That evening Altair found himself again all alone in his apartment, the silence giving him some much-needed time for reflection. It seems that Sattan hadn't been discharged yet, based on his untouched belongings, and Alt made a mental note to go visit his friend at the infirmary the following day despite Dr. Raisa's warnings. He was still in a state of euphoria, full of a mix of pride and disbelief at his earlier actions.

Can I really become a hero? he wondered, grabbing from the nightstand and playing with a woven cloth bracelet adorned with three stripes that had been accompanying him for as long as he could remember. It was one of his most treasured possessions, which he usually kept at home to safeguard, only wearing it on special occasions. It was a reminder of a distant time, when everything was simpler and his household had been filled with laughter, even if the details were now fuzzy in his memory.

His mood had been slightly soured earlier when he and Ronel had returned to campus, after stumbling in the central courtyard upon some fellow summer camp participants from the parallel class that apparently had nowhere to go over the break. Despite barely having interacted with the group before, they still decided to taunt him. He faintly remembered seeing the three boys around Kamar before.

"Hey babe, why are you hanging out with this loser cripple?" the boy who looked like the leader, sporting the insignia of a presumably noble family on his jacket blurted out at Ronel.

"Yeah baby, come have a good time with us!" a shorter minion followed up.

Alt was about to tell them off, and quite rudely at that, but Ronel tugged his arm, telling him to ignore them, while giving them the finger and walking faster.

I don't want to be a burden to her... I want her to be proud to be with me, he thought, clenching his fist.

Alt really appreciated that she stayed by his side, but deep down, he wondered if such remarks affected her. After all, she also hung out with the "cool kids" who did not hesitate to give him the stink eye.

Argh, this may be the only way..., he resigned himself at giving the opportunity to change his life around a shot. Falling onto his bed, he felt the exhaustion sinking in and let his worries slip away while falling asleep, after being awake for nearly thirty-six hours straight.

***

Altair found himself staring at the clouds, thankful to have been on his back during the teleportation. The experience was still so disorienting that he wasn't confident he would have managed to stay on his feet. It appeared to be early in the day here again, and the time difference was quite convenient to live a double-life.

So, this is really happening... he thought, not actually surprised anymore.

Alt looked around from side to side, afraid to have ended up in the middle of nowhere again. Behind the trees, he caught a glimpse of the witch's hut, and the body of water bordering it. He wasted no time jogging through the rough trail, while staying on high alert to not be ambushed by some magical beast. He eyed even the baby deer with suspicion, expecting a sneak attack. Somehow, he made it to the cabin in one piece, and before he was able to knock, the door opened.

"You've come," the old lady stated matter-of-factly. "Remember though, this is but the first step of a very long path fraught with peril. You do realize there is no turning back now, don't you?"

"Don't make me second guess myself any further," Alt dismissed her, "I'll do my best."

"I expect no less," she said, ushering him inside.

Like before, the interior of the hut was full of alchemical devices and artifacts of unknown purpose, but light on furniture.

I guess when you can materialize anything you want with a snap of the fingers, there is no need to have a couch or table taking up space.

As if to confirm his assumption, after a small twinge of her hand, Altair found himself staring at a round table accompanied by two wooden stools, with two cups of tea steaming. Taking her up on the invitation, Altair sat down and took a sip, a yawn escaping him.

Who needs science when you have magic, he pondered, fighting to stay awake. Although the taste sucks.

"You don't look too motivated today," the witch commented, with an all-knowing expression.

"Uh, sorry. I had a long day... and not much sleep lately," he replied, feeling bad.

"I imagined," she said, chuckling. "Drink to the bottom. It's better than coffee, I promise."

Do they have coffee in this world, or did she ever visit my Arcalis? Alt wondered. Come to think of it, she had mentioned the telephone before...

Finishing the cup out of politeness, he immediately felt refreshed and on high alert.

"Whoa," he couldn't help saying. This surely beat the energy drinks he had nearly become addicted too when preparing to take the Academy entrance exam.

"Neat, right? If you are to come here every night, you will need a way to make up for the lack of sleep, or we will lose too much time. As your mana core and Soul grow stronger, you won't need to sleep as much, but for now you better get used to the taste."

