Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 871 - 810 Dissociative Identity Disorder

```

She was naïve like a newborn, and Faelga discerned this through Black Faelga’s beast-like onslaught. The Elf Queen needed only to lift her hand, and vines that formed out of thin air would block Nightmare’s attacks. With a casual flick, she could tear her opponent’s limbs to shreds with ease. But this changed nothing about the current situation. A dense darkness enveloped the two fighters together, Faelga unable to leave, while her adversary was repairing its damaged body.

She was growing, Faelga felt it distinctly. From the initial haphazard strikes to cautious probing thrusts, and now, controlling the pitch-black thorns to collide with her own vegetation. The counterfeit was mimicking her own growth trajectory. Watching her, Faelga could swiftly trace her own development, as she was becoming more and more like herself. Expressions, demeanor, temperament, and habits – the only difference that remained was the color of their skin; she retained the black she so disliked, the only thing that was truly Nightmare’s own.

Faelga wove a high-backed chair from branches and wrapped her legs as she gazed across, the growing plants dividing the dark space into two, Faelga and Nightmare facing each other across the gap. How long had this struggle endured, a minute, or an hour? No one remembered, as time held no meaning in the realm of dreams.

She could do nothing against herself, Faelga thought. If the other her was just a division of her own power, then this battle would go on indefinitely.

So much time spent looking into a mirror led Faelga’s thoughts to drift away as she watched that angry face turn smug, then solemn, then indifferent. Finally, she was certain that their minds had synchronized to some extent, as if they had become twins.

"Where do you come from?"

"Thoughts of the God. Did you really think theft would come without a price?" Black Faelga laughed a little, "I am the punishment Father God has given you. I will replace you and become the new queen, merging the Elf Clans into the depths of the sea." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Simple imitation cannot make you me."

"Of course not. There can be only one Elf Queen in the world – you in the past, and I in the future." Black Faelga spread her arms, gesturing for her to take in the dark space, the bounds of which had shrunk unnoticed. "The process of predation has begun. Unseen by you, I have learned your memories, your mind, your abilities from the dreamscape. This darkness will eventually merge us, and I will consume your persona, taking over the soul and body of the queen. I am not the counterfeit; I am Faelga, the Nightmare Faelga."

Faelga’s figure twisted, and her lunging body passed through the barrier, in a blink appearing before Nightmare. Thorns whirled like a chainsaw, slicing through the arms of the ambushing elf. Nightmare’s expression was bizarre as it "ate" the palm pressed against its chest into its body. Losing an arm, Faelga’s expression turned joyful, her face showing more surprise than delight.

"I’ve touched it, oh, your innerness." Pointing at Nightmare with her remaining left hand, Faelga wore the expression of victory, "Inside of you is hollow; you are but a vessel, one that exists solely to contain me."

Provoked by Faelga’s words, Nightmare slowly approached the barrier, its elegant visage fragmented into pieces by the shadow of the net, "Feel proud while you can, for soon you won’t have the luxury of thought."

Unconcerned with Nightmare’s threat, Faelga leaned on the retracting edge of the darkness, her body fully adhered, immovable, like fish on a chopping board. Her demeanor remained calm, as the Druid power she released fostered a field of flowers surrounding her, and Faelga positioned herself comfortably among the blossoms.

"Before I was born, the elders had prophesied that the new queen would be twin sisters, doomed to love but also to slay one another. My parents weren’t too fond of the latter part, but they were delighted at the prospect of having daughters. They pledged earnestly to raise us gently, to circumvent the cruel prophecy. I found it amusing when the elders recounted this, thinking how naïve and optimistic my parents were."

"They thought I had a twin sister, they thought I could be replaced, not knowing that the bloodiest part of the prophecy had already been fulfilled. The children my mother bore were one alive, one stillborn – one living, one a dead fetus. My sister was strangled in my mother’s womb, her neck entwined with a loop of my umbilical cord. The frail mother, witnessing the tragedy, passed away in sorrow, and my father went mad in his agony. He must have despised me a great deal, for my birth brought death to the entire family. The deceased are commemorated, while the newborn inherits resentment."

"Seizing the life of a sister, turning all of her into your own sustenance."

"The amalgamation of life and death, the death of the sister was the start of my fate. Faelga is gifted, Faelga is powerful, Faelga is the unique amalgam, the sole Elf Queen."

"I have always believed that my sister resides within my soul, the source that sets me apart."

```

Faelga’s self-narration was drawing to a close, the dark space had shrunk to its limit, Nightmare’s visage close enough to touch, their spirits highly fused, tasting the essence of sorrow. Black mud and flowers stained each other, Nightmare held Faelga’s face in her hands, foreheads touching, noses pressing against each other, feeling each other’s breath, waiting for the darkness to merge them together.

"I will inherit everything from you, Faelga."

"No need to be sad anymore, you are not alone, I... am your sister."

The corrupted ritual collapsed into a singularity, and moments later, the darkness vomited out two figures. The two, looking similar, both with emerald-green long hair and delicate bodies, were embracing each other, asleep.

One of them woke up, disentangled herself from the embrace, her whole body enrobed in black armor, the gentle girl instantly transformed into a cold lady. From within the gaps in the armor, Susanna’s rage could nearly burn through the prostrate Dragon Priest.

"You lied to me!"

Yawning spiritedly, the Green Dragon Priest opened her eyes; she looked up at Susanna’s tall figure, spread her arms, and lunged forward.

"Dear, sister!!"

Intending to pierce her with thorns, her body hugged the Green Dragon Priest against its will, a warmth spreading from her heart, emotions almost overflowing uncontrollably. Struggling to hold back a laugh, Susanna hissed through gritted teeth at the trickster in her embrace.

"I didn’t consume your entirety." She had thought she completed the Father God’s task, yet, in the end, Faelga tore her personality apart, divided it into two parts: one stern, cold, determined, and steady, and the opposite side.

The Green Dragon Priest blinked, rubbing her face against her sister’s chest.

"But you also consumed the best part of Faelga, I’m just full of lazy, degenerate characteristics. You’ve gained quite the bargain, Susanna." Posing with sisterly authority, the Green Dragon Priest sighed helplessly, pretending to be generous with open arms, "Alright then, eat me again, come here, my sister."

Susanna’s personality was shaped within the Nightmare; she inherited a portion of Faelga’s power, the queen’s responsibility towards the Elf Clans, a mother’s love for her daughter Tiffany, and the dependence and closeness to her other half. Susanna had no intention to harm her other half, much less erase her existence by biting down.

As the vessel that was an empty shell found its own existence, the inner-filled emotions compared to the sleep inducer’s task were utterly unimportant, she chose to betray, calling out to her sister, her beloved, filled with emotion.

"Irason!"

"Fantastic! Susanna! That’s right! We are sisters, Susanna and Irason, we are inseparable sisters, only in unity are we the fearsome Elf Queen Faelga."

"Now, we are the Twin Queens."