"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.

A test against a perfect mirror—one that could use everything I had.

My strength, my weaknesses… even my bad habits.

Breaking through this wouldn't be easy.

But I had no choice.

I exhaled slowly and reached into my pocket.

The Dream Orb pulsed softly against my palm—warm, alive.

"Alright," I muttered. "If this is the trial… then I'll crush it."

Light gathered at my fingertips.

A sword materialized in my hand, humming faintly with borrowed magic.

My doppelgänger smiled.

I prepared to fight myself.!

But...

The doppelgänger watched my every movement with unsettling focus, like a mirror trying to memorize its reflection.

And then—

"Hm… like this?"

"…What?"

Before I could react, a sword formed in his hand—identical to mine, down to the smallest detail.

He had created it just as effortlessly as I had.

My stomach dropped.

He could copy this too?

Not just my movements…

Not just my magic…

But even the items I conjured?

The realization sent a cold chill crawling up my spine.

I thought he would simply imitate my swordsmanship—maybe mimic my stance or timing.

But this… this was on another level entirely.

This thing wasn't just a reflection.

It was me.

But without restraint.

Crackle—

Lightning began to spark and coil around his sword.

…He's copying my electricity too?

I felt my throat go dry.

This isn't a trial.

This is an execution waiting to happen.

If I slip—even a little—

I'm dead.

The doppelgänger grinned, his faintly distorted voice echoing with a twisted joy.

"Let's have some fun!!"

"…Bullshit!"

He swung his sword, and a violent surge of electricity exploded outward.

The air twisted with raw power, a blinding flash splitting the darkness as an electrical storm roared toward me like a living beast.

I braced myself, adrenaline spiking—

But...

I can't block this.

The moment I sensed the force gathering at the tip of the doppelgänger's blade, my survival instincts screamed louder than any reasoning.

I abandoned the idea of creating a shield entirely and instead hurled myself to the side with everything I had.

BOOM!!!

"Guh…!"

A spark of blue lightning grazed past my shoulder, close enough to sting my skin.

The ground where I had been standing a heartbeat ago erupted violently, leaving a scorch mark carved deep into the earth.

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Was Lightning Slash… always this strong?

I had used it countless times without a second thought.

But seeing it from the outside—the raw power, the speed, the sheer destructive impact—it felt like a completely different technique.

If that had hit me directly…

My body wouldn't just be injured.

It would be annihilated.

But I didn't have time to dwell on the thought.

The doppelgänger raised his sword again, lightning crackling along the blade like an eager predator.

Damn it. He's preparing another one.

I immediately activated my invisibility spell, disappearing from sight in an instant.

"Heh. Hiding like a rat?"

He sneered at the empty space where I had been—irritated, but not alarmed.

Good.

If I circle around him quietly, I might be able to land a clean hit before he notices—

Or at least, that was the plan.

Until I heard the next words that froze me in place.

"Then I'll just burn everything around me."

…What?

For a split second, I wondered if I'd misheard.

But the way his grin widened told me I hadn't.

A cold sense of dread crawled up my spine at the doppelgänger's words.

Burn everything around?

What was he talking about?

I definitely didn't have any technique like that…

But before I could even question it, the answer revealed itself.

"Die!!!"

The doppelgänger thrust his arm toward the sky, magical power condensing around him like a storm about to break.

Crackle—!!

A surge of electricity shot upward, exploding into the clouds.

The sky flashed—

—and then it began.

Lightning rained down everywhere, striking the ground in wild, merciless intervals.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

BOOOOM!!

The earth shook beneath my feet as bolts crashed down around me.

"Are you serious—?!"

I threw myself to the side, narrowly avoiding a bolt that scorched the ground where I had been standing seconds before.

The bombardment wasn't aimed at me—it wasn't aimed at anything.

It was pure, chaotic destruction.

That was when I understood.

The doppelgänger hadn't just copied the techniques I had used.

He had copied the core of my ability.

He could take my foundations… and improvise techniques I had never even imagined.

Lightning I had never conjured.

Variants I had never created.

Power I didn't even know I possessed.

And all of it was being used against me.

The continuous explosions left me no chance to approach him.

Seconds stretched—not long, but long enough.

And then—

"Haa… damn it."

My invisibility dissipated.

"There you are…!!"

The doppelgänger's voice rang sharply.

He instantly zeroed in on me.

I didn't hesitate—I swung my sword.

"Lightning Slash!!"

A bright streak of electricity tore through the air, but the doppelgänger leaped aside with infuriating ease and charged straight at me.

Too fast.

Now it was a direct confrontation.

"Hyaaaaah!!"

He swung his sword downward with a wild cry.

I raised my blade to block, the impact rattling my arm, then twisted my wrist to slice upward.

"—Tch!"

He jerked his head back, dodging by a hair's breadth.

Even so, my blade grazed his cheek, leaving a thin red slash.

A small victory.

But I overextended.

Just slightly.

My balance faltered.

His eyes widened—he had seen it.

"Got you."

The sword hilt slammed into my face.

"Kuhak—!"

I crashed to the ground, air forced from my lungs.

My vision blurred for a second.

"I won!!"

The doppelgänger's triumphant shout echoed above me, his expression overflowing with exhilaration—too convinced, too premature.

Because the battle…

…was far from over.

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