Alt immediately could see the amazing applications of this miraculous drink. With a steady supply, he could get twice the studying and training done in the same amount of time. Perhaps this was the edge he had been looking for. Now, what remained was to find a way surpass the natural limitations of his meager physique.

"How is he?" Alt asked, noticing that the darkness presence from his Spirit Twin who remained asleep despite the noise they were making had become very faint.

"Not good," the witch shook her head. "It is good that you decided to come so soon, otherwise any hopes of you taking over his Future Line would have disappeared in vain."

"But isn't he getting better? I can feel that Chaos thingy weaker than last time."

"Perceptive," the witch nodded approvingly. "Indeed, I have been trying and somewhat succeeding in containing it. But at the same time, his Soul Essence keeps decaying irreversibly, as if there was an abyss sucking his Soul Fragments in. The only way to plug it in is by having you give up your entire Soul Essence, and as a result, your life," she said gravely.

Alt looked at his Twin with a new air of understanding and despair.

"Relax, we are not going to ask you to do that. In fact, your Twin would never accept such sacrifice, just like I am sure you wouldn't under any normal circumstances."

Altair swallowed in relief, only to consider her last words carefully.

"Yet... these aren't any normal circumstances, right?"

"Exactly. Now that you are here, we have to initiate the Soul Fragments transfer process from him to you. Otherwise, they will just go to waste, and with them your zero-point zero one percent chance of succeeding in your mission. That is why I said there is no going back after today."

"Huh? You are joking about the odds, right?" Alt asked, worried again.

"Screw the odds. If you are to become a hero, you will have to make your own odds, no matter the situation you are facing."

Somehow, the cheesy declaration resonated with him.

"But... is there really no other way? And what will happen to me afterwards?"

"I understand and respect your reluctance. Many people would willingly kill their own Spirit Twin in the hopes of getting ahold of their power, but that is why I am talking to you in the first place - I can see you would never consider such an option willingly," the witch said, pausing dramatically.

"To answer your second question, I don't really know! It is Forbidden Magic, after all. Best case scenario, you would inherit all his memories and powers, also increasing your own growth potential. It would still take time for you to be able to use them, as you will first need to integrate the foreign Fragments into your Soul Essence. However, he already lost too much so the results are unpredictable."

Alt was left uneasy by her explanation. Would he even retain a sense of self afterwards, or would his apparently stronger Twin take over?

The old lady saw the apprehension lingering in the boy's eyes.

"Relax, you won't lose yourself. There are some dangerous rituals out there that can indeed allow a Twin to usurp another's identity, but we are not doing anything like that. After all, Big Altair will disappear for good, to allow you to carry on in his stead."

Altair felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, unsure if he was worthy of such trust, and at the same time grateful to his counterpart with whom he had just briefly exchanged words once before.

"Now, let me check your Soul condition," the witch announced, standing up, barely becoming taller than the sitting Alt now.

"Remarkable... just as I suspected," she murmured, after placing her palm on his chest.

"What? Is there anything wrong with my Soul?" he caught on.

"Not wrong per se... but it is unusual. You see, usually when somebody is born in one of our worlds the original Soul is split in half between them and their newborn Twin in the other world. In your case however, there is a big imbalance. For some reason, your Twin has gotten the lion's share of the Fragments. I have never seen anything like this happen before actually, unless somebody had re-distributed the Soul Fragments when you both were older, but that should be impossible... "

"You make me sound defective," Alt said dejectedly.

"Not at all," the witch cut him off. "For practical purposes, in your own world this just diminishes your strength a bit and your lifespan."

"That does sound like a big deal!" He protested vehemently.

"Well, it is. Especially as in our world lacking Soul Fragments would curtail your magic core advancement. Luckily, we do have a solution for the problem," the old lady said, pointing at his unconscious Twin. "And remember, unless you up your game, your potential lifespan will be meaningless after ten years anyways."

Altair gulped after hearing that dire reminder.

"So, are you ready?" she asked him, and he immediately knew what she was talking about.

"Wait, can I talk to him for a bit first?" There was so much Alt wanted to ask his other self and knew there would be no other chance.

