Ethan continued, staring somewhere through her:
"I realized… everything I did was pointless. Even trying to save the woman I loved, believing in someone… accepting help… It all only led to pain, deaths, and what did it bring? I died myself…"
"So take it. Do whatever you want. I won't resist."
He picked up the glass, looked at the dark liquid inside, and drank it in one gulp. The taste was bitter and cold. The liquid burned his throat and spread through his body.
The bartender froze. He looked at Ethan with genuine surprise. His hand holding the cloth stopped moving. Then, very slowly, a smile began to form on his face, almost sweet, with a hint of sincere admiration.
"This isn't fun at all. You're so boring…" he whispered, leaning slightly closer. His smile widened, and something like respect flickered in his eyes.
"You're really surrendering not because of defeat or victory. In that case, let's do it differently…"
Ethan placed the empty glass on the counter and looked at his shadowy copy with an empty gaze.
"Do what you must," he said calmly.
"I'm done."
The white space around them flickered slightly, as if in anticipation.
The shadowy entity continued smiling, not taking its bottomless gaze off Ethan.
The shadow behind the counter slowly placed the polished glass back in its place. Its movements were calm, almost lazy, yet every gesture carried ancient power. It looked at Ethan for a long, studying moment, then quietly said:
"From now on, you'll simply want to continue doing what you've always done. Because you need to remember something, Ethan. Something very important."
It reached a hand across the counter. The fingers were long, with black veins visible under the skin. The palm looked unexpectedly warm. Ethan stared at it for several seconds, then slowly placed his own hand in it.
The touch was strange yet familiar, like shaking hands with himself.
The shadowy entity gently squeezed his fingers and leaned closer. Its voice became lower, almost intimate.
"Tell me… how were you born, Ethan?"
The question hung in the white space with a heavy, resonant echo.
Ethan frowned. He opened his mouth to answer but suddenly realized his mind was empty. A complete, terrifying emptiness. He tried to recall his childhood, his parents, his first cry in the maternity hospital… but there was nothing. Only gray fog.
"I…" he began uncertainly.
"I don't remember. I grew up in an orphanage. With other kids. There were many of us… noisy, crowded. No one ever told us about our parents."
"At eighteen I left and started working at this bar. And I stayed there ever since."
He fell silent. The words sounded correct, but something inside him twisted unpleasantly. As if he were repeating a well-rehearsed lie.
The shadowy entity stared at him without blinking. A soft, almost gentle smile slowly bloomed on its face, tinged with faint pity.
"Interesting…" it whispered.
"You really don't remember. They did a good job washing your brain. We need to fix that…"
It didn't release his hand. Its fingers squeezed slightly, sending a strange, soothing warmth.
"Well, this will be a nice bonus, you'll remember," it continued quietly.
"And when it happens… you'll understand why all this time you felt like everything was moving too fast, sometimes even incomprehensible."
"Perhaps all of this began in your life long before we met."
Ethan looked at his shadowy copy, searching its face for answers.
"What do you mean?" he asked hoarsely.
"What am I supposed to remember?"
The shadowy entity smiled wider. Something ancient and almost sad flickered in its eyes.
"Everything," it answered.
"Oh God, so many questions, so many answers. I don't want to tell you, it would take too long. I'll simply give you the chance to remember!"
The white space around them darkened slightly at the edges, as if preparing to show something more. The shadowy entity still held his hand, not letting go.
"Are you ready to learn the truth, Ethan?" it asked almost in a whisper.
"Or will you continue hiding in the life they created for you? They really don't want me to show you anything. Blah blah, intrigue, yes, yes."
The shadowy entity slowly walked out from behind the bar.
It moved smoothly, almost tenderly, as if not wanting to scare him. The black veins under its skin pulsed softly, in time with Ethan's heartbeat. It stopped right in front of him, opened its arms, and said quietly, almost gently:
"Since you don't want to fight… let's just hug. I'll absorb you. No hard feelings. If I were a girl, I'd say goodbye with a kiss, but kissing you would look like some kind of narcissism."
Ethan rolled his eyes ironically.
"You're tired, aren't you? Not against it?"
Ethan sat on the stool, looking up at it. There was no fear in his eyes. He slowly nodded.
"Yes…" he whispered.
"I'm tired. Do what you want."
The shadowy entity smiled. It stepped closer and opened its arms. Ethan stood up and allowed it to embrace him. The shadow's arms were cold, yet that cold carried a strange, soothing tenderness.
It pressed him to itself, resting its chin on top of his head, like an older brother or father finally taking a tired child home.
At that moment, the white entity reached out and took the dark Ethan's hand. The two versions of one person connected.
And the absorption began.