The light from the archway faded as Simon and Adelina stepped through, leaving them in an entirely new environment. The air was no longer heavy and oppressive but cold and still, as if time itself had stopped. They found themselves in a vast expanse where the ground was smooth and reflective, like a mirror. Above, the sky was an endless void, speckled with faint, shifting lights that seemed almost alive.
Adelina shivered, her breath visible in the cold air. "This place... it feels different from the Abyss we've seen so far."
Simon scanned their surroundings, his flames burning faintly to provide some warmth. "It's the Abyss, but it's also something else—a fragment of its consciousness, perhaps. It's testing us in new ways."
As they walked forward, their reflections on the ground began to shift unnaturally. Instead of mirroring their present selves, the images morphed into distorted versions of their past.
Simon froze as he saw a younger version of himself, cloaked in fire, standing amidst chaos and destruction. His younger self looked up at him, eyes full of guilt and anger.
Adelina saw herself as a child, trembling in the ruins of her village, clutching a broken blade. Her reflection's eyes were hollow, accusing.
"This is... wrong," she said, stepping back.
Simon clenched his fists, his fire flaring. "No. It's deliberate. The Abyss is forcing us to confront what we fear most—ourselves."
The reflections began to rise from the ground, taking on physical form. Simon's doppelganger smirked, flames dancing around its hands. "You think you've grown stronger, but you're still that scared boy who couldn't save anyone."
Adelina's counterpart stepped forward, her broken blade glinting in the void's dim light. "You've spent your life running, pretending to be strong. But deep down, you're still that helpless child."
Simon gritted his teeth. "I've faced worse than a shadow of my past."
His flames roared as he lunged at his double. The fiery doppelganger countered with equal strength, their powers clashing in a violent inferno that lit up the void.
Adelina raised her blade, meeting her counterpart head-on. The clash of steel echoed across the expanse as their strikes matched perfectly, as if fighting a mirror.
"Why does it feel like... I'm fighting myself?" she grunted, blocking another attack.
"Because you are," Simon shouted, dodging a fiery strike. "This is more than a battle of strength. It's a test of will."
The fight dragged on, neither side gaining an advantage. Every strike Simon landed on his double was mirrored back with equal force. Adelina's blade clashed endlessly with her counterpart's, the two locked in a stalemate.
Then Simon realized something. "It's not about defeating them," he muttered.
Adelina glanced at him. "What are you saying?"
Simon lowered his flames, letting his double's attack strike him. The fiery blow passed through him harmlessly, dissipating into the air.
"I'm not that person anymore," he said, his voice steady. "I've accepted who I was. That's why you can't hurt me."
The fiery doppelganger paused, its form flickering before dissolving into embers.
Adelina hesitated, then followed Simon's lead. She lowered her blade, standing still as her counterpart's attack approached. The blow stopped just short of her, fading away like mist.
"I'm no longer that scared child," she said, her voice firm. "I've grown beyond my past."
Her doppelganger vanished, and the void began to shift. The reflective ground cracked, and the faint lights above coalesced into a single, blinding source of illumination.
The voice of the Abyss echoed around them. "You have confronted the shadows of your past. But the Abyss is endless. Every step forward will demand more."
A path materialized before them, leading deeper into the unknown.
Simon looked at Adelina, his flames burning brighter than before. "We've made it this far. We'll make it through whatever comes next."
Adelina nodded, determination in her eyes. "We'll face it together."
They stepped onto the new path, the light fading behind them as the Abyss loomed ahead, waiting to reveal its next challenge.