"Alright, let's wake him up. You can speak while I prepare the ritual," the witch agreed. Walking to the bed with the unconscious young man, who had gotten skinnier since the last time Alt saw him, a familiar glow began emanating from her fingertips, and after touching his forehead he began moving.

"Make this time count," the old lady warned him.

Alt didn't want to lose a moment and hurried to the bedside.

"How are you?" he asked, still disconcerted at seeing the resemblance with his own face so up close. "Sorry, stupid question... "

His doppelgänger offered him a weak smile.

"Nah, it's my bad. I am sorry for getting you involved into this mess," he said, while struggling to get upright.

"Don't force yourself," Alt said, helping him up.

"I want to at least die with some dignity," his counterpart told him. "I was so foolish and ambitious... and look where that got me."

An awkward silence ensued. "What were you doing in that forest anyways?" Alt finally asked.

"Well, you see, my family isn't that well off, and they had to take some debts to get me into the Magic Academy, as even with the scholarship there was still a big admittance fee to pay. And then one day, during the summer camp, I stumbled at the library upon an old scroll describing a rare lotus flower supposedly growing outside Darsenius that sells for thousands of florins. I thought that with it I could help my parents pay the debt off as quickly as possible, so they could have a normal life," he recounted, with Alt recognizing his own sheepish smile in the Twin's expression. "Can you please help take care of them? I know it's asking too much... "

"I will," Altair stated resolutely. "What are their names? Oh wait, let me guess... Parvin and Levana?"

"Bingo."

"I still can't wrap my head around how similar things are," Altair mused. Even their personalities had much in common. After all, who would go the library before official classes even started?

"Tell me about it. I was really freaked out when Jo'Anne here explained things to me. We don't really learn about the parallel world stuff in school, you know."

"Jo'Anne?"

"That's her," the bigger Alt nodded at the old lady, who was apparently in the process of preparing an arcane formation in the center of the room, with various crystals of different colors organized in the shape of a star with ten points. "She saved my life, if only for a bit. At least I got to meet you."

Altair didn't know what to say, until he caught a glimpse of ink under the loose shirt of his doppelganger.

"Is that a tattoo? Are they common in your world?" he asked.

"There are some tattoos that amplify one's elemental affinities, but usually only advanced practitioners or rich noblemen can afford them," his Twin answered.

"Then this... "

"To be honest, I am not sure. It suddenly appeared on my body when I was a kid, and I don't really remember those days all that well. For some reason, mom always had me hide it like my life depended on it. I guess she is just worried it would call unwanted attention for a meager Voralbruck descendant."

He was about to say more, when sudden convulsions brought him down again.

"Looks like this is it for me...," he weakly uttered, trying to grasp Alt's hand. "You can do it, believe in yourself."

"Jo'Anne!" the standing boy called for help, only to find the witch standing near them before he could blink.

She placed her hands on the contorting teen's chest, who was grinding his teeth not to scream.

"It is now or never," she said gravely. "His Soul Essence just entered free-fall mode."

Alt hated the feeling of powerlessness in this situation, seeing a reflection of his own self dying right in front of him. But the least he could do is play his part.

"What should I do?" he asked the witch.

"Sit down by the circle and try to meditate."

Altair obeyed wordlessly, choosing a spot near an amethyst-like stone and closing his eyes while attempting to steady his breathing. Before closing his eyes, she noticed the old lady chanted a spell that levitated his counterpart's body into the air, slowly lowering him down into the center of the magical formation.

He felt his hand being pulled by the witch's wrinkled palm, with her placing it again on the taller teen's chest, covering it with her own.

She began muttering a series of incantations, and the crystals activated, connecting to each other with a series of ethereal strings, with the perimeter beginning to glow, and the air getting warmer and warmer. Alt had a hard time keeping his eyes shut, and when the temperature became unbearable, he sneaked a peek to find his doppelganger fading away, with his body becoming increasingly translucent. His instinctive reaction was to try and pull his hand away, but the witch's iron grip kept it glued.

He locked eyes with his Twin, seeing a tear falling down his cheek, only to disappear into nothingness before reaching the floor. In the last instant, the fallen teen managed to curl his lips, and the hint of a wink passed his eye. Finally, among Altair's shouts he fully disappeared, and the ground ceased to rumble, with the only remaining boy finding himself drenched in sweat.