"Alice…" Elara whispered.

  The shadows around her drew back as she glanced around, looking for the source of the voice. But the void-realm remained unbroken, the darkness stretching on in every direction.

  Dark Elara's eyes narrowed as she felt the change in atmosphere. She could sense the connection between Elara and Alice, even here in this dark mirror of reality.

  Elara raised a hand, reaching out desperately toward that faint sound. "Alice! Can you hear me?”

  The only answer was silence.

  For a moment, everything was still...

  Until Dark Elara's voice shattered the stillness like a cold blade: "Your little friend can't reach you here," she crooned. "No one can, except me."

  Elara spun back to her dark counterpart, eyes flashing with defiance.

  "No," Elara said firmly, lifting her head. "I have friends now. People who believe in me."

  She tightened her grip on the lasso, golden light flaring once more. "And I believe in me too.”

  Dark Elara sneered at that, her own power flaring in response. The tendrils of Void energy around Elara's hand began coiling tighter, like snakes ready to strike.

  "Your optimism is charming," she scoffed. "But it won't save you."

  Elara swallowed hard as the darkness wrapped around her, cold seeping into her skin. But she didn't waver, refusing to show weakness.

  "Maybe not," she retorted. "...But my conviction will.”

  Dark Elara paused at that, eyes narrowing. "Your conviction," she echoed coldly.

  For a moment, a hint of something, was it annoyance?, flashed across her face. But then it was gone as she stepped towards Elara again, her eyes glittering.

  "Conviction is nothing without power," she snapped. "You can believe whatever you want... but alone, you'll always lose.”

  Elara glared back, defiant. "That's just it," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm not alone. I have Alice."

  Dark Elara let out a sharp, derisive laugh at that, shaking her head. "How romantic," she sneered. "You're willing to throw away all your power... all your strength... all your survival instincts... for one person? It's pathetic.”

  Elara bristled as Dark Elara's words rang through the void. The coils of Void energy tightened around her limbs, almost like a cage.

  "It's not just 'one person,'" she shot back, voice strained under the strain. "It's Alice."

  Dark Elara rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You're fascinated by her not because you care about her, but because of her connection to Kairy. She's only a means to an end to you; once you find Kairy, you'll throw Alice in the trash. You're using her.”

  Elara's heart twisted at that, guilt welling up for a moment... but then she shook her head. No. She may not have known Alice long, but she wasn't like that.

  "That's not true," Elara said firmly. "Yes, I want to find Kairy more than anything, but that doesn't mean I don't care about Alice. You're wrong about me."

  Dark Elara sneered. "I literally AM you," she reminded Elara. "You can lie to yourself... but you can't lie to…yourself.”

  "Your mind-fuck tactic won't work on me," Elara said firmly. "Yes, I want to find Kairy more than anything, but that doesn't mean I don't care about Alice. You're wrong about me."

  The golden light surged, tearing through a few of the black coils, like dawn breaking through cracks in stone.

  “I’m not using Alice,” Elara growled, voice raw with conviction. “She’s not a tool… she’s my friend! And if finding Kairy brings us closer together instead of tearing us apart… then that bond isn't weakness, it's strength!”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Dark Elara had no response to that, not at first. She simply stared at Elara in silence, and for a moment, the hint of something like surprise flashed across her face.

  But then her eyes narrowed again, expression hardening.

  "You're lying to yourself," she said finally. "You think connection is some kind of armor? You think letting down your guard will make you stronger? It won't."

  The coils of dark power around Elara tightened further. "...It'll get you killed.”

  Elara gritted her teeth as the black coils bit into her skin; cold, sharp, and unmistakable.

  "Maybe so," she said, struggling not to gasp. "But I'd rather trust in something that's real, something that can make me strong and soft, than settle for your version of strength!”

  Dark Elara laughed, a cold, harsh sound that echoed through the void.

  "You're a fool," she sneered. "You think love and friendship are strength, but they're the weakest things in the world."

  She shook her head, eyes glittering with disdain. "You're so blinded by emotion, you can't even see the truth. Survival is all that matters."

  Elara stood her ground, her grip on her lasso tightening as she looked over to Alice and said: "Alice...help me take her down.”

  Alice leapt forward in an instant, her gloves already conjured, but before she could strike, Dark Elara moved.

  With a flick of her wrist, she sent a wave of black energy crashing into Alice like a tidal wave. The force sent her flying backward, slamming hard against the invisible barrier of the void-realm.

