg?nger, golden light blazing in one hand.

  "You see her?" Ronzonius asked softly. "That girl is fighting herself. And you? You’re sitting here questioning me like I’m the villain."

  Alice frowned, still guarded, but her eyes stayed locked on the vision of Elara.

  Ronzonius continued: "The Sins didn’t pull you here by accident. They fear what you two have, a bond they can’t devour because it isn't fed by hunger or rage... but by trust."

  He turned to face her fully.

  "So, young lady, tell me truthfully, would you die for her? For Elara?"

  Alice looked at the mirror, unable to stop herself from shrugging as she hesitantly replied: "I mean...I...only knew her for like...well, not very long...she wants to travel with me in order to find an old friend of ours who's trapped inside my soul..."

  "Kairy, correct?" Ronzonius asked.

  Alice flinched. "How...how do you know...?”

  Ronzonius shrugged, as if it was obvious.

  "I'm a man of many connections. But I assure you, my information is accurate."

  Alice raised an eyebrow. "So you can see into people's minds? Like...read their thoughts?”

  Ronzonius chuckled, the sound low and smooth like a river over stone. "Nothing so crude as reading thoughts. I simply...observe." He gestured vaguely toward the mirror again. "The truth of people reveals itself in their choices, their fears, their bonds."

  Alice frowned, this guy was dodging her questions like a politician.

  "Look," she said bluntly, "if you really wanna 'test my conviction' or whatever, just ask me what you actually want to know."

  Ronzonius tilted his head slightly.

  "Fine then," he conceded with a sigh. "Would you die for Elara?"

  Alice hesitated, not because she didn't know the answer, but because saying it out loud felt...weirdly heavy. Like stepping onto thin ice and hearing it crack beneath her boots. Finally:

  "I mean...yeah? Probably?" She shrugged awkwardly before adding under her breath: "Not that I plan on it."

  Ronzonius laughed outright at that, a genuine sound this time rather than his usual calculated amusement.

  "You're honest if nothing else!" His grin faded slightly as he studied her face carefully before speaking again:

  "But why would you? You barely know each other.”

  Alice hesitated again: Why did she feel a connection to Elara? Alice never felt comfortable putting her trust in anyone else, but with Elara... it felt different. Like their destinies were somehow tied together.

  But saying it out loud?

  Alice forced herself to meet his gaze before replying firmly: "Like you said: The bond between us isn't... based on hunger or rage. Or gain. Or a safety net. It's built on something else.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Alice took a slow breath, then looked Ronzonius dead in the eye.

  "Because when I'm with her...I don't have to be alone."

  Her voice was quiet but firm, no jokes, no deflections. Just raw honesty. "And that’s worth fighting for."

  Ronzonius watched her for a long moment, then smiled, satisfied.

  "Good answer."

  He held out a hand.

  "Come, my dear. Your friend will join us soon enough, now that you've shown your 'conviction'. But first..."

  Alice raised an eyebrow. "First?"

  Ronzonius chuckled again. "I still have a few questions for you. You might want to answer truthfully."

  Alice rolled her eyes, but took his hand anyway.

  "Fine. Fire away.”

  "Question One," Ronzonius began, eyes glinting. "If you had to choose, would you rather lose your memories... or lose Elara?"

  Alice froze.

  That’s not fair.

  She swallowed hard, staring at him like he’d just kicked her in the chest.

  "...You’re kidding, right?"

  Ronzonius remained silent, his expression unreadable.

  Alice looked away, jaw clenched. "I... I can't answer that."

  "Why not?" he pressed gently.

  "Because!" she snapped. "Losing my memories means I wouldn’t even know who she was! And losing her...?" She faltered, voice cracking slightly. "Losing her means I remember everything, and have to live without it."

  She turned back to him with fire in her eyes: "Either way, I still end up alone!"

  Ronzonius nodded slowly… then smiled, not unkindly this time.

  "Exactly.”

  "The true test," Ronzonius said softly, "is not in choosing which loss is worse... but in facing the fear behind both."

  He stepped back, the weight of the moment settling like dust after a storm.

  "You are afraid, not just of losing her, or forgetting her, but that no matter what happens... you'll be left behind."

  Alice didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. Her silence said it all.

  After a beat, Ronzonius clapped his hands once, light and sharp, and the dark room shifted. Shadows pulled back like curtains. A door appeared where none had been before.

  "Then let me say this," he said, turning toward it. "If your bond is strong enough to face that fear… then neither memory nor distance will break it."

  He glanced over his shoulder at her.

  "Now… shall we go find your friend?”

  Alice opened her mouth, then closed it, nodding. He was right. She was afraid. But even worse...now that she admitted it, it almost seemed to have more power over her.

  Ronzonius's smirk widened into something more like a smile… and with a graceful sweep of his arm, gestured towards the door.

  "Ladies first.”

  As Alice stepped toward the door, she hesitated, then looked back at Ronzonius.

  "Hey… why are you helping me? You're not like the others."

  Ronzonius paused. For the first time, something softer flickered in his eyes, like a memory briefly surfacing.

  "Because once," he said quietly, "someone looked at me like you just did at that mirror. Like I mattered. Even when I didn't believe it myself."

  He gave a small shrug, voice returning to its usual smooth tone, but warmer now.

  "Call it… paying forward a second chance."

  Alice stared for a second... then smirked.

  "...You're weird. But okay."

  And with that, she turned, and stepped through the door.

  The door shut behind Alice. And as the sound of her footsteps echoed away, Ronzonius closed his eyes, folding his arms behind his back.

  "Now…" he murmured, his usual smirk twisting into a grim smile. "Let's see how strong the bonds really are."

  ★

  She stared defiantly at her other self, face set in determination and anger.

  "If you think for one second," Elara growled, "that I'm going to become what you are, some heartless survivalist with no one to call family, then you're dead wrong."

  Dark Elara bared her teeth in a snarl. "You are me, Elara! You're a survivor, above all else! You'll abandon anyone like you did your family!"

  Elara staggered, as if Dark Elara had slapped her. Her hands trembled on her lasso.

  Dark Elara's eyes narrowed as she noticed Elara' reaction.

  "Did that touch a nerve?" she purred, her tone oozing with malicious satisfaction. "You know it's true."

  Elara bristled again, eyes narrowing further. She didn't want to admit it, but the truth stung. "Shut up," she hissed. "I didn't abandon them. I was a child.”

  "A child who ran," Dark Elara shot back, stepping forward with a predatory grin. "A child who lived... while they burned."

  Elara flinched, raw pain flashing across her face. The golden light of the lasso flickered like a dying flame.

  Dark Elara pressed harder: "You think carrying guilt makes you noble? It doesn’t bring them back. It only slows you down."

  She raised her own hand, black tendrils of Void coiling like serpents around her fingers.

  "I’m not your enemy, Elara," she whispered, voice almost tender now. "I’m your truth. And if you don’t embrace me… you’ll fail when it matters most."

  The air thickened, pressure building as shadows stretched toward Elara from all sides.

  But then… From somewhere beyond the void-realm...

  A voice echoed.

  Faint at first, but growing stronger:

  "ELARA!"

  It was Alice’s voice, calling through the darkness like a beacon breaking through storm clouds.

  Elara gasped, and for one split second, the golden light surged again… brighter than before.