"What's the matter? Things not going your way?"
The clone taunted with a sneering expression as the two continued to exchange blows with Alex taking hits one after the other.
What was more, his mana was running out and he continuously had to keep his focus to not reopen the wound he patched up.
"Shut up!"
Alex retorted in a loud frustrated voice, his teeth gnashing against each other.
"Kekeke… That's unlike you, Alexander. Your aloof expression is wearing off and your emotions are leaking through. Is this the same Alex I know?"
Every word the clone uttered added to his already frustrated feelings. His state of mind was deteriorating as he found no way to defeat the clone.
His tricks? It knew them.
His spear techniques? Even better.
What did he have that the clone didn't?
"You go prancing around telling everyone how you're different. But I say otherwise!"
Suddenly the clone's expression changed into that of anger as it suddenly delivered a powerful punch to Alex's face when he saw an opening and drew new blood.
Their high-speed fight came to a standstill at that moment.
"Ugh!"
And before he could even recover from the blow, the clone delivered another to his gut, undoing his efforts at stopping the bleeding and his focus entirely.
Alex's spear fell to the ground as he stumbled back from the consecutive blows, groaning from the sudden pain that assaulted his senses. Then the circulating mana in his system came to an abrupt stop.
Following suit, the clone dropped its weapon as well and resulted to a physical beating.
"You're nothing but a fraud, Alex! You're not special!"
*SLAP!*
A slap came in this time as Alex's head turned to the side in shock and in pain. The slap awakened him from his disoriented senses.
Still…
*BAM!*
The beating continued as he stepped back every time a blow came in.
"Did you really think no one notices the way you carry yourself? The pride hidden in those eyes of yours?!"
His words dug deep into Alex's mind as his behaviour for the past year flashed before his eyes. Every word invoked a particular scene where he interacted with the people around him.
Zen Henjok
Abigail Reed
Ethan Hall
And anyone who ever crossed paths with him as he began to question himself. Blood dripped from his nose as his lips swelled from all the blows he received.
His face was a mess and the wound in his stomach continued to leak a deeper color of blood. He was a bloody mess.
"You're not some hero, Alexander…."
The clone stopped for a moment as Alex took a knee with blood dripping from his face and stomach.
The heavy breaths he drew strained his tired lungs and the pain overwhelmed him. He was at his limits and there was nothing he could do.
Looking at his wretched figure, the clone slowly approached him.
"You're just a kid who has no idea what he's doing. Let this be the last lesson you take to the grave…"
Clone Alex looked down on Alex with a disdainful look. Suddenly, Alex let out a soft chuckle which caught the clone off guard.
Soon the soft chuckle morphed into a soft laughter and then into a full-blown one. Alex laughed hysterically as if he was a deranged person laughing about something they found amusing but to everyone else, was a mystery.
The clone remained in its spot observing Alex with curiosity in its eyes. It knew Alex had nothing else to offer, no trick up his sleeve.
A well-placed attack would end him where he kneeled. It was why it stood still and watched Alex finish whatever he was doing. A dying man had nothing to give besides their last words.
"What's funny?"
It couldn't help it anymore as the clone's curiosity grew the more Alex's laughter continued.
"Hahaha… Haaaa…. What's funny?"
Alex raised his face with all the dripping blood and swollen lips, the defiant look in his eyes returning full force.
The clone was surprised as it believed it had broken Alex enough by humiliating him just like he did others.
But hearing his laughter and then the defiant look he just showed, it knew there was something it must have missed.
"You're the funny one." He stated and made no attempt to get back on his feet.
"You claim you're me. But from our fight, I noticed something that seemed odd."
The clone narrowed its eyes hearing what Alex was saying. There was no way he could have been mistaken about him. It knew as it was programmed from all the data gathered on him with a few additions.
"Initially…" Alex continued, his eyes remaining locked on the clone.
"… I thought it was a fluke, but the more we exchanged blows, the more it became clear to me."
Slowly, Alex got to his feet, yet the clone remained in its spot, waiting for whatever Alex was about to say.
Once he stood up with his hand on his stomach to pause the bleeding, he continued.
"You're not me, clone. You never were.
"You have my face and my skills. Of course, you know a bit about me. But that was it…"
Then, Alex stepped forward and the clone stepped back. He flashed a grin that made his face hurt, yet he ignored it.
"All this time, I've been trying to defeat you, but that was not what this floor was meant for."
"What are you trying to say?"
The clone questioned with a frown, not liking where this was going.
Watching the behaviour of the clone as it stepped back, he became more certain of his theory.
"Trying to defeat you was never going to be possible. In fact, this entire fight was a farce to begin with!
"You're not a clone at all, just a mirror image of myself! The more I tried to kill you, the harder you got on me. It was like throwing back everything I threw at you."
His eyes then looked at the empty space and the large rock they stood on as he released another chuckle.
"When I grew frustrated, you got harsher, when I started to question myself, you pushed."
Releasing a sigh to himself, he recalled his spear as it swooshed through the air and arrived before him.
"You've shown me some weaknesses I need to work on, and for that, Thank you."
He said in all sincerity.
"But this farce is over."
"The only way to stop looking at your own reflection in the mirror…"
He began and then turned the tip of his spear at his heart.
The clone narrowed its eyes at Alex's action, yet instead of doing anything, the clone looked on. However, Alex could swear it saw a hint of pride in its eyes. But it didn't matter anymore.
"…is to walk away or destroy the mirror entirely.
"And in this case, I am the mirror."
With those words, Alex plunged the spear into his heart with no hesitation whatsoever.
He was absolutely certain of his words…
And he was right.