The Cursed Extra: Twin Souls Against the World

As Xane focused on the void or what was left of it, he could only hear himself at that moment.

He was just everywhere. It was as if different versions of him were now the new void.

Not only that, but now each of his versions started to scream together at the void.

Every time they did that, he felt like something was shifting around him. But he was not sure if something was happening with the void or if it was just the sound.

Still, Xane continued to create more versions.

By this time, he was thinking more in seconds of life. Like the one-minute version of him to the one-minute-and-one-second version of him.

As long as he was not thinking of the same time, different versions just continued to pop up.

But even that started to reach its limit as he was finally just two seconds away from the end of his past life.

One after another, Xane thought about the moment he heard the loud gunshot. For the next moment, he just thought about the pain at the back of his head.

As Xane thought that, he suddenly felt a loud rumbling.

He sensed massive cracks forming around the void.

It was bizarre, as these cracks were kind of the opposite. They looked more like matter seeping into the space.

As the cracks started to grow bigger, Xane felt something merging with him.

He looked around and saw thousands of consciousnesses start to merge with him.

Soon after, only the first six versions remained in the void. Unlike the others, the six of them still had their clarity, and one after another, they said their last goodbye before merging with him.

Xane was at a loss for words, but he never cared much about the others to begin with, so it was not that big of a surprise to him.

He was more interested in the cracks, as he wanted to see what was going to happen now.

…

On the other side of the void, Zayn finally became one with the void, all while retaining his ability to think.

It was super bizarre, as he felt like he could move to any part of the void. It's just that no matter where he moved, everything looked the same to him.

Just then, he felt minor tremors in the void. His sensitivity to the void had increased so much that he easily noticed these minor disturbances.

What's going on? He was not sure, but this disturbance only meant something was changing in the void.

He rushed toward the source in the void as he saw a massive crack forming.

After spending what felt like centuries trapped in the darkness, he finally got to see color.

For a couple of seconds, he did not know how to react, but then he started smiling.

He did not know what was on the other side, but at least it should be better than emptiness.

He was even ready to face worse. He just did not want to spend the rest of his time alone, trapped inside the void.

Suddenly, he felt a pulling force from the crack. It was sucking everything out of the void.

The pulling force increased, and he did not resist it. Soon his consciousness faded for a moment, only to come back after a second.

Then, as he woke up, he found himself in a dark space. 'Am I back in another void?'

But the very next moment, he heard the sound of someone screaming to the left of him.

"Ahhh!"

"Ahh!"

From the sound, he could feel they should be around ten meters away from him.

Not only that, there was the feeling of a soft mattress below him. He was most likely in a bed.

There was also something extra on his legs. Someone must have placed a sheet that covered him from the waist down.

He even felt the dryness in his mouth, like he hadn't drunk anything for a long time.

Even though the surroundings were still dark, he was sure this was not the dark confinement he was familiar with.

It was like all his senses were coming back one after another.

Just then, he smelled a thick scent of iron around him. 'Am I bleeding?' He tried to open his eyes, but no matter how much he tried, nothing seemed to work.

Wait, so Xane was really in control? Not wasting any moment, he shouted in the darkness. <Xane! Xane, are you there?>

He waited for a few seconds, but no one responded. Now this was weird.

For a moment, he thought maybe he was still in the void and all of this was an illusion, but then he heard the familiar sound.

[Uwaaahh, no more shouting, please.]

Zayn recognized the familiar snarly voice as he almost jumped in excitement. Too bad he was not in control. <Woah, Xane… Xane, you're really back…>

He had gotten so used to the void that it was a bit hard to talk.

Xane took his time and said in a casual tone. [What happened? Why are you acting like my wife?]

Zayn ignored this remark. The void had made him realize the importance of Xane a bit. Sure, the voice in his head was annoying, but it was much better than having nothing.

He was about to question Xane when he stopped, remembering their encounter with that guy.

He knew that if, instead of him, Xane had control over the body that time, the result might have been different.

In the void, he thought about that incident and now knew that while Xane's instructions were good, he was just not quick enough to follow them.

He was always a few instants slow in following commands. His own inability to act had landed them in that problem.

He sincerely apologized. <Xane, I'm sorry, man.>

Xane became silent for a moment, then started laughing. [Haha, what the hell just happened to you? Why are you acting like that?]

Zayn sighed with relief at that response. <So you're not angry at me.>

Xane asked in confusion. [Wait, don't tell me the hit on your head did something to you. Dude, why would I blame you for that bastard's attack?]

Zayn mentally nodded. It looked like it was just him who thought so much about that. Not wanting to make things more awkward, he asked, <So what is going on here? Are you in control of the body?>

Xane stopped laughing. [No, I came back to my senses after you. It means you are in control.]

Zayn paused. <No, I can't even open my eyes, so you try.>

[Wait], Xane tried to sit, but nothing happened. [Ah, that's weird. Even I'm not able to control the body.]

<What? Don't joke around.>

[Nah, I'm serious.]

This freaked him out. He tried to move again, but no matter what he tried, nothing happened. After minutes of trying, both of them stopped.

<Why can't we move? Hey, do you think we're paralyzed or something?>

[Yeah, that seems to be the case. But I think we're most likely in the recovery phase of a coma.]

<Coma?>

[Yeah. In a coma, a person becomes disconnected from external stimulation. Only the vital organs like the heart and brain work, doing the minimum stuff to keep the patient alive.]

Zayn asked in realization. <Wait, don't tell me that empty void was the coma.>

[Empty void?]

Zayn mentally nodded. <Yeah, I don't know how or when, but I regained my consciousness and remembered myself trapped inside a void. Just a few moments ago, something pulled me out of that void.>

Xane paused as he thought about the thousands of himself shouting in the void. [Oh yeah, that was an interesting experience.]

A silence formed between them.

After some time, Zayn said, <You know, Xane, I almost lost myself in the void.>

Xane did not know what Zayn was yapping about.

Not caring about his response, Zayn continued. < I felt so lonely and trapped there. There was no one to talk to, and time after time, I felt like dying. I was this close to losing my mind. What about you?>

Xane asked in confusion. [Wait, so you were all alone in the void?]

<Mm.> Zayn nodded. <But you know, I found something interesting later on in the void.>

[What?]

Zayn explained his method of how he tried to become one with the void, and how he even succeeded in controlling his consciousness in the void.

[What!! You can control and move around the void?] Xane couldn't even believe what he was hearing.

From his experience, he knew just the thought of controlling the infinite void was absurd. Compared to Zayn, all he did was increase his number and scream.

He really felt stupid, but it was interesting that Zayn never saw other versions. Was there something different between the two voids?

Zayn asked at this moment, <What about you?>

Xane explained the chaos he had in the void, how his different selves verbally tore apart each other.

The more Zayn heard, the more he felt how absurd all of that was.

Unlike his misery, Xane's experience was full of action.

He found even the idea of creating different versions of himself absurd. He could not help but mentally praise Xane.

But even he agreed with Xane's conclusion that both voids must have different natures to them.

It hit him that there was only one thing that could influence them as he said…