Kait fidgeted with an item between her hands. It was a small brown ceramic, molded to curl into one point at its end and built of a brown, almost transparent clay. On its bottom, a chain necklace wound through a metal hoop attached to it. It was pitch black in her room, bar the slight moonlight filtering through the window and the subtle glow of the necklace. Among the scattered items throughout the room was an alarm clock reading 8:00.

There was a knock on her door.

Kait threw the necklace around herself, then opened the door. When she saw Taylor outside, she said, “Hey.” tiredly.

“H-hey,” Taylor said, patting his side with a hand in a gesture of nervous impatience.

“Did you need help with something? I’ll help Hailey again tomorrow.”

“Well, it isn’t that...”

“Then what is it?”

“Well...uhh...d-did you get a new necklace?”

“No, it’s old.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“None of your business,” Kait said in an unusually harsh tone.

“O-oh, sorry.”

“Excuse me?” Kait said with some surprise. Taylor was usually the type to press for answers.

“I said ‘sorry’...”

Taylor didn’t mince words in that way, at least not very often. “Well, what were you going to ask me?”

“A-” a few moments passed in silence as Kait stretched in an attempt to boil her more eccentric, social emotions to the surface. She didn’t want to seem detached because she was tired. “N-nevermind, I didn’t have much to say anyway...s-sorry for intruding,” Taylor said before walking away.

“No...it’s...fine...?” With her blood pumping a little, she could finally talk without seeming unlike her more social self, but Taylor had already walked to his room.

With her emotions in action again, her blood pumping, and the catalyst on her neck, she felt ready for war. Though, she was glad she didn’t need to fight one. “Why not stretch my magic a little?” she said to herself before taking a broom and walking outside.

Hailey continued her climb up the memories, taking a tenth step upon one of the fractures.

Suddenly, she was in her room, alone with...herself. The ‘spirit’ that played as her in the memories simply sat on her bed, seemingly in deep thought. This version of her room was far cleaner, with most of the furniture moved around a little. If she had to guess, the memory was probably from middle school.

That was it, though. The fake Hailey just sat on the bed with a glossy expression.

Hailey had let the spirit do its job for all the other memories, but nothing was happening, so she figured it was ok to interrupt it. “So...since I don’t know what this memory is about, do you want to talk?”

Fake Hailey looked to Hailey, “You don’t know?”

“No.”

“It must be because human memory is flawed. What a pointless endeavor our acting has been.” Their expression turned impatient, “So, what did you want?”

“What’s going on?”

“Be more specific. I only have so much time to spare.”

After a second of thought, Hailey decided to start with the basics, “Where am I?”

“You’re in the Consciousness. I don’t know where your body is.”

“What are you?” Hailey asked the question as if the question was questioning whether the question was a good question.

“I’m a spirit.”

“One of the spirits that made magic?”

Fake Hailey’s expression became even more bored, “I’m one of the progenitor spirits, specifically.”

“So you’re telling me you’re one of those primordial beings that shaped the world?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t suppose I could ask for an autograph, could I?

The spirit clapped her hands. “Ok, enough of the dumb questions, and let’s do some of my own. How in the world did you get here?”

“I don’t know!” Hailey said with indignation.

“Are you a mage?”

“No.”

“Did someone cast magic on you?”

“I think Kait might’ve cursed me for...some reason.”

“Kait? She doesn’t know what it means to keep out of trouble...”

“You know her?”

“You could say we are acquainted. I had to deal with her tomfoolery for the last few hundred years while her body reformed. We have...a strange relationship.”

“So what’s that su-”

“I’m not telling you a thing about her. She carries secrets about magic mortals like yall should have forgotten ages ago. The Consciousness is going to be pissed if she shares that stuff, and let’s be honest here-she will.”

“I get the feeling you just told me about something that could alter the world as I know it.”

“I did. Good luck with your next trial thingie.”

“You too?”

I don’t know what to write here. Apparently, fake Hailey’s got some secret information or something, and I’m actually in The Consciousness itself. What that means, I’m not sure, but I need to write this mush down, or I’m gonna burst. Oh, and apparently, I just met a primordial spirit, so that’s exciting or something. Besides that, it seemed surprised I didn’t recognize a memory of me standing in my room. Maybe they have a perfect memory or something, I don’t know.

Hailey put her journal dow-

So I didn’t notice it before, but there’s another dark ominous cloud in front of me. I swear to the Consciousness, if it shows me that damned memory again, I’m going to rip that spirit to shreds as best I can.

After a grimace, Hailey walked into the dark ominous cloud portal.

Inside was a bland wood room with a door on each side. Hailey entered through one.

“I guess that means I made progress,” Hailey said with an awry frown. Before she could walk to a door, another Hailey appeared on the left side of the room.

“I’m here, I think,” she said in an uncharacteristically uncertain voice.

The real Hailey looked to the other with an annoyed expression, “What are you?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“I’m you.”

“Uhh, what?”

The other Hailey was expressive with her confusion, scratching her head. “I don’t think we’ve directly met before...”

“Oh, so you’re a different spirit?”

“No, I’m you, I guess.”

“You’re a spirit pretending to be me, right?”

“I-I’m you?”

