V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 236: Dual-Ego

Alice found herself falling, drowning in never-ending darkness with no way back. Flashes of her past flooded through, eating away at the last of her remaining life force. Soon there would be nothing left to speak of. She knew of this feeling going through it once before. It was the feeling of dying.

She didn't fight it as her skin began to peel away, and her life was almost done. But for that split moment, a small spark shined, the last part of her willingness to fight. Forcing her eyes open, Alice looked around the damning sight of absolutely nothing. The light above her fading with each passing moment. A second wind came to her as she bit her lip, trying to reach the light and return. Waving her hands around, trying to swim back up, she found it to be no use. A small voice whispered from below, taunting her. "There's no point in anything. Give up and drown in the deep."

"Never!" Alice roared, making a small way up only for serval hands to latch onto her dragging her further at high speeds. Trying to free herself, she kept ripping the hands away, refusing to give up. Her eyes began to glow yellow as she screamed, letting out a burst of her Garden form, destroying all the hands. Feeling herself fade once more, she used the last of her strength to ascend to the light. Reaching out, she was blinded by the warmth before slipping away.

"Get up. I said, get up." Alice's eyes snapped opened, finding her in a pure black void. To her, right was a girl with spitting similarities with her. The only differences were the longer silver hair running down to her waist and two yellow eyes. She was slightly shorter than Alice. But it was without a doubt who she thought it to be. Her dual ego Eve Berry. "Are you pleased with yourself? Do you think she would be proud of you?"

"Where am I?"

"Dead. Or dying, you managed to drag yourself out of the abyss of the Garden and made it here. Not that it will do you much good." Eve whispered with her arms crossed. "You killed us both."

Standing up, Alice stared onwards see a rusted giant white door with engravings of Alice's past memories onto it. Walking towards the door, she stared on lost. "What is this?"

"The way back, I suppose." Trying to open the door but with no luck. It would budge to any force, nor was there any other way in opening it. "Don't bother; you cannot open it. The door will only open to someone if they want to return to the living."

Alice turned to Eve, lost. "That doesn't make any sense; I want to go back. I need to save Alton!"

Eve snarled at his walking around Alice, dragging a teddy bear across the floor. "Save Alton, you say? I won't deny that it isn't true, but the idea makes me sick. Throwing away your own life when so many people gave everything for you to live. Now you rush in the first chance you get to save him, and for what? You to die and never see him again. You may want to go back, but I have no intention of doing the same."

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Alice stared blankly at Eve, looking lost. "Who said you had any say in this? This is my life, and I choose to fight for my friends until the very end."

Before any more could be said or done, serval mossy chains ripped from the ground holding Alice down. "I refuse for you to throw your life so effortlessly away for others! I cannot watch something like that."

Alice struggled, scrunching her face together, screaming, jolting about, trying to break free. "I don't care what you think! If sacrificing my life for his is what has to happen, so be it! I'll save him no matter what!"

Eve snapped, storming over, grasping the back of Alice's neck-snapping her back. "I've had enough of your games, Alice! If you want to throw away your life so quickly when you still have so much to live for… I lost mine too quickly, I had so many regrets and things I wanted to do, but they were all taken from me… I don't want the same to happen to you! But if you are just willing to throw that away, then you'll just rot away down here with me forever."

Alice stopped struggling, staring at the door. "You've been here the whole time, haven't you?"

Eve flinched, loosening her grip before letting go of Alice entirely whispering. "I have. 400 years I've been here—400 years of waiting. Then you came along, and I got to witness another life again, even if it was through the crack in the door. I saw the life I never got to have. A loving sister who was always there to cheer me up, friendships that would last a lifetime… A feeling of love that has only blossomed further since. I've seen it all, and it's killed me inside more that you treat something like that with such little care. Don't let your feelings for Alton sway you from taking your own life."

Alice stared down, shaking her head with a small smile. "It isn't like that. I love him, yes, but for very different reasons. He was the one who ignited the spark into who I am today. He inspired me to take up the mantel and help others in need, and when I was at my lowest ready to throw in the towel, he was there. He'd never give up on me after so long engulfed in my own darkness. He was the first one to make me smile, and I'll never forget that. And even when he hit rock bottom and the whole world was against him, Alton was there and saved my life in turn for his own. So yes, how can I not love him? But I don't want that, no, even if he chose me, I would refuse because that's not what I want from him. I'd prefer to watch from the sidelines because there is somebody out there better suited for him. But regardless, that doesn't mean I should just give up and abandon him because he would never give up on me!"

Eve's eyes widen as Alice broke from her chains, punching the door repeatedly, leaving no sort of impact apart from her bloody fists. "Stop it… What, just what do you think you're doing?!"

Tears ran down Alice's eyes as she kept bashing the door down with no success sobbing. "I'm returning back to the people who I love with or without you. Alton, Zinnia, Iris. Everyone! I cannot let them down!"

"It's useless. Surely you must know that too. Why then? Why do you fight knowing it will be for nothing?"

Alice kept going losing wind, panting, her hands going all numb as blood trickled on the floor. "Then help me! Lend me the strength to defeat my foes and fight!"

"What?" You're not serious!"

"You care for Alton, too, right? You've seen my memories; no, you shared them. Don't give up on him, I beg of you!"

Eve stared blankly, feeling empty. "Me? What's this memory?"

"I hurt them badly. Pushed them all away when they were just there to help me. I was too fixated on myself that I forgot them entirely. I'm afraid they would never forgive me."

"You can't know unless you try. I left friends in the Garden because my brother said so. I also feel bad, but I know once we liberate and destroy the Garden, I'll save them. That's what the Children of the Garden are for."

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

"About what?"

"I always thought Children of the Garden were pawns of the very same used to destroyed humanity. That's what I believed…"

"You're one of us, too, aren't you? I can tell by the pain in your eyes. Seen as an enemy on both sides. We seemly don't belong anywhere. Not with the Garden nor the Humans fighting a two-side battle against our own allies. Adam worked it out a while back; we aren't born of the Garden nor this world. We are spectres of another world born for the sole reason for defeating the Garden; that's what he believed anyway."

Eve stared on lost. "I don't remember…" She stopped smiling faintly. "I get it now." Walking towards Alice, she kneeled down, holding her broken hands sighing. "You're seriously useless with me, aren't you? Fine, let's go save Alton together."

Standing up, Eve flicked her hand forward, summoning her scythe, cutting the door in half. The endless black void erupted with light as everything turned to a shining white. Holding her hand out, Alice took it, shocked. "Eve…"

Shaking her head, Eve walked behind Alice wrapping her arms around as chains wrapped around Alice's arms. "We are now bound to each other forever. Your power is mine so, let's play sometime."

Alice gripped her hands tightly as flowers flurried from them. "Eve, let's see the world together."