Victor pulled out two goblets and poured the viscous potion emitting an ominous purple light into them. The way the liquid clung to the sides looked like some sort of living, oily creature.
"Now then," he solemnly raised his glass, his face brimming with the fervor of conducting a sacred ritual. "To greater power. Cheers, brother."
"To an extra meal."
Venom's tentacle curled around the offered goblet and lightly clinked it against the one in Victor's hand with a crisp ring.
The human and the Symbiote looked at each other and smiled, tilting their heads back to down the potion simultaneously.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The exuberant smiles on Victor and Venom's faces instantly froze as if flash-frozen.
The next second—
"Pfft—!!!"
"Gag—!!!"
Almost simultaneously, the potion was violently spat out. The goblets slipped from their hands and fell, shattering into pieces on the tiled floor!
Victor suddenly crouched down, one hand gripping the rim of the toilet while the other frantically clawed at the back of his throat, letting out heart-wrenching dry heaves.
"Ugh— Kill... kill me..."
Tears and snot flowed uncontrollably; his voice was distorted and warped.
"Why did it clearly smell like chocolate... but taste like... like..."
On the other side, Venom's massive black body seemed to have had all its bones removed, slumping limply on Victor's shoulder like a puddle of completely broken, lifeless black slime.
Its huge mouth was open, its long tongue lolling out powerlessly. Its white eyes were unfocused, staring hazily at the ceiling as it used the last of its strength to let out a raspy cry:
"It's shit!!! This is fucking chocolate-flavored shit!!!"
"Victor! Venom!"
The bathroom door was kicked open. Having heard the sound of glass breaking and the agonized cries of Victor and Venom, Enid rushed in first, her face full of terror.
Wednesday followed close behind, her eyes sharp as a hawk's, a reverse-gripped dagger flashing with a cold glint in the dim light.
The scene before them made both of them freeze instantly.
Victor was still letting out death-like wails and dry heaves into the toilet, while Venom slumped on his shoulder like a black corpse. The air was filled with an indescribable, eerie smell—sickly sweet mixed with extreme stench.
"What did you do?! What shit?! You didn't... you didn't eat it, did you?!"
Enid looked at this surreal scene in shock, feeling like her brain's CPU was about to burn out from the massive information overload.
"Calm down, Enid."
Wednesday's voice was as cold as ice. Her sharp gaze swept over the mess on the floor, finally landing on the thick tome discarded on the ground.
She stepped forward, bent down to pick up the book, and flipped precisely to the dog-eared page Victor had marked.
The corner of her mouth curled into a cold, unsurprised sneer as she said bitingly:
"It seems our two great, confident Potion Masters have successfully brewed a... 'masterpiece' that even they themselves cannot stomach."
Her gaze fell upon the slumped Venom and the agonizing Victor as she delivered the fatal blow:
"Perhaps the true effect of this potion is 'facing oneself honestly'? After all, they gave a quite... precise taste evaluation."
Victor, his tongue hanging out, wobbled as he used the toilet rim to stand up. Before he could steady himself, his whole body flickered blurredly with a static sizzle, like an old TV with poor signal.
"Uh... what's going on?"
Victor looked at his hands in confusion; they were switching unstably between solid and translucent.
"Did I... did I just flicker?"
Bzzzt—!
Another burst of more rapid and intense flickering followed, as if his body were resisting some law of physics.
The frequency of the flickering grew faster and faster, until his human form was almost indistinguishable, leaving only a blurred, distorted silhouette of light and shadow accompanied by unsettling electrical noise.
"Uh-oh."
Victor's voice came from within that distorted light and shadow, carrying a hint of helpless resignation.
"Doesn't seem too good. Wednesday, Enid, wish me luck."
One final sharp beep! The humanoid light and shadow suddenly collapsed inward, then stabilized with an instantaneous burst—
Like an old TV finally receiving a stable signal, the picture suddenly became clear.
"Hey, I'm okay, no more flickering." *2
Two completely synchronized voices overlapped.
"Okay, something's not quite right." *2
Both Victors looked up at the same time, their movements, angles, and even the look of bewilderment on their faces matching perfectly.
Their gazes met in mid-air, each seeing an identical version of himself across from him.
"Motherfucker, I did it!" *2
The ecstasy lasted for only a second.
"Wait, it's still not right," *2
Both Victors frowned simultaneously, showing expressions of extreme confusion and discomfort. They both raised their hands, touched their own faces, and then pointed at each other.
"I didn't split into good and evil personalities..." *2
Their voices were filled with an unbelievable sense of eeriness.
"Instead... it's one consciousness... controlling two bodies at the same time!" *2
A deathly silence fell over the bathroom.
Wednesday and Enid were completely petrified where they stood, their eyes wide in shock as they witnessed this surreal scene—two identical Victor Blacks, using perfectly synchronized movements and voices to express the shock of a single consciousness.
This was a hundred times more terrifying and... absurd than splitting into good and evil sides.
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