Vortex Origins

Max sat alone in the white room, the brightness around him bouncing off every surface like it was trying too hard to be clean. He leaned over a table cluttered with tubes, burners, and blood samples. Two vials, side by side, marked only by faint ink. The scent of copper hung in the air.

His hand moved slowly across the pages of a worn leather book, scribbling notes while glancing at the duplicator resting near the blood. The device looked harmless now, like a forgotten toy. But it had split something that shouldn't have split.

He stared at it for a long time, then exhaled through his nose.

Behind him, a voice broke through.

"So, did you get something? Who's the fake and who's the real one?"

Max turned.

At the far end of the room, two bodies hung in place. The machines that held them were shaped like giant white Xs, smooth and clean, designed with no kindness. Both Kaels were strapped in. Their arms stretched wide, legs bound, chests pressed against thick slabs of reinforced steel. The restraints weren't chains. They were polished sleeves of metal that wrapped their limbs like they were meant to stay forever.

They didn't look like men. They looked like things someone had tried to lock away.

Max rose from the chair.

"Yeah. I know who's real."

The clone lifted his head.

"Then say it."

Max didn't answer. He raised his wrist and tapped the band wrapped around it. A faint click echoed in the room. One of the machines hissed. The locks unlatched. The metal bindings slid back.

Kael dropped down.

He caught himself on his feet, then rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck. The grin on his face grew slow.

"Knew it. I told you I was the original."

He turned his head toward the one still bound, his expression sharpening.

"So, fake... what now?"

The clone's eyes widened. Not with fear. Something worse. Something hollow. It was betrayal.

"No, Max... Come on. Tell me this is a joke. You're releasing him just to kill him, right?"

The words trembled between them.

Kael turned sharply, his chest rising and falling as his gaze locked onto Max.

"Wait... you're not actually doing that. Right?"

Max didn't stop. His steps echoed in the silent room, slow and steady, until he stood in front of the clone. His eyes didn't waver.

"I'm sorry. But you're not the original."

His voice had weight, like steel drawn across bone.

"I understand what you're feeling right now. It's like someone stole your life. But that's not what this is. You were never him. No… you're real. You're a perfect copy of Kael. Down to the blood, the thoughts, the fire in your gut. But we can't have two. Especially not one who would fight until the other stops breathing."

The clone's black eyes widen. His throat moved like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. A tear slipped from his eye and fell against the floor with a sound too loud in the stillness.

Everything he thought he was everything, fractured in that one moment.

Kael stepped forward.

"So what now? How do we get rid of him? I can do it, if that's what you want. I don't mind getting blood on my hands."

Max turned. His glare cut through the air like broken glass.

"You idiot. Keep your mouth shut."

His fists trembled, not from fear, but from something heavier.

"This is your fault. You don't even see it, do you? You don't listen. You don't try to understand anyone. You just do. I warned you not to touch that device."

Max stepped closer towards Kael.

"And if you'd waited... just a little longer... You would've gotten your wish. Hell, I guess you already did."

He pointed toward the clone.

"Tell me, Kael. Did you enjoy the fight?"

Kael's mouth opened. Then closed. Whatever words he wanted to say, they burned too much to leave his throat. Max's fury hung in the air like a noose, and Kael could only stare.

Max moved towards the table, and he looked at the device on it.

"There's only one way to end this. I fix the duplicator. I think I will be able to reverse the eff..."

A harsh laugh echoed through the sterile white room. Sharp and raw. Both Kael and Max turned toward the source.

Kael stepped forward, shoulders tensing.

"What's so funny?"

The clone stopped laughing. His smile was all teeth.

"Why shouldn't I laugh? I'm hurt, Max. I really am. But what's hilarious… is that you two think I'll just sit here while you plan my execution."

Kael's stance shifted, grounded, focused.

"Come on. It's over. Just give up. Even Max said it. I'm the original."

Max didn't move. He stared, cold and unreadable.

The clone's smirk deepened.

"If I kill you, there won't be any more confusion. Just one Kael left. I'll be the original. Whether Max likes it or not, he'll have to choose me."

Max answered without blinking.

"If you do that, I'll kill you myself."

The words cut deeper than any blade. The clone's face twisted. His jaw clenched. Tears welled up and slipped down his face, but no one moved to comfort him.

"Then if that's how it is… then you both die."

Flames surged from his skin, igniting the air around him in a violent flash. But just as quickly as they came, they vanished. Something older stirred beneath his skin. The room trembled. Then a bolt of electricity burst from the X-shaped frame, slamming into his body.

The clone screamed. Raw and real.

Max exhaled.

"Don't try that again. No matter what you do, there's no escape. This trap was built for Kael. And since you're him, it'll rip through you the same."

The clone writhed against the restraints. Muscles spasmed. Teeth ground. The red in his hair darkened, spreading up like blood seeping through snow.

"You seem to be forgetting something, Max. You forgot about my transformation."

Max didn't blink.

"Oh, I remember that just fine."

Another surge of voltage tore through the clone. His scream cracked the silence again, louder, rougher. Closer to something feral.

Max turned away, not in fear, but because he couldn't stand to see his own brother—no matter how false—break like that.

But he didn't stop the current.

He couldn't afford to.

The clone hung limp against the restraints, breath ragged, body twitching from the shocks. Whatever tricks he had left, they were breaking with him.

He lifted his head, eyes locking onto Kael.

Kael stared back, silent.

Their eyes met.

Kael let out a faint smirk.

The clone smiled in return.

Kael's expression vanished. His chest tightened. Something felt wrong.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

The clone's breaths were shallow, but a dark grin grew across his face.

"Because I just figured out how to get out of here."

Kael's lips curled again, but this time it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah? Keep talking. I don't see anything getting you out of that cage."

The clone laughed. No mockery. Just quiet, bitter amusement.

"Are you sure you're not the clone? Think harder. If you really are me... you'll know the answer."

Max glanced toward Kael, eyes narrowing.

"What's he talking about?"

Kael didn't answer right away. Confusion clouded his face.

"I don't know. Maybe he's just—"

His voice died in his throat.

His eyes widened.

Then, without warning, he spun to Max.

"Hit him again. Don't stop. Do it now!"

Max's hand hesitated near his band on his wrist.

"What?"

"Now!"

Max reached.

But the clone had already moved.

"You're too late. Did you really think you were faster than me activating my skill?"

Flames burst into the air in front of the clone—no, not flames.

Five spheres of living fire hovered mid-air, each one pulsing with a twisted life. They had mouths, grinning with rows of teeth. And eyes—wide, lidless, and locked on them like prey.

Max stared at the horrors before them.

"Kael… you had a Legacy Skill?"