The duplicate stood a short distance away, with a calm expression, "You rely on Substitute too much."

Elion rose slowly, "You say that as though you do not intend to use it."

"I will use it when necessary."

"Well, so do I." Elion couldn’t help but quietly think how it wouldn’t look so well for him if he was seen bickering with himself, but who was watching? No one.

The copy shook his head lightly, "No. You use it whenever your recklessness creates a problem you could have avoided."

Elion’s expression darkened faintly, which earned a dark smile from the duplicate.

"There it is."

"What?"

"That irritation."

Elion rested Kurogoroshi against his shoulder, "You know, what, you talk too much."

"So do you."

"That is different."

"Is it?"

"Don’t bother being cryptic," Elion sighed, "I can already tell that fighting myself is going to be exhausting."

The copy chuckled, "Only because you know I am right."

Elion vanished, only this time, he did not rush directly forward.

Earth mana erupted beneath him, launching his body upward at an angle. Water gathered around his feet and hardened into thin platforms in the air, allowing him to change direction instantly.

He crossed the void in a blur, and the duplicate reacted immediately as a wave of fire exploded outward.

Elion cut through it as Kurogoroshi split the flames apart, opening a narrow path through the inferno.

The copy raised his sword; Elion disappeared.

[Substitute]

The duplicate’s blade passed through the afterimage, and Elion reappeared below him.

[Temporary Stat Conversion]

Strength.

His left fist slammed into the duplicate’s stomach.

Boom!

The impact folded the copy around his fist and blasted him upward through the void as Elion followed. Water mana wrapped around his feet, propelling him after the ascending figure.

He appeared above the duplicate and raised Kurogoroshi with both hands, and he brought the blade down.

Shk!

The duplicate twisted aside at the last possible moment, but the sword still cut through his shoulder.

Blood sprayed across the void.

Elion’s eyes narrowed as he noticed that the wound was real. The duplicate’s body reacted exactly as his own would.

He continued falling, his injured arm hanging loosely at his side.

Elion did not hesitate; he followed. Kurogoroshi hummed violently as he aimed for the duplicate’s neck.

Then the copy vanished, leaving nothing more than a piece of rock and a cloud of dust. Elion’s pupils shrank.

[Substitute]

The rock and dust dissolved beneath his blade, but a presence had already appeared behind him.

Too close.

The duplicate’s hand pressed against Elion’s back.

Fire magic surged. Elion felt the heat begin to scorch his back painfully. He twisted in mid-air, but the spell had already been cast. Pain and flames exploded through Elion’s chest as several thin streams of blood burst through the skin along his back.

His body spun through the air.

The duplicate followed immediately, his injured shoulder already surrounded by a faint crimson glow as his own blood magic slowed the bleeding.

He raised one hand, and a massive earth pillar formed above Elion, before falling toward him.

Boom!

The pillar slammed into Elion and sent him crashing downward. The invisible ground beneath him erupted.

A deep crater spread across the pale surface, sending fractured lines of light racing outward in every direction.

Elion remained still as dust rose slowly around him and opened his eyes. The pain in his back was sharp, but manageable.

He didn’t have his armour on, but Isla’s pendant had absorbed part of the impact from the pillar, and the fire attack had not reached deeply enough to cause serious damage.

Still, he had underestimated the copy. Elion pushed himself upright and rolled his shoulders lightly. The duplicate descended slowly through the air, landing near the edge of the crater.

"You have grown stronger," he said. "Far stronger than you were when this journey began."

Elion looked toward him.

"But you are still careless." The copy lifted his blade, "You rely on power to compensate for mistakes."

Elion stepped out of the crater, "If it works, it works."

"For now."

The duplicate’s eyes narrowed, "You rush into danger because you assume you will find a way out."

Elion said nothing.

"You provoke enemies stronger than yourself. You take risks without understanding what is waiting for you. You trust your instincts, your system, your sword, and the people around you to carry you through whatever happens next."

The copy tilted his head slightly, "And when that is not enough?"

Elion’s expression remained calm, "I will adapt and find a new way."

"No."

The duplicate smiled coldly, "You survive. You survived William because others intervened before he could send you to the afterlife."

Elion’s grip tightened around Kurogoroshi, "You survived the competition at the academy because of the system someone else gave you."

Mana began gathering around the duplicate, "You survived Asmodeus because Zenith reached the Philosopher’s Stone before you died."

The void trembled faintly, "You call it confidence."

The copy’s eyes darkened, "But how much of it is confidence, really?"

The mana surrounding him became denser. "And how much of it is the arrogance of a man who has been rewarded for every reckless choice he has made?"

Elion remained silent. No immediate response came to mind, because he knew this damned copy was right.

The duplicate smiled faintly, "That is why the memories were shown to you."

The stars surrounding them flickered, "You believe you have moved beyond your past. But you never did."

The void suddenly moved, and the endless stars dimmed. Scenes began appearing within them. His father leaving through the village gates. The younger Elion sitting alone beneath the oak tree. William smiling coldly as he stood over him.

The tournament.

The Demons.

Melroy’s battered body falling from the sky.

Isla crying as she bid her mother farewell.

Celeste waiting for him somewhere beyond the trial, carrying his child. Elion stared at the images, and the duplicate stood quietly among them.

"You do not want to be helpless again," he said. "That is all this has ever been about."

Elion’s expression darkened, but the copy continued, "You chase strength because you are terrified of losing people." It raised its blade toward him.

"You collect power."

His aura surged.

"You collect skills."

Crimson mana spread outward like smoke.

"You collect women."

Elion’s eyes narrowed sharply, but the copy smiled.

"And yet, when the time comes, you still throw yourself into danger without thinking about what your death would do to them."

The words struck harder than any blade. For a long moment, Elion said nothing as the images continued rotating around him.

Celeste.

Aria.

Mira.

Ophelia.

Esmeralda.

Zenith.

Isla.

All of them appeared briefly within the stars, waiting, watching, and trusting him to return. The duplicate’s voice echoed through the void, "You tell yourself that you fight for them, but what happens when your recklessness leaves them mourning you?"

The void went silent as Elion stared at the copy for a long moment. Slowly, he lowered Kuro. The duplicate raised a brow, "Nothing clever to say?"

Elion exhaled lightly, "No."

The answer seemed to surprise him. Elion looked toward the memories drifting through the surrounding stars.

"My father died because he was weak," he said quietly. "Or perhaps because he was unlucky. It does not matter anymore."

The younger Elion sat near the village gates, "I spent years believing strength would solve everything."

A smiling William appeared, "I still believe that strength matters."

He watched an image of Melroy fall through the sky, "But you are right about one thing."

Elion’s gaze drifted toward the image of Celeste, then Isla, then Zenith, "I have been careless."

The duplicate’s expression turned to confusion as Elion looked back toward him, "I have survived situations I should not have survived. I have taken risks because I believed I could handle whatever came next."

He tightened his grip, "And I have been lucky."

The copy stared at him silently.

Elion smiled faintly, "But acknowledging that does not mean I am going to let a fake version of myself lecture me all day."

The duplicate’s brow twitched.

Elion raised Kurogoroshi, "I will learn." His aura erupted, "I will become stronger." The stars trembled as if responding to his power, "And the next time I walk into danger, I will make sure I understand exactly what I am risking, and I will fight anyway."

Fire, water, earth, blood, and illusion magic surged around his body in violent waves as Elion smiled, "But first, I am going to beat the shit out of you."

The duplicate said nothing for a long while, but then he laughed uproariously, "Good." His own aura exploded outward.