No sooner had the doppelganger said the words that he immediately threw himself forward towards Arden. Arden expected the worst, thinking that his other self was a Starborn, but it seemed that he was still mundane.

  Their specs were similar.

  Arden had a chance here.

  He brought his hands up to protect his face from Other-Arden’s strike. If there was one thing Arden was confident in, it was his defense. He had been attacked by Yaan so many times at this point that he knew how to best mitigate damage taken.

  ‘Someone who gets stronger the more he is bullied and beaten. That’s me!’

  “That’s what you think,” Other-Arden said, as if he was reading Arden’s mind. “You haven't gotten any stronger.”

  When Arden felt the impact of the doppelganger’s fists, he grunted in pain. A snapping sound that he was intimately familiar with resounded from his now broken left hand.

  Arden looked towards the doppelganger while baring his teeth like a wild dog. Confusion crossed his mind when he saw that the doppelganger’s hand was shattered. Strangely, there was no blood or gore of any sort.

  “I told you,” Other-Arden said. “My body is only being held together by my Soul. It's incredibly weak, but it can be put back together infinitely.”

  To prove his words, shards of something from across the room all came back together below Other-Arden’s wrists to reform his hand.

  “I don't have to abide by my biological limits. I have none with my broken body.”

  The doppelganger rushed forward again, this time much faster than Arden could react. With the sound of shattering glass, Arden felt another jolt of pain in his side, causing him to cough up blood.

  “Your body really is weak. To sustain internal injuries from a simple punch. How the hell haven’t you died yet?”

  Arden’s left hand and side glowed white as the Legacy Ability worked its magic to prolong his life.

  “Oh, right. That’s how.”

  Arden leapt forward while his body was still healing. He threw a punch towards the doppelganger, but it was easily evaded.

  He didn’t give up. He followed Other-Arden relentlessly as he dodged all of Arden’s attacks, enraging him greatly.

  “Jeez, look at you. I didn’t know I would be this sloppy.”

  With a simple kick followed by the sound of shattering glass, Other-Arden crushed Arden’s arms with another sickening snap.

  Blinded by rage and pain, Arden rushed forward with his broken arms. Other-Arden was down a leg. His mobility was cut in half. Even with a broken arm, Arden would still make sure to land an attack.

  But his idea would not become reality.

  Even with only one leg, Other-Arden managed to nimbly avoid any and all attacks that Arden threw his way. Half the time, he didn't even move from his place. His foot stayed planted on the floor the entire time.

  As Arden noticed this, he realized he was wrong.

  Arden and the doppelganger may have had similar specs. Hell, with the doppelganger’s fragile body, it was possible that as a whole, Arden’s specs were better.

  But the doppelganger was making up for it in pure skill.

  How long did the doppelganger spend fighting to effortlessly avoid every single attack without even taking a step?

  ‘Is this an unwinnable fight?’

  Arden steeled his resolve.

  It didn't matter.

  Even if it was unwinnable, he would still hold out as long as he could.

  Sya was in the next room. He couldn't just let himself be defeated. Not when she was still in need of protection.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Other-Arden said, as his shattered leg reformed. “You look down on Sya too much. You’ll see eventually. She is one of the strongest people in your life. Truth be told, you are probably the one in need of protection.”

  “Even so,” Arden said, regenerating his broken arms in the moment of calm. “I’m still her big brother. It’s my duty to prevent anything bad from befalling her.”

  Other-Arden laughed.

  “Yes. Your body is weak, but your mind is strong. You are in fact a suitable candidate for the Legacy. When you let it go, never forget your spirit.”

  “I’m not letting it go.”

  “Yes, you will. It’s only a matter of time. I can do other things to you besides violent ones. Mental torture has always been more efficient than physical, anyway.”

  Arden dodged one of the doppelganger’s attacks and jumped back.

  He couldn’t fight. He had to come to terms with that.

  He looked back on all of his encounters with Yaan to try and gleam some sort of enlightenment from the way that Yaan fought. But the more he thought about it, there was no skill in those fights. Yaan never fought, and even if he did, they weren’t fights to begin with. Just one-sided beatdowns.

  He needed something to even the odds. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to win the fight without rigging it in his favor. But there was nothing he could do to make it so. Luck would have to be a deciding factor.

  ‘Luck, huh.’

  *****

  Vera had made it deeper into the slums faster than anyone but Arden. She had run into several of those attempting to search for the “spiteful rat,” but they were handled easily as soon as she learned their intentions.

  Arden was her source of food. She couldn’t let him be killed for what was likely a false rumor.

  It wasn’t long before she was several miles south of where she had met Arden. According to his words, he lived in one of the rundown apartment buildings that stuck out like a sore thumb. All she had to do was find it.

  As she ran, she eventually saw it silhouetted against the morning sun. When she did, and realized just how far south it was, she realized why no one had ever gone there before to kill Arden, despite it being a rather large landmark.

  It was in the restricted zone of the slums. The place where no one ventured due to fear of lingering Celestials after stargates went unattended and ruptured, releasing the beasts in the world to dominate the ecosystem.

  And Arden’s building was right in the middle of such a place.

