The silence was suffocating.
We stood in the heart of the Shadow Valley, the last remnants of the Mirror Trial fading behind us like a nightmare we couldn't fully shake off. The sky above stretched in hues of deep red and purple, the distant mountains jagged and foreboding. The ground beneath our feet cracked like brittle bone, and the air — it felt heavier than before, as if the world was holding its breath.
Alice was with us, standing at the edge of a vast chasm that seemed to go on forever. Her gaze was steady, but something in her eyes told me that we weren't quite done yet. The endgame was near, and the gravity of what came next felt like a weight on all our shoulders.
I glanced down at my hand — the ring was still there, glowing faintly, as if it knew the end was drawing closer. The necklace Alice had given me, the one that now pulsed with the same eerie rhythm as the ring, felt like an anchor. It was cold, but I could feel its power, its connection to something deeper. Something much more ancient.
James stepped forward, his expression hard but uncertain. "So… this is it, huh? The final choice."
Alice didn't respond immediately. Instead, she looked down at the chasm, as if weighing something in her mind. When she spoke, her voice was softer, almost distant. "You all know what comes next. The last trial. The one you've been preparing for. But there's more to it than just survival. There's a question. A single question."
"What question?" Arisa asked, her voice edged with unease.
Alice turned to face us, her gaze intense, unwavering. "Oruun will ask you one thing. And your answer will shape everything that happens after. It will decide whether you're free… or bound forever."
A chill ran through me at the mention of Oruun's name. Everything about this place had been designed to break us down, to force us to face our deepest fears and our darkest truths. But this... this felt different. It wasn't just about surviving anymore. It was about something far more dangerous — the truth.
"Why are we even trusting you?" James suddenly demanded. "What do we even know about you, Alice? You've led us through all of this, but you haven't told us the whole story. Why are we even here?"
Alice met his gaze without flinching. "Because you're the ones who need to face what you are. What you were. The trials aren't just about surviving them. They're about understanding your past, your mistakes. I can't help you with that. All I can do is show you the way. The rest… it's up to you."
There was a finality in her words that silenced any further protests. It was clear that she had said everything she could. The rest — the answers, the truths, the ultimate choices — were for us to find. And there was no turning back now.
"Then let's do it," I said, stepping forward. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat heavy, almost painful. "Let's face Oruun."
Alice gave a small nod. "Follow me."
We walked toward the chasm's edge, and as we did, the ground seemed to shift beneath our feet, guiding us toward an opening — a doorway that hadn't been there before. Beyond it, I could feel the weight of everything I'd experienced in this place. The guilt, the fear, the anguish. All of it had led us here.
I glanced back at the others. Arisa looked calm, her eyes focused on the doorway ahead. James, however, was visibly tense, his hands clenched at his sides. It was clear that none of us were ready, but we had no choice.
This was the end.
We stepped into the doorway, and everything changed again. The world dissolved around us, replaced by a vast, empty space. There was no ground beneath our feet, no sky above. It was as if we were suspended in nothingness, surrounded only by darkness.
And then, there was a voice.
It was deep, resonant, and ancient. It came from everywhere and nowhere, filling the void.
"Welcome," the voice said. "You have come far. But this is where the true test begins."
I stepped forward, my pulse racing. "Oruun?"
The voice echoed, sending shivers down my spine. "I am Oruun. And you stand before me, not as the people you think you are, but as the versions of yourselves you have chosen to become."
I felt a flicker of something inside me. Something that said, You've been preparing for this your entire life.
"What do you want from us?" Arisa asked, her voice steady despite the uncertainty in her eyes.
"A simple question," Oruun replied, his voice laced with an unsettling calm. "A question that will decide your fate."
I swallowed hard. This was it. The moment that would change everything.
Oruun's voice dropped to a whisper. "What are you willing to sacrifice to be free?"
I felt a cold chill sweep through me as the question settled in my mind. The words swirled around me, echoing in the vast emptiness.
What was I willing to sacrifice?
The question wasn't just about the trials, the mirror games, or the valley. It was about everything I'd ever done. Everything I was. My fears. My regrets. My past.
And in that moment, I understood.
I wasn't just fighting for survival. I was fighting for my soul. For my truth.
I took a deep breath, looking at the others. I could see the same realization dawning on their faces. This wasn't just about the trials anymore. This was about us — who we had become, who we were.
Oruun waited, his presence like a weight pressing down on us.
And for the first time in this entire nightmare, I knew what I had to do.
"I will sacrifice my fear," I said, my voice strong, but carrying the weight of everything I'd experienced. "I will give up the past that haunts me. I will face the truth and be free of it."
There was silence.
Then, Oruun's voice, softer now: "You have made your choice."
The darkness around us swirled, and the ground beneath us solidified. A light pierced the void, flooding the space with a blinding, golden glow.
And then, everything changed.
End of Shadow Valley.