The Moonlight Swordsman



After what seemed like hours of waiting, the door in front of them creaked open, revealing Seraphine as she emerged from the magic room. 

"So how was it, Sera?" Hazel quickly asked. Everyone's ears perked up to hear her response.

"I have been warned not to let anyone know about it," She replied.

"Did you get the chance to fight or?" AIzel asked.

Seraphine simply shook her head in rejection.

"Well, I will see for myself for now," Aizel said as he started to move toward the magic room.

As the door opened, a brilliant light washed over his face and made him look even brighter. He crossed the threshold carefully, blinking against the bright light.

As his eyes gradually adjusted to the brightness, he discovered himself in a completely white space devoid of any features or objects that he could see. 

"A pure white room,"

"Hello... anybody home.." Aizel said.

"Sekki... oye sekki... 

"It seems communication with the spirit is blocked."

Suddenly, from the heart of the white mist, a peculiar motion caught Aizel's attention. Squinting his eyes, he discerned a stirring within the ethereal clouds. 

Slowly, he saw that a figure was taking shape in front of him, coming together from the milky whiteness itself.

It was like a copy of himself was taking shape out of the mist.

"So you are my true potential or whatever... but you are only at Garde III; are you at the last stage?" Aizel asked.

"Yes, scum, I am the better version of Aizel, and my core is soon going to be healed up to Grade IV," The doppelganger Aizel replied.

Aizel's brows twitched after hearing his reply.

"So what now? Are you going to teach me something or give me some suggestions?" Aizel asked.

"Teaching or guiding you is just a waste of my time. I am here to teach you a painful lesson," The doppelganger said, slowly moving toward him.

"What the fuck is wrong with me," Aizel murmured, summoning Sekki in his hand.

  As Aizel stood there, he sensed a strange and unsettling force pulling him forward as if by an invisible string. As his doppelganger came into view, his heart started to beat faster.

Tension filled the air as a gun appeared in the hand of the clone and a shot was fired at Aizel. 

In a swift reaction, he used his trusty weapon, Sekki, its blade slicing through the air, to intercept the speeding bullet.

Yet, to his astonishment, the bullet detonated upon impact, unleashing an explosive shockwave that sent Aizel hurtling through the expansive blankness of the chamber.

"See.. so weak; beat your ass in a few seconds," The doppelganger Aizel said.

But the doppelganger's eyes grew wide as Aizel's body turned into a dark cloud of smoke and disappeared from his view.

But then, a flicker of movement caught the clone's attention, and a shadowy figure materialized behind him. 

With lightning-fast reflexes, the clone twisted away just in time to escape the dagger that had been aimed at his neck.

Before the doppelganger could get his balance back, Aizel made chains appear out of thin air and wrapped them around his legs, making him fall to the ground.

Aizel's grip on the situation tightened as a firearm materialized in his hand, its barrel pointed unwaveringly at the doppelganger's head.

His voice held a firm edge as he spoke, "Don't get too cocky; you are just a mere clone."

But then, like an illusion, the clone vanished into thin air, and Aizel heard a voice from behind. 

"You are already getting used to your new grade, Good."

It was the doppelganger, but he was sitting on the floating small white cloud.

*tsk* An illusion, but it still felt real," Aizel said.

"You will be able to do it soon if you put your focus more," The doppelganger replied.

"So what now? More fight?"

"Naaaa.... Let's talk; what do you want to know?" The doppelganger asked.

Aizel's gaze remained locked onto his doppelganger, his mind whirring with possibilities.

  He pondered, trying to think of what he could ask from him.

"Are you from the future?" Aizel asked

"Nope,"

"Hm... what am I lacking now?" He asked.

"Focus, concentration, and calmness. You can already create a loop and practice a lot. 

"Try to give time for the first three things I mentioned. You will see a lot of improvement in your imagination," the doppelganger replied.

"Anything else?" Aizel asked.

"You don't need any type of guidance from anyone. You just need to keep your imagination wide open and make it strong. You will be able to do anything; you already know this."

"Yeah, well, you are right," Aizel said, nodding.

"One more thing, try to keep your anger in check. Many people already know how important Daisy is to you, and if you keep giving them death stares or trying to kill them, it will become more obvious."

"So what do you want me to do? Act like I don't care or anything?" Aizel asked.

"Just control yourself, you don't want to get caught in some weird schemes of others right?" 

Aizel nodded.

"And try not to trust someone other than Alora. Even though you have made so many friends, they are still from this cursed world. Your past memories will only make you feel worse; now your time is up."

"Wait wait .. what do you mean by that..."

The doppelganger disappeared in an instant, leaving Aizel alone in the expanse of the white room. 

As if in response to this enigmatic encounter, the door materialized before him, a silent cue that his time within this strange room had concluded.

He extended his hand to the door, turned the knob, and walked out of the room. 

"Softieee, how did it go?" Hazel asked.

"Hmm...it was good, I think I learned something that might benefit me," Aizel simply replied.

"That's good for you, but sometimes many things can be false too, so do remember that," Fridola said.

Aizel simply nodded toward her.

[Master, how did it go? For some reason, I wasn't able to connect with you. I just felt that you were using me in battle]

I will let you know soon,"