  She gasped for air, winded but not out.

  Elara screamed: “Alice!”

  And that scream, raw with fear and fury, was the spark.

  The golden lasso flared so bright it turned the shadows to smoke. Elara’s eyes blazed, not with cold power this time… but with purpose.

  She yanked the lasso forward and slammed it down between herself and Dark Elara like a line in the sand.

  “No more!” she roared. “You’re not my fate, I make my own!”

  The ground beneath them cracked as light exploded outward, and for the first time…

  Dark Elara stepped back.

  Dark Elara raised a hand to shield herself from the light, wincing at the searing brightness.

  For the first time, she seemed apprehensive.

  Elara's heart pounded as adrenaline and hope surged through her. She held tight to the lasso, eyes locked on her dark mirror-self.

  Dark Elara let out a sharp exhale as the light receded. Then, slowly, a smirk twisted her lips again.

  "Impressive," she murmured, eyes gleaming. "But can you keep it up?”

  Elara narrowed her eyes, not lowering the lasso. “I don’t have to,” she said firmly. “Because I’m not fighting you alone.”

  As if on cue, Alice pushed herself up from the ground, rubbing her side with a wince but grinning through it.

  “Yeah,” she said, cracking her knuckles as golden thread coiled around her arms like armor. “You really should’ve seen that one coming.”

  Dark Elara’s smirk faltered, just for a heartbeat.

  Then the shadows surged again… and this time, she laughed.

  “Ohhh, this is rich!” she sneered, spreading her arms wide as dark energy spiraled around her. “The lost girl and the lonely one, holding hands against the dark? How adorable.”

  She stepped forward, voice dropping to a venomous whisper:

  “But let me ask you both one thing…”

  “When it all burns… will your little bond still be enough?”

  Elara stood her ground, eyes never leaving Dark Elara.

  "Yes," she said firmly, raising the lasso in response. "Our friendship can handle anything."

  Dark Elara let out a sharp, amused huff. "The faith you two have is touching," she remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "But in a world of cold, hard survival, like the timeline I'M from... faith won't keep you alive. Power will.”

  Elara clenched her teeth, refusing to back down.

  "I don't care about survival," she retorted, golden light flaring in her eyes. "I care about doing what's right, and, SNRIIIN KLAH-LUEH-MAH TUEWOKI-TAH,"

  The sanity balm Hikaru gave Alice has worn off. She was hearing gibberish again at the worst time possible.

  "What's 'right' is subjective," Dark Elara said with a condescending chuckle.

  ...Intriguing. She could still understand Dark Elara.

  Elara blinked in confusion, struggling to process Alice's sudden distress.

  "SUKLU KIKSH-DNAH?" she asked, glancing at her friend with concern.

  Alice gripped her head while shaking it, wincing.

  Elara turned back to Dark Elara, eyes narrowing. "Looks like your little mind games aren't just affecting me anymore."

  Dark Elara smirked wider, the chaos around them only fueling her power.

  "Oh please," she purred. "I've done nothing to her. Perhaps her Sanity Index is too low to understand you.”

  Elara bristled at that, glancing at Alice again. "Too low?" she repeated, worry creeping into her voice.

  Dark Elara shrugged nonchalantly, swirling shadows dancing in her eyes. "Happens all the time when someone has a low Sanity Index. You're more sane—well, mentally sound, let's just say—than she is."

  Elara's concern deepened as she looked between Dark Elara and Alice. "Sanity Index?" she echoed, trying to comprehend the implications of that phrase.

  Dark Elara chuckled lightly, waving a hand dismissively. "Just a measure of someone's mental state," she explained, with a slight touch of condescension. "Alice's index...is pretty low. Hence the gibberish she's starting to hear. Her mind can't process your words properly.”

  The words hit Elara like a punch to the gut, her worry turning to guilt.

  "She's hearing gibberish?" she repeated, horror creeping into her voice.

  Alice stumbled sideways, clutching her head tighter.

  Dark Elara's smirk widened. "Mmm-hmm," she murmured, enjoying the chaos she was causing. "She's hearing nothing but utter nonsense. Your precious little friend is falling apart at the seams. But she can still understand ME."

  "Why? How?"

  "Because our Sanity Index is around the same level, so she can understand me, but yours is too high for her to understand YOU. And I'm about to use that to my full advantage.”