CHAPTER 14 — THE SHATTERING OF SHADOWS
The air trembled.
Adrian felt it before he fully understood it—an electric ripple that ran across the ruined basement chamber, dancing over the cracked tiles and the slowly fading echo of Silas's last scream. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade, every muscle wired, every heartbeat pounding like a war drum.
Around him, the alternate versions of himself and Adriana watched the shadows closely. Ten portals still flickered behind them, their swirling dimensional light reflecting off the blue and crimson sigils etched into the floor.
Crimson Adriana was the first to speak.
"She sensed it," she said, her voice low and tense. "The Demon Queen. Silas's death called her."
Blue Adrian nodded, stepping forward beside the Prime Adrian with a grim steadiness. "We need formation. Now."
Prime Adriana, her eyes bright with resolve, stepped beside her brother. "Then let's show her what all of us can do together."
A distant rumble answered her—a deep, ancient growl that felt as if the earth itself had spoken. Dust drifted from the cracked ceiling. The lights overhead flickered once… twice… then burst in a shower of sparks.
And then the darkness moved.
Not like a shadow cast by something real.
Like a shadow that was alive.
It spread along the far wall like ink in water, writhing, twisting, and climbing upward until it formed the unmistakable silhouette of a horned crown.
A voice seeped into the air like poison.
"Little children… did you truly believe you could hide from me?"
Adrian's breath caught in his throat. The Demon Queen's voice was not loud.
It didn't need to be.
It pressed against the mind, curling into the spine like cold fingers. Every version of Adriana stiffened at once, eyes wide, jaws clenching.
Crimson Adriana hissed, "She's using soul-pressure."
Blue Adrian stepped in front of the Prime twins. "Brace. This is only the beginning."
The shadow ripped open like a curtain, and the Demon Queen stepped through.
She was colossal—at least eight feet tall—her body a writhing mixture of muscle, smoke, and glistening obsidian armor. Her wings unfurled with a sound like tearing metal, each feather sharp as a blade. Her eyes burned molten white, twin suns of hatred.
And she smiled.
"You killed my general," she said, looking at Adrian as though inspecting a small, curious insect. "Clever. But terribly foolish."
Prime Adrian raised his weapon, courage boiling inside him. "We're not afraid of you."
The Demon Queen's laughter rattled the room.
"You will be."
She snapped her fingers.
Darkness exploded.
Tendrils of shadow shot out like spears, aiming for the Prime twins. Blue Adrian grabbed Prime Adrian and hurled him sideways, taking a blast directly in the chest. He smashed into a pillar, cracking it down the middle.
"Blue!" Prime Adriana shouted.
He pushed himself up, coughing smoke. "Still alive. Move!"
Ten alternate twins rushed forward simultaneously, each one brandishing a weapon or channeling a unique power. Crimson Adriana leapt the highest, flames spiraling around her hands as she launched a fiery arc toward the Demon Queen.
The Queen caught the flames in one clawed hand. They hissed, shrank, and died like a smothered candle.
"That all?" she taunted.
Another Adriana—pale-gold, carrying twin daggers shaped like lightning—vanished in a flash and reappeared behind the Queen, blades aimed for her spine.
The Demon Queen didn't turn.
Her tail whipped out, catching Gold Adriana mid-air and flinging her across the chamber like a rag doll. She skidded across the floor, gasping.
Prime Adrian's fists clenched. We won't win by attacking blindly… we need coordination.
"Fall into sequence!" he shouted.
Blue Adrian nodded, wiping blood from his lip. "Agreed. Begin Tri-Vector Formation!"
Three Adrians—including Prime—rushed forward at different angles, forcing the Demon Queen to divide her attention. The Adrian from the shadow-realm duplicate split into three silhouettes of himself. The tech-enhanced Adrian fired energy bolts from bracers strapped to his arms. Prime Adrian slashed upward, aiming for the Queen's face.
Her wings swept outward, creating a burst of wind that sent them all flying backward.
Except Prime Adrian.
He rolled under the blast, slid across the floor, and jumped—catching the Demon Queen's chin with an uppercut infused with pure light energy.
Her head snapped back.
For the first time, she bled.
A single drop of molten white blood hit the floor and burned through the tile.
The Demon Queen slowly turned her head back toward him.
Her smile was gone.
"You," she growled, voice trembling with rage, "are going to suffer first."
She lunged.
Prime Adriana leaped in front of her brother, red sigils pulsing across her arms. She slammed her palms together, unleashing a shockwave that collided with the Queen's momentum. The entire room shook.
"Get back!" Adriana screamed.
Crimson Adriana joined her, flames erupting in a spiral around both of them. Two Adriana's—one Prime, one Crimson—stood side by side, fire shaping the air around them.
The Demon Queen's eyes narrowed.
"Ah," she said. "The hearts of the dimensions. How delicious."
She raised her hand.
From the shadows behind her…
hundreds of clawed minions poured into the chamber.
Twisted creatures with long arms, hollow eyes, and screaming mouths. They crawled across the walls, ceiling, and floor, all surging forward at once.
Blue Adrian cursed. "She brought a horde!"
Prime Adrian stepped to the front of the line beside his sister. "Then we fight the horde!"
The alternate twins formed a circle around the Prime twins.
Weapons ignited.
Powers flared.
The Demon Queen raised her arms, directing the beasts forward like a wave of living death.
"Drown them," she hissed.
And the battle erupted.
Claws clashed with steel. Fire lit the walls. Lightning cracked. The chamber shook under the force of ten dimensions worth of power colliding with the darkness.
Prime Adrian fought harder than he had ever fought, slicing through shadow creatures that dissolved into smoke. Adriana leapt beside him, red sigils blazing like meteors, each strike obliterating attackers in a flash of crimson light.
Blue Adrian joined the front, back-to-back with Prime Adrian.
"You're holding up well," Blue said between blows.
Prime Adrian grinned despite the chaos. "You too."
Crimson Adriana flipped through the air, fire trailing from her hands as she hurled an inferno at a swarm of creatures. Gold Adriana darted through the chaos with lightning speed, cutting down shadows before they could touch the Prime twins.
Yet for every beast they killed…
More crawled from the darkness.
Adriana gritted her teeth. "There's no end to them!"
The Demon Queen watched with cold delight.
Then Prime Adrian felt the shift in the air—a surge of dark power gathering.
He looked up.
The Demon Queen was lifting both arms, forming a massive sphere of black energy above her palm. It pulsed, roared, and grew until it was the size of a boulder.
She spoke only one word.
"Die."
She threw it.
Prime Adrian grabbed Adriana and dove—just as the world exploded behind them in a tidal wave of shadow.
The ground cracked.
The ceiling buckled.
And Adrian realized something with a chill.
They had barely survived a single attack from her.
Breathing hard, he helped Adriana up.
"We can't win like this," he whispered.
Adriana nodded, her crimson aura flickering. "Then we'll change the fight."
Blue Adrian landed beside them. "We need the dimensional cores. If we combine our powers—if all versions of us merge our energy—we might create enough force to wound her again."
Prime Adrian stared at the raging battle around them.
Ten Adrians.
Ten Adrianas.
One monstrous queen.
He nodded.
"Then let's do it."
The three locked hands.
Across the battlefield, the other versions sensed the signal—and began to converge.
The Demon Queen narrowed her burning eyes.
"What are you planning, little stars?"
Adrian lifted his head, blue light gathering across the circle of alternates.
"We're finishing this," he said.
And as the chamber filled with blinding dimensional energy…
The Demon Queen finally looked almost—
Almost—
Concerned.
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