As soon as my pony body is forced back into corporeal form, the inner chill I felt in my soul became an external chill due to the blizzard storm all around me.

In front of me, we land at the base of an apparently dead volcano. Near the base is a cave that apparently leads into a black oblivion. Beyond the entrance, I can see absolutely nothing but total blackness.

“How nostalgic,” Sombra forces me to say as he purrs in sinister pleasure. “Welcome to my old lair, young one. Here is where I spent the vast majority of this past millennium.”

He lowers my head then sharply lifts it, arching back my neck to do so, almost to a painful degree. In the process, he summons a spell that apparently causes a sickly-looking greenish flame to ignite within the cave, but they fail to illuminate anything beyond them. The flames themselves seem to float in a black, empty void.

Sombra makes me chuckle darkly, then says, “You are lucky that I am here to guide and protect you, my little poppet. If you weren't, the black crystals within this cave would sap your life energy in a hurry.”

Lucky me, I think to him sarcastically.

“Indeed,” he accepts seriously then ventures into the cave.

What's so special about this cave anyway? I can't imagine spending one-thousand years in any single place.

“Biding my time and gathering my power, mostly,” Sombra makes me answer. “Here is where I gathered a special dark crystal. Within it, I had gathered a great deal of negative energy with the intention to use it not only to bring back the Crystal Empire, but to help me conquer it as well.

“But, unfortunately, an infuriating group of defiant adventurers burst into my cave and destroyed that crystal. Among them was Princess Celestia herself as well as a certain descendant of mine who was famed, at the time, to be the first flying unicorn.” Sombra scoffs. “History often forgets it's noble heritage if there aren't ponies like me around to remind them what is important.”

So Celestia herself, as well as a group of others, came here and busted your crystal?

“Actually, not exactly,” Sombra admitted as he made me continue to trot down an utterly dark cave. Passing each sickly purple and green flames are my only clue of progress through the cave. That, and the clomp sound of hooves meeting a crystal ground. “While I will admit that they were formidable and unusually resourceful, I had them on the ropes. I would have had them, too, if it weren't for my counterpart!” he spat in bitter anger.

Huh? You mean your human counterpart crossed over into Horse-Land and stopped you?

Sombra sounds like he calms down somewhat as he explains, “No. That's not it at all. I have no idea who my human counterpart is, but I've a hunch he died on your world a long time ago.

“No. The one I speak of is a pony, too. In fact, you could claim he was my true original self, but I ascended beyond him by embracing dark magic. We fought each other long ago. When I won, I claimed his body for myself. So, as you can see, this isn't the first time I've taken over another.

“But, apparently, part of his consciousness lingered in something they called, 'The Red Crystal'. Within it houses the last of his essence. Not only did that crystal house the last of his power, but also his spirit and knowledge, and this is why they were unusually prepared to face me. Apparently he even taught my descendant crystal science despite his affinity for the sky. Go figure.

“Anyway, in the end, my counterpart played some awful noise from 'The Red Crystal' that not only paralyzed me, but shattered my great Dark Crystal as well which had centuries of gathered negative energy.

“Enraged, I chased after them and almost destroyed them for their insolence, but I was halted by an illusion from my counterpart which was projected by the magic of my descendant. When I stared into my counterpart's eyes, I quickly understood that, although he and I have different goals and methods, we did have one important thing in common . . . for you see, he, too, wanted the return of the Crystal Empire. With my great obelisk destroyed, he was suddenly closer to his goal than I was, so I backed off and allowed him to finish his plan.

“For almost a century, I lingered here . . . brooding. Scheming. Hating! Craving the conquest of my homeland and the utter destruction of all of my enemies, but I had to bide my time. For his plan to work, the energy of harmony had to spread across the land first. Since I can't contribute to that directly, I figured the least I could do was stay out of the way.

“And, ultimately, his plan worked. The moment I sensed the return of the Crystal Empire, I finally stormed out of this cave in order to claim what is rightfully mine!”

I spend a moment to mull over what he said to me until I sense that I'm slowing down in my trot. That probably means we are nearing his destination.

“And we're here,” Sombra declares as we stopped.

I figured that.

“Behold, little poppet.” Using his horn, he levitates a black crystal that is about one foot tall and three inches thick. The fattest part of the crystal is in the middle. It almost has a rough teardrop shape, except it's pointy at both ends of the crystal.

