The Laughing Swordsman

Eden furrowed her brows.

"Other you? What are you talking about?"

Apollo giggled.

"There's another version of me. Right now, he's sleeping."

Eden blinked a few times, clearly confused.

"What do you mean?"

Apollo pressed his lips together.

"Ummm. He always tries to find a way to make it stop hurting, even though he shouldn't be."

Eden tilted her head to the side.

"What about Ivy? Didn't she make it hurt less?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"Em. I don't really see it that way, but he does. For me, it's someone that makes me happy, not something that makes it hurt less."

Eden paused before sitting down.

"So is this person your brother? Is he still in heaven?"

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

Eden was at a loss for words.

"Is he not your brother?"

Apollo laughed.

"Of course not, silly! It's another me!"

Eden's jaw dropped slightly.

"Another... you?"

Apollo nodded.

"Basically he really doesn't like it when it hurts. He will do anything to make it stop hurting. That's why he laughs a lot, it makes him feel better."

He scratched the side of his head.

"As for me, I don't really care so much about numbing the pain. Instead, I focus on the happy things!"

Eden paused before gently brushing Apollo's hair.

"That sounds... confusing and difficult. It must've been hard for you."

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really. He just sleeps for most of the time. The only times he ever wakes up is if he thinks something scary is going to happen to me. Then, I just let him do what he wants."

Eden's eyes widened slightly.

"Eh? Two people?"

Apollo nodded.

"Yeah, I can show you him if you want."

Eden looked at him curiously.

"Oh, is he nice?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"Kinda."

Eden put a finger on her chin.

"So how will you show me if he is sleeping?"

Apollo smiled.

"Wake him up."

Without warning, his bokken flashed, traveling full speed straight towards his neck.

A loud crack rang out.

Apollo's eyes were now wide open, partially in disbelief. His other hand held onto the end of his bokken, but it was now covered in blood and the bones were shattered. Apollo was able to just barely block it before it hit his neck.

Eden's eyes were wide open.

"Apollo! What are you doing to yourself?"

Apollo stood up and held the side of his head with his hand, not caring about how bloody it was.

"...What?"

His breathing was getting heavy, while his eyes lost focus.

He remembered the last few events that happened.

In other words, Apollo heard the entire thing his other 'self' was talking about. For the longest time, he thought that although it was strange that he had two personalities, he was the one that was dominant.

...But from what that other self just demonstrated, this wasn't the case. Ironically enough, from his words, he even held disdain for the current Apollo.

Eden stood up with concern.

"Apollo, are you alright?"

She had to scream in order to make a sound over the crackling lightning.

Apollo was able to hear it, but he didn't react. Instead, he closed his eyes tightly, trying to understand the situation he was in.

In a bit of panic, Eden rushed over, wanting to tend to Apollo's broken hand. However, it had already healed. She let out a small gasp from this knowledge.

Apollo slowly turned to look at Eden.

"...Why."

She blinked a few times.

"Huh?"

Apollo slowly breathed in, almost like a wheeze.

"Why am I like this?"

Eden furrowed her brows. She really didn't understand what Apollo was talking about until she thought of a possibility.

That Apollo actually had two personalities stuck in the same body.

Eden swallowed audibly.

"Um, don't worry too much about it. I'm sure the two of you can get along."

Apollo closed his eyes.

"I... I don't laugh because I want it to stop hurting. That's not true."

"But it is!"

He spun his head around, as though trying to figure out where that voice came from. Apollo eventually turned to Eden, pointing towards her accusingly.

"Did... Did you say that?"

After a few seconds, Eden slowly shook her head.

"Um, no? What did you hear?"

"Obviously it wasn't her! How does my voice even slightly sound like hers!"

Apollo spun around, as though he would somehow find someone else if he kept doing so.

"You..."

"What?"

Apollo took a deep breath.

"Have you... always been here?"

"Not really. I have to sleep too, you know? Plus, it gets boring to watch you."

Eden watched him talk to the air, like he had an imaginary friend. She didn't know what to say, thus stayed silent.

Apollo clicked his tongue.

"Why do you act like you're so much better than me?"

"Because I don't cling to life so tightly!"

Before he could respond, The lightning around him gathered in the sky to form one massive lightning bolt.

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"What? Are you doing that?"

"Yeah silly, who else could?"

Suddenly the lightning bolt shot straight towards Apollo. He furrowed his brows and pushed off the ground, disappearing entirely.

However, right when he appeared, there was a massive lightning bolt right in front of him. Apollo grit his teeth and blocked it.

A thunderous bang resounded, echoing through the room. Apollo shot backwards. His wrists had snapped, bloody from the recoil of that strike.

A voice rang out in his head.

"Haha, silly! You made your next action so obvious!"

As he tumbled backwards, Eden caught him. She looked quite concerned.

"Apollo... what are you doing?"

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"I am currently attacking myself."

Although he blocked the lightning bolt from before, it did not dissipate. Though it was a little smaller than before, it had returned to its previous size in a matter of seconds.

Apollo's eyelid twitched as a smile uncontrollably formed on his face.

"What the hell do you want?"