The walls of Nox seem to shift as Freyr leads me deeper into its labyrinthine corridors. Shadows dance along the smooth stone, flickering like living things that retreat and surge in time with my heartbeat. The air grows colder with every step, thick and oppressive, pressing against my skin like unseen hands.
Freyr walks ahead, his movements unhurried, yet purposeful. His dark silhouette blends into the gloom, and for a moment, I wonder if I'm following a shadow instead of a man. The only sound is the echo of our footsteps, muffled by the strange, damp stone beneath us.
"You're quieter than I expected," Freyr says suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. He doesn't look back. "I thought you'd have more questions, after everything you've seen."
"I'm not sure if I want the answers," I admit, my voice barely above a whisper.
He stops, turning to face me with a slow, deliberate motion. His eyes glint faintly, catching the crimson light that pulses faintly from the walls. "That's the most honest thing you've said all evening."
I look away, unwilling to meet his gaze. "What's the point of asking if all I'll get are half-truths and riddles?"
Freyr chuckles, the sound low and mocking. "Truth is a dangerous thing, Sarah. It's not given—it's earned. And sometimes, it's better left buried. Are you sure you're ready to dig it up?"
I don't answer, and he doesn't press me. Instead, he gestures to a set of doors ahead, their intricate ironwork gleaming like fresh blood in the dim light. The veins of red that pulse through the walls seem to converge here, their rhythm steady and deliberate, like a heartbeat.
"This is where we begin," Freyr says, his tone softer now, almost inviting. "You want control, don't you? Over your power. Over your future."
I hesitate, my fingers tightening around the pendant at my neck. The warmth of it feels distant now, as though it's shrinking away from the darkness around me.
"I want answers," I say finally, my voice steadier than I expect.
"And answers you shall have," Freyr replies. "But power always comes first. You cannot uncover the truth if you cannot wield the magic within you. If you cannot embrace what you are."
"What I am?" I echo, bitterness creeping into my tone. "I don't even know what that means anymore."
Freyr steps closer, his presence overwhelming, his gaze pinning me in place. "You are more than you've been told. More than even you can understand. But you cling to the scraps of your humanity, as though they will save you." His voice drops, heavy with disdain. "They won't. All they will do is hold you back."
"I'm not like you," I say, but the words feel hollow.
"No, you're not," Freyr agrees. "Not yet."
Before I can respond, the iron doors creak open on their own, revealing a cavernous chamber beyond. The air inside is colder still, biting at my skin like shards of ice. The floor is covered in dark, reflective stone, and at its center, a swirling pool of liquid shadows pulses with faint light, like a living void.
Freyr gestures toward it, his expression unreadable. "This is your test."
"What is it?" I ask, my voice barely audible.
"A reflection of your fears. Your doubts. Your anger. Step into it, and it will show you what you truly are."
"And if I don't?"
Freyr's lips curl into a faint smile. "Then you'll never know. You'll remain blind to your power, to your potential. And you'll continue to be a pawn in a game you don't understand."
My pulse races as I stare at the swirling darkness. It seems to call to me, pulling at something deep inside, something I don't fully understand but can't ignore.
"You said this path would come at a price," I say, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it.
"It will," Freyr says simply. "But so will staying as you are. The question is—are you willing to pay it?"
I look at the pool again, the shadows churning like storm clouds. Fear coils in my chest, but alongside it, something else stirs—an ache for understanding, for control. For power.
I take a step forward.
"Good," Freyr murmurs, his voice barely audible over the thundering of my heart.
The cold seeps into me as I approach the edge of the pool. The pendant at my neck grows hotter, as though trying to warn me, but I don't stop. I can't.
The shadows rise to meet me, tendrils of darkness coiling around my ankles, pulling me closer.
I step in.
And everything goes black.
*******
The cold is immediate, a biting chill that seeps into my bones as the shadows engulf me. The darkness isn't just around me—it's inside me, pressing against my chest, my thoughts, my very soul. My breaths come shallow and fast, each one a desperate attempt to hold onto some semblance of myself. But the deeper I sink, the more that part of me feels distant, untethered.
"Sarah," a voice calls, soft and familiar, yet hollow, echoing endlessly in the void.
I whip around, but there's nothing. No Freyr. No pool. Just endless black. The voice comes again, louder this time, laced with a sharp edge.
"Do you know what you've done?"
A shape begins to form in the distance, blurry and shifting like smoke. My breath catches as the figure solidifies, and I see Cassie. Her face is pale, her eyes accusing. She steps toward me, her movements slow but deliberate.