What's this?

“These are the last shards of the Black Obelisk that I have formed. When it was shattered, I scraped together what tiny shards I could find and fused them into this one crystal.”

Why did you do that, and why not use it to renew your original plan?

“I reforged this crystal in order to once again accumulate power within it, but its ultimate purpose has changed. Because it is much smaller than what I started with, I knew it wouldn't be large enough to store all the energy I'd need to rip the Crystal Empire back into the material plane. So, instead of that, I stored within it a different kind of energy. More specifically, chaos energy.” Since he felt my confusion, he decided to add, “I don't need to go into details with a little runt like you. Suffice to say that I can use this to prepare for an enemy that has the ability to rip apart the fabric of reality.”

“It's too bad for you that you won't get a chance to use it,” a familiar woman's voice declares behind us.

“WHAT?!” Sombra turns me about on a dime to face the unexpected sight of Sunset Shimmer approaching us. She, herself, stood out against the darkness by having glowing wings and horn extending from her. The most confusing part of seeing her, however, is the fact she's still in human form.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” Sombra makes me roar. “How can you possibly cross the dimensional threshold? I destroyed it! Besides, even if you did find an alternate path, you should be transformed into pony form.”

Sunset lifts a red gloved hand and points her pointing finger up as she says, “First of all, there are alternate portals into Equestria. I found some of them myself, but most of them got closed by the efforts of Princess Twilight and Cozy's mother.

“Secondly, I'm not in Equestria right now, and neither are the two of you.”

Sombra makes me crouch down as if getting ready to charge at Sunset. He grits my teeth as he declares, “You lie! Clearly we are standing in Equestria right now!” He shifts my gritting teeth into an evil smirk. “More to the point, you have joined me in my former lair! Here, you will find that I have quite the tactical advantage over potential would-be intruders such as yourself.”

“Oh?” Sunset tilts her head, looking at me in a cocky way. “You mean that crystal back there?”

With a wave of her hand, that crystal suddenly shatters then disintegrates.

Sombra gasps so much at that sight that he's utterly speechless.

“As I said, we're not standing in Equestria,” Sunset reminds us, “and this isn't your real lair. Moreover, you are not even the real Sombra to begin with.”

“What are you babbling about now?” Sombra challenges her.

Sunset sighs, then says, “Before I start digging into that explanation, let’s get all of the players to the table.”

Sunset folds both of her hands on her chest. She floats off the ground that I still can't see (or at least she appears to elevate a bit) while her wings and horn, which is literally made of light, grow brighter.

“What are you doing?!” Sombra demands to know.

Next thing we know, light explodes away from Sunset. It momentarily blinds us.

When my vision clears, I notice that I can control my body again! Moreover, it has been restored to my natural human form.

Looking about, I notice I have two other companions joining me in an apparently empty void, except the local area around me has a sort of “ground” that glows gray a bit. Within this disk of gray is Sunset Shimmer and King Sombra in his black smoke form.

“What have you DONE?!” Sombra demands to know.

“I've entered us into a mutual mindscape,” Sunset answers as she floats back to the gray ground.

“So you have entered into our minds?” Sombra figures as he narrows one glowing eye at Sunset.

“Actually, I just changed the scenery a bit and pulled all the players involved in this scenario here,” Sunset answers. “But, in truth, we were already in a mindscape even before I delivered us here.” She looks squarely at me as she tells me, “Cozy, your real body is lying unconscious in the hospital. You've been that way ever since you 'seemingly' gave your body to him.”

“What?!” Sombra asks in confusion and objection.

“You should sense it too, Sombra,” Sunset told him. “At least subconsciously, part of you knows that something about this world isn't right.”

Sombra narrows both of his eyes at Sunset, but he holds his silence since he's unwilling to admit that she's right.

Sunset looks back at me as she explains, “Ever since you gave your 'body' to him, nothing either of you have seen, heard, or done has been real. It's all been an elaborate dream. The truth is, you two are in a coma.”

“Really?” I ask with rising hope. As soon as I ask that, I touch my throat. I feel delighted to finally have a voice again. Recovering from my elation two seconds later, I go on to ask, “So . . . nothing he has done through me has been real? My mother isn't hurt? Rainbow Dash wasn't stabbed in the shoulder? Starlight Glimmer isn't enslaved?”

