Golden odyssey

Ash swirled around Eryndal, but it was not enough to obscure the vision unfolding before him. The man approaching them was no stranger. He was another version of himself—one who had already endured the same trials, made the same choices, and now bore the scars of a fate too heavy to bear.

A growing pressure seized Eryndal's chest. Each heartbeat echoed through the infinite void, and the red light pulsing from his palm beat in sync, as if responding to the pain of the being before him. A broken being. Disturbed. His face bore an expression of devastation, as if he already knew what was to come.

The man stepped closer, his movements slow but resolute. The rift in the sky continued to pour out fragments of light and darkness, a blend of memories and past shadows.

— "You know what's going to happen," the man said, his voice distorted by years of suffering. "You know what you've just unleashed."

Eryndal clenched his fists. He didn't want to hear these words, but he knew he couldn't run from the truth—not this time.

— "You don't need to tell me," he replied, his voice steadier than he had expected. "I know we've opened a door. And I also know there's no turning back now."

The creature in the air, which had seemed to disappear, stirred slightly, as if reacting to his words. Its eyes gleamed with a morbid light, and in the surrounding void, shapes began to emerge—twisted, broken silhouettes that seemed to be the reflections of those who had walked this path before them.

— "You don't understand, Eryndal," the man continued. "This isn't just a power you've unleashed. It's time itself. The truth… is that what you sacrificed, what you allowed into this world, is the end of everything. Not just us, not just you. Everything."

His words resonated like both a warning and a curse. Eryndal, Alessia, Elion, and Darek exchanged glances, the confusion and dread evident on their faces.

Darek took a step forward, his expression resolute but tinged with fear.

— "Then it's too late. We can't undo what we've done?" His voice wavered slightly. "Is there no way out?"

The man shrugged, a faint, sorrowful smile on his lips.

— "There is always a way out. But at what cost?"

Suddenly, an explosion of red light sent a tremor through the air. Fissures tore through the ground beneath them, as if the entire world was on the verge of collapse. The man halted, raising his hand, and the cracks widened, deepened, threatening to consume everything.

Alessia stepped back, her face pale but resolute.

— "We have to act now." Her gaze locked onto Eryndal. "No matter what happens, we have to fight. No matter what we've sacrificed."

Eryndal looked at her, and something in his eyes shifted. He understood what she meant. It was no longer just about saving what could still be saved—it was about resisting the fate unraveling before them.

They had crossed a point of no return, but they weren't ready to accept the extinction of everything they had known. They weren't ready to let this truth consume them whole.

— "We'll do this together," he said, his eyes fixed on the man and his vision of a devastated future.

The man let out a quiet laugh—a weak, sorrowful sound.

— "That's what they all said. That's what I said." He raised his arms, and the ashes rose around him, forming a whirlwind that swallowed the light. "But the end is inevitable, Eryndal."

At that moment, the creature materialized before them, massive and imposing. It moved like a living shadow, its eyes gleaming with a sickly glow.

— "You have opened the way. Now, you must accept what that means." Its voice was colder than ever, its form twisting in the air as if it were the embodiment of time itself unraveling. "The price of truth—you will pay it. Without exception."

The ashes thickened, the fissures widened, and everything around them began to collapse. The cycle had begun. Time was distorting. The truth was unfolding, and its weight bore down on them all.

Eryndal clenched his fists.

— "Then we'll fight, until our last breath." His voice was filled with defiance. "I won't give up. Not now."

A heavy silence fell. The creature and the man locked eyes, as if time itself held its breath around them.

The final battle—the most decisive of all—was about to begin.