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—SEAN'S SUBCONSCIOUS—
Sean woke up alone, trapped in his subconscious. He stood in a silent, dark space. Faint blue light emanated from towering crystals surrounding him. His feet touched a cold, smooth floor, like frozen glass. Every breath echoed across the vast room, as if the crystal walls were breathing with him. Slowly, a faint voice began to stir.
"Every choice creates a new world," the voice whispered. "Here… you can see them all."
The voice resembled his mother's—layered, echoing, as if born from within the crystals themselves. One crystal in front of him glowed brighter, projecting an image of Sean standing on the deck with Arthur. But the reflection's face was empty, expressionless. Its eyes were jet black, as if not his own.
Other crystals lit up one by one.
The first crystal showed him sinking into the ocean's depths, pulled into an endless darkness, never to surface again.
The second crystal showed a version of himself rescued by Arthur—lying weak but still breathing.
The third crystal displayed the most suffocating vision, him standing tall, body intact, yet completely possessed by something foreign. A black shadow clung to him, slowly consuming every last trace of humanity.
"Where… am I? Am I hallucinating again?" Sean muttered, hoarse. "Am I… dead? Damn, my head hurts so much."
The surrounding crystals trembled, their inner light pulsing irregularly, reflecting his anxiety. The voice returned—still resembling his mother, yet now alien and cold.
"Dead? No."
A large crystal in front of Sean cracked slowly. Inside, Arthur knelt on the wet ship deck. One hand gripped the edge of the deck desperately, the other reaching toward the sea—the place where Sean had last been seen before sinking.
Arthur's breath was ragged. His face was filled with panic, not yet giving way to despair.
Sean froze.
"Look," the voice said softly. "There's still a version of you… holding on out there."
But another crystal shattered—revealing Sean being dragged deeper, toward the jaws of a creature lined with ancient coral teeth.
"Here…" the voice whispered. "You're trapped between layers of dream and reality."
A dark figure swung its arm, smashing the crystals before Sean, letting all those visions collapse one by one. The figure stopped a few steps away. Its form was now sharp—too sharp. Identical to Sean. Sean tensed, instinctively gripping his sword, though he wasn't sure why.
"What… is this?" he whispered, voice tense. "Why does your face—why do you look like me?"
The shadow smiled faintly. A smile out of place. "Don't you remember?" it said flatly, almost like a conclusion rather than a taunt.
"What am I supposed to remember?" Sean replied quickly, irritation creeping in.
He gestured at the surrounding crystals.
"I've grown stronger. Now, isn't that right?"
The shadow turned, showing a scene in the real world where Arthur dodged a strike from a sword that was no longer his. Blood flowed from the wound on his shoulder.
"You've repeated the same mistake, and this time, you won't stop me from taking over completely."
Sean chuckled softly, then drew his sword.
"Take over what do you mean? I'm in control," he said coldly. "I won't let you take me over."
The crystals shook violently. Blue light raced along Sean's blade, splitting the darkness like lightning.
The shadow laughed.
"Control?" it sneered. "You're just a puppet who thinks it holds the strings."
Its form grew larger, reflecting Arthur kneeling on the ship deck. Blood continued dripping, staining the wood. The blue blade aimed at Arthur's throat.
Opia's voice echoed from two worlds at once.
"Listen carefully now," it said flatly.
"One more step from you, and he dies. Let me take over you completely… and you protect him…"
Its voice softened, almost whispering
"and accept the consequences."
This wasn't an illusion.
In the real world, Arthur's blood really dripped onto the deck. And in Sean's subconscious, his shadow began to crack—like glass eaten away by time.