Mirror

I ran through the streets as I kept watching and following the shadows skittering about inside the mirrors lining up the gaudy skyscraper. That difficult woman. It was one thing to drive the monster away from crowded place, but did it have to be this far? Fortunately there were still mirrors for me to observe the fight.

"Rather than just observin', wouldn't it be better for ya to join in? Ya sure ya can call ya'self a man yet leavin' all of the heavy liftin' to ya woman?" my shadow spoke from inside the mirror with a weird accent. He must had picked up something again from whatever entertainment he had in the 'Lanes Between'

And risking you taking over my body. No thanks. The world already has so much on its plate to add you into the mix.

"Ya can make ya wish come true, ya know? Any wish...," my shadow tempted. "And even if our wish is that absurd, the pieces and scraps that we will find along the way is not that bad either. All ya need is to grasp my hand."

Neither riches nor glory interest me, sorry. Besides, if it's about wish, her wish should be the one that comes true, not ours.

"Heh, ya seem so confident that she will win this battle royale."

She has been doing this for a long time after all. Much longer than the other 'Knights'. Just look, she already defeated the monster.

Like what I said, the woman, the female knight inside the mirror world had finally destroyed the monster, something resembling a lion. As she stopped to carch her breath, I could see the mechanical arms on her back still waving around in alert.

"Really now... Would it be that easy though? After all, we first met her when she was fatally wounded after a fight," the shadow commented.

And that 'Knight' is already out of the fight. No one should be able to challenge her now.

"Keyword on 'should'."

Huh? What are you talking about?

At that moment, something suddenly ambushed the resting female knight. The pattern was one oh-so-familar to me that I could instantly identify the culprit.

That son of a bitch...

"Ya know that the guy is technically a wolf, right? Not a hound?" my shadow chirped.

Still a mutt, nonetheless. Besides, this isn't the first time that he ambush her, that bloody mutt-in-heat. She will curbstomp him just like usual and we can finally continue our date.

"Is it truly that simple though?" Huh?

As the female knight dodged and moved to counter attack the mutt, a pillar of flame suddenly bursted out of the ground. She managed to dodge it as well, but her right leg got still managed to get burned by the flame, the armor covering it melting from the heat.

From the hole, another knight crawled out, flames adorned his body and his helmet was shaped like a snarling lizard.

Bloody hell, it's the Salamander.

Knowing she was cornered, the female knight summoned her Contract Beast, a gigantic Black Widow spider. But obviously, her opponents wouldn't just stay their hand either. A snarling lizard wreathed in flame appeared behind the Salamander Knight, while a giant white wolf with chains around its mouth appeared behind the mutt.

If she were to face them one by one, she would obviously come on top, but two of them at the same time like this? Her only chance was to endure and escape when she could.

"As if it would be that easy though."

Like my shadow said, it wasn't easy to escape the two. Her ability was to entrap her opponents and eliminate them. She was the trapping expert, not the escaping expert. Being cornered like this was the same as her being a fish miles away from the water. The mutt attacked her relentlessly while the lizard covered him with long-ranged attacks.

"So? Still not interested in joinin' in? It's clear she will lose if this keeps going, ya know?" the shadow tempted again.

... I have no desire to make my wish come true.

"And I know it. I am ya, ya are me, remember? I know our wish matters not to ya, but she does, and we will lose her if we do nothin'. Oh, and just so ya know, they will have turns taking her once they defeat her. So last chance to change ya mind, Boss," the shadow said.

I could detect the hidden but still awfully clear agitated tone beneath his mocking smile. Indeed, at the end of the day, we were still one being.

... So be it then.

"Ha! I know ya will come around one of these days. So, how is it going to be? Ya gonna erase me? Or ya gonna take me inside ya?" my shadow grinned.

No, we will do better. In my hand was the thin box that the asshole with God complex gave me. Knowing the asshole, all of this probably were within his prediction.

"So ya will try the same thing as her? Ya know we will die if the balance is ever broken, right?"

People who can't accept their dark side are nothing but hypocritical cowards, while the people who embrace their dark side are nothing but brainless idiots. I will not lower myself to their level. Besides, you are me, aren't you? You should know I have no qualms about dying.

"Splendid. I applaud ya decisiveness. Then, shall we wreck the party, Partner?" My shadow, that should be confined to the Lanes Between, somehow pushed his hand through the mirror surface.

Doubts seized me for a moment. Yet looking back the sight of her being thrashed around by two lowlives, I made up my mind. She gave my life colors and pulled me from the endless ennui. Protecting her with my life should be the least of my concern.

"Let's do this then, Partner," I said, voicing out my agreement as I grasped his hand. At once I could feel power flowing through me. In the corner of my eyes, I could see the color of the box turning from black to the color of a flowing mercury. On its cover was the symbol of a snake eating its own tail.

Showing the now changed box in front of the mirror, I spoke the word that would forever change my life. But I was no bloody savage who would say 'Transform'. No, if I was to do this, I would do this correctly.

"Henshin!!"

And so, the rest was history. One that should be left alone and unknown inside the mirrors stained with mercury.