  She sighed and opened her inventory. Pulling out what looked like a slingshot and a handful of rocks, she continued her journey. She could only hope that she wouldn't run into any Celestials, and hoped even further that if they did show up that they wouldn’t be that strong.

  *****

  Arden pushed his body to the limit to avoid his doppelganger’s attacks. It was all he could do. He didn’t try to narrowly dodge attacks like the doppelganger did. He knew how badly that would fail.

  Instead, he kept his distance as much as he could and jumped inelegantly out of the way of all the attacks he could.

  ‘A man who gets stronger the more he runs away. That’s me!’

  The only problem he was having was that he was starting to get worn out. But a look at the labored breathing of Other-Arden told him that he was getting tired too.

  “What's wrong?” Arden asked, breathing unhealthily. “Getting tired?”

  “What?” Other-Arden asked, also panting for breath. “I'm not tired. You're tired! I can do this all day!”

  Arden grabbed the sheet of plywood that was being used as a table, and swung it up. Before it could meet the doppelganger’s neck, it was shattered by and along with Other-Arden’s fist.

  In the brief window before his other fist came rocketing towards Arden, he reached out and grabbed the largest chunk of plywood that remained. It was about as long as a shortsword and had the rough shape of one as well.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Arden had a weapon now. Not that he knew how to use a sword.

  ‘But what's to learn? Just stab and slash until it is done!’

  With his misplaced confidence in swordplay, Arden swung his chunk of plywood down, expecting to at least surprise his other self.

  What was not expected was for the doppelganger to catch the weapon In his hand. Unlike every other time that the hand was used, it didn't shatter.

  Arden wasn't strong enough to even break through the cracked skin.

  Other-Arden’s punches did more damage to himself than Arden did with a weapon.

  “Woeful,” he taunted. "You don't know the first thing about fighting with a sword."

  With a flex of his cracked hand, the piece of plywood shattered into pieces that could barely be called splinters.

  Changing tactics, Arden ducked another blow, and came up swinging with one of the two cinder blocks.

  Again, Arden’s technique, if one could call it that, had much to be desired. With a grunt, he swung it upward, and like the piece of wood, it was shattered, sending chunks of concrete flying. The pieces of shrapnel tore apart the few pieces of furniture in the room, and embedded themselves in all four walls.

  “This time for sure!” Arden yelled, grabbing the last cinder block.

  As soon as he lifted into the air to swing, he felt a throbbing pain in his arms. He knew immediately that the doppelganger had broken them again, tiring of this fight.

  But that was his plan.

  He wasn't a fan of relying on luck, but sometimes it was the only thing that could be done.

  Arden sneered as the cinder block, sent flying out of his grasp, arced through the air without aim.

  He threw himself forward and flailed his broken arms, distracting Other-Arden enough for the cinder block to crash into his head, shattering it into goreless pieces.

  Arden laughed triumphantly as the doppelganger’s body fell to the ground.

  “Haha! Try healing from that!”

  As soon as he said that, Arden ate his words.

  The pieces of Other-Arden’s head came together, reforming just how it was before with one noticeable difference. Throughout the entire fight so far, he hadn't dropped his laid back smile.

  Until now.

  Ire painted his cracked face.

  ‘Danger!’ Arden thought.

  Before he could react, he felt something smack him in the chest, sending him flying into the wall. He felt his insides, bones and all, get destroyed from the one-two punch of attack and wall.

  Arden stared hopelessly as the doppelganger rushed towards him in an instant holding an elongated chunk of concrete, just like Arden had done with the wood.

  And a stone sword was stronger than a wooden one.

  Arden felt his insides rupture once more, and coughed the remains of them up as his other self stabbed him through the stomach with such force that the wall behind him shattered.

  It was a sound defeat.

  As Arden urgently began the activation of his legacy ability, he looked up and realized that he was lying on the floor of Sya’s room.

  She looked at him with bleary eyes and realized something was wrong.

  “I'll show you what a real sword is like!” Other-Arden yelled from the next room.

  The building started trembling as the doppelganger released his aura. For Arden, it was like standing in the center of a tornado.

  It tore at his skin, and he could see the doppelganger holding his makeshift sword into the air. Energy collected around it, and when Arden looked at it, he could feel how heavy it was.

  ‘How is he doing that!?’

  A quick glance at his sister told him that she too felt the effects of Other-Arden’s attack. True, genuine panic empowered Arden with strength he thought had been lost.

  “Time out! Stop!” He yelled, coughing up chunks of his organs.

  But Other-Arden didn't stop.

  He must have been too absorbed in fighting Arden to notice Sya. Arden believed that If he had, he would have stopped the attack.

  But the attack came.

  The sword fell from the air, carrying with it the weight of judgement and the weight of the other 18 floors of the building.

  Time moved in slow motion for Arden as he heard the crumbling of the building above him.

  The world shook around him, and the building began to collapse.

  Arden didn't need to see it to know it was happening.

  He moved on instinct. His fight-or-flight response kicked in and he chose neither. With new strength, Arden launched up off the floor towards Sya.

  “Get down!”

