Chapter 72: meet your other self

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: meet your other self

Amelia stumbled backward so hard that she tripped on herself. A sharp scream tore from her throat before she could stop it.

"What the hell—?!"

The reflection simply rolled her eyes, as if the reaction were mildly inconvenient rather than completely reasonable.

Amelia forced herself upright again. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She suddenly felt that the person is familiar. She lifted a trembling finger toward the glass.

"You’re... the Night Menace?"

The version in the mirror gave a small, almost amused shrug. The regal fabric of her outfit shifted with the movement.

"That name is quite chic, isn’t it?"

Amelia let out a short, incredulous breath that was halfway to a laugh and halfway to disbelief. She dragged a hand down her face.

"Wow. Great entrance. Nothing says ’friendly reunion’ like appearing in a mirror and scaring the absolute life out of someone."

Night Menace’s mouth curved slightly. "That’s one of our actual personalities. You’ll figure the rest out later."

Amelia’s eyes narrowed. She took a cautious step closer to the mirror, studying the face that was identical to hers yet somehow older in the eyes.

"Where am I?"

"The dream dimension," Night Menace answered without hesitation. Then her tone sharpened, becoming more serious-like. "And going back to my previous question—why the fuck did you try to almost kill yourself?"

"You can’t be serious. Didn’t you see that i was getting assaulted. of course i had to use my powers. And did you not see the destruction I was causing? People were getting hurt. I knew knocking myself out will stop everything since i can’t control my powers at all."

"I didn’t say you shouldn’t use them," Night Menace replied. "But you were one step away from dying early. All of my efforts would have gone to waste."

Amelia scoffed, the word catching in her throat like it physically hurt to repeat.

"Effort? Did you just say effort?"

Her voice started rising. She paced a short, restless step to the side, then back again, hands gesturing sharply through the air.

"I had no idea I even had powers! And when I finally did, I didn’t know how to control them. I hurt people—I caused real damage—and somehow I’m the one who’s supposed to be grateful for your ’effort’? What effort, exactly? The only thing you have clearly been been putting effort into is having some kind of weird, confusing vibes with those devilish brothers! How do you even tolerate the same brothers who literally almost killed me—us—not once, not even twice?!"

The last words came out louder as her chest rose and fell hard.

Night Menace’s gaze dropped. The confident edge in her expression faded into something edged with a sadness that looked heavy enough to sink into the floor.

"I’m sorry," she said quietly. "I shouldn’t have kept you completely out of the loop. It was the only way I knew to keep you safe."

Amelia’s shoulders tensed. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, fingers digging into her own sleeves.

"And did it keep me safe?"

Night Menace was quiet for a second. When she spoke again, the answer came without defense.

"No. It didn’t. But what happened today had to happen. You don’t realize it yet... but you’re unknowingly rewriting people’s fates with what you did."

Amelia shook her head hard. "I don’t care about that."

She sank down onto the floor as exhaustion settled into every line of her body—slumped shoulders, heavy eyelids, hands resting limply on her thighs.

"I’m tired of all of this."

Night Menace watched her for a long moment. The mirror version’s expression softened, the regal posture easing into something almost protective.

"I know," she said quietly. "After all... we are literally the same person. I’m just the one who still has the memories."

"Then why don’t you want to tell me the memories?"

Night Menace’s jaw tightened. She looked away for a second before answering.

"Because you won’t handle it. You can’t even control your powers yet. I’m not about to dump everything on you and turn you into a walking bomb that levels a universe—i mean a state, or worse a country."

A pause followed.

"Am I dead?"

"No." Night Menace shook her head. "Like I said before, this is a dream-like dimension. It’s just your astral projection that’s here."

Amelia nodded slowly as she processed that. She isn’t as stunned as she expected.

Night Menace lowered herself to the floor as well, mirroring Amelia’s posture. Her voice dropped a little.

"We were part of the Underworld Territory in one of our past lives."

Amelia’s eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Night Menace nodded. "If they had found you earlier—if your powers hadn’t been sealed—they would have taken you. Indoctrinated you. Turned you into a weapon of mass destruction. They’d done it before."

She pressed the heel of her hand under one eye, wiping quickly as if to stop tears before they could form. Her voice roughened.

"We lost a lot. We only realized the mistake when it was already too late. That’s why I’m taking a different approach this time."

Amelia’s shoulders sank. "So the brothers’ statement about me being connected to the Underworld Territory... that was true?"

"They believe so," Night Menace said, "because of what happened the day you tried to sneak into their place like a thief in the night."

Amelia looked away. The memory of that night settled over her like a cold weight—the beginning of everything that had felt like hell ever since.

Night Menace continued, "I’m going to teach you how to use your powers."

Amelia’s gaze snapped back to her. "How?"

"Using the dream-like dimension, obviously."

"It’s not obvious."

"Anyways, now i can teach you. From today on, the Underworld subjects will start noticing that you’re figuring out your powers. They’ll want to take you out as soon as possible." That last sentence was a lie, but Amelia didn’t know it.

Amelia rubbed her temple. "I don’t even know how I appeared here. So how am I supposed to come back?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll teach you once you’re back in the real world." Night Menace paused. "But I have one condition."

Amelia’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What?"

"Try to get to know the brothers better. Yes, they look like they’re all brawn and no heart... but they’re something different than that."

"Why are you so bent on me getting to know the brothers? Were they our partners in former lives or something?"