While I am asking questions, Sunset continuously shook her head no. When I finish, she says, “Indeed. None of that was real. You never left your world, except mentally, and you are not in Equestria right now.”

“What do you mean I'm not the real Sombra?” Sombra asks suspiciously but also cautiously curious.

“Just what I said,” Sunset answers as she looks back at him. “You are not the real King Sombra.”

“Are you referring to my original self?” he asks. “Because I discarded that trash long ago. I am better than my original self! I am superior!”

Sunset shrugs as she says, “I'm sure the real King Sombra would be telling himself this all the time, but no . . . you're not that. You're a cast-off of a cast-off. The remains of a remains. You're just the shadow of King Sombra.”

“What do you mean?” I ask curiously.

Sunset covers her face for a moment as she takes a deep breath. When she releases it, she reveals her face once again.

“This is a little hard to explain, but what I think is going on here is a twisted form of Equestrian magic.”

Sunset looks at me as she explains, “I've studied Equestrian magic for many years. Because of it, I think I know more about it than most of my own people back in my native land. After all, they don't have easy access to the equipment and technology of your world. As such, I've been able to get some readings on Equestrian magic and how it affects anyone it gets in contact with. My research seems to indicate that the results is unique to every individual. How it affects you depends on who you are as a person.” She looks at Sombra as she says, “It's much the same as our cutie marks. That, too, is a form of magic that is distinctive to each individual pony.” She looks back at me. “Similarly, when Equestrian magic leaks through from my world and into your world, how it affects each individual depends on the kind of person they are.

“In your case, Cozy Glow, I think your magic became a similar form as it is with me. Specifically, you have a penchant for mind magic as well.”

“Really?!” I ask, feeling fascinated.

Sunset nods, then seemingly has her magic crystal shard suddenly materialize out of thin air. As it falls, she snatches it with her right hand. Once she has it, she opens her hand and reveals the red crystal shard to me on her right palm.

“Do you want to know where my crystal was this whole time?” Sunset asks me. In response, I merely nod, then she says, “For the longest time, I wondered that too.” I pass her a queer look, so she goes on to say, “It's true. For many months, it was missing.”

“Ah . . . wait!” I spread my hands apart to indicate this whole environment around us. “So . . . if what you are telling us is true . . . then everything around us isn't real.” I point at her crystal. “Including that, so you still don't know where it is, do you?”

“Oh, I know where it is, now,” Sunset assures as she clenches her fist around her crystal again and draws it close to her chest. “For a while, you had it.” She opens her hand again, this time revealing the black flash drive I used to hack into her laptop computer.

I widen my eyes in astonishment, and she nods at me.

“That's right. Ghost stole my magic shard and hid it within the flash drive he gave you. I don't know how he knew this, but it turns out he used the correct method to access my computer. Your mother and I designed that computer so that its magic, and the entire computer itself, could not be accessed unless this crystal shard is nearby it. It acts sort of as a key, as it were.”

Sunset crosses her arms across her chest and looks to her left side at nothing.

“I really don't know how he knew that, but I've a distinct impression that Ghost is not native to your world, either.” Sunset looks back at me. “He has no history in your world after all, and I think that's why.” Sunset rubs the back of her neck with her left hand as she continues to look at me. “It's just a hunch, but I have the distinct impression that, in my world, Ghost is a changeling.” She crosses her arms across her chest again. “During Queen Chrysalis’ reign, the changelings were very good spies. Of the thin amount of information I have on this guy, he seems to have the ability to blend in anywhere, and he has access to skills far above his age range. It's as if he's been doing it for decades.”

“But . . . how would he know that only your crystal could access your computer?” I ask Sunny.

In response, she shrugs as she says, “I really have no idea, but he did use the correct method. Maybe he eavesdropped on one of my conversations with your mother or maybe he was a changeling disguised as a pony in the background while I spoke with Princess Twilight about this.” Sunset sighs. “I have to say that, as formidable and experienced as Princess Twilight is, she is much too trusting when it comes to her personal security system. She's too accustomed to giving others the benefit of the doubt to take the precautions necessary to prevent secrets like this from leaking out. I'm sure she does take some precautions, but Ghost got around it anyway.”

“And now Rarity has it,” I recall. “Your crystal, I mean. I threw it into the trash. That is where she recovered it.”

“If you think I am not the real King Sombra, then what do you think I am instead?” Sombra asks Sunset.

