Sincerity (1)
“Didn't expect we'd meet again so soon. I figured our paths would split during this expedition, so no chance of running into each other.”
“Is that so...”
For some reason, all this inner turmoil seemed to be my problem alone. Diana sidled up close, whispering like it was a secret, and she looked genuinely pleased to be teamed up with me again for the mission.
“It's a fork in the road. Not the scale for a massive battle, but let's stay prepared just in case.”
Right as we entered the dungeon, the path split. The main dungeon on Layer 151 was set inside a castle shrouded in thick fog on all sides, and from the very start, it forced us to choose: right or left.
She's good at hiding it. I don't think I could pull that off.
I was the same, but I was in the position of following orders quietly, not leading others. Yet Jeong Chan-su, ever the raid leader, commanded with complete poise, as if he knew nothing about this dungeon he surely already understood inside out.
In the end, as pre-planned, the team with me and Jeong Chan-su headed right, while the others went left.
“Doesn't seem like we'll face hordes of enemies, huh?”
Diana's mutter beside me was close to the truth. The core here wasn't a war against monsters.
It was the powerful penalty blanketing the entire castle—and the gimmicks it triggered.
“...Hurry.”
Jeong Chan-su, at the front, glanced back at us and quickened his pace. The poison of Altworld's destruction was already weighing on the party. On top of that, the fog in this castle carried the power of forgetfulness.
The longer you stayed, the more you forgot about yourself, piece by piece. A terrifying curse, but one you could break through quickly if you overcame the anxiety and fear and pushed hard.
That was the key to conquering it, as the constellations had said.
“Enemies?!”
As we raced down the corridor, the first foes finally appeared ahead. Just as I knew they would.
The others hurriedly raised their weapons in surprise, but only Jeong Chan-su and I weren't shocked by what—or who—had shown up.
“Calm down. They're just fakes projecting our own appearances.”
Jeong Chan-su raised his sword at the group of people before us. These enemies, mirroring our looks and power exactly, were the main threats in this dungeon.
“Not simple illusions. They wield the exact same power as us.”
“So don't use any skills that stand out. They'll copy them right back.”
The mirror images appearing before the split challengers wore cold, emotionless expressions but were identical in every other way. Reina warned that they perfectly copied the challengers' powers, citing how her own duplicate mimicked the radiance she was spreading to purify the poison of destruction.
Jeong Chan-su nodded, agreeing.
In this dungeon, penalized by the fog of forgetfulness, mirror images as enemies had one reason: to test how well you knew yourself.
We need to break through as fast as possible before it's too late. I've already decided the matchups. But...
Jeong Chan-su racked his brain to counter the foes before them. To outsiders, it looked like he was improvising, but he—who already knew the dungeon—had pre-matched the party members against specific duplicates in his mind.
It was a test of self, but no need to fight your own copy. Teammates were there precisely for moments like this.
“...Diana takes Sylvia's duplicate. And finally, I'll...”
“You'll fight me?”
Reina smirked at his hesitant last words. The remaining two mirror images were his own and hers.
He'd judged it best overall—accounting for class advantages, matchups, current states, everything.
“If you're okay with it, that's the plan. Just hold out—that's enough. No need to push too hard.”
“You think I can't handle it? That I'd lose to some mere duplicate?”
Jeong Chan-su checked her intent on facing his duplicate, but Reina scowled, clearly annoyed.
If a crisis hits, I can save her.
He nodded at her confident demeanor. She might have changed lately, but in front of him, she was always the same—unyielding, unbroken. Her greatest strength, in his eyes, and why he watched her closely.
“Begin.”
The moment they braced for battle, attacks flew, and fierce combat erupted instantly.
Busy with the Heavenly Individual Tournament, constellations not participating focused intently on the Layer 151 main dungeon. The unique mirror images sparked extra buzz.
Higher rankers rarely fought all-out against each other. Battling one's duplicate was like half-fulfilling fans' playful VS debates—now visible for real.
Reina's fans grimaced in disappointment amid it all. They'd grasped why Jeong Chan-su volunteered for her duplicate.
Take her down fast.
The instant combat began, Jeong Chan-su charged her duplicate, cloaked in golden blessing. His plan: drop her quickly, crack the balance, help others speed through the phase.
Judging objectively, Reina was the weakest here now—so her duplicate it was. He'd down it before his own beat her, then save her.
“???!”
But her duplicate's drawn sword whipped like a lash toward him. Missing the block, Jeong Chan-su barely defended with an ability.
Jeong Chan-su's wide-eyed shock was prime entertainment for the watching constellations. A rare sight for his usual composure.
Didn't expect a weapon swap too. The choice Lee Se-jin mentioned—she took it for herself?
But he regained calm fast, parrying her steady swings. He eyed the duplicate with interest.
Its power was a perfect copy of Reina's. A chance to gauge her growing potential.
Hope it's paying off.
Gripping his sword anew, he genuinely wanted her stronger. If she wrought miracles on her own, without his aid, she'd one day miracle him too.
“---!”
Deflecting her fierce strikes that shattered ceilings and gouged walls, he lunged, hand outstretched. His raging red aura devoured her radiance in reverse.
Same setup as back then. When Reina first appeared before him. When he saw her as a variable to eliminate—regressed, with even less leeway than now.
“Still not enough?”
No chance to dodge—he seized her, smashing through walls and windows into the garden below. His iron grip clamped her throat, pinning her.
Unlike past Reina's fury and injustice, this empty gaze held no sincerity—cold enough for him to snap her neck without hesitation.
“Kuh?!”
But unlike that helpless past Reina, her red eyes flashed. Fierce mana surged as she seized his hand, wrenching it from her throat.
Jeong Chan-su glanced back at the castle, where battle raged. Her sudden power spike meant Reina—fighting his duplicate—was drawing strength from her real body.
She's stronger. Much more.
With a boom, using phantom shift to escape his grasp, her duplicate rose. Jeong Chan-su's lips curved faintly upward.