Golden odyssey

An absolute silence. Then, a beat. Slow, dull, coming from the depths of nothingness.

Eryndal opened his eyes.

Everything was black. Not an ordinary darkness, but a deep night, without stars, without moon, without horizon. He was standing, or at least, he felt like he was. His body seemed both light and infinitely heavy, as if suspended between two worlds.

Then, a glow. Faint, distant.

He moved forward, his steps echoing on an invisible surface. In front of him, a figure began to take shape in the dim light. Someone stood there, with their back to him, motionless.

— Who are you? Eryndal asked.

The figure did not respond immediately. Then, slowly, it turned.

And he saw himself.

Eryndal took a step back. His double stared at him with cold, empty eyes, like a broken mirror where all humanity had disappeared.

— The choice has been made, said Eryndal's voice… but it wasn't his. It was an echo, distorted, distant.

— What choice?! Where are we?

His double gave a strange, hollow smile.

— Where the price of truth begins.

With a slow motion, he raised his hand. The same mark glowed on his palm, but it was different. The spectral blue glow had been replaced by a deep red, like an open wound in the flesh of existence.

A cold shiver ran down Eryndal's spine. Something was wrong. Something irreversible had just happened.

— You never asked what you would sacrifice, continued the other Eryndal. You wanted the truth. But truth is not given freely.

The red light on his palm pulsed violently. Eryndal felt his own breath catch, as if an invisible force was stealing his oxygen. His legs trembled.

— Stop it!

But his double remained motionless.

— The sacrifice has been sealed, Eryndal. You cannot go back.

The darkness around them suddenly cracked, like shattered glass. A blinding light flooded everything.

Then, the world returned.

He opened his eyes, gasping for air.

The cold ground beneath his fingers. The scorching air around him.

He was back.

— Eryndal!

Alessia's voice brought him back to reality. She rushed to him, her face tight with concern. Darek and Elion were also there, their gazes tense, alert.

— What happened? Darek whispered. You collapsed all of a sudden, and that light…

Eryndal didn't respond immediately. His heart was racing, his breath erratic. He looked down at his palm.

The mark had changed.

The spectral blue was gone.

In its place, a faint red glow pulsed, like a fire ready to consume everything around it.

— No… he murmured.

He knew what it meant.

The choice had been made.

And something irreparable had just been lost.