I woke up feeling every muscle in my body protesting from the previous day’s effort. The pain had become a constant presence ever since Ei took control for the battle, and even though it was a new day, my body didn’t seem to have forgotten. The moment I opened my eyes, Ei’s voice echoed in my mind with her usual authority.

“Hey, it’s already three in the morning. Get up, take a bath, and get dressed.”

I groaned, squeezing my eyelids shut, ignoring her call. My body was far too exhausted to move, and sleep seemed far more appealing than the obligation of facing a new day.

“Get up,” Ei insisted, though this time her tone sounded… different, more urgent.

Still, I continued to ignore her—until something jolted me out of my stupor. I felt hands grab my shoulders and shake me roughly. The unexpected touch startled me, sending a surge of adrenaline through my body. I shot upright, and in my panic, ended up smashing my head against another. The impact echoed through the room, followed by a groan.

“Oww!”

The sharp pain in my forehead made me rub it with one hand as I tried to focus my vision. I blinked, struggling to understand what was happening, and then I saw it.

In front of me, a figure identical to myself was rubbing her forehead as well. My eyes widened in shock at the sight before me. I fell silent, unsure how to react, until at last a single word slipped from my lips, barely a whisper.

“Ei?”

The woman in front of me nodded, confirming what I already feared. It was her—or at least, it looked like her. Her expression was calm, almost indifferent, as if what had just happened were the most normal thing in the world. After a few seconds, she finally spoke.

“Yes, it’s me.”

My thoughts crashed into one another as I tried to understand how it was possible to see Ei outside my mind, in flesh and blood—or something close to it. My confusion only grew, and with a trembling voice, I managed to ask a question.

“H-how?”

Ei looked at me as if she had been expecting that question, then replied with a calmness that only deepened my bewilderment.

“It’s just a temporary body I created by condensing Electro energy. It won’t last very long.”

As she spoke, Ei’s figure began to fade before my eyes, as though her body were made of mist being scattered by the wind. In a matter of seconds, she vanished completely, leaving only empty space where she had been.

“See?”

Ei said again from inside my mind, in her usual tone, as if nothing strange had happened.

I remained sitting on the bed, trying to process what had just occurred. My heart was still pounding from the shock, and a strange sensation settled in my stomach. Even though Ei’s explanation seemed simple, the fact that she could physically manifest in front of me added a new layer of complexity to our already unusual relationship.

“Great, now you can show up physically too… you and your inventions are really something, huh…” I muttered, half in disbelief.

Ei let out a soft laugh in my mind, which made me roll my eyes. As if it weren’t enough to have her in my head, now I had to deal with temporary physical versions of her as well.

I let myself fall back onto the bed, covering my face with my hands. I was still exhausted, and having had an unexpected encounter with a version of myself created by a god didn’t help. But the day had already begun, and no matter how much I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Ei had said earlier.

“Get up.” Ei’s voice returned, softer this time. “Today is another important day. We can’t afford to stay in bed.”

I let out a long sigh and sat up, finally giving in. I knew I wasn’t going to win this fight—not against Ei.

“All right, all right,”

I said as I headed for the bathroom, still feeling the echo of pain in every part of my body. I knew today was going to be a long day.