"You let this happen," she says, her voice shaking with barely contained anger.
"I didn't—" I try to say, but the words die in my throat.
Cassie steps closer, and behind her, another figure emerges. Ryan. His expression is darker, colder.
"You've always been the center of it all," he says, his voice cutting like glass. "Do you know how many lives have been destroyed because of you?"
"That's not true," I whisper, shaking my head. "I didn't ask for any of this."
"But you embraced it," Cassie snaps, her voice rising. "You let them take everything. You stood there, and you let it happen."
The words pierce through me like daggers, and suddenly, the shadows around me begin to shift. Faces emerge, countless faces, all twisted with pain and betrayal. My parents. Cassie. Ryan. Even Justin.
They surround me, their voices overlapping into an unintelligible cacophony. The weight of their anger, their grief, is suffocating.
I fall to my knees, clutching the pendant at my neck as though it might anchor me to something real. But even its warmth feels distant now, swallowed by the encroaching cold.
"Is this what you wanted?" Ryan's voice cuts through the chaos, rising above the others. "To become the thing you feared most?"
"I don't know who I am anymore!" I scream, my voice cracking, raw. The admission echoes in the void, silencing the shadows for a moment.
And then Freyr's voice comes, calm and deliberate, cutting through the stillness. "Then it's time you found out."
The faces dissolve, and the darkness shifts again. This time, it doesn't overwhelm me—it focuses, drawing inward like a tide receding before a storm. And in the void, a single figure emerges.
It's me.
But not me.
This version of myself stands tall, her eyes glowing faintly with silver light. Shadows coil around her like living things, and her expression is calm, almost serene, but beneath it, there's something cold. Something inhuman.
"This is who you could become," Freyr's voice says, though I can't see him. "If you don't let go of the chains holding you back. The fear. The doubt. The humanity."
I stare at the figure before me, unable to speak. She tilts her head, watching me with a faint smile that sends chills down my spine.
"She is powerful," Freyr continues. "Unstoppable. But she comes at a cost."
The pendant at my neck burns hotter now, as though protesting, and the figure before me reacts. Her smile fades, replaced by something colder, angrier.
"What are you willing to lose, Sarah?" Freyr asks, his voice closer now, as though he's standing right behind me. "What are you willing to sacrifice to uncover the truth and control your power?"
I meet the gaze of the other version of myself, and for the first time, I see the darkness reflected in her eyes. It's the same darkness I've felt clawing at me, the same one I've tried so hard to ignore.
"I don't want to lose myself," I whisper, my voice trembling.
"Then you'll never truly know your power," Freyr replies, his tone sharp. "But if you embrace it, if you embrace her, you will have everything you seek. The choice is yours, Sarah. What will it be?"
I close my eyes, the weight of his words pressing down on me. The darkness shifts around me, waiting, patient but insistent. The other version of myself doesn't move, her presence looming like a shadow over my own.
I feel the pendant pulse once more, its warmth fighting against the cold. I hold onto it, trembling, my mind racing. Do I step forward? Do I embrace what Freyr has shown me? Or do I fight to keep what little remains of my humanity?
The silence stretches, and the darkness waits.
"I…" My voice falters as I open my eyes, staring at the shadow of who I could become.
But before I can answer, the void shatters.
*******
The darkness splinters into shards of light and shadow, and the air around me grows impossibly cold. Freyr's voice echoes one last time, faint but certain: "We will see what you're truly made of."
And then I'm falling.
The weightless sensation grips me, pulling me deeper into the unknown. The last thing I see before everything goes black is the reflection of my other self, her eyes glowing like twin moons, watching as I disappear into the abyss.
The sensation of falling doesn't stop. It stretches on endlessly, the void wrapping around me like a suffocating cocoon. My thoughts twist and churn, the image of my shadow self seared into my mind—her cold, unyielding gaze, her power, her darkness.
Then, abruptly, the descent ends.
I hit the ground with a force that knocks the breath from my lungs, the impact reverberating through my bones. The surface beneath me is smooth and cold, like polished stone, and the air is thick with the scent of iron and something acrid that stings the back of my throat.
Pushing myself up on trembling arms, I blink against the oppressive dark until faint shapes begin to emerge. Shadows stretch and twist around me, licking at the edges of the dim light that seems to emanate from nowhere and everywhere at once. The space feels vast and endless, yet claustrophobic, as though the walls are closing in.
Freyr's voice drifts toward me, low and deliberate, as if he's speaking directly into my thoughts.
"You've taken the first step," he says, and though I can't see him, his presence is undeniable. "But the path ahead is not without peril."
