"You've always known the truth, haven't you, Seraphina?"
The voice rang out, clear and haunting, but it didn't come from Caelan. It came from deep within her mind, as if the shadows themselves were speaking.
Seraphina gasped, her eyes flying open to find herself standing in an endless expanse of mist and darkness. The ground beneath her was cold and smooth like obsidian, yet she couldn't see her own reflection in its polished surface. Her hands trembled as she reached out, but the mist recoiled from her touch.
"Who's there?" she demanded, her voice firm despite the chill creeping into her bones.
The laughter that followed was soft, almost gentle, yet it carried an edge that made her blood run cold. A figure emerged from the mist, cloaked in shadows. Its face was shrouded, but its eyes burned like molten gold.
"You," Seraphina whispered, her breath hitching. She knew this presence. It was the same force she had felt when she had first stepped into the Shadow Lord's realm, the same presence that had whispered fears into her mind during the first trial.
"You speak as if we are strangers," the figure said, tilting its head. "But I am not a stranger, Seraphina. I am the part of you that you refuse to see."
Her heart pounded, the words striking a chord she didn't understand. "You're lying. I don't know you."
The figure stepped closer, and Seraphina instinctively took a step back. "You can deny me all you want, but I am the truth buried in your heart. The truth you fear to face."
"I don't fear anything," she snapped, though the quiver in her voice betrayed her.
"Don't you?" The figure's tone was almost mocking. "Then tell me, why do you hesitate to see Caelan for what he truly is? Why do you cling to the light when the shadows are all around you?"
Seraphina froze, her mind spinning. She thought of Caelan—of the fleeting glimpses she had seen of him, of the way his voice softened when he spoke to her, of the sadness that lingered in his words. She thought of the curse that bound him, the pain he carried, and the fear that she might never truly know him.
"You don't understand," she said quietly. "I want to help him. I want to see him."
The figure's laughter cut through her words. "You want to save him, but you cannot even save yourself. You think love will free you? Love is what binds you here, Seraphina. Love is what will destroy you."
"No," she said firmly, her hands balling into fists. "Love is what gives me strength."
The figure stilled, its burning eyes narrowing. "Then prove it."
Before Seraphina could respond, the ground beneath her feet began to crack, jagged fissures spreading like veins of darkness. She stumbled, trying to keep her balance as the mist thickened, wrapping around her like a suffocating shroud.
"Your trials are not over," the figure said, its voice echoing like a distant thunderclap. "If you wish to save him, you must face what lies within yourself. Only then will you see the truth."
The mist surged forward, engulfing her completely. Seraphina screamed as she was pulled into the darkness, her body weightless and her mind spiraling.
When the mist cleared, she was no longer alone.
She stood in a grand hall, its walls lined with mirrors that reflected not her image but fragments of her memories. She saw herself as a child, laughing with her mother. She saw the day she had first learned of her arranged marriage, her tears falling silently as she accepted her fate. And she saw Caelan, standing at the edge of the shadows, his silhouette flickering like a dying flame.
"Do you see now?" the figure's voice whispered, though it came from nowhere and everywhere at once. "The shadows are not his alone. They are yours as well."
Seraphina turned, her reflection catching her eye. But it wasn't her reflection. It was her shadow, moving on its own. It stepped out of the mirror, its form identical to hers but darker, colder.
"Who are you?" Seraphina asked, her voice barely a whisper.
The shadow smiled, a mirror of her own but twisted. "I am the part of you that you buried. The part of you that longs for freedom but is bound by duty. The part of you that fears love because it demands too much."
"I don't fear love," Seraphina said, her voice gaining strength.
"Then why do you hesitate to embrace it?" the shadow countered. "You think you can save Caelan without first saving yourself? You think you can face his darkness without first facing your own?"
Seraphina's chest tightened, her shadow's words cutting deeper than she wanted to admit.
"What must I do?" she asked, her voice steady despite the turmoil in her heart.
The shadow's smile faded, replaced by an expression of solemnity. "You must choose. Accept the shadows within yourself, or let them consume you. Only then will you be able to break the curse."
Before Seraphina could respond, the mirrors around her shattered, shards of glass raining down like starlight. The ground beneath her feet crumbled, and she fell once more into the abyss.
When Seraphina opened her eyes, she was no longer alone. She was back in the Shadow Lord's realm, but this time, she wasn't standing in the darkness. She was standing in a room bathed in soft, golden light.
And in the center of the room stood Caelan, fully visible for the first time.
But his face was not what she expected. It was her own.
"Welcome to the truth, Seraphina," he said, his voice low and filled with sorrow.