Tear A Path 322 The Waiting Room

"We haven't traded names, I don't know his, so it would make sense that he didn't know mine." Though these words were soft and serene, underneath the surface his whole body was revved up and that dangerous mind of his had calculated several ways to subjugate this person in front of him, non-lethal or otherwise...

He was still unsure of what situation he was in at this very moment, but if anything happened he was at least prepared to settle this one at the drop of a hat.

"Calm down, geez it's always like this, if anything doesn't work out just beat it up." Immediately the person disguised as Moto-tsune began to morph.

His body melting into a silhouette before emerging once more, forming a very familiar skin.

"So you really are looking to get beat up."

While tough, these words were were little more than bl.u.s.ter coming from Zhao Wei's mouth. As any preparedness he had for an altercation left the window the moment he saw the figure turn into an image of him.

But not really...

If it'd been a perfect copy, Zhao Wei would've had little dilemma about flooring the man then and there.

He'd read enough books and watched enough television to know that doppelgängers meant trouble. But the person he saw in front of him looked nothing like him... not anymore anyway.

At the start he though maybe the man wasn't too good at this, a lot of features that first came out seemed wrong, the body was too short, the skin was much softer, the hair was a darker shade than the dusty mop that sat upon his scalp.

Even then, something was very unsettled him about all those things, like he'd seen them all before.

His eyes continued to widen as the process continued, coming to a head when the clothes formed.

It was a simple polo s.h.i.+rt jeans and a pair of sneakers, not something anyone would bat an eye at. But the very sight of it sent his mind reeling at the completed persona.

They were his clothes, his height, his hair, even his expression...

but they were from a whole reality ago.

"Who are you!?" He shouted.

Surprised by the hostility that came out of his own mouth and the realization of a feeling that brought out such a reaction.

Fear.

It wasn't the fear of death or between predator and prey.

Something deeper... Darker...

Something more...

Twisted.

"You're asking because you don't know? Or because you do?" His younger version raised his arms, a slight smirk peeking out from his face. "They say you should start worrying if you can't recognize yourself in the mirror anymore you know..." He spoke while looking down at the shape he took.

There was little time for any more words as Zhao Wei's fist punctured the s.p.a.ce his younger self inhabited.

Instead of tearing flesh however, it hit the wall behind his target, said target vanis.h.i.+ng as if he was never standing there in the first place.

A huge spiderweb immediately spread from the point of impact. But the crumbling of this earthen wall didn't happen, replaced by the sound of shattering gla.s.s as millions of pieces flew of the wall, cascading onto the floor like glistening rain around him.

What was left when Zhao Wei looked up, was the cracks that held itself up on the wall. Each reflecting a sight he didn't want to see, the him from so long ago.

The him who couldn't do anything but watch as something was ripped away from right in front of him.

"Like what you see?" His clone, appeared behind him in the reflection.

"Raaahhhh!!" Zhao Wei turned and tackled himself into the ground, his counterpart smiling as they both tumbled down.

Raining a flurry of fists down. With the killing intent behind each of them, they'd be able to crack scales of beasts and reach all the way down to the bone.

But now his fists did little more than bruise and bleed the face of his adversary, who did a gurgled laugh as he tried to spit out the blood the built up in his mouth.

His reaction only stoked the frustration building inside Zhao Wei in this moment.

He raised his arm high ready to bring it down in a heavy swing. But the chaffed knuckles never landed.

His body didn't let him, as a sharp pain in his chest sent him reeling into a fetal position.

Hugging his feet and gritting his teeth as he tried to fight the pain that came from his chest but felt like it went all the way to his head.

"I told you to calm down." The impostor picked himself up, digging a forefinger into his mouth as he felt around for a shaky tooth.

"Now I can take the pain away nice and easy, but you're gonna have to pick yourself up and come with me." He said.

"Urghhh!" Zhao Wei groaned as he tried to turn towards the man, "Who are you?" he whispered through gritted teeth.

"Don't you think that line gets a little redundant?" He bloodied face formed a c.o.c.ky grin. "I'm pretty sure you know it already, but since you're being such a baby about it I'll spell it out for you just to be nice."

And the words he didn't want to hear came out from that grinning mouth.

"I'm you."

"That's impossible!" Even with the pain, Zhao Wei managed to force a retort out. His face turning a shade of red far removed from anything considered normal.

"Oh it's very possible." The clone stepped forward. "Even better than that, I'm the one that you like."

He kneeled down in front of Zhao Wei and held him up by his hair.

Once more his body morphed, this time into Zhao Wei of today, strong, fast and lethal as he was.

"I'm the one that gave you everything you wanted." He took a big shard of gla.s.s lying on the ground and brought it up to Zhao Wei's face showing him a reflection of himself. "Without me, all that's left would be this guy right here."

"And I'm telling you it's time to get out that door." He gestured at the door.

Which Zhao Wei only noticed now was peculiar.

Unlike the rustic earthen walls and olden day beds that littered this place, this door came from another time.

It was the kind of white that came from water damage, small cracks on the surface barely giving a peek to the maple wood. A simple silver handle adorned it, years of hands rubbing against it had blurred the s.h.i.+nny coat off the top.

"Why?" Zhao Wei asked, the pain had subsided, but he was pretty sure it wasn't gone for long and even now he was a useless heap in the floor.

"Because I'm done, we're done with all this, else we wouldn't be here." A hint of annoyance came up from his clone as he spoke.

"And where is this?" He asked.

"I'm don't know if it has a name. But I call it the waiting room." He said as he held Zhao Wei up. "As for where, I'm not sure spiritual wise or whatever, but the psychical location... my best guess is probably inside your head."

"That's impossible, I've never been in a room in t.i.thor." Zhao Wei said looking up at himself, whose eyes were drawn towards the bed.

"Not before today."

——————————————————————-

In a room in t.i.thor.

"What's his condition!?"

"My answer is still the same even if you scream that question at me a minute later!"

"Then do something to change it!" Thirteen screamed at Moto-tsune as she plunged a dagger into the wall next to his head.

"Hey that's enough!" Jeff put himself between the two.

Old and young Dracarian stared each other down before Thirteen inevitably walked away. Sounds breaking and cras.h.i.+ng followed her wake as she moved further and further away.

"You can't tell us anything?" The old naga asked.

"I wish I'd have more to offer up, but our military doctors can only do so much with their equipment and his wound. It's so close to his heart that they're scared anything they do will worsen his condition..." If it's not bad already, he left out.

"So we're left with nothing but to watch him die?"

Inside the room, Zhao Wei's pale white body laid on the bed attached to a monitor.

A wound the diameter of 2 fingers was apparent on the left side of his chest as several personnels in scrubs gathered around him.

Moro-tsune came in hoping to ask them for some good news, but from their look, he felt like he wouldn't be getting any.