Luxcious bowed his head and closed the portal behind him. He had to stop James, before he committed any more murders.

  James looked back towards the spire which pierced the heavens behind him. He then gazed at the overgrown and war-torn citadel ahead of him. James looked up at the aunyx spire at its center as fear began to overwhelm him. He fell to the floor unconscious as his eyes slowly rolled back into his skull. The last thing his mind could feel was insanity slowly beginning to latch onto him. James woke up again only to be face to face with himself, albeit with no missing skin. He stared at this double for a moment before drawing his sword. The double did the same, only taking longer to do so as it was right-handed. James chuckled and put the sword away before circling his double.

  ”So, still holding on Cassius?” James smiled.

  ”Give me back my body you wench!” Cassius hissed.

  ”Great, you’re still hung up on not getting your body back.” James groaned.

  ”I never wanted this! But no, you had to take control away from me! You wanted to live forever, no matter the cost!” Cassius responded.

  ”Is it not in my nature to steal? Why blame a thief foe being a thief?” James hissed.

  Cassius simply looked at James and groaned.

  Silas looked at Cassius and noticed the darkness creeping up behind him. He chuckled as his vision faded and he collapsed to the floor once again. James opened his eyes again only to be met with a black cat staring back at him. Only the cat had one singular glowing orange eye on its forehead and its tail split in two at the base. The “cat” tilted its head and rubbed its face against his legs. James smiled and patted the cat on the head. He listened as it purred before making direct eye contact with it.

  “Well, it’s been while since I’ve seen you, hasn’t it Lythros?” James asked.

  The cat finally looked up at him and smiled. James felt himself getting colder as it stared into his eyes. He winced in pain as something began to burrow into his mind. James turned his thoughts inward and entered his mind once again. Only this time, darkness began to crawl out from the depths, covering everything that it touched. He looked at Cassius and smiled as the darkness took hold of him. He walked towards him and the darkness grew tendrils so as to restrain Cassius. He tried to speak, but the words could not exit his mouth. James chuckled and watched as Cassius was dragged down into the depths. The darkness moved forward so as to grab James and drag him downward, but he drew his pistol and fired a warning shot. At once the darkness crept back a little, so James fired another shot, and the darkness retreated from his mind.

  He opened his eyes again to find that Lythros was still staring at him. James got up, put Lythros on his shoulder, and walked towards the citadel. The massive gateway, which was once the entrance, was now nothing but rubble. Time had not been kind to this place. The once beautiful ramparts were overgrown with countless flowers and vines. James walked through the ruined gateway and finally set foot inside the walls of the now derelict citadel. He looked around to see that the buildings too now lie in ruins. Then he stared up at the massive aunyx spire at the center of this place. The spiral staircase was for the most part still functional, despite a few gaps between most of the stairs.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  James began to climb up the spire, but the stairs only got him so far. The way inside was blocked off by rubble, so James decided to climb the rest of the way up. He pulled out his sword and dug into the wall above him. The blade stuck and James used it as a bar so as to swing to a nearby ledge. Despite the velocity and angle of the swing, James did not reach the ledge. His fingers were just barely out of reach and as such he began to fall 500 feet downward. James quickly recalled the sword and threw the blade up towards the ledge. He was approaching the ground and fast, it would only take a few more seconds before he hit the ground.

  Luckily, the blade latched onto the ledge a second before he hit the ground. James could just barely touch the floor from this height. He sighed and looked at Lythros whose fur was arched back. James chuckled and retracted the hilt of the sword. Once he reached the ledge, James used that the grab onto the rim around the spire’s roof. Once he had reached the roof, he dangled his feet over the edge and looked down at the world below.

  ”When’s the last time I came here?” James asked.

  ”Pretty sure it was when you murdered a politician by pushing him off of this exact spot.” Lythros answered.

  ”Did I.. did I really do that?” James replied.

  ”Last time I checked, you did. Sheesh, how come you can remember all of your stupid contingencies but not the people that you’ve killed?” Lythros responded.

  ”Honestly, I don’t know, it’s just how my mind works. I do have one other question for you though.” James said.

  “And that is?” Lythros asked.

  ”Why did you, presumably, kill off Cassius? What good did that do you?” James asked.

  “Well, I have something to ask you, what good did it do you? Because I’m pretty sure he wanted all of us dead.” Lythros replied.

  ”Wrong, I did.” James cackled.

  Lythros sighed and looked up at the eclipse, she could sense something staring back at her, something familiar. James tapped her on the head and showed her his revolver.

  ”This, I made this in case of an emergency. That bastard, Cassius does not know about this. Now there should not be a difference between him and I, yet despite that fact there is a difference. Because I am in control and he is not.” James smiled.

  ”Uh huh, why should I care?” Lythros asked.

  ”Fair point cat, fair point.” James groaned..

  ”You did well to forget my apathy.” Lythros answered.

  ”That I did, thanks for reminding me of that.” James said.

  ”Don’t move.” a voice said from behind the two.

  James looked around only to be met with Cassius staring back at him. He was an exact mirror image of James, save for the hair, which was ginger instead of brunette. James drew his pistol, but Cassius had already beaten him to the punch. James stared down the barrel of a gun similar to his own. He laughed for a moment before his vision went white as the bullet exited the chamber. It pierced through his skull and his body fell off the edge and plummeted to the ground below. Lythros looked over and almost jumped off the ledge as well. But Cassius had grabbed her before she could do so. He held her by the neck and locked eyes with her. Lythros wanted to pierce into his mind, but she decided against it.

  “Long time no see, old friend.” She whispered.

  “How have you been?” Cassius asked as he pat her on the head.

  Lythros shook her head and smiled as Cassius let go of her. The two then sat down and watched the eclipse for a while.