Enjoy the third chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

I stood, staring wide-eyed at the space in front of me, where a life once existed. At that moment, an unusual fatigue began to overwhelm my system and I fell onto my hands and knees, with my breaths short and wheezy like an athlete's after a marathon. When I heard the sounds of light footsteps behind me, my head shot up sharply – I was still on high alert and my veins continued to pulse with fear. Standing next to me, his eyes peering down upon my form, was that boy. The one who looked eerily like myself. The one who probably got me into this infernal mess in the first place. An irritated glare settled upon my features as I pulled myself to my feet, hobbling slightly as dizziness swept over me due to my jaded state. After composing myself, I asked a question that had been lingering on my tongue for a day now.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The stranger's expression soured at my sailor's mouth, before it picked up to that peculiar grin he always held.

"I am Oliver Kirkland." Kirkland?! That was absolute hogwash. Unless he was some sort of relative my family weren't telling me about.

"Explain." I demanded, rather forcefully at that.

"Of course. Should we sit first?" He led me towards a park bench, which was positioned close to the exit. We sat down. "Where should we start?"

"Why did you give me this… book?"

"It belongs to you. It is a mechanism for you to channel your energy."

"Energy?" What?

"Ah, well, all living things contain some form of energy. On the most basic level, it keeps you alive but in special cases, it can do so much more. You, Arthur, are one of those 'special cases'." So much for being normal.

"Why?"

"There are four types of energy. The weakest form is called nul energy, it's not that great and it cannot be used on the battlefield or anything like that. The next form is known as normal energy. It's quite rare but not exactly unheard of. Normals with higher levels of energy may often possess a special ability. I, for example, am able to make things appear invisible at will." That explained his odd tendency to appear out of nowhere. "And the highest, most powerful levels are light and dark energy. That thing you just fought? It's actually a spirit from the dark realm. But for a user of dark, it was actually fairly weak. You're lucky that you didn't run into something worse."

"So to defeat that spirit I-"

"Used light energy? Yes you did. But judging by your tired state afterwards, you may have used a little bit too much. But of course, with rest and time, your energy levels should return to how they used to be."

"But why was I attacked in the first place?"

"The light and dark spirits aren't exactly on the best of terms… The kings of both realms have been at war for centuries. And unfortunately, it's escalated quite a bit recently and, at the end of the day, you, as spirit of light, have a duty to serve your king. You can't avoid it really, it's what you were destined for at the end of the day. The powers of light and dark play a key role in maintaining balance within are universe but with the dark's insatiable thirst for power and control, we are beginning to lose that balance. You understand, right poppet?" I furrowed my brows at the use of an endearing term.

"Mostly. If I were anyone else, I'd think you were off your rocker. But I don't understand what you have to do with any of this."

"I was just getting to that part!" He let out something akin to a psychotic giggle. "I am your parallel. I am essentially some sort of clone created from your… waste energy. Any high energy, human normal or light or dark, creates a parallel. Our duty is essentially to make sure that you fulfill your own… or attempt to. We're only here when you really need us."

"Okay…" I was completely lost.

"So, are we good?"

"I think so?" I gave a slight shrug, I honestly had no idea.

"Perfect! I'll be off then. Tata, until next time!" And with that, Oliver stood, smiled and left. I took that as my cue to finally go home, baffled and scared beyond belief.

What had just happened?

And that's it! This chapter is far too short for my liking but I'm making the next one really long to make up for it.

REVIEWS_

notvkawaii: Thanks! There is a little Franada in this story but I didn't want to add too much, haha. I may throw in a few other ships here and there as well.

anti-pineapples: Thank you very much! Currently the chapters are very short but the next few should be a lot longer, especially the next one. I really appreciate the advice though.

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