From what I can tell, he did not ask that question belligerently. Instead, he is really asking because he wants to know her answer, which means part of him might suspect that Sunset is telling the truth.

“I was getting to that,” Sunset replies to him. When she goes on, she looks back and forth between us. “As I said, Equestrian magic appears to affect everyone differently, and you,” she points at me, “came into contact with it when you used the flash drive Ghost gave you. Not only did you contact the magic that is within the computer, but you unwittingly contacted the magic that was within the flash drive itself, for it had the true keys to unlock that machine. When that happened, you became enchanted by Equestrian magic . . . twice! Once during your first attempt to access my machine, and the second time when you used the flash drive to upload the information you stole from my machine.”

“The static shock!” I recall. “I was zapped twice by that flash drive.”

Sunset nods in confirmation. “That is when you got enchanted by Equestrian magic.

“In your case, the form that magic took is much akin to mine. It is mind magic, except it took a bit of a different form.” She glances at Sombra then back to me. “From what I can tell, the magic allowed you to contact the collective minds and spirit of all of Equestria. From that collective unconsciousness, you unwittingly drew upon a mind that was similar to your own mindset at the time, especially your subconscious mind.”

Sunset looks at Sombra as she says to him, “From your perspective, that's when your existence started, but you were 'programmed' with some of the memories of King Sombra, so naturally you just assumed you were the same entity, but the real King Sombra got obliterated many years ago.

“Admit it. Something about you felt off ever since you came to this world,” Sunset presses Sombra. “For instance, the real King Sombra would have no sexual interest in humans at all. I'm not even sure if he looked at ponies that way either. He always seemed interested to use his slaves as mere tools, but his attachment truly stops there. You might be able to tell me better than I can on that account. Still, didn't you find it strange how Cozy's body secretly and sexually aroused you?”

Sombra just looks at me but says nothing.

“You weren't like that before, were you?” Sunset challenges.

Again, he says nothing, most likely because he felt admitting the would be a form of defeat, and the Sombra I know would vehemently hide any form of weaknesses with a desperate passion.

“Wait a second! Time out.” I cross my hands in front of me into a T shape. “In this mental world, Sombra once contacted the mind of Starlight Glimmer through something he calls, 'The Fear Curse'. While he used it, he showed me a glimpse into Starlight's mind, particularly her fears and nightmare. Are you telling me that we just dreamed all that up? If that wasn't the real Starlight, then does that mean we still don't know what she truly fears?”

“I know it's confusing for you, but that is because you are still accessing the collective unconscious minds of all of Equestria. During that moment, all of that power was channeled to one particular individual. Starlight, in this case. I assure you that the real Starlight Glimmer is unharmed, but you very likely did see what she truly fears. During that moment, both of you contacted her unconscious mind, most likely without her knowledge or consent.

“Because of that mental contact, Starlight behaved in a way that's utterly real in this dreamscape. You never met her for real, I assure you, except for that one time you visited Equestria several moons ago. However, because of your mental link, the dream version of her you met behaved like the real Starlight Glimmer would act perfectly. At most, there might have been a little bit of taint in her behavior but, if so, even I can't tell the difference.

“So, even though you didn't contact the real Starlight, or anyone else, for that matter, the simulation you got in here is as real as a dream can get, largely because of your magical connection to my world and partially also because of your own knowledge.”

“I did sense you were really empty,” I admit as I look over at Sombra. “You seem to be simulating emotions, but inwardly I sensed nothing from you.”

“There is a two-layer explanation for that one,” Sunset brought up. “For one thing, this version of Sombra is actually a schism from your own subconscious mind but, in addition to that, you partially drew upon memories from the mind of the real King Sombra, and he was fake, too.” She focuses on Sombra as she says to him, “By your own admission, your true self died many centuries ago, and by your own hoof, no less.”

Sombra looks at Sunset thoughtfully.

“If anyone had an internal connection to you while you were still a black smoke ghost in Equestria, I think they would have found a similar emptiness within your soul, or rather his soul. He was just a shadow of his true, original self. As for you . . . you are a copy of a copy. A shadow of a shadow.”

“So,” he looks down, “that explains why I can remember her parent's name better than my own. I used to think part of my mind got lost during the transfer into her world.”

“In a way, that's true,” Sunset agrees, “but there is a bit more to it than that.

“Tell me, 'Sombra', why is Cozy Glow afraid of heights?”