  With the roof of the building getting closer every second, Sya did as she was instructed, and hit the floor. Arden was on top of her immediately, shielding her with his back.

  Arden sucked in air through his teeth and closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

  The last thing Arden saw before everything went black and he was crushed by his own home was the panic-stricken face of his other self, who just realized what he had done and who had gotten caught up in it.

  *****

  Vera was only the equivalent of a block away when it happened. One second she was running towards the building, and the next, there was a burst of energy, and it started to collapse.

  She watched in both awe and horror at the gruesome majesty of the building falling in on itself. With an ear-splitting crash, the building fell to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust that threatened to blot out the last star in the sky.

  Vera only stopped for a moment to hold a hand over her mouth and nose. Seconds later, she was engulfed in the cloud of rubble. She walked forward with squinted eyes. The dust had yet to settle, even a little bit. Plumes of dust and grit still traveled through the air like a volcano had erupted.

  She brought her shirt up to cover her nose and mouth when she found it hard to continue with her hand. She knew it wasn’t the smartest decision in the world to dive into the wreckage of a collapsed building, but she had a debt to repay. She knew from the rumors around the slums that no one else would come to try and rescue Arden. Most of them would probably only come look for his remains. Thus the burden fell to her.

  As soon as she took a step into the cloud of rubble, she heard Arden’s voice. Though, she could tell it wasn’t directed at her.

  “Damn it! I went too far!” he yelled. “Where are they!?”

  Vera felt a spike of pressure from somewhere nearby. She turned in its direction, which was the same place Arden’s voice came from. As soon as she felt the pressure, all the dust hanging in the air disappeared.

  She involuntarily gasped.

  The only people who could manipulate their aura like that were advanced Starborn. Was Arden a Starborn from the start? That would explain why he was completely unfazed after looking after his sister for a few years.

  With the dust clear, she could see Arden looking through the rubble. He was on his hands and knees, trying to dig something out.

  “Arden!” she called out, breaking into a sprint towards him.

  Arden froze and slowly turned to face Vera.

  When she saw his face, she slowed to a stop.

  “Arden?” she asked.

  His face was covered in dust and tears. But it was also covered in black cracks that made his face look like he was shattered. Upon closer inspection, Vera could see the cracks extended not just on his face, but everywhere on his body.

  “Vera?” Other-Arden asked.

  He felt his heart ache looking at her.

  He missed her so much.

  Looking at her worried face, he wondered if he could follow-through on his goal of death.

  Reluctantly, he turned back to the rubble and continued digging through it.

  He’d done too much already. Death was the only option for him after coming so far.

  And to die he needed the Legacy.

  “Are you okay?” Vera asked, walking closer. “I heard the rumor and came as fast as I could. Then this happened. Were you in that?”

  She didn't care about his disfigured appearance. She was only worried about his well being.

  Other-Arden bit his lip. He didn't deserve to still have feelings for her.

  She knelt next to the cracked Arden. He refused to make eye contact, as if he was afraid of her. She didn’t care. She began going through the rubble as well.

  “Your sister is under this, right? Do you think she’s alright?”

  Other-Arden didn't want to respond. He didn’t want his conviction to break, and he knew that it would if he talked to her.

  But he responded, nonetheless. She was worthy of an answer.

  “She’s alive,” he said with absolute confidence. “In every world, I would always try to protect her. This world is no different.”

  Vera paused and looked at him with a confused expression.

  She was going to ask him what he meant, but before she could, a glowing white arm stuck out from a nearby pile of rubble. Vera didn't waste any time and moved to that one instead. Several large chunks of concrete were laid across the person under the rubble.

  Mustering all of her strength, she pulled a chunk off of the buried person. When it gave way, the weight on the buried person must have lightened, because they were able to move slightly. Vera continued to remove pieces of building from the glowing person.

  ‘Where do these weird people keep coming from?’ she wondered.

  The cracked Arden with perfect aura control, and now a glowing person.

  When another chunk of concrete fell from the person, Vera could tell that the person was on all fours. Squinting from the light, she could make out the figure of a woman beneath the glowing person.

  With enough weight having been finally lifted from the person’s back, he slowly rose to his knees while gasping for air. The first thing he did was put a finger to the neck of the Blight Walker beneath him. When he felt a pulse, relief flooded his body, and his body sagged a little bit.

  “Are you okay!?” Vera asked him.

  He turned to look at her with dazed and tired eyes. He was exhausted and in pain, but he recognized her voice.

  The pale white light of the Legacy Ability disappeared, and Arden spoke weakly.

  “Vera?” Arden asked. “What are you doing here?”

  Vera’s words got stuck in her throat as she looked at the boy she had eaten breakfast with not long ago. He was still wearing the same clothes, just now they were torn and covered in dried blood and gray dust.

  She whipped her head around to where Other-Arden was and saw no one. He was gone.

  Still dazed, Arden looked around with a lazy gaze, surveying the site of carnage. The building that he and Sya had turned into their home was gone. It was absolutely destroyed.

  “Bastard dropped my house on me,” he muttered

  Those were the last words he spoke before falling unconscious on top of his sister.