Part I

Time slowed indistinctly as the lead bullet rolled out of the barrel. Unnerving as it was, the fatal small projectile targeted at his heart plunged into him.

Searing pain like toxic fluid coursing through his veins agonizingly paralyzed him as he collapsed on his back on the marmorial floor. Blood oozed out of his wound, steady as it soaked his white shirt and the vest that attired him. His eyes were half-lidded, but he was still breathing.

It was then that blindness made him close his eyes, and in a flash, he stood there before his reflection in an unknown mirror, an enigmatic place. The world had shifted its sides into grey, but the mirror that resembled a barrier and his phantasmagoric reflection remained. He turned back to run - only to find grey oblivion.

Something wasn't right. The shock of being shot lingered on this mind like that of squirming worms. But he felt no pain; there was no blood, no wound, no hole in his skin as he lightly ran his hand on his chest.

Finally, looking up at himself in the mirror, his gaze bore into his own greyish cerulean eyes.

He saw how he wasted the knowledge he had acquired in his long twenty-five years life - nothing was to be obfuscated. If only there were an heir to his throne of knowledge...

"But what's my fault? I have created a palace of my own to store everything I have learned."

Liam's mouth remained in a straight line, it seemed as though he couldn't speak. He merely heard his sedate thoughts.

His reflection in the mirror smiled, as though his eyes weren't a part of his face. It was a knowing smile - one that said: Oh, how bad you are at lying!

"Are you sure, Liam?" He heard his own voice from his own reflection in his own head. "Because, face it, you love yourself more than anyone ever could."

Liam's eyes narrowed pensively, his lips thinning. "Don't you think I know how my mind's trying to deceive me?"

"Fascinating." The remark caught him by surprise. "Am I your mind?" The same smile was plastered on Liam's reflection's face as though it was innately there.

"You are a part of my mind."

"Why aren't you sleeping, Liam?"

"You should know the answer to that."

The reflection chuckled, "Look at me," - Liam's disposition was static as he watched his reflection stretching his arms sublimely - "I am entirely a different entity. I can talk to you, I have anything YOU have acquired. So, how could I?"

Liam took a step back, his eyes widening. This wasn't possible; where was he trapped to begin with? The idea of communicating with his own reflection through thoughts was utterly asinine!

"Oh, am I intimidating you?" the reflection mocked, the edges of his eyes crinkling in delight. "Didn't think I know how severely lacking you are?"

He was not frightened. He would not have been lacking had he the chance to live, which was vague. But riveted to the spot, Liam realised his heart wasn't in his chest, there was no beat. But he heard heart-beats. There was no one but... no one but his reflection!

"Who are you, Liam?" The reflection queried, running his pale finger-tips on the surface of their barrier - the delicate glass or better so, the mirror.

Liam remained stoned, refusing to answer through his mind anymore. Emptiness was nothing. There was always a way. A way that he had to find. Death could find him after he was done.

"Answer me!" The reflection finally screamed; it was Liam's voice, it was Liam's anger, it was Liam's heart that he possessed. "Or have I rendered you speechless?"

Swallowing nothing, Liam opened his mouth to answer with a dry throat. But there was no voice; there was his mind. He had lost everything to his own reflection. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Why didn't he feel anything anymore? Where was his love for himself? Where was his heart? He merely had the ocean of knowledge now. Unreachable.

Falling on his knees as he neared the mirror, he looked up at his delusional self - his eyes clouded with things no one could place a finger on.

"You're the part of me that I detest."

The reflection flickered, a flash of apprehension crossing the face. "No."

A valorous smile creeped onto his lips in victory. Then he communicated with his reflection through telepathy appeasingly.

"I am you."

Author's Note

This is part 1 of 2. Enjoy and review!

Reviews

[Nusquam Esse]

This style is very like my own, meaning that it is naturally something which I will adore. You weave an awe-inspiring metaphor here, extremely powerful!
Just a few minor revisions...
fell to the ground, sprawled out on his back. is how I would personally reword that bit.
how he "had" wasted the knowledge
I like your usage of obfuscate, to make something dark, or to conceal the truth by making something obscured or confused...
However, I believe 'Nothing obfuscated' would be better, the tense you have just seems off somewhat.
Your usage of poser here feels really odd and off. I would either remove it, or try a different word. Pretender, Mimic, or Imposter will all work great. Another option, if you are trying to call him a 'copycat' of sorts, would be doppelganger, perhaps emphaize that the copy is a corruption, perfidious should be a good choice for a logophile such as yourself. (although the sentence will have to be reworded if you go this route)

[LA Altavano]

I like this! This piece was engaging util the end. As more questions are popping in my mind, the more I enjoyed it. "How did Liam end up there?" "Where is he, really?" "What could the reflection do to him?" I look forward to reading the newer chapters. :)

[Vidya Bacchus]

This is really great. It had me caught up till the end. I have to wonder how Liam ended up there.I am guessing we will know more in the chapters to come?.Great job for sure :)