Two Nulls stood facing each other. One hollow. One whole.
And the air trembled under the weight of their presence.
The mirror realm—the Soul Fracture Nexus—was caught in a suspended moment of reality, where time did not flow forward, but spiraled inward. Every flicker of movement between the two shattered more fragments of glass across the plane.
Null narrowed his eyes at the reflection that had stepped out of the cracked mirror. Its smirk was… alive. Mocking. Wrong.
"I remember killing you," Null said.
The Reflection tilted its head, eyes glinting gold. "You didn't kill me. You buried me. Deep in the hollows of your soul. I am the self you feared. The one that felt."
"I don't fear what I've destroyed."
"Then why am I still here?"
[WARNING: Unknown Entity Exhibits Sovereign-Class Energy Signature][Name: ??? | Classification: Echo-Self (Unbound Memory Fragment)][Trait: Emotional Polarity Inversion – All intent-based actions gain 150% amplification based on emotional resistance]
The Reflection took a step forward, and the glass beneath cracked.
"I wonder," it said, "what happens when the part you denied becomes stronger than the part you kept?"
Null didn't answer. He simply raised his arm.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: VOID THREADS – Manifest spectral chains to anchor enemy in dimensional space]
Dozens of black threads lashed out, spiraling toward the reflection. But with a laugh, it twisted its wrist—and the threads unraveled mid-air.
[WARNING: NULLIFICATION FIELD DETECTED – Type: Emotion-Based Logic Reversal]
"You're not fighting a shadow," the reflection whispered. "You're fighting your guilt."
It vanished—then reappeared behind Null with a thunderous boom. A hand pressed against Null's back.
[ENEMY SKILL ACTIVATED: REMORSE BLAST – Direct spiritual damage scaled by repressed memory weight]
A shockwave exploded from the point of contact, hurling Null forward like a cannonball.
He smashed into the mirror-walls, fracturing three more timelines in an instant. Each broken shard showed a possible life: a village boy raising his little sister, a scholar obsessed with immortality, a warlord covered in blood.
Null rose, steam curling from his cloak.
He touched his chest.
Burn marks. Real ones.
For the first time in centuries… he bled.
The reflection licked its lips.
"Oh, you felt that, didn't you? That's what makes me different. You gave up pain to gain power. But I held onto it. And guess what? Power built on denial… crumbles."
Null's cloak rippled.
"You talk too much."
[SKILL ACTIVATED: HOLLOW SOVEREIGN DOMAIN – GRAY SUN RISES][Effect: Silence all emotion-based abilities within 200 meters. Initiate Passive Erosion.]
The mirror world dimmed.
A black sun rose behind Null—featureless, glowing faintly gray. The atmosphere cracked as if held together by memories that were never supposed to surface.
The Reflection's expression finally shifted.
"You brought that here?"
Null vanished—reappearing behind the Reflection mid-sentence.
A knee drove into its spine.
Then an elbow shattered its collar.
Then—
[SKILL ACTIVATED: CONCEPTUAL SHATTER STRIKE – Breaks one idea embedded in target's soul per hit]
—Null drove his palm into the Reflection's chest.
Cracks ran through its body—like a mirror fracturing from the inside.
The Reflection gasped.
"You… you think this is enough?"
"No. But it's a start."
[Skill Evolved: Chain of Memory → Anchor of Forgotten Sins][Effect: Targets struck are momentarily stunned by echoes of their worst decisions. Duration: 2.4s]
The Reflection staggered, but its grin returned.
From its palm, it conjured a weapon—a curved blade forged from molten memories. It howled like a choir of sobbing children, shrieking as it was swung.
The blade struck Null's shoulder, and darkness poured out like ink.
But he didn't retreat.
He stepped forward.
[PASSIVE TRIGGERED: HOLLOW RESILIENCE – Damage taken converts into Conceptual Resistance. Current Bonus: +18%]
"You're not real," Null growled. "You're a reflection. A scream bouncing off the inside of my soul. That means you end where I begin."
The Reflection spat blood.
"Then start ending me."
The two clashed again—fists breaking mirrors, blades cracking timelines. With each blow, the realm fractured more, revealing slivers of forgotten futures.
In one, Null held hands with someone he couldn't remember. In another, he stood before legions of monsters, leading them with quiet eyes.
He punched through one such shard as he landed a blow into the Reflection's ribs.
[CONCEPTUAL STABILITY DROPPING. 67% → 51% → 34%]
Cracks ran across the sky now. This place—the Soul Fracture Nexus—was collapsing.
And only one of them would walk away.
The Reflection, limping, grinned again.
"You want to kill me? Do it. But the moment I die… all that I remember—you will, too."
Null paused.
It was the only thing that gave the Reflection power.
Memories.
Regret.
Weakness.
But also...
…something else.
Understanding.
"…Then I'll take them," Null said at last.
And plunged his hand into the Reflection's chest.
The body convulsed.
[FINAL STRIKE: HOLLOW ABSORPTION – Consume and overwrite memory-based echoes][Success Rate: 92% – Initiating Transfer…]
The world screamed.
Memories flooded him—smiles, voices, broken promises, a sister's laughter, a mother's hug, betrayal, loyalty, dying in someone's arms, running away from everything.
They came like waves. Crushing. Splitting.
Null gritted his teeth.
He didn't scream.
He endured.
And when it ended… the Reflection was gone.
He stood alone, trembling slightly.
A single tear rolled down his cheek.
He didn't wipe it away.
[CONCEPTUAL REINTEGRATION COMPLETE][New Title Earned: The Hollow That Remembers][Skill Acquired: Mirrorborn Surge – Gain 3x output for 10 seconds when facing self-based enemies. Cooldown: 12 hours][Soul Fracture Nexus: COLLAPSING]
The realm crumbled.
Null turned toward the forming portal ahead—a silver circle of static in the void.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
He stepped through.
And left the mirror behind.