The weight of a name

“Our world needs you?” Axel repeated, a short, incredulous laugh escaping his lips. The sound bounced off the dim walls of the living room. “You guys are… crazy?” His eyes darted between them, half expecting one of them to smirk and admit it was all a prank.

Lucy took a step forward, her boots clicking softly on the wooden floor. Her hands rose slowly, palms open in a calming gesture. The muted glow from the table lamp painted her face in warm tones, but the tension in her eyes betrayed the gentleness of her movement.

“No, seriously…” she began.

“Of course you are,” Axel cut her off, his voice sharper now. “You break into my house, blast apart my stuff, and then you feed me some insane story? Yeah, totally normal.”

Lexus, silent until then, stepped forward from the shadows. The boards creaked under his weight.
“We don’t have time to convince you gently,” he said, each word deliberate, his voice like a low roll of thunder.

“Well, I don’t have time to listen,” Axel snapped back, already turning toward the hallway.

The impact came before he could even process movement—a brutal punch to the stomach that ripped the air from his lungs. He doubled over with a strangled gasp, vision blurring, and then Lexus was on him, a wall of muscle and control.

The harsh rip of tape filled the room. Axel felt it cinch around his wrists, coarse and unyielding, then the sting of it pressing over his mouth.

“Mmmph!” His muffled protest was full of rage.

“It was necessary,” Lexus said flatly, without even meeting his gaze.

Lucy’s lips thinned.
“You could have done it without hitting him.”

“No,” Lexus replied curtly, not looking away from Axel. “Now he’ll listen.”

Lucy crossed her arms, giving Axel a quick once-over.
“Yeah… but maybe let him get dressed first? You just kidnapped him in a towel. Not exactly the heroic image we’re going for.”

Lexus blinked, as if only now realizing Axel was still sitting there half-hunched, trying to keep the towel in place.
“…Fair point,” he muttered. Then, turning to Axel with a perfectly straight face, he added, “Five minutes. And no funny business.”

Axel raised an eyebrow.
“Oh sure, because it’s so easy to plot my escape when I’m half-naked.”

Lucy smirked.
“See? He’s already thinking about it.”

Lexus sighed and shook his head.
“Three minutes.”

They pulled him into the dining room. The air smelled faintly of old wood and the briny tang carried in from the ocean. A single light swung gently from the ceiling, throwing shifting shadows across the table.

Lexus spoke slowly, as if every word was a weight he intended to drop into Axel’s mind.
“Listen, Axel. We come from Soul Terra—a world parallel to Earth.”

Axel glared at him, the tape tugging at the corners of his mouth, stopping any retort.

“It isn’t just a twin world with different maps. Every person here has another version there—your same face, your same voice, but living a life shaped by entirely different choices. Imagine every decision you’ve ever made… playing out the opposite way. That’s Soul Terra.”

He began to circle the table, boots thudding softly on the floorboards.
“Our oceans shine like liquid crystal under three moons. Mountains taller than clouds pierce the horizon. In the forests, the trees can whisper your name. But don’t mistake beauty for peace. There, every person can draw upon the essence of their soul—turn it into light, flame, steel… anything their will can shape. Some craft tools to build, others forge weapons for war.”

Lucy’s lips curved into a brief, almost proud smile.
“Like what I did earlier,” she said softly.

Lexus stopped behind Axel’s chair.
“That power built our cities… and it fuels our battles. We’ve been at war for years. At first, we were unstoppable. Until we killed the enemy leader. His son struck back, and in one night, he murdered our own leader in front of everyone.”

He moved to stand directly before him, leaning forward until his shadow swallowed Axel’s face.
“That leader… was you. Your other self. The Axel from Soul Terra.”

Axel froze. His hands stopped straining against the tape. For a heartbeat, the room felt completely still—just the faint hum of the light overhead. Then, slowly, he began to rub his wrists against the sharp edge of the table. The tape fibers frayed under the pressure. With a quick pull, his hands came free. He ripped the strip from his mouth in one motion.

“You’re completely insane. And if any of that were true… why me? Why drag me into this?”

Lucy’s hand landed gently on his shoulder. Her voice was quiet but insistent.
“You don’t have to fight like him. Just… be him.”

“Exactly,” Lexus said. “The enemy parades his death to crush our morale. If they see their leader alive again, even if it’s just you, they’ll fight like they did before. And we will take back what was stolen.”

Axel tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips.
“That’s it? You want a double? You really are insane.”

Before either could move, he shot up from the chair, flung the loose tape aside, and bolted for the door. The hinges groaned as he yanked it open, and then he was gone—swallowed by the night.

The streets of Silver Sea glistened from a recent rain, the puddles glowing gold under the streetlamps. The air carried the mingled scents of salt and distant coffee from an open café.

Back inside, Lucy stared at the doorway, her jaw tense.
“Are you just going to let him go?”

“It’s fine,” Lexus said, folding his arms. His voice was calm, but there was steel in it. “We’ll speak to him again. If he refuses… we’ll use force.”

Axel slowed after several blocks, his breath ragged.
“Soul Terra… soul powers… yeah, right,” he muttered, though the words rang hollow in his own ears. Something about what they’d said wouldn’t leave him alone.

He turned into a narrow side street. The buildings here loomed closer, their walls slick with rain. The shutters were down, and the air was heavy with the quiet after a storm. His footsteps echoed against the wet asphalt.

A quick glance over his shoulder: nothing.

He turned forward—and collided with something solid. No, someone.

He stumbled back. A tall man stood in front of him, his trench coat sweeping low, a wide-brimmed hat shadowing his face. Beside him, a shorter man grinned, lips curling in a twisted arc.

“We’ve found you, Axel” the shorter one said, his voice rough, the kind that slid under your skin and stayed there.

The sea wind swept between them, cold and sharp, and the street seemed to draw in around them, swallowing the light.