"What is this?"
I slowly opened my eyes. As soon as they fluttered open, I felt dust fall into them, forcing me to shut them tightly. Tears welled up, and I wiped my eyes.
After clearing my vision, I looked around.
"What the hell?"
Around me, there was nothing but two stone walls. In front of me stretched a long corridor wrapped in unsettling darkness. I stared into the void for a few seconds, and a shiver ran down my spine.
A sense of urgency gripped me.
An urgency to run away.
I turned my back on the darkness and started to run. The path lit up as I moved forward. I could feel something right behind me, so I didn't dare look back. If I stop running, I'll die.
I kept running for what felt like an eternity.
The muscles in my unathletic legs began to ache, and I was reaching my limit.
My breathing was heavy, my heart pounding in my chest. A sharp pain throbbed beneath my ribs.
After a few more minutes, I could barely breathe—it hurt.
Finally, I stopped running.
Slowly, I glanced back, feeling a gaze fixated on me.
A chill crawled up my spine as I turned toward the darkness.
But when I looked, there was nothing there.
"Gulp!" I swallowed hard and faced forward again. There was no sign I was getting anywhere.
What the hell is going on here?
How did I end up in this place?
Wasn't I lying in bed, reading?
I began walking forward cautiously, and the path continued to light up as I advanced.
"Do I need to do something? It feels like I'm not getting anywhere. But wasn't there someone behind me? I'm sure I sensed something and even heard footsteps. Maybe it was just my imagination."
They say in moments of desperation, your mind can play tricks on you.
After walking a few meters, I stopped and decided to search my surroundings. I walked over to the stone wall on my right and ran my hand along it, feeling for anything unusual.
"In situations like this, there's usually a secret passage. I've read enough books and novels to know that. There's got to be something here."
Confidently, I searched, but in the end, I found nothing.
I wasted precious minutes of my life.
So, I moved to the left.
Again, I searched for anything out of the ordinary.
I felt along the wall, but all I found were rough patches. I spent long minutes searching, but all my hands touched was dust.
"Tsk!"
I clicked my tongue and kicked the wall in frustration.
That's when dust began to fall from the ceiling.
The roof started to crack, and I sprinted away as fast as I could.
Chunks of the ceiling crumbled down, and after a while, a hole formed.
I looked up through the opening, and a cold breeze brushed against my skin.
"What is that? Is there ice up there?" I stepped closer.
I stood there for a few seconds until, suddenly, something was thrown down at me.
It was a ladder—an old-fashioned rope ladder with wooden rungs, straight out of an adventure movie.
I looked at the ladder as if it were begging me to use it.
"I feel like once I climb up, there's no turning back," I muttered, gripping one of the wooden steps and planting my foot. I climbed slowly, and a frigid wind blasted my face when my head poked through the hole.
It was dark, with a single light illuminating the strange room.
I climbed up fully and walked toward the light.
The fear that had gripped me earlier was gone.
The light from the ceiling illuminated a single spot—on the floor.
Words were written there.
Reflections break, yet remain,
One life now splits, yet feels the same.
A whispered wish, a shadow grows,
Two hands to touch, two minds that know.
Step forth anew—your twin arose.
I read the poem aloud, and the words on the ground glowed, radiating an even brighter light. I felt like I was about to go blind. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was no longer in the same place.
I looked around, startled.
"Hey, what's he doing?"
"Do you think he's sick?"
"Why is he acting like that?"
"Isn't he strange?"
"Mom, doesn't that man look sick?"
"Shh, don't say things like that."
Voices echoed around me.
I froze, feeling countless eyes on me.
I'm not antisocial or socially anxious, but I'm not used to this much attention.
'Where the hell am I?' I wondered, trying to make sense of my surroundings.
"Hey, sir, are you feeling alright?" a young girl approached me. She was short, barely 160 cm tall. I stared at her, my mouth opening. What should I say?
"..." I remained silent, and the girl smiled.
"Sorry to bother you," she said before stepping away, but I called out.
"Hey, excuse me."
"Hm?"
"Where are we?" I asked.
I looked at her expectantly. She stared at me as if I were insane. My question must have sounded incredibly stupid.
The girl gave me a bitter smile and answered.
"We're in Orario, can't you see the tower?"
Following her gesture, I turned around.
Behind me stood a massive, breathtaking tower.
My heart raced, and my eyes widened as I craned my neck to take in its height.
At that moment, something appeared before my eyes.
[Welcome to the Clone System!]
My lips curled into a smile.
"Is this a dream?"