The illusion never ended.
The white room, the chess-like game, the man who played against Damien, none of them were real. Damien didn't realize it from start to finish.
But when the game started, something changed.
The illusion became more thorough. Damien's ego was picked apart and separated into different pieces, different characters whose lives he experienced. These illusions were influenced by Damien's soul, so they were far harder to detect.
As such, his consciousness almost became fully immersed in the illusion. He almost became those people he saw, his true ego never to reform.
The bard was the key. The locket he held was empty. It was just something he picked up during his travels. The images Damien saw when he opened its body were…his own memories.
