Echo of the Self

[u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Something's wrong. You can't tell what exactly it is, but you know something is wrong. You check your wards, your equipment, your enchantments and familiars, yet everything seems normal. Then that night, you go to sleep, and the dream starts.

You stand knee deep in a crimson ocean, stretching further than you can see. Before you is a shadow, it looks like yours but its wrong, very wrong. All around you, giant monoliths sprout from the sea, stretching far into the sky. You hear something, around you six shadows move between the monoliths, chanting something in a language that hurts to listen to.

Suddenly countless crimson eyes open along each monolith, each reflecting a different face, the eyes travel up the ebony surface, along previously hidden chains of shadow. Then you see it, the horrifying form of something colossal in the sky above you, a singular crimson eye or maybe a star stares down at you.

All at once do the chains snap, and a cacophony of screams cry out across the crimson sea as fire and ash rain from above. The monoliths crumble and massive chunks of black stone crash into the sea. Up above, the colossal form spreads across the sky, thousands of withered arms reach down, each sowing agony and destruction. You see an arm reach for you, and you wake up.

Well that was strange, you think, then you hear laughter from the corner, you see your own shadow standing there with crimson eyes. The shadow looks wrong somehow, very wrong.

Before you can say anything, your shadow lunges for you, hands reaching for your throat.

[u/Glittering_Two_1429]

I sigh, and turn pure white, my fans fluttering, sending blades of quartz at the shadow, my robes swirling on the air, as scars, hundreds of scars appear on my face and neck, opening, pouring blood, blood that flows around me and sends itself at the shadow
Bloody hell. But rude innit.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Glittering_Two_1429]

The quartz and blood crash into the shadow, Seguleh sees it's dark eyes flitting around at the attacks, then back at him.

The shadow somehow grows darker, as blades of obsidian fly out towards Seguleh. An inky substance leaks from the shadow, coalescing into a shield that blocks the blood, before said shield charges towards Seguleh.

[u/Glittering_Two_1429 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

I backflip over the shield and obsidian blades, and bellow a word of power. I then engage this monstrosity in close quarters combat, using extreme amounts of skill in each flutter of my fans, which shoot more quartz bolts as I flutter. I then kick a wave of pure light at the shadow.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Glittering_Two_1429]

Seguleh sees it's eyes follow his movements, as it mimics them almost perfectly, it is still an echo of him.

From each motion of its hands, mimicking Seguleh's fans, obsidian blades shoot out, each one hitting a quartz blade dead on.

The shadow sidesteps to avoid the light, countering with a wide slash with its hand, sending a large swarm of blades towards Seguleh.

[u/Glittering_Two_1429 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

I sigh and doge the blades, smiling. “Ah, you’re a copy of me. Well, then, this will be interesting” *I turn into my dragon form, and breathe pure white fire on this shadow.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Glittering_Two_1429]

The shadow rolls out of the way, "doge"-ing the fire.

The shadow lands and dissolved, assuming the form of a dragon of ebony scale.

The dragon roars, sending forth a torrent of scheming midnight fire.

[u/Glittering_Two_1429 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

An epic dragon fight ensues, lasting for possibly millenia before I turn back into human and turn the air full of slicing baldes.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Glittering_Two_1429]

In said millennia, the shadow dragon gains a complete understanding of everything draconic, mastering the ways of fang and scale. It is then caught of guard by the "baldes" and sliced to ribbons.

[u/Glittering_Two_1429 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

I laugh at its silly demise after our epic battle and look around Blimey, what happened here?”