The cold wind cut into her skin like sharp blades, and Mariane felt a wave of dread crawl up her spine. Her feet could no longer find solid ground, as if reality were slipping through her fingers. The air around them was thick with something indescribable, something ancient and malevolent, as if the very mirrors were whispering dark secrets that should not be heard.
Lúcio grabbed her hand firmly, his eyes fixed on the distortions beginning to take shape on the shining surfaces. The sound of breaking glass echoed, but nothing visible was happening — the true threat was not what they could see, but what was beyond their perception.
"Mariane," he said, his voice hoarse, forcing himself to stay calm. "We have to leave now."
But the words had barely left his mouth when a shadow projected itself ahead of them, stretching like an invisible hand. Mariane froze, her eyes wide. The shadow had a defined shape, as though an ancient presence was materializing, slow and deliberate. It floated, a dark cloak of such density that it seemed to devour all light around it.
Lúcio's reflection in the mirror to the left began to distort. His image twisted, his eyes darkening, becoming empty and cold. He saw himself pulling away from Mariane, turning his back on her, as if an invisible force was pulling him in the opposite direction.
The Princess, in the distance, watched with dark eyes, as if already knowing what was about to happen, as if this moment were destined.
"This isn't real," Mariane whispered to herself, trying to push the fear paralyzing her away. But the shadow before her began to grow, swallowing the mirrors, taking the place of all possibilities. It was as if the entire world was crumbling around her.
Lúcio grabbed her arm, pulling her hard, but the shadow was faster. It enveloped them, like a thick mist creeping along the ground. They were being swallowed.
"You cannot escape," said a voice that did not come from any particular place but seemed to infiltrate their minds, like an intrusive thought. "Destiny awaits you, and there is no way to avoid it."
The shadow dragged them, pulling them into an abyss with no end. The world around them began to spin, the mirrors distorting in a whirlwind of light and darkness. The pressure on their chests intensified with each second, as if the weight of the choice she could not make was crushing her soul.
"Mariane!" Lúcio cried, his fingers tightening around hers in desperation.
She couldn't respond. The fear was so great that her words had vanished. Her eyes were wide, trying to find a way to escape, but the darkness was closing in on her, and her mind felt like it was shutting down, overtaken by the feeling that there was no way out.
Then something different happened. A faint light appeared, coming from somewhere beyond the darkness. It was faint but full of promises. Mariane felt an impulse — something calling her, urging her to break free from the prison she was trapped in.
"No... I can't..." she murmured, but the light would not let her go.
And then she saw it: a figure, distant but clear, moving between the shadows. The figure wore a silver cloak that reflected the faint light around them, but its face was hidden, obscured by a mask of sadness and despair. But there was something familiar about it, as if that figure was someone she knew.
"Mariane," the voice came from afar, like a lost echo. "You must make a choice, but know that no choice comes without a price."
Her heart raced. The Princess had spoken about choices and consequences, but this was different. The feeling that time itself was distorting was inescapable.
The figure disappeared before she could take a step, but the path was clear now, illuminated by a glow that seemed to come from the very core of her soul. The shadow, which had once seemed invincible, began to recede, giving way to the light.
But the voice, that deep and threatening voice, returned, louder than before.
*"The darkness will never fully leave, Princess. It will always be with you. In every choice. In every step."*
Mariane turned, and the path before her transformed. The ground beneath her now seemed solid, but the air was thicker, as if the very space around them was being manipulated, altered.
What was real? What was happening? The vision of the hooded figure still burned in her mind. **Who was she?**
The pressure of the choice grew stronger with every step, as if something within her was being tested. The light continued to shine in the distance, but the shadow seemed to want to pull her away from it, back to a place where she couldn't find peace.
And then, a sensation of something breaking spread through her body. As if she were breaking the very line of time. Lúcio's reflection appeared before her again — but he was no longer the Lúcio she knew. His face was marked, distorted, as if it had been shattered into pieces. He looked at her with an expression of pain, as if he already knew what was coming.
"The future, Mariane…" he said, his voice empty. "The future is no longer what you think."
Mariane took a step back, her eyes fixed on him, the fear becoming an avalanche inside her. What was she about to discover? What did the future truly hold?
She could no longer hide. The shadow was at the door, and the light still called. The choice was hers — but how much of her destiny did she really control?
The echo of the shadows made its presence known, and the darkness consumed the path before her.