Devick crawled on the ground like a bug, deciding that no matter how humiliating it was to move like this, it was better than being knocked back for a third time even while being protected. So she kept her head low, wrapped her body tightly with Malice, Merry Consort of Perdition, and tried her best to witness Nether King Hungry Eye in all his searing glory.

Hungry Eye’s body exploded with layered force as his images flowed together in complex combinations. The most obvious was the rapid expansion of his spear; with each gesture, the powerful spear he wielded swelled into a swirling, inflated mixture of Aether and Nether that clashed against the pillar of light in the sky. Next came Hungry Eye’s Yggdrasil image, standing tall in the face of the opponent’s suppression. Last but not least, the area around Hungry Eye burned with spectral grey flames. Even his Nether fought fiercely, spreading out in flickering waves to cover the skyisland.

Despite all that, Devick felt a sinking feeling in her chest as the conflict continued. Bits of rock hopped and jumped in front of her nose, animated by the powerful reverberations. Hungry Eye might be strong, but there was something… unnatural about the image wielded by that armored figure in the sky.

She had obviously encountered world-state images before, but none possessed the sort of relentless self-perpetuation she now witnessed. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that in front of this image, she felt the most genuine fear she had experienced in a long time.

The blinding sword toward pillar of light crashed down. Hungry Eye thrust his spear forward to meet the attack. In the air above the skyisland, all within the shadow of the World Tree, the two forces met with a grinding roar. Devick could only hunch down and avoid the worst of the reverberations. Images from both sides were torn and destroyed by the impact. Yet when the two weapons parted and the combatants prepared for another strike, Devick felt the way the world-state image managed to grab a little bit more leverage in the confrontation.

Even with Malice’s enhanced senses, the truth of the fight blurred above her. Because Hungry Eye didn’t leave the clash without his own benefits. The shockwaves released by the two powerful images smashing against one another came clearly to his side. A swirling maelstrom of force formed around his body, reinforcing the defensive barrier of Nether flames around the skyisland.

Yet while Hungry Eye took the kinetic force, the world-state plundered something… perhaps a bit more valuable.

Again, both struck. Devick blinked as the distant impact slapped her face. Strange eddies of wind filled the surrounding ground. The stone beneath Hungry Eye’s feet crackled with static discharge; the Nether King clearly reinforced the ground in his area to prevent it from collapsing, but already those efforts seemed to be weakening.

When the two weapons parted, both pulled from the air. The expression on Hungry Eye’s face betrayed no worry. Devick could only see determination. If anything, he seemed excited to continue fighting like this. Above, the armored figure reached out and infected the soul of existence. The fundamental truth in the world.

When the pillar of light swung downward, its light became just a little brighter.

The two combatants moved quickly. Black, Nether-wrought spear and the cataclysm of light smashed together over and over again. Both possessed energy reinforced by the wielders, so potent that corrosions visible to even Devick’s limited capability were soon visible. The Nether Spear had to be reinforced with newly refined significance after every impact. The Sword of light needed that brief reprieve to cleanse itself, before it descended with vicious intentions once more.

They are almost entirely equal, Devick thought in awe. First came a sort of envy, wondering when she would be able to rival this sort of overwhelming display. At this point, Hungry Eye and even the armored fellow moved before simply images: their perceptions became worlds which now rammed against one another, over and over again. Then came pride, even as she could only cower behind Hungry Eye, because they were bonded in a way that was difficult to describe but impossible to ignore. Her skin tingled with the close proximity of danger. Devick’s senses sharpened themselves, her Willpower being tempered by the dire situation.

Pride and pleasure mixed; truly, this was the best place for her to grow.

Then came the hateful emotions of fear and uneasiness. Three more brutal clashes shook the sky as Devick carefully observed the relative accumulations of these two duelists. Her fingers tightened on the stone ground beneath her.

…if I had to think of a single difference between the two of them. Devick gulped. She watched Hungry Eye adjust his stance slightly. A portion of the maelstrom’s winds swirled around the Nether spear when he next thrust, creating an attack that shook the sky. Yet despite the addition, the sword of light fell so heavily all the momentum of Randidly Ghosthound was extinguished. Devick’s heart contracted. It’s me. I’m a burden.

The effect wasn’t very obvious at first, but as Devick grew accustomed to their fight, she could pick out the finer details in the way Hungry Eye defended the attacks from that sword of light. The powerful impacts were screened very carefully. Mostly to prevent the skyisland from receiving significant damage, but also Devick could see how he made sure she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by interception the descending waves of force.

