After that last encounter, Purpleguy was still standing. I could've sworn I killed him. He pulled me up and dragged me to the upper part of the chasm.
"How are you alive?"
"What do you mean? I never died."
"Why did you save me?"
"Because he's ruining my plan…"
I turned my head toward where Purpleguy was looking. In the middle of the chasm was a lump of flesh and skin opening like a flower. From inside emerged a familiar face. It was the beast.
"How the hell is it still alive?"
"It adapts, and it seems it followed you here. Now the question is… will you help me bring it down?"
I hesitated for a moment, why whould he help me? After all, we were on different sides now. I looked at the beast destroying everything in its path and decided to accept his offer for the time being.
"I'll help you. Since, we're both in this together."
"Catch!"
He threw me a modified M1911 with an extended barrel.
"It fires mercury rounds, but don't use them. I'll need you to get inside. The only way to kill it is to shoot its core. The bullets will hurt it, but only temporarily, if you shoot it in any other part."
"So you want me to go in through its mouth?"
"Exactly. I'll handle the obstacles with this."
He pulled a massive sniper rifle from a hard case. I'd seen something similar — a Barrett M82A2 Bullpup — but whatever he had was clearly something else entirely.
"I'll get close to the beast for support. This beauty is loaded with mercury rounds powerful enough to break any tentacle or organ, but not strong enough to fully penetrate its armor and bones to reach the core. That's why I need you to expose it. By the way, I read your file. Can you still fly?"
"Yes."
"Then it'll be much easier for you to get inside."
I set my assault rifle aside — it was useless here.
"See the beast's huge arms? Get its attention so I can take them down; otherwise, you won't be able to get inside."
The beast had many arms and tentacles, but two stood out, covered in protruding bone structures.
I lifted off. I flew past the beast. It struck, and one of its arms got stuck in the rock. Then I heard two consecutive gunshots. The detached arm hit the ground with a thud, followed by the beast's screams.
"One down!"
Purpleguy ran to the other side for a better angle. When I got his signal, I moved in front of the beast — but two tentacles grabbed me, and its other hand smacked me into a rock. I heard three shots, followed by:
"Shit! Andreas, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
"I need to reload, hang on!"
When I stood up, the beast was about to strike again, but I dodged just in time.
"Ready!"
I flew again, and this time I heard only one shot. The beast's arm dropped to the ground.
"Andreas! Now!"
I dove above the beast, retracted my wings, and plunged headfirst down its throat. It felt like falling into empty air. All the moments I'd lived flashed before my eyes. Then I opened them and said:
"Next time, know when to die! Ignite…"
The beast's stomach exploded, revealing its insides everywhere. Something burned me — a searing pain my regeneration struggled to handle. I forced myself up and saw the beast's ribcage wide open, its core exposed. A powerful current blew toward me, burning my face. I could barely stand. I tried to aim the pistol, but my hand shook too much. Then I felt another hand grabbing mine.
"You said we're both in this, so we'll both finish it," Purpleguy said.
I pulled the trigger, and the explosion sent us both flying.
I stood up with difficulty as the beast dissolved. I pointed my pistol at Purpleguy, who had his sniper aimed at me.
"I'll ask again. How are you still alive?"
"I told you — I never died."
"Bullshit! I saw you die."
"Have you ever wondered if that was really me?"
"…"
"The act is over. I played my part well until now. I'm returning to my role as Y.K.," Purpleguy said, dropping his weapon. "It can be the two of us against the world again."
I looked at him and lowered my gun. He continued:
"Don't you feel the connection? Don't I spark your interest?"
"…"
"Don't you feel it? It's just us. You can't be you without me, and I can't be me without you. You need me. We're bound."
"You're obsessed…"
"Maybe… but it's true. We're the only ones who can change this rotten world."
"Wrong, Purpleguy. You were never Y.K. You didn't live what he lived, and you never will. You're just a clone that believes, with body and soul, that it is him. That's why you didn't die — because you're a different clone from the one I killed. A clone who believes he never died in that battle."
"You figured it out, Andreas," said a familiar voice behind me.
It was Y.K., arriving with Coloepy. My sister ran to me and hugged me.
"I'm glad to see you in one piece, little brother."
"Andreas, you're partially wrong. Although this clone is just an impersonation of me, he is me in soul and gesture. We are not made of the same material, but we are both Y.K. in thought and behavior."
I was confused. I still didn't understand everything. Then Coloepy explained everything I needed to know. It all clicked — the Horsemen, the obsaiadan beings — everything.
"Y.K.!" a voice shouted in the distance.
A man with long red hair tied in a ponytail approached us, holding a cane in one hand and a katana without a guard in the other. He barely took two steps before tripping and falling. I recognized him — Chaleon (Davis), the man who defeated me ten years ago. Unlike back then, he now seemed twenty years older: wrinkled and frail. He struggled to crawl toward us. Y.K. picked him up and brought him to his clone.
The clone placed his hand on Chaleon's arm. Both of their pupils dilated, and their appearances began to change.
"My plan was for Purpleguy to distract Emma so I could work from the shadows and convince Davis to help me defeat her. Unfortunately, by the time I succeeded, Davis was too degraded even to walk, let alone kill someone. So I searched for an alternative and discovered this ability — the ability to swap the souls of my clones or my own soul with that of others. Testing it, I concluded the best solution was for Davis to become a clone — one I could not control. That way, I could also use Purpleguy fully."
"And what will happen to Purpleguy?"
"Purpleguy will die along with Davis's old body. A small necessary sacrifice. The new Davis will retain all his abilities and memories — including the innate one — but he will lose the parasite. Still, this gives us a greater chance to kill Emma once and for all," Y.K. explained.
Then Y.K. laid Chaleon's old body down. Purpleguy said to me:
"Thanks, Andreas, for making my short life enjoyable."
He closed his eyes.
"So now what…?" I asked.
"Now we hunt and kill Cristha," said Chaleon, now in his new, strong, wrinkle-free body, lifting the katana from Purpleguy's lifeless corpse.
-Shinja, Andreas