I struggle to my feet, my legs unsteady beneath me. The pendant pulses faintly against my chest, its heat muted now, as though drained by the shadows pressing in around me.
"Where am I?" I demand, my voice hoarse.
Freyr steps into view from the shadows, his form materializing as though he's been part of the darkness all along. His gaze is unreadable, his lips curling into a faint, enigmatic smile.
"You are in the heart of Nox," he says, gesturing to the space around us. "The very essence of this fortress. It is a place where the boundaries between reality and power blur—a crucible for those who seek the truth."
The truth. The word twists in my mind, heavy with the weight of everything I've already uncovered.
"I saw her," I say, my voice trembling despite my attempt to sound steady. "The other me. Is that… is that who I'm meant to become?"
Freyr's smile deepens, and he tilts his head slightly, studying me. "That depends entirely on you. She is a possibility—a reflection of what you could achieve if you let go of your fear, your humanity. She is the embodiment of your potential, unshackled by weakness."
"Or consumed by it," I counter, my fists clenching at my sides.
"Perhaps," Freyr concedes, his tone unbothered. "But the line between mastery and surrender is razor-thin, Sarah. You must walk it carefully."
I take a step back, the weight of his words pressing against me. "You're asking me to give up everything I am. My humanity, my past—everything."
Freyr's expression hardens, and for a moment, the air grows colder, the shadows around us tightening like a noose. "I am asking you to survive," he says sharply. "The world you've stumbled into will not wait for you to cling to the remnants of your former self. Your enemies will not hesitate. If you do not embrace what you are, they will destroy you. And they will destroy everyone you care about."
His words strike a nerve, and a flicker of doubt worms its way into my resolve. My mind drifts to Lilly, to Justin, to the people who are counting on me—even if they don't realize it yet.
"What happens if I say no?" I ask quietly, my voice barely audible.
Freyr steps closer, his presence overwhelming, his shadow stretching over me like a storm cloud. "You can walk away," he says, his tone soft but dangerous. "You can continue to fight against what you are, to deny the power that is your birthright. But know this—every step you take without embracing your true nature will only bring you closer to ruin. Your enemies will find you. The darkness will consume you. And when it does, there will be nothing left to save."
I swallow hard, the weight of his words pressing down on me. The pendant hums faintly, as though echoing the tension in the air, and I clutch it tightly, drawing what little strength I can from its warmth.
"What do you want from me?" I ask finally, my voice trembling.
Freyr's smile returns, colder now, sharper. "I want you to survive," he says simply. "And for that, you must take the next step. The choice is yours, Sarah, but understand this—every moment you hesitate, every second you cling to your fear, brings you closer to losing everything."
The shadows around us seem to pulse in response to his words, and I feel their pull, their promise of power and understanding.
I look at Freyr, his dark gaze steady, unyielding, and I realize that there's no turning back. Whether I trust him or not, whether I fear him or not, the path he's offering is the only one left to me.
And it terrifies me.
But beneath the fear, a flicker of something else stirs—determination, fragile but growing.
I straighten my spine, my grip on the pendant tightening. "What's the next step?" I ask, my voice steadier now, though my heart still pounds.
Freyr's smile widens, and his eyes gleam faintly in the dim light. "Good," he says, his voice a low murmur. "You're beginning to understand."
He gestures to the darkness behind him, where the shadows churn and shift like a living thing. "The next step is simple," he says. "You must confront the truth within yourself. All of it. Only then will you be ready to wield the power that is rightfully yours."
As his words settle over me, the shadows part, revealing a narrow, winding path that disappears into the abyss.
"Are you ready to face what lies ahead?" Freyr asks, his tone both challenging and expectant.
I take a deep breath, the weight of his gaze pressing into me. My fingers brush against the pendant, its warmth grounding me, and I step forward.
"I'm ready," I say, though the words feel heavy in my throat.
The path stretches before me, dark and uncertain, and with every step, the pull of the shadows grows stronger.
Behind me, Freyr watches, his expression unreadable, as I take my first steps into the unknown.
*********
The path stretches before me like a jagged scar carved into the shadows. Each step feels heavier than the last, the air thickening around me as though the darkness itself is alive, pressing against my skin. The hum of the pendant grows louder, resonating with a deep ache in my chest, as if it's trying to warn me of something I can't yet see.
Freyr's words linger in my mind—confront the truth within yourself. The truth of what, exactly? My power? My past? Or the darkness he keeps promising will consume me?
