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Hal was caught between two impossible choices.

A speedy ruin or a slow and torturous one.

Naturally, he went for the choice where he could slow down his ruin. Give himself time to think of a way out.

To think of a solution.

Alas, after a total of Ninety-nine games, Hal had to accept the fact that there was no solution. At least there was no solution that involved playing this game with an inner demon that had had absolute control...

Since winning would ultimately be his loss and losing deliberately (which he tried) was quite simply a loss nonetheless, he tried for a neutral option; A draw.

Being a very skilled player as he was, Hal was quite confident in controlling all that would happen on the board to ensure that all ended in a draw but he was quickly treated to the knowledge that this bastard of an inner demon had been toying with him from the very start.

It was never \'Unskilled\' at playing. It just never tried to win since it did not have to.

However, the moment that Hal let a chance at checkmate pass, in hopes for achieving his aim of a draw, the inner demon proved a manipulative bastard and upped its game.

It upped its game so much, Hal lost in three moves.

What had Hal\'s mouth gaping was that he saw the loss coming but had no way to counter it.

His attempt at achieving a draw had backed him into a corner.

"I am you, Hal. Whatever you know, I know. I am, quite literally, a product of your mind."

Hal furrowed his brows before he smiled,

"I beg to differ" The bastard could not read his mind. It only had his knowledge and skills.

After disagreeing with the smug bastard, the board was reset and the game restarted.

It took a few tries and more than a few games before Hal finally had things work out in his favor.

He had his inner demon backed into a corner.

There was no other move that could be made.

A draw was the only outcome.

For what was undoubtedly the first time, the Inner demon was not grinning.

It was frowning.

It had been trapped.

An outcome he did not want was the only one opened to him.

Sassy cheered behind Hal.

She might not know a lot about chess (despite having just watched Ninety-nine games) but she was connected enough to her master to know when he had the upper hand.

Hal, for his part, actually felt that despite his Dao heart at the brink of shattering into multiple pieces, there was one pseudo-bright side to this seemingly never-ending self-purgatory...

... And it was that his brain had never worked so hard to defeat someone in terms of intelligence... And schemes.

And he knew it was so difficult because the inner demon was so similar to him.

It was almost like playing against himself.

Almost.

No matter how alike they were...

No matter how alike their minds worked,

There was only one Hal and he was the only one who could get past a copycat like this Purgatory-twin.

That said, the number of games it had taken to achieve this was a testament to how good a copy the inner demon was.

"Your move" Hal said and gestured at the board.

Waiting for his Purgatory-twin to make the last move that would seal the game as a tie.

He was curious what a draw would do to his Dao heart.

Then Purgatory-Hal leaned back and was smiling again,

"Wondering what a draw would do to your Dao heart?" he asked but Hal simply smiled and said nothing.

After a second or two, Purgatory-Hal shrugged,

"It won\'t do anything. It won\'t shatter it, neither will it mend it. The only way to mend your Dao heart is to win and you can\'t win against me. Not in a game of chess" he said.

He sighed and nodded,

"I know I can\'t win. Just like I know exactly what you are going to do next. A draw makes no difference to you. We will simply play again and you will make sure we never tie again" he said before leaning forward and toppling his King.

As the chess piece fell forward as an obvious sign of surrender, Purgatory-Hal won the Ninety-Ninth game of chess that further cracked Hal\'s Dao heart.

Hal could feel it.

His Purgatory-twin could feel it as well.

They both knew that the next crack on Hal\'s Dao heart would shatter it.

It had held on enough and could not possibly take any more abuse.

And yet, Hal was smiling. Grinning even.

His Purgatory-twin who was a step away from victory was frowning.

"What\'s the matter? Cat caught your tongue?" Hal asked but Purgatory-Hal remained quiet so Hal continued to prod him with words,

"Come on, you won. You\'re about to get what you want. Why the long face? I would have expected you to be celebrating.

Or to at least give me another speech on how you can\'t lose. How you are inevitable.

Why so fucking quiet?"

Sassy looked between Hal and his Purgatory-twin and wondered what the hell was going on.

Through their connection, she knew Hal had lost this round and was confused as to why he was so happy.

The same went for the Forty-something apparition of the owner of the tomb.

He still could not speak but he still looked between Hal and the frowning Inner demon in wonder.

Nothing about the situation made sense to him.

Then again, the inner demon had just struck him dumb with words so it was a long time since things made no sense to him about this situation.

Eventually, the inner demon spoke,

"Why did you do that?" he asked and gestured at the toppled King piece.

Hal shrugged,

"Because I know that is what you were planning on doing; Topple your king and switch the board. So I saved you trouble.

You would never have settled for a draw because it was not your plan. I tricked you into it and that irks you.

You always want to be in control.

That was the whole point of this game.

*Chuckle* I just can\'t believe it took me this long to realize what you really want." he said.

"And what is that?" the inner demon asked and Hal struck a sitting pose of dominance as he answered,

"Control. That was the point from the very start. You copied me so much and so accurately, except for a few omissions, that you copied my most predominant trait.

Even though, I couldn\'t see it all this while."

The inner demon\'s frown got even deeper,

"What are you talking about?"

Hal sighed and leaned back.

He relaxed into the seat. Somehow making the ordinary-looking chair seem like a throne due to the Aura, the feeling, he was giving off while relaxed on it.

"I\'m talking about how this entire game of chess has been a distraction. It has been a distraction to keep me from realizing what was right in front of my face all along.

From realizing that I have the perfect template for my Dao right in front of me."

As Hal spoke, the cracks in his Dao heart began to mend little by little. Further proof that he was on the right track.

That said, Hal ignored it.

He was not saying all this because they were mending his Dao heart.

He was saying it because it brought him joy to exert his control on the previously smug bastard that was his inner demon.

Hal sighed,

"I am an Idiot. I wasted so much time playing pointless rounds of chess with you and did not realize they were not the point.

This Array made it so that you have no intentions of guiding me. All you want is to crush me completely.

It was even easier for you as I never understood my Dao and hence I was even more vulnerable but now I understand.

I am a lustful bastard who wants as many women as I can have but that is not my Dao.

Because that is not all I am. It is not all I want.

When I was still relatively new to this world, I had a thought... A wish, you might call it.

I said I would create a hierarchal system in which I would be at the top of the ladder.

The very top where no one, no matter how powerful could ever hope to reach.

Even from then, I had dreamed of reigning supreme.

I spoke of a world where my word would be law.

Where the word of my women would be law.

Even from then, I craved Sovereignty.

If pressed, I would say, It was never about not knowing I wanted to reign supreme. It was more about me wanting to define myself by my pleasures and indulgences.

Not realizing that being a sovereign would pull all of those pleasures and indulgences under one umbrella.

The umbrella of \'I shall do as I please and I don\'t give a fuck about consequences.\'

In conclusion, Purgatory-twin of mine, I thank you.

For opening my eyes."

Purgatory-Hal sneered,

"I assure you, that was never my intention" he said and Hal shook his head,

"Nah, you\'re being too modest. You deserve my thanks." Hal said and with a wave of his hand, he reset the chessboard.

A sign that he had taken control of his purgatory.

That, in here, He Was Sovereign.

"So to further express my gratitude; One more game of chess. One last game that I order you to play." Hal said with a grin.

The action mended the last crack on his Dao heart while Purgatory-Hal tried and failed to resist Hal\'s Sovereign order.

Hal chuckled at the sight before he said,

"Black moves first. I order you to play seriously. This is the last time I will ever see you, I want the image to be of me beating you at your absolute best...."