Of course, the armored figure also had the Patron of Truth floating by his side. Hungry Eye had struck at her earlier, weakening the condensed Aether in the sword of light. Yet it seemed he hadn’t found the opening to strike against since then.

A part of Devick wanted to retreat immediately, but she also recognized that moving now would only make things more difficult for Hungry Eye. Miserable and stifling as it was, she could only lay on her belly and try not to-

“Stupid bitch. Tch, you don’t deserve to be by his side.”

Blinking, Devick looked up, unable to understand why she could hear a voice right next to her ear. Her confusion only deepened as she looked up and found herself standing there, in the midst of the chaotic energies, looking down at Devick with a superior expression.

“Oh, can you hear my voice? Well then, please cease your meaningless worm belly-wiggling and just die. Hungry Eye would be better off without one such as you holding him back.”

“What the hell!” Devick bellowed at her doppelganger. She flung herself to her feet and jabbed her finger at the other figure. All the details were the same. The sharp smile, the crimson hair, the playful eyes; she couldn’t understand what she was looking at. “Are you—”

Devick couldn’t even finish her question. Hungry Eye might be screening the reverberations, but those forces still were far beyond her. She had leapt up in surprise at the unexpected situation, but the next impact smashed her face painfully into the ground.

Next to her, the other Devick snickered. “Clumsy bitch.”

“You…!” Devick ground her teeth as she craned her neck around to glare at the other version of her. Malice hissed in displeasure but sniffed without being able to understand this specter they witnessed. Truly, this Devick seemed to be impervious to the battlefield above them.

Meanwhile, Hungry Eye continued to fight tirelessly. The radiance from the sword of light was the most eye-catching shift in the struggle, but his Yggdrasil’s details continued to sharpen. The liquid cohesiveness of the swirling spear he unleashed became unnaturally lithe and graceful. The storm orbiting his body gathered up more and more momentum, feeding additional power into each stroke.

“You should be able to clearly see the difference between the two of you. So why do you continue to cling to him?” The other Devick tilted her head to the side. “In the end, a connection between the two of you is a figment of your imagination. Just let go with those rotten and greedy fingers and face the truth.”

Devick didn’t like hearing those words said aloud, but she managed to shoot the fake her a dismissive look. “Now that’s certainly not true. We have a connection-”

“One where he coddles you,” The fake Devick shivered, as though this prospect was the most unpleasant thing in the world. “One where you refuse to acknowledge reality, you refuse to admit the truth of your existence, one where you continue to indulge in the sort of dangerous, irresponsible day-dreaming that got Toll injured.

“Now… his back is obviously a bit broader. The mistakes for which he can compensate are indeed great,” Fake-Devick glanced over toward Hungry Eye. “Yet still… ah, well, I suppose there is no accounting for a desperate woman’s shamelessness. Even the greatest heroes have limits. That is the nature of our world. Persisting past this… is impossible.”

Devick felt a stifling feeling in her chest, hearing her strange doppelganger say those words. More than that, she felt worried as Malice hissed in greater and greater alarm; this manifestation was not normal. A weird weight settled across her limbs. Devick found even just lingering there was exhausting. The next few clashes blasted past with enough force to ruffle her hair into a haphazard mane. Devick bit her lip.

“What? Are you really just going to lie there and die? Well, at least do it quickly.”

Somehow… it seemed this brazen, infuriating manifestation was some product of the opponent’s image. Yet even though Devick wanted to oppose its every word, she couldn’t help but at least feel that the specter had a good point. She raised her gaze and looked at Hungry Eye’s back. The world-shattering weapons kissed and ground against one another for several long seconds. The sky bled and rippled, space and time becoming unmoored between the two powerful forces

Each time the sword fell, the distance it had been diverted by Hungry Eye’s strike grew smaller. Methodically, the armored figure refined the sword of light into a vicious weapon to wield. Hungry Eye didn’t seem perturbed, but the combination of his images, his Nether, and his spear mastery didn’t seem able to hold off the opponent forever.

The World-state image spread and spread, turning existence against him.

Because of the confusion in her heart, Devick ignored the doppelganger as best she could. She raised her head as high as she dared and cleared her throat. Because no matter else what she wasn’t sure… she knew that they were working together. She shouldn’t simply make a unilateral decision. “Hungry Eye… I—”

The words were more difficult to produce than she had thought. Devick gulped down a breath, ignoring the doppelganger who shook her head in an exaggeratedly disappointed manner. “Hungry Eye, should I retreat? If you keep needing to cover for me…”

“No.” His voice was calm and confident. “Where you are is right where I need you. And when I open up a Path… strike at the Patron of Truth, would you? I don’t like the way she just keeps staring at me.”