“Because her father used to punish her by trapping her on top of their refrigerator,” Sombra answers immediately. “Given her height at the time, it seemed a massive drop to her which her fears only magnified.”

“What?!” I ask in bewilderment. “I don't remember that!”

Sombra looks back at me with wide eyes as if he just had an epiphany.

“Yes,” Sunset agrees as she puts her hands on her hips while still regarding Sombra. “Now you understand.”

“Understand what?” I ask. “Will someone please clue me in?”

Sunset answers as she looks back at me, “Sombra has all the memories you suppressed from yourself. He has all of your fears and unpleasant memories of your birth parents. Because of that, all you have left are your good memories of your parents, making them seem perfect accordingly.”

Realization dawns on me, then something else as well. “But . . . my full memories of my birth parents started to trickle into me lately. Why now and not before?”

“Because I was dwelling on them,” Sombra answers, then shifts his form. The black smoke gathers together while he condenses his form into something more solid.

However, when the shift is complete, I am taken aback to see another copy of me standing across from me, except Sombra has shifted to a younger form of me. By the looks of her, I'd guess that she's ten'ish.

“When I sifted through your memories, including the bad ones about your parents,” Sombra in my younger form says to me in my younger voice, “I didn't realize I was sifting through memories that you didn't have yourself. Instead, the memories I had were mine alone . . . until I sort of 'awakened' within you as a result of your touch with Equestrian magic. Ever since then, your suppressed memories took the form of Sombra because he best represented a voice for your internal fears, anguish, rage, and ambitious plans.”

The other younger Cozy tilts her head to me as she asks, “Do you remember what you said to the other students at Canterlot during the school assembly that you helped to organize?

“Here. Let me remind you!”

The scene around me shifts. This time I see myself standing up on a stage behind a podium as I give my speech to the other members of Canterlot High.

It is weird to see myself from the outside perspective, but I quickly brush it aside as I listen to the echo of my own past speech.

“But ask yourself this with all honesty. Have you . . . even once . . . considered using that kind of power if you ever had it? Was there even one brief moment during your childhood when you wished you could control the world or anyone else?

“I certainly have.” I see my past self gesture to herself. “I think about it all the time. Why do you think I ran for Student Council President? I do enjoy having enough authority to help people, and I do care for my fellow students. Those who have seen me in my office, or anywhere else for that matter, can attest to this.”

“You had a little King Sombra in you all along,” Sombra in my younger form tells me. It almost sounds like a taunt to me, but it's clear she didn't intend it to be. Just a statement of fact. “I am simply the cognitive manifestation of that unconscious desire.”

“Which is how Equestrian magic unfolded in this particular case,” Sunset elaborates. “Don't you see, Cozy? This isn't King Sombra and he never was. He . . . or rather I should say she . . . is you.”

I look over to my apparent 'other' self. For the first time, I am starting to sense a glimmer of emotion within her. The kind of emotion I have deep within myself.

The part of me I want to suppress and not remember.

I look back at Sunny as I ask her, “If all you say is true, then . . . what should I do?”

Sunset lifts up her hands to make finger quotes as she says, “'Sombra', in a way, had one piece of good advice for you. For you to make yourself whole and escape this nightmare, you really do have to face your fears. If you embrace them, you become them. More importantly, they become you again.” Sunset gestures to my other self as she says, “After that, King Sombra will be gone. He'll no longer hound or hurt you anymore. Instead, it will be just you in here.”

I wince in disgust and fear as I ask her, “Why would I want to merge with her?”

“Because you are incomplete without her,” Sunset answers immediately. “You need her strengths to answer life's challenges. In exchange, she needs you to temper her anger, fears, and ambitions. Without that moderation,” she thumbs behind her, “well, you saw what happened to the dream version of Ponyville. To prevent something like that from happening for real, you must be whole again.”

I look down as I sigh, then look back at Sunny as I ask her, “What must I do?”

Sunset lifts up a finger in caution as she asks, “Firstly, I must ask you . . . are you ready to leave this place? Are you ready to face your fears so that you may return to the real world?”

I shake my head as I answer, “I don't think I'll ever be ready for that, but I won't accomplish much else just standing around here, and I wish to have inner peace within myself rather than being at war with myself all the time,” I say as I look at my other self. “Fighting one's self . . .” I begin.

“. . . is the surest way to lose a battle,” my other self finishes.

