CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

'What do you mean Klompa is dead?' the Doppelganger exclaimed. 'He can't just get killed like some common animal!'

'From what our scouts discovered, its all true my lord,' Mahasti stated. 'Undoubtedly, its the work of the Prince and his newly-gained allies. Allow me to go and kill him for you personally... to send a message to all those who rebel against your rule.'

'And as I've informed you before, that pleasure is reserved for me and me alone Mahasti,' the Doppelganger replied with noticeable anger in his tone of voice, before subsiding back down as quick as it came. 'However, I am willing to make a compromise. If you can rough him up a little bit before bringing him to me alive, you will be rewarded.'

'Very well. I will see that this task is completed.' Mahasti said, as she left the throne room for parts unknown.

The Doppelganger resumed looking out at the city of Babylon, the bright sun seemingly beautiful against the horizon. And yet, these persistent doubts about his overall goals continued to pop into his mind. Did he really deserve to be King? Was it right to execute one who's life would arguably make things better for the world in the long term, even if that person was himself from a different timeline? For all the hatred he had toward the Prince, he couldn't lie to himself and pretend that it was all just fixated on the sole idea of his life being wrongfully taken away from him.

The Doppelganger could only continue to ponder such open-ended questions, as he sat down on his throne and munched on some grapes left by some loyal servants.

'Prince, I'm coming for you,' a sinister-sounding voice stated as the Prince continued to run down a seemingly endless corridor. 'You can't outrun inevitability!'

'No! Darius! Asha! Ervin! So many innocent men and women, killed. I won't allow you to take me as well!' the Prince cried out, as he continued running in a different direction (only to have his surroundings change to that of the throne room in the Babel Tower).

'Oh, but I already have,' the Dark Prince said with a cold smugness, 'It's only a matter of time now before the corruption completely takes hold over your body permanently. And when that happens, you'll be gone... forever. I on the other hand, will rule for eternity. Nations will fall before my might, more will join in my crusade and others will worship me like a god.'

Flinging out his Daggertail at the Prince, the Dark Prince ensnared him within it and forcibly brought the Prince closer and closer toward him.

'Now, just let go. It'll only make things less painful for you in the long term.' the Dark Prince said as he let out an elongated evil laugh, turning into black mist that covered the Prince entirely and morphed him into the Dark Prince physically.

The Prince could only look at a newly-displayed mirror in horror. 'No! No! NOOOO!'

The Prince woke up, breathing heavily and feeling noticeable discomfort on his upper body. Not wanting to wake up anyone within the Resistance, he proceeded to sneak into an unoccupied room and used his sword as a makeshift mirror against the moonlight outside to see where the feeling of discomfort was coming from.

Much to his horror, that was more than a nightmare he'd just had. It had served as an omen of what he would become in hours if not days, if he didn't deal with the Doppelganger soon (as the corruption had spread itself further across his body during his slumber).

The Prince decided to use his ability to see into the future, in order to try and get some more cohesive answers. He concentrated hard, until visions started snapping into his head. They showed snapshots of the Royal Gardens and a feminine-looking sand monster using generated vines to constrict water flow into the city during the day, another feminine-looking sand monster moving across the rooftops at great speed during nightfall, the feminine-looking sand monster in the gardens seemingly falling before him and once again, that moment where he and the Doppelganger stood on top of the Babel Tower at a crossroads.

With all this in mind as he came back to living in the present moment, he knew exactly where he planned to go to next. He could only hope he was not too late in setting things right again, returning to bed and attempting to get what little sleep he could before the crack of dawn.