The Monstrous Hero-Chapter 36 - 35: I’m You!

Liu Xian blinked.

Once.

Twice.

The world had flipped without warning.

A heartbeat ago he’d been on the ground, screaming, torn apart by things with teeth like glass. His arm had been gone, blood had slicked everything, and the timer had dragged like eternity. Now.... this.

A place where sound didn’t echo. Where the dark wasn’t just absence of light but a thick, swallowing thing that pressed in like tar.

He looked down at himself, at hands that were both hands again. No missing limb, no gaping wound. His shirt wasn’t soaked, there was no suffocating metal collar choking his throat. He wasn’t even wearing the uniform anymore—just simple clothes he didn’t recognize.

His pulse hammered anyway. His first instinct was to reach for the sword. But his fingers found nothing at his hip. Just the emptiness of fabric.

Every nerve in his body screamed wrong.

Then... there was movement.

A pressure at his back, like a shift in the void that made his spine crawl. He spun instantly, fist cocked, teeth gritted. The swing was instinct, fist arcing through the void like lightning. But instead of meeting flesh—or fur, or claw, or whatever monster these bastards had thrown him against this time—his knuckles met something smooth.

A hand.

Black as oil, long-fingered and solid despite looking like mist, stopped him cold. And above that hand—a face. Or rather, something pretending to be a face. A single glowing eye burning white. A smile too wide for comfort floating like it had been drawn on a mask that wasn’t there.

"We finally meet, huma—"

Liu Xian didn’t let him finish.

He wrenched back and threw another punch with his other hand, putting all his weight into it. But this time his fist passed straight through, like punching smoke. The figure dissolved around his knuckles, turning into curling wisps that swallowed themselves back into the dark.

A chuckle slithered through the void.

"You don’t waste time, do you?"

Liu Xian’s teeth clenched hard enough his jaw ached and he dropped into a low stance, scanning through the darkness. His gut told him this wasn’t real, that this had to be another of the Academy’s sick trials. Pain, fear, loneliness—they were pulling whatever strings they wanted, watching how long until he broke.

He dragged his tongue across his teeth, tasting phantom iron. "Fuckin’ irritating."

"Oh, come on now. Don’t sulk."

It appeared again.

Not behind him this time, but right in front, stepping out of the darkness like it had been there all along. Tall, lanky, body half-formed, edges blurring as if it couldn’t quite decide on a shape. One eye bright, grin wider than ever.

Liu Xian didn’t hesitate. He swung again.

The being tilted its head, dodging lazily, and when he threw with his other hand, the black shape darted faster, catching it mid-swing. Fingers clamped like iron around his wrist.

"Fisty," it said with mock affection, as though giving him a nickname.

Blue sparks jumped suddenly from Liu Xian’s skin, crawling across the being’s hand like lightning. His whole arm lit up, veins burning from inside.

Liu Xian felt a familiar sensation and quickly ripped himself free, stumbling back, breath caught in his throat. His gaze locked on the glow sparking faintly from his fingertips.

The being’s smile never faltered.

"You." Liu Xian spat, voice low as he spoke.

"Yes," the thing crooned, teeth showing, voice curling around him like smoke. "Me."

"No..." Liu Xian staggered a step back, shaking his head, eyes darting to the endless dark like it might give him answers. "That’s not—"

"Not possible?" The being leaned forward, grin stretching wider. "Oh, it’s very possible. In fact, it’s inevitable. Because—"

The white eye flared, and its voice deepened to a growl that rattled his bones.

"—I’m you."

Liu Xian’s stomach dropped. His heart lurched painfully in his chest, but he masked it with the oldest trick he had—anger.

Anger was easy.

Anger was loud.

Anger was... convincing.

No one ever questioned fury, especially when you were the one getting stepped on. So he locked his jaw, clenched his teeth until it ached, and let his eyes sharpen into a glare sharp enough to cut. He wasn’t about to give this bizarre, ugly-looking thing the satisfaction of seeing him shaken. Nope. If it wanted a reaction, all it was getting was pure, scalding hate burning in his stare.

"Bullshit!" He sneered.

"Come on... you’ve felt it, haven’t you? Way down in your gut, under all that noise—you’ve always known I was here." The voice slithered through the air, equal parts smug and mocking. "You just never wanted to admit it. Never wanted to admit you weren’t alone in there. Shame, really. I could’ve made things easier for you. Hell, I could’ve made them fun. But nooo, you locked me up, shoved me into a corner like some dirty little secret."

It gave a low, satisfied chuckle. "Tell me, though—who do you think it was that kept you breathing when they had you strapped down like a lab rat? You think you survived that on your own? Please. Who kept your heart hammering when it should’ve given out? Who kept your blood hot, your mana burning bright, even while that damned collar was cutting you off, choking the life right out of you? It wasn’t luck, dear friend. It was me. Always me."

Liu’s skin crawled. His fists tightened until his knuckles burned white.

"Cat got your tongue?" It drawled, his tone dripping with mockery as his lips curved into that infuriating smirk.

Liu Xian shot him a sharp glare.

"Anyway," it muttered under his breath. "I protected you so don’t treat me like a stranger. I’m the reason you’re still standing here at all."

Liu Xian stumbled back a step, a bitter, humorless laugh tearing out of him before he could choke it down. "Oh, right. And what now? You want me to thank you?" He scoffed. "Spare me."

His voice dropped into a hiss, venom curling through every word. "You made me a freak. You. You’re the reason I ended up in this mess to begin with!"

There was an intense silence.

"Oh..." it breathed out.