The Deadliest of All

There was a shiver in Leo's spine, but it would be inappropriate to say it "ran." It was more like... crawling, slipping like cold slime. And it refused to leave. The sensation was akin to how he imagined a sludge-covered millipede clutching onto his back would feel. Something about this place just gave him the worst of feelings.

He thought he could hear bits and pieces of the voices here and there. "...who... ...you... ...where..." and other such fragmented questions came to him on the wind. He shuddered from cold and fear.

"Um... sir?" he asked quietly, breaking the agonizing slowness and silence of their travel. "H-have you ever dealt with... um, ghosts, sir?" Here he actually failed to keep the quiver from his voice. They were surely just superstition. It was silly to expect a hardened warrior to think anything of them, right?

"W-wh-wh-what?!"

That... that didn't help at all! That just made everything worse! Now Leo could swear he saw the shadows dancing at the edges of the torch's soft, and from what he felt like, increasingly feeble glow. He made a mental note to never ask an adventurer more seasoned than him if he had any scary stories. Campfire or no, it was a horrible way to spare his nerves.

He shuddered even more violently. Only a moment had passed before he realized that there was a reason other than fear for it; there was something he was sensing. Air currents were disturbed. "Sir, get do--"

He never finished his sentence. He immediately felt a pressure not unlike being punched in his stomach, impacting with enough force to send him hurtling to the ground. He looked up through the dark to see what looked like a heavy-cloaked figure through the darkness.

"N-no..." Leo croaked, trying to catch his breath again. That attack had knocked the wind out of his lungs. He spent several tense moments in the dark hoping for his blasted body to accept air again, not knowing if anything would leap out and be upon him. Yet, once more, he was met with nothing but agonizing nothingness. He knew there was something in this cave, what just happened proved it. So why wouldn't it just come out already, just let him see it, let him fight it?

He got up and looked around. With a slow realization that made a hard, cold lump in his stomach, he noted that he was alone now. In the dark. With a thing that had presumably killed a lot of other people, that could not be seen, and had demonstrated that it could attack him any time it pleased.

The young soldier was unsure what scared him most: the situation he was currently in, or the thought that, maybe, whatever was behind this entire case was intelligent enough to consciously put him in it. Likewise, he was aware that his own mind would be far deadlier than any beast in this cave, but that knowledge was not enough to quell the rebellious fear that gripped him.

He took up the lantern that his senior had dropped and looked around. Where had they even come from? Where were they headed? He found no real answer, only moss and occasionally the drop of water. With a feeling not unlike having weights attached gradually to his body, he came to the conclusion that there was only one way to proceed.

He closed his eyes and listened.

Then he followed the direction in which the voices grew more audible. This was almost certainly the same course of action that the others had followed, and he did not know if that was good or bad.

Leopold Puerulus had many thoughts as he advanced, all of them unpleasant and varying degrees of frightening. But among them, the scariest one was this:

What if their separation was intentional?

He did not want to consider that possibility. Being stuck in an evil, potentially soul-stealing cave was awful enough. Being stuck in an evil, soul-stealing cave with hostile creatures in it was worse. Being in an evil soul-stealing cave with hostile, intelligent creatures ticked just about all the boxes on the checklist of things that made it okay to run far away from and lob powder kegs at problems.

But considering the position they were in, he had to consider it. And how to counter it? He hadn't a single clue. He was still a novice mage... all he really knew was how to channel magic into his attacks, and how to sense it. There was definitely something magic and very malicious in here, but his senses told him only the presence of it, not the location.

He forged ahead, taking care only to pay attention to the volume of the voices. He did not need something wicked corrupting his thoughts somehow, and he hoped his senior would have the same presence of mind.

Of course, had he given the actual content of the whispers he may have noticed how personal some of the messages were becoming. Even as they spoke in several tongues at once, they poked and prodded and searched for something to latch onto...