The shadows around me twist and coil, whispering words I can't quite make out, their voices layered and fragmented. They sound familiar, like echoes of people I once knew but can't quite place. My pulse quickens, and I grip the pendant tighter, its warmth grounding me as the shadows press closer.
Ahead, the path widens into a clearing, and the sight that greets me steals the breath from my lungs.
It's me.
I stand in the center of the clearing, my shadow-self, the version of me I saw in the vision. Her eyes glow like molten gold, her expression cold and unyielding. She radiates power, the kind that hums in the air and crackles in my veins, but there's no humanity left in her gaze.
"This is who you could be," Freyr's voice echoes from behind me, low and steady. I glance back, but he's nowhere to be seen. Still, his presence is suffocating, woven into every fiber of this place.
Shadow-Sarah tilts her head, studying me like I'm an insect she's deciding whether to crush. "You cling to your humanity," she says, her voice a perfect mirror of my own, but colder, sharper. "It's pathetic. You've seen the cost of your weakness. Why do you resist?"
"I'm not weak," I snap, though the words feel hollow. "I'm not like you."
Her lips curl into a cruel smile. "No? Then why are you here? Why do you keep seeking the truth, even knowing it will destroy you?" She steps closer, and I feel the weight of her presence, the raw power that pulses from her like a living thing. "You want this power. You need it. Stop lying to yourself."
I take a step back, my heart hammering in my chest. "Power isn't worth losing who I am."
She laughs, the sound low and mocking. "Who you are? Look around, Sarah. Everything you are—everything you think you know—is built on lies. Your humanity is a chain, holding you back. Let it go, and you'll finally be free."
Her words cut deeper than I want to admit. She's not wrong—not entirely. My humanity has been a chain, keeping me tethered to fears and doubts that have no place in this world. But it's also been my anchor, the thing that's kept me grounded when everything else was falling apart.
"Why do you resist?" she presses, her voice a growl now, her golden eyes blazing. "You've already stepped into the abyss. All you have to do is fall."
"No," I say, my voice trembling but firm. "I won't become you."
Her expression hardens, and the air around us grows colder, sharper. "Then you'll die."
She raises her hand, and a surge of raw energy explodes from her palm, hurtling toward me. I barely have time to react, throwing up my arms as the magic slams into me. Pain sears through my body, but beneath it, something stirs—something fierce and unyielding.
The pendant flares against my chest, its warmth surging outward, and I feel the power inside me awaken, a force I've kept buried for too long. The shadows around me pulse in response, drawn to the light now blazing in my veins.
Shadow-Sarah steps back, her eyes narrowing. "So you do have it in you," she says, her voice laced with disdain. "But it's not enough. It will never be enough."
Freyr's voice cuts through the tension, smooth and calculated. "You see now, Sarah? This is the price of holding on to your humanity. Let it go, and you will surpass even her."
I freeze, my mind spinning. Freyr's words are honeyed, but beneath them, I hear the truth. He doesn't want to help me. He doesn't want to guide me. He wants to break me, just as his kind broke my parents.
The realization is like a lightning strike, sharp and blinding.
"You're lying," I say, turning toward the shadows where I know he's watching. "You never wanted to help me. You wanted to destroy me."
Freyr's laughter echoes around me, low and mocking. "Destroy you? No, Sarah. I want to remake you. To free you from the chains of your past. But if you're too weak to see the truth, then perhaps you're not worthy of the power you hold."
Shadow-Sarah lunges toward me, her form dissolving into a storm of shadows that rushes toward me like a tidal wave. Instinct takes over, and I reach for the power inside me—not the darkness Freyr has been pushing me toward, but the light, the part of me that is still human, still me.
The pendant blazes against my chest, and the shadows recoil, shrieking as the light tears through them. My magic surges outward, a blinding force that fills the clearing, scattering the darkness like ash in the wind.
When the light fades, Shadow-Sarah is gone, and Freyr stands at the edge of the clearing, his expression unreadable.
"You've made your choice," he says, his voice cold. "But this is far from over."
I raise my hand, my magic still crackling around me, and for the first time, I see fear flicker in his eyes.
"This ends now," I say, and with a final surge of power, I unleash everything I have, the force slamming into Freyr and engulfing him in a storm of light and shadows.
When the dust settles, he's gone.
The clearing is silent, the air still and heavy. My legs give out, and I collapse to the ground, the pendant's warmth a faint, steady pulse against my chest.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I feel like I've taken back a piece of myself. But as I sit there, staring into the shadows where Freyr once stood, I can't shake the feeling that this victory is only temporary.
He's not gone. Not really. And I know he'll be back.