A presence stirred behind him.
Jude turned sharply, his muscles tensed.
A figure stood a few feet away.
It wasn't the shadow from before.
It was himself .
Jude's doppelgänger stared at him with calm, unreadable eyes. It wasn't an exact copy ,there were subtle differences. The other Jude was slightly taller, his features sharper. His clothes were different too, made of a material that shimmered like the world around them.
The other Jude tilted his head. "You shouldn't be here."
Jude swallowed hard. "Where is here?"
The other version of himself studied him for a long moment before speaking. "This is the place between."
Jude frowned. "Between what ?"
"Between what was," the other Jude said, "and what will be."
Jude exhaled sharply. "That doesn't tell me anything."
The doppelgänger sighed, as if tired of explaining. "You broke the cycle, Jude. But cycles don't just disappear. They shift . Reality rearranges to fill the gap."
