Where am I…? Allen thought as he looked around him.

It was dark, an extremely dark place with no light existed. Was he closing his eyes…?

He thought that his eyes were closed but no matter how much he tried he can’t seem to open it.

Just where am I…? Why am I here…?

“Wasn’t I fighting two Monster Kings just now…?”

“What are you saying?” Suddenly a voice answered him. “We’re inside your head.”

“Huh?” Allen was immediately alarmed and turned around.

“Ciao, me~”

Then, he saw.

A youth, with horns, tail and a pair of black wings. He has silver hair, strange marking on his dark ashy skin and crimson eyes.

Although everything was dark for some reason he can see the monster in front of him clearly… no even he can see his hands, his body, his legs… he can see them clearly.

“A Monster!? Who are you?”

“I’m not a monster…” The silver-haired youth answered. “I am you, is what I’d like to say but in fact ‘I’ am another ‘you’ hiding in ‘your’ subconscious… All this time.”

“What…?”

“Hmm, it would hard to explain… so let me tell you a story then…” The silver youth walked towards him while Allen began to step back in retreat.

“In a rich and wealthy family, a boy was born. He should have everything. Happiness, Love, Affection…

However, since he was of a rich and wealthy family, a boy of high blood whatsoever… due to that fact, his upbringing was quite strict. He is expected to stand above the rest and was obligated to succeed.”

“And here comes the parents, especially the father who was stricter compared to anyone else. Around the time he was old enough to understand his place, he began his special education for the gifted.

It was to a degree that even college students in elite schools would cry in tears and worker who was used to overtime would call it quits. His lessons and studies were very intense. He needed to master everything and having to continue building up his skills to inherit the family.”

“What are you—”

“But, none of this was of his own free will!” The silver-haired youth looked at the sky with a soft and gentle gaze. “And so, due to his suffering his kindly and loving sister, which was only older by few years, despite being a kid herself… tread the sea of sufferings and took the little bird out of his own iron cage…”

“The little bird still didn’t understand what was happening but still he knew that her sister was suffering and he wanted to help her. However, one day an accident occurred. His head was hit. He lost his memories and another ‘him’ was born.”

“!!?”

“Ever since then, the other ‘him’ was in control of his consciousness.”

“After that, the former ‘him’ sunk to the bottom… and hasn’t resurfaced ever since. Or so it seemed.”

“However, through an unknown power inside of him, which he had accidentally discovered or no, it must be in reverse. ‘It’ discovered him.” The silver youth smiled and stared at Allen. “Anyway, through that, he had come to his senses. And then ‘he’ suddenly thought, if he wanted it he could return at any moment, but he didn’t do so… why?”

The silver youth asked with a gentle gaze.

“Because ‘he’ saw his sister’s smile happily through his other ‘self’s’ eyes. He thought ‘If I’m not wrong, my sister’s unhappiness was caused by ‘me…’ then if ‘he’ return, will it makes his beloved sister returned to being hurt too? In that case,"

"‘I would rather disappear’ …”

“And so, ‘he’ decided and went to sleep, down to the very bottom of his consciousness…”

“Staying in a much deeper and darker part of the mind… in the part which was called the domain of instincts and impulse… there he lies dormant…”

Then, the silver youth spread his arms widely, as if embracing the whole sky. “However, the world changed and he woke up again. And through the other ‘self’ eyes, he had seen many things and become disappointed…”

The silver youth pointed his index finger at Allen. “I’m talking about you! My misbegotten little brother… ‘I’ am the original and ‘you’ are just the personality created through my loss of memories.”

His eyes narrowed. “But still, you keep on disappointing me…”

“What?!”

“You became too soft… too weak. You turned into a wimpy kid who only knows how to self-reflect! Being weak, wanting to become strong… there’s no such thing. You keep deluding yourself like some sort of hero in some shonen manga…”

“… …”

“You’re still weak?! The heck! Can you not spout some bullcr*p using my mouth! That’s unhygienic!”

!!?

“There’s only one truth in this world, brother. It’s not becoming it. You will become strong because you don’t have a choice but to become it!”

“And now, because of that cheesiness of yours, you’re slowly being devoured by that same darkness.”

“What are you talking about?!” ‘Allen’ cried out.

“Look at yourself…” The silver youth softly muttered.

Allen did what he said and looked at himself. At this moment, his eyes widened in shock. Creepy looking black haze was slowly covering his entire body. “Gyaaaaaaaahhhhh!! Wha, what is this!? What’s happening!?” It’s as if it was consuming him!

“‘You’re’ being devoured… little brother, that’s why it’s time for ‘me’ to take charge now and ‘you’ will be the one to sleep this time.”

“I don’t know you! Get out of my head you Monster!!”

“A ‘Monster’” The silver youth smiled wryly. His expression helpless. “… A bit rich coming from you, who depended on me when times got tough…”

“!!?”

“Who do you think is saving your as*when you’re about to die?” The silver youth softly muttered.

“When death nears you, you summon ‘me’ and I had lent you my power numerous times.”

At that time, from overhead, a thin light descended.

It easily pierced ‘Allen’s’ body which was slowly being covered by black shadows. And ‘Allen’ felt his consciousness becoming blurry and he felt dizzy.

“But whatever,” The silver youth continued. “That doesn’t matter anymore… you just need to sleep. In any case, you don’t want to see ‘our’ sister with that guilt you’re carrying right? But I’m different. I am ‘me’, no matter what happens; I will be ‘me’! Guilt or whatnot, that is because you are weak… now, I will do your part too and see and protect ‘our’ beloved Sister…”

“Don’t worry, you will only sleep. I will not erase you…”

Because I don’t want to discard you… that ‘Allen Bando’. I feel that the moment I discard you, everything that I’ve had in my palm till now might scatter to the wind…

That’s why just sleep… in an eternal slumber… my weak misbegotten little brother…

Thus, the ‘Allen’ lost his consciousness as his body was slowly falling to the deepest part of his mind.

And now, a new ‘Allen’, the original him has finally step to the threshing ground!

Who knows what change will he cause of his sudden uprising!

--- ---

“The time has come… huh…” Unbeknownst to the two Allen, a dark silhouette was watching the both of them. His eyes filled with complicated feelings; though mostly regret and helplessness.

“With this, the time of awakening is almost near… and it seems like ‘he’ is also getting nearer and nearer… I can feel him just like how ‘he’ can feel me…”

The silhouette shook his head. “But still, I never expected for him to split into two personalities… With this, he actually saves his life… what a turn of event… or was this also premeditated by ‘her’? In any case, he managed to regain time…”

“However, it is inevitable. Just like his predecessors, he will also experience the same fate… haa, I actually wanted him to be an exception.”

“Well, I guess I will be rooting for him for now… that seems to be interesting. If he can defeat fate that is…”

The silhouette let out a smile. “Don’t make ‘her’ down the second time, ‘Me’…”

--- ---