“That’s what I’m asking. Are you me, or a spirit?”

“Sure...I-I-I-I-I-I-I am.”

“That isn’t an answer!” Hailey said with an aggressive scowl.

“I-I’m you?!” the Fake Hailey said, cowering at the real one.

“How.”

“I’m part of you, I-I think.”

“Sure, whatever. If this is your place, I guess you know the way out, then?” Hailey asked.

“Yeah.”

“...” Hailey crossed her arms, waiting. After the other her failed to show her out, she continued, “Are you gonna show me the way out?”

“Yeah, It’s the left door...I think...”

“Is it, or is it not the right way?!”

“It is, I think!” the fake her spouted as she cowered a little

“Ok.” Hailey opened the door, revealing a place quite similar to the one she’d first landed in beyond it; rocks floating midair in a sky blue void. She closed the door void behind herself, revealing the door broke physics, with the room behind it seemingly nonexistent. Hailey shrugged.

After testing her weight, Hailey saw she was half her weight again. “Guess I need to climb this.” She began jumping from rock to rock as if she were on the moon.

Then, as she was midair, she heard her own voice, “I think that sword is probably really heavy... ” Suddenly, the ridiculous sword Hailey had sheathed earlier gained weight to the point that it stopped all her momentum, and she dropped like a rock into the blue void.

After a second of sudden panic, Hailey realized she was no longer in the void but back in the room, with the other her looking out the open left door. Hailey couldn’t stand easily with the incredibly weighty sword sheathed at her side, so she unclipped it from her belt.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t think I meant to make you fall...” the fake said.

“Really?” Hailey said. “Why’d you do that then?”

The fake walked to Hailey, then bent down and retrieved the sword. “I should be able to send this to the exit.” She walked to the middle door, lumbering around with the sword’s weight.

“How did you make it weigh more, though?” The real Hailey walked to the left door and looked outside, seeing the same scenery.

The fake realized they couldn’t turn the middle door’s handle with it in her hands, so she threw the sword to the ground then opened it. She wiped her forehead, “This is my domain, I think. I’m the you with control over it.”

“The me?”

The fake nodded, “There are various versions of you scattered about this place, it seems.”

“Stop it with this ‘it seems’ and ‘I think’ I’m already aware you aren’t a part of me.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I am, in some-”

“Are you dumb? At what point have I acted like you.”

“I don’t think I understand. It seems obvious to me that I’m you.”

“Well, you clearly aren’t,” the real said.

“I’m pretty sure I am,” the fake said.

“No, I’m pretty sure you aren’t,” the real said.

“I’m pretty sure I am,” the fake said.

“Are you a broken record?” Hailey said

“I’m part of one, if I’m correct,” the fake said.

“Whatever, I’ve had enough of your indecisive comments. If you’re in control here, can you let me fly up?”

“I can, I think.”

After waiting a moment, Hailey scowled, “...You’re getting on my nerves. Just let me fly.”

“I don’t think-”

“If you can try, do it,” Hailey growled

“But I don’t thi-”

“Do it.”

“Sure...” the fake said in her usually noncommital way. She closed her eyes and breathed calmly, her head down, in a fashion Hailey found familiar. “You should be able to fly now.”

“Great.” Hailey walked to the edge of the left door and hopped into the void. She was bubbled, floating up to the mist high above. In the door frame she’d jumped from, her fake was busy bubbling her sword, throwing it out to follow her.

“Well, at least I avoided that hassle,” Hailey said, looking at the mass of platforms with complex patterns that would’ve been difficult to climb on her own. As it was, she was taking the ski lift. Easy mode.

“Sure...”

“What is it?” Hailey said, looking back at her clone.

The clone had begun to tear up for some reason. “I-I’m not sure but-”

“Stop telling me you aren’t sure!” Hailey said, scowling.

“I don’t think-”

“Ok, if you aren’t going to be confident, I don’t see a point in listening.”

“Sure...”

Hailey flew upward, following the rock platforms to their end. At the top of them, another wood door stood. Somehow, it felt wrong. The winding path of rocks almost seemed...like they could be fun to climb. But she just wanted to get this over with...Hailey let herself fly closer and closer to the door, but just as she reached the last platform- “I-I don’t think we should do it this way!”

Her bubble popped, sending her into the void below. She reappeared once more in her fake’s room. “What stunt did you pull there?!” Hailey said, furious.

“I’m sorry, I thought it’d be fun for us if we did it on foo-”

“On foot?! I’m in the thistle-branded void! Why would you think I’d want to do it on foot!?”

“But I think we did...”

“We? Where’s the ‘we’ in this?! It’s just you versus me here, and you aren’t the one climbing.”

“But I’m pretty sure-”

“How pathetic do you get?! Just say what you want to ‘say’, and stop only ‘thinking’.”

“...-hic-” the fake looked down in shame, crying unrestrainedly.

“...”

“Why-hic-why do you think you’re pathetic?”

Hailey scoffed, “You. Aren’t. ME.”

As if her soul was ripped from her body, Hailey felt herself accelerating, the world shifting and falling...back. Back to the beginning, back to the deepest reaches of her mind.

Behind her, once more, was the beginning, all her progress undone.