Leopold could hear the sounds of a pursuit slowing down up ahead. That sounded like his compatriot, and for that he was glad. Maybe he'd come to his senses and realized that going on ahead, isolated, was a terrible idea in a place that may or may not have been haunted by evil spirits and maybe worse.

This hope lent him relief when he saw a human figure up ahead. He, too, had begun to wear himself out and lose breath, but his adrenaline had sustained his rush until now. The boy bent over, panting and trying to catch his breath. "Oh... oh goddesses, I'm... I'm glad you're safe..." he managed in between gasps.

It was then that he closely examined the scene before him, and all sense of relief immediately died a horrible death. Wordless horror and alarm crossed his face as he knew it stained his heart. This was... unnatural. This was... evil. He didn't know how he knew but this shadowy double exuded an aura of absolute wrongness.

A savage elbow flung by a very scared boy came flying at the shade. Equal parts actual intent and blind panic powered the swing, sending the apparition reeling. Fast, heavy breathing. "D-don't be deceived!" Leopold warned. "It's just a monster, just like everything else." As he said this, the shadow regained its footing...

And it laughed. "Oh, is that what you think?" The tone was cruel, mocking. Leo did his best to block it out. He lunged forward again to punch it...

And found another arm, mirror to his own, extending from the darkness. He moved to catch it with one arm, and again a ghostly limb mimicked him. He burned his magic for more impact, and still he found magic rising to greet him. But it was different from his. It was... perverse, wrong somehow. He leapt back.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Leo wasn't sure what he meant. But then he realized it was holding something: an ominous mirror, looking far older than any he had seen. A shade resembling him walked out of it, next, following the arms.

And this Leo wore an evil grin. "Hey, other. Did you miss me?"

Leo moved to attack again, and received a fist to the side of his face for the trouble. He stumbled as Guzol's twin sneered and moved in pursuit of the original. Then the shadowy boy in front of him spoke.

"Ah-ah-ah. Where do you think you're going? Do you honestly think you can help him like that?" Leo's shade was mocking, infuriating in its repose. It didn't pretend to be concerned about the person in front of him, didn't pretend like it was threatened by his presence at all. It scarcely even saw him.

Well, no matter. He'd just have to tear it down so he could get to--

"Let me guess. You want to go run off to your 'superior.' Is that all you can do? Can't you just think for yourself?"

The young guardsman was shocked, not only by the striking accuracy of the assessment but with the abruptness of the shift in tone the other him had. The voice had gone from relaxed casual taunting to cold and focused cruelty. There was something like hatred in the voice and Leo wasn't sure how to respond. So his clone kept talking.

"You'll excuse it as your duty again, won't you? That's what a guard does, what a soldier does, follow orders. Why don't you just come clean and admit you don't know any other way to live?"

A thin layer of distress began to form at those words, but Leo forced it down. He scanned his double for weaknesses, and as he did he became aware of a savage smile from it.

"So you're finally taking me seriously... good. There's no point to killing you otherwise!"

Elsewhere, palms and fists and legs flared with magic and raw emotion. They fought for entirely different goals; one for duty, and the other for freedom.

"Come on now," said the darkness, as the two broke off from colliding fists once more, "Why are you even fighting me?"

Leopold didn't answer.

"I know you want this. You can't tell me you've never thought about it. All those debts they left you, those worthless people who left you behind... You can't tell me you've never wanted to pay them back."

They had started circling each other, now. Two hounds searching for openings. Leo put his all into finding one. His opposite number set about creating one with this... talk. There was an undercurrent of malice to it. True? Maybe. Leo was trying not to concern himself with it right now.

"Ignore me? Right, right... that's what you always do, isn't it? Just hope all this... goes away. You know what? Screw you! I'm sick of it, you're sick of it, and it's about time we did something about it. If you won't, I will. I'll take your place and do what you should have done so many years ago..."

The double went forward with a punch. The first thought that went through Leo's head as his arms came up to block it was that it was much fiercer than it should have been.