The prospect of being an echo of himself terrified Dallion. As much as he was certain that he was the real him, there was just enough doubt for him to reconsider. If he was the original, nothing stopped him from leaving the awakening shrine. The echo would remain here, or alternatively vanish, and he would get back to challenging the village chief. However, if he turned out to be the echo, then attempting to leave would make him disappear.

“Yeah, it’s a tough one.” The other Dallion nodded. “Don’t know what to suggest, man. If you want, I can leave. That way you’ll stay here.”

Or vanish, Dallion thought.

“What’s the name of my first—”

“Alabaster, though it was my mom’s poodle and not my own.” The other finished the sentence. “Look, I can read your mind. Asking questions won’t get you anywhere. Even if I am the echo, I’ll know the answer as you ask it.”

That was hardly fair! If there was mind reading, it had to go both ways. Dallion moved to the altar. It was a solid piece of multi-colored crystal, identical to the one in the cave chamber, save for the wear and tear. Poking it revealed nothing useful—it would have been far too easy if that had revealed the truth.

“So, must we fight each other?” Dallion asked.

“I guess?” The other shrugged. “She didn’t tell us much. Maybe we just have to prove who is who.”

“How about a truce?”

“I thought about that, but would that help?”

“I don’t know. Maybe if we shake hands, something will appear, or we’ll merge in one, or something.”

It was a strange idea, but given everything not the worst Dallion had come up with. The other him apparently agreed, for he went to the altar and offered his hand. Taking a deep breath, Dallion shook the hand and… nothing happened. Both of them were there, just as before. There was no glowing rectangle, nor any spectacular light effects.

“So, what’s Plan B?” The other Dallion asked.

“Don’t you have any ideas?”

“I’m not the one that needs convincing what I am. I thought it would be better if you come up with your own plans. It’s not like you can keep them a secret from me.”

The logic was flawless, just as Dallion would have come up with… although the other him was wrong about one thing—he would have trusted an idea that hadn’t come from him, as long as it was a good idea.

How to prove that he was someone. This sounded very much like a paradox puzzle. Strictly speaking, there was no way to prove that a person was who they thought they were. Dallion had watched enough movies on the subject to be sure of that. If he were back on earth, maybe the wonders of technology could compare his genes with that of the other Dallion and come to a conclusion. Lacking that, though…

“What if we both leave at the same time?” Dallion asked.

“That way no one would know what to expect until it was over,” the other said.

Dallion appreciated the other him approving of the idea, although he didn’t like the air quotes his counterpart made when saying “no one.”

“How do you plan on defeating the village chief?” Dallion asked all of a sudden.

“Huh? Same way you’re thinking of doing it.”

“Just say it, please. I can’t read your mind, remember?”

“Fine, fine.” The other Dallion sighed. “I’ll do it in the morning, when everyone is out there to see. It has to be public, otherwise he might try to chicken out. Probably, he’ll have me fight Veil first. Not Gloria, though.”

“And if you have to fight her?”

“All depends on what happens, I guess. I won’t hurt her, but I won’t let her win either.”

“That’s a really bad plan.”

“Hey,” the other Dallion laughed. “It’s your plan as well. It’s not like we’ve got many options here. This isn’t a medieval duel or something. The old man tried to kill us half a dozen times.” He waved his hand. “Okay, not kill us, he only tried to seal our awakened power. You know that if he manages that, it’ll be back to having a echo.”

Dallion shivered at the prospect. Now that he knew exactly what the scribe was and what he could do, having to bear one again was slightly terrifying.

“Anything else, I missed?” The other Dallion asked.

“Guess not.” Drat!

“Let’s go, then.”

Dallion waited a few more moments, then slowly made his way towards the arch he had come from. Every step his fears increased. He felt that he was the real one, and he definitely didn’t want to disappear. What if refusing to find the other him resulted in Dallion being trapped in the shrine for all eternity?

Reaching the threshold, he stopped. Somehow the dartbow had found itself in his hand. The other Dallion was only a step away. It would be so easy for him to ensure that he would be the one getting out. A single shot and…

“Hold a sec!” Dallion shouted, taking a step back. “I have it!”

“You’re going to shoot me,” the other said in a cold voice, buckler raised high. “That’s really low, you know.”

“No, it’s not.” Before the other him could react, Dallion squeezed the trigger.

BOLT WOUND

Health reduced by 50%

Sharp pain came from Dallion’s leg. However, he didn’t mind it. Rather the opposite, he felt relieved. Putting the dartbow back in its holster, he looked at the other him, a smile shining through his pain.

“I never said I’d be shooting at you,” Dallion said. “But you knew that, given that you can read my thoughts and all.”

“Yeah, I knew.” The other smiled. “All part of the test.” He walked back to the altar. “Good thinking. An echo can only survive one shot. Good thing that you upped your body. Dartbow bolts are serious business. Next time you’re in doubt, just bang your head in the buckler—safer that way.”

“Right.” At least now he knew exactly how much damage a bolt did. “Were you in on it from the start?”

“Duh. I might be your echo, but I wasn’t made by you. How else could I guide you? Besides, breaking the fourth wall would have been weird. Now that you know what an echo is, it’s okay. No hard feelings, right?”

He sat on the altar, waiting for Dallion to leave.

“Oh, right.” The echo laughed. “The thing about mind reading. Echoes always read the thoughts of their creators, not the other way around. We have to know what we’re supposed to be, after all.”