Sunset vanishes and instantly appears next to me. She grips my shoulder as she says, “I'm not going to lie to you. What you will see won't be easy to face, but it's the truth. I'll help you through this as best I can, but this is something you have to face.”

I sigh as I look nervously at my other self, then nod as I say, “I'm ready.”

Sunset looks at my other self and nods to her while saying, “Do it.”

Staring into the eyes of my other self, I see her eyes flash green for a moment. After that, a green cloud envelops my vision.

The next thing I know, I'm somewhere else.

* * *

It would be pretty fair to say that my life flashes before my eyes, at least what has transpired so far.

In it, I receive a rapid jumble of thoughts, images, feelings, sensations. Not all of them are bad, but some of them get really dark.

For instance, some of it is of my father raping me. He has me bent over the bed as he pumps into me. While that happens, my innocent young mind desperately tries to think of something else. I try to be somewhere else in my mind. I struggled hard to avoid thinking about what was happening to me back then. All I knew was it hurt me and confused me.

During those times, I think I often smell alcohol in the air. Whenever that happens, it was easy to imagine that this wasn't my true father but, rather, some monster that took his form and the only way to tell him apart was the fact that the monster often had the smell of alcohol on it.

But I knew my father. My “real” father. He was the one who loved me and supported me and protected me. He was everything that this monster was not, so that was another way to tell them apart.

“That's right,” I hear Sunset's voice echo around me. “That's what a father should do. He should have loved you, protected you, and provided for you. A father should be picking up his daughter and twirling her in the air as she playfully giggles.

“It's also important to remember that, sometimes, he did precisely that.

“If you ever become a mother someday, Cozy, remember this lesson. Remember what worked . . . and what didn't work. By remembering when you were the victim, you'll have the motive and strength to prevent it from happening to anyone else.”

More visions flash before my eyes. Most of it is my parents arguing with each other, but sometimes those arguments escalate into physical violence. My father is not always the instigator of those physical fights, either. Sometimes my mother was the antagonist.

But, in general, my mother simply broods when she's in a bad mood. Instead of exploding her anger outwardly, she tended to bottle it in. More often than not, her anger came out as passive-aggressive. That often triggered my father. He was the true dynamite between them. He may have had the short fuse, but it did not mean he always started the fight.

Good memories are tucked in there too. Our hide-and-seek games around the house, especially with my mother since she was there more often. A true, honest to God housewife. We don't see too many of those anymore. Probably not enough.

There are other memories like that too. Us playing in the fields or doing the same with the ocean waves.

Overall, most of my memories of them range from neutral to good, but the exceptions can get extremely bad.

Like the time my father stranded me on top of the refrigerator when he was upset at me. He seemed to act like it was no big deal, but my mind was heavily scarred, likely far more than he realized.

But, in my last vision, while stranded on top of the refrigerator as my six-year-old self, a break in continuity occurs. The adult version of Sunset Shimmer enters into the kitchen and reaches up to me. She asks me, “Are you ready to come down and wake up from this nightmare now?” she asks me warmly and compassionately.

Since my mind is still under the lens of my six-year-old self, I eagerly reach down to embrace her arms. She pulls me down from off the top of the refrigerator and hugs me close to her chest from the side. She has one arm tucked beneath my bent legs and the other arm around the back of my shoulders.

She hugs me tightly to her warm chest. I feel my fears and pain begin to evaporate.

“Come on, Cozy,” Sunset says to me softly, “Let's get you back home to your real family.”

Light surrounds me from all around until I can see nothing else.

I'll admit, the audience reaction to this chapter is the other chapter that I have concerns with along with chapter 30, which really did get me one dislike as I feared. I have similar concerns about this chapter, but for different reasons, as some might consider this chapter a cop-out.

However, this is what I've been working the story towards from the very beginning, except for one thing. My original vision of this chapter was about Sunset summoning a mental image of all of Cozy's friends to try to convince Cozy to turn from the villain, but it ended up Sombra being easier to convince instead once I realized that he already partially had the answers. The way this chapter turned out might be anti-climactic, but it has fascinating repercussions for the rest of the story.

This is also the only chapter I kind of saw coming since the beginning instead of the last chapter, and when this one came it had a few extra twists even for me. It's fascinating to see how art keeps evolving. It can have surprised even for the writer of the story. I'm not the only one to have experienced something like this, right?