59: In Circles

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Ty felt like he was here for weeks. Exhausted, he sat down onto the ground to rest. Something is wrong. Terribly wrong. He was attempting to get out of the forest and find his way back to where the location of his home would be in the Mirror realm. However, it seemed like he was travelling deeper into the forest.

He carved a mark in the trees using Pride's blade to keep track of where he's gone. However... the next time Ty looked at the trees, the markings had vanished.

He tried walking in a straight line, under the assumption that the forest had to end at some point.

"It was straight but...." Ty looked around, unable to tell if this was the area he had been to at least ten times already or just somewhere that looked similar.

"Something definitely isn't right..." Ty muttered, wearily. He laid back on the ground, staring up into the gray sky. There doesn't seem to be any day and night cycles in the Mirror Realm which made it nearly impossible to tell how much time had passed. "I should just rest for now..."

He shut his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

Ty's eyes flew open as he was startled awake. He looked around, slowly recognizing the room he was in. This was his bedroom.

"Wh... what?" Ty jumped out of bed, trying to process what happened. "I... I was just in the Mirror Realm..."

He slowly touched his bed and his walls and they were real. He even pinched himself, feeling pain.

Ty shook his head. Something clearly wasn't right. He opened up the door to his room, finding the hallways in ruins. The walls were destroyed and the floors had holes in them. Glass was scattered all over the floor and furniture were broken in pieces.

"What.... happened...?" Ty cautiously stepped out. A long trail of blood caught his eye. Reluctantly, he started to follow it.

The blood trail went to a room which Ty doesn't remember seeing. It ended there in front of a shut door. He reached for the doorknob, afraid of what he would see. He turned the knob and slowly opened up.

It took a few seconds for Ty to register what he was seeing. His eyes widened with horror and shock as he covered his mouth.

"N... No...." Tears blurred his vision but he can make out the bodies of his friends in the room. "No.. this isn't real...!"

He shut his eyes as he tried to block out the images of the bodies. "This isn't real!"

Ty woke up with a gasp, covered in a cold sweat. His heart was pounding as he tried to catch his breath. "I.... I must have had a bad dream..." He muttered to himself. For some reason, he couldn't remember what it was about.

Once he calmed himself, he stood up and looked at his surroundings. He was still lost in his forest. A branch snapping alerted Ty. He turned towards the direction of the noise, finding no one.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure darting to his left. Ty turned to face the figure, holding out the dagger Pride gave to him. "Wh-who's there?" Ty called out, his voice trembling.

Is it another Sin...? Ty thought. He swallowed hard as he surveyed the trees. Should I run? No... I'll get even more lost in this forest...

Ty can feel the atmosphere change slightly. He looked upwards, seeing that a sort of dome surrounded him. It was see through and purple, reminding him of Seto.

"Wh-what is this?!" Ty didn't want to get close to the end of the dome as he wasn't sure what it does.

"You... you must be Humility."

A figure stepped out from behind the trees.

Ty's eyes widened as he recognized the figure. He is Seto's counterpart in the mirror realm, the one that he was assigned to kill. Ty gripped Pride's dagger tightly and held it in front of him.

"I was tracking Superbia down but I ran into you instead." The counterpart smiled widely. Ty can see the differences between him and Seto with his eyes being orange instead of brown. "You can call me Jimmy."

Jimmy...? Ty heard that name before. He scowled as he tried to place his finger on it.

"It's ok." Jimmy gestured at the barrier around the two. "As long as this barrier is up, Superbia can't enter or listen to our conversation."

Before Ty can say anything, Jimmy spoke again. "What does Superbia want with him?" He crook his head as if he was listening to someone. "Huh? Using him?"

Who... who is he talking to?! Ty eyed Jimmy carefully.

"What's Superbia trying to do?" He continued, talking to no one. Ty couldn't help but find this interaction disturbing. "R... really?"

Ty tightened his grip on the dagger's handle. If I can kill him.. things will be easier. He started to approach Jimmy who didn't seem to be paying attention to his surroundings. He continued having a conversation, talking as if someone was there and speaking to him.

Jimmy stopped talking and glanced towards him. At a closer distance, Ty can see his face clearly. There was a scar running diagonally his right eye. There was something strange about his eyes. It doesn't look natural.

"Are you really trying to kill me?"

Ty felt something wrap around his throat. He reached towards his neck, seeing an aura similar to Seto. "Wh... what?!"

"I can't get rid of you because you're needed..." Jimmy scratches his neck. "Hmm.. what should I do?"

"Le-let me go!" Ty shouted.

The force around his neck tightened, choking Ty. He felt himself being lifted in the air. "Ugh..!" He struggled, trying to break free.

"I can easily kill you..." Jimmy muttered. "But that wouldn't be beneficial."

"I... can easily kill you..." He repeated in a daze. "Easily... kill...."

Ty felt the force strengthened as he gasped out for air.

"What should I do?" Jimmy slowly erupted into short fits of laughter. "Heh... haha... haha! Should I kill him?"

Choking now, Ty's vision started to blur as he kicked out his feet. When Jimmy noticed that Ty went limp, he suddenly stopped laughing and released his grip.

Ty fell on the ground, coughing as he panted. Jimmy walked towards Ty and squatted down to his level. Ty glared at Jimmy who only smiled in response. "...I guess I got too excited." He said. "As an apology, I'll help you get out of this forest."

Jimmy placed a hand on Ty's shoulder and a purple circle appeared in the ground surrounding the two.

"Wh... what is this...?" Ty asked as the circle glowed. Light shined upwards, blinding Ty as he tried to cover his eyes.

"I need those Dragon Eyes... So you can't die in the... forest..... not..... yet..."  He heard Jimmy's voice slowly fade away. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself in another place. Ty looked behind him to see the forest, realizing that he had somehow teleported out.

"I couldn't kill him... I can't..." Ty muttered. The dagger was still in his possession. "How... how am I going to complete the contract...?"

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