As the dust settled, I struggled to catch my breath. The abyss had swallowed everything behind us, but the air still hummed with an unnatural energy, something darker than before. The ground seemed alive beneath my feet, vibrating with a pulse I couldn't ignore.
"How do we fight this?" I asked, turning to the figure beside me. The weight of everything we'd unleashed pressed down hard on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
The figure didn't respond immediately. Instead, it crouched down, running its fingers through the sand. When it stood up again, its gaze was locked on something in the distance.
"There," it said, pointing to a ridge beyond the dunes. "The last seal. If we can get to it, we may have a chance."
I frowned. "But we just destroyed the seal… how can there be more?"
The figure shook its head. "This is the final one, the original. Everything else we've encountered so far was meant to stop us from reaching it. But now, the veil is lifting, and we're getting closer to the core of it all. That's why the air feels heavier. That's why we're not done."
The weight of the truth hit me like a punch in the gut. I hadn't realized until now just how deep the abyss's corruption ran. "We have to end this," I said, my voice more determined than I felt.
Without another word, we started moving again, the dunes stretching endlessly before us. The sky above, once a dull gray, had shifted to an ominous shade of red, the sun hidden behind thick clouds that churned like a storm was brewing. The landscape seemed to twist as we walked, and with every step, the air grew colder, sharper, biting at my skin.
"We don't have much time," the figure said as we reached the base of the ridge. "The more we delay, the stronger the abyss grows."
I was about to respond when a tremor shook the ground beneath us. I stumbled, barely managing to stay upright as the earth cracked open once more. This time, though, instead of another chasm, what emerged was worse—a dark, writhing mass of shadows, twisting into monstrous forms.
"They're coming!" I shouted, panic rising in my throat.
"Go!" the figure yelled. "I'll hold them off!"
I didn't want to leave it behind, but there was no time to argue. The ridge loomed ahead, and I knew the last seal was waiting. If I hesitated now, everything would be lost.
I sprinted toward the slope, the sounds of battle echoing behind me. The figure fought fiercely, its blade cutting through the shadows like light through darkness, but I knew it wouldn't last long. The abyss was too powerful now, and its creations were endless.
My feet pounded against the rocky ground as I climbed, my lungs burning with every breath. The ridge was steep, the path treacherous, but I pushed forward, determined to reach the top. Every instinct in my body screamed for me to turn back, to run away from the abyss and its horrors, but I couldn't. Not now. Not after everything we'd been through.
Finally, I reached the summit.
The last seal was nothing like the ones we had encountered before. It wasn't hidden in an ancient chamber or buried beneath the earth. Instead, it floated in the air, a glowing orb of pure, untainted light. It pulsed gently, as if waiting for something—waiting for me.
But as I approached, something shifted. The air grew heavy, and the ground beneath me trembled once again. The shadows below surged, and from the darkness, a figure emerged. But this time, it wasn't the writhing mass of creatures we had faced before.
It was *me*.
I stopped dead in my tracks, staring in disbelief at the mirror image before me. It moved exactly as I did, mirroring my every breath, every twitch of my hand. But its eyes… its eyes were dark, empty, like they belonged to the abyss itself.
"You can't stop it," the doppelgänger said, its voice cold and hollow. "You are already part of the abyss. You've been marked since the beginning."
I took a step back, my mind racing. "No… no, that's not true."
The doppelgänger smirked. "Isn't it? Look at your hands."
I glanced down and froze. My hands—once my own—were now stained with dark veins, pulsing with the same energy I had fought so hard to destroy.
"No…" I whispered, shaking my head. "This can't be happening."
The doppelgänger stepped closer, its presence overwhelming. "You thought you could escape the abyss? You thought you could fight it? You've been its puppet all along."
The words hit me like a hammer. I had fought so hard, risked everything, and now… now it felt like I had been betrayed by my own body. The truth was too much to bear.
But then, something stirred inside me. A flicker of light—small, but undeniable. It was faint, barely visible beneath the corruption, but it was there. And it was mine.
"No," I said, my voice steadying. "You're wrong."
The doppelgänger's smirk faltered.
"I may be marked by the abyss, but it doesn't control me. I still have my will, and I will end this."
Before it could react, I lunged forward, drawing all the strength I had left. The doppelgänger moved to block me, but it was too slow. I reached the seal, my fingers brushing against its light. In that moment, the world seemed to stop.
The light flared, brighter than the sun, and I felt the darkness in me burn away. The shadows recoiled, and the doppelgänger let out a shriek of pure rage as it dissolved into nothingness.
But as the light filled me, I realized something else—this wasn't the end. The abyss wasn't destroyed. It was only *contained*.
As the light faded and the world around me returned to silence, I heard a voice—soft, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable. "The final test has yet to come."