Ashen's blade struck the obelisk, and for a moment, time itself seemed to hold its breath.
The impact sent a shockwave of golden light surging outward, colliding with the abyssal energy that pulsed from the ancient structure.
A deafening crack split the air as fractures spread across the obelisk's surface like lightning tearing through a stormy sky.
The entire Forgotten Citadel shuddered.
The labyrinth of shadows twisted in protest, its illusions unraveling as the obelisk's power wavered. Structures that had once seemed endless now flickered between solidity and nothingness.
The warriors, locked in battle against the shadowy horde, felt the weight of their enemies lessen as the creatures began to dissolve into wisps of darkness.
Ashen's heart pounded. It's working!
Seren's voice rang out over the chaos. "It's not enough! We need to break it completely!"
The Harbinger, who had been silently watching until now, finally moved.
With a slow, deliberate step, it approached the fractured obelisk, placing one clawed hand against it.
The cracks in the structure halted.
Then, they began to mend.
"No!" Ashen lunged forward, blade igniting as he aimed for the Harbinger's chest.
The entity barely acknowledged him. With the slightest flick of its wrist, a force unlike anything he had ever felt threw him back. He crashed into the ruins, coughing up blood as the world spun around him.
The Harbinger's glowing white eyes burned with something between amusement and disdain.
"Did you truly believe you could sever my tether so easily?"
The obelisk pulsed violently, and a wave of abyssal energy exploded outward.
The ruins stopped flickering. The maze solidified. The illusions returned—stronger than before.
Ashen's warriors cried out as the ground beneath them warped, dragging them apart. He could no longer see Seren, nor his men. The world reshaped itself around him, trapping him in an endless corridor of black stone, the whispers of the abyss crawling back into his mind.
He was alone.
The Abyss Calls
Ashen steadied his breathing, gripping his sword as he scanned the shifting darkness.
"This is just another trick," he muttered. "It's trying to break my will."
A chuckle echoed through the corridor, deep and resonant.
"Oh, chosen one… You misunderstand."
A figure emerged from the shadows ahead.
It was himself.
Or rather, a twisted reflection.
The doppelgänger stepped forward, identical in every way—except for its eyes. Where Ashen's burned with golden light, the reflection's were bottomless voids, swirling with abyssal energy.
"I am no illusion," the reflection said. "I am what you could become."
Ashen clenched his jaw. "I don't have time for this."
He swung his blade, fast and precise. But the reflection mirrored his movements perfectly, blocking the strike with an identical sword wreathed in darkness. The force of the impact sent tremors through the corridor.
The two clashed again, and again. Every strike was met with perfect resistance. Every move countered flawlessly.
Because he was fighting himself.
The realization struck like a dagger to the gut.
The abyss wasn't trying to kill him. It was trying to change him.
The whispers in the walls grew louder.
You cannot win.
You are already fading.
Embrace the abyss.
His hands trembled. A seed of doubt rooted itself in his mind.
And in that instant, the reflection moved faster than before—its blade slashing across his chest.
Pain flared as Ashen staggered back, clutching the wound. Darkness seeped into his veins from the cut, cold and hungry.
The reflection smiled.
"Why struggle?" it whispered. "You have seen the truth. The light is fleeting. The abyss… is eternal."
The wound ached. The whispers grew stronger.
And for the first time, Ashen felt afraid.
Breaking the Chains
Ashen's breaths came in ragged gasps. The abyss was creeping in, its touch sinking into his soul.
Was the reflection right?
The abyss was powerful. Limitless. Eternal. He had fought so hard, yet every battle had brought him closer to this moment—standing at the edge of something he could not defeat.
Could he truly resist it?
"ASHEN!"
Seren's voice rang through the void.
It was distant, barely a whisper, but it cut through the darkness like a blade.
He closed his eyes.
Memories flashed through his mind—Seren standing beside him in the village, the warriors who had followed him this far, the countless battles he had fought not just to survive, but to protect those who believed in him.
He was more than this abyss wanted him to be.
He was more than the darkness.
He was himself.
Ashen's eyes snapped open.
Golden light flared from his core, burning away the tendrils of abyssal corruption. His sword ignited once more, but this time, it did not merely glow—it blazed.
The reflection's smile faded.
"Impossible."
Ashen lunged.
Their swords met once more, but this time, his strike did not match the reflection's. It overpowered it.
The golden flame surged forward, consuming the doppelgänger in a wave of purifying light. The reflection screamed—not in pain, but in fury—as it was unmade.
The illusion shattered.
The corridor vanished.
Ashen stood once more in the heart of the Forgotten Citadel, the obelisk before him. The Harbinger's expression had changed.
For the first time, there was no amusement in its gaze.
Only recognition.
And perhaps, the faintest hint of concern.
Ashen lifted his sword. His voice was steady, unwavering.
"You're right about one thing, Harbinger." His golden aura burned hotter, crackling with power. "The abyss is eternal."
He stepped forward, eyes locked onto his foe.
"But so is the will to defy it"