Chapter 7: "The Broken Mind"
Azar stood in the heart of the void, surrounded by parallel worlds scattering around him like remnants of the past. He didn't fully understand how he had gotten here, but he knew that every step he took was fraught with danger. Here, in this endless void, everything was possible and everything was impossible at the same time.
But there was only one constant: his mind.
The moment he chose to rid himself of the shadows that had been a part of his power, he felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him. Yet at the same time, he felt something else gnawing at his core. Something in his mind began to break apart, opening doors he hadn't even known existed. He was experiencing something akin to madness, or perhaps it was the enlightenment he had long sought.
"Do you see that?" whispered the mysterious voice in his mind, as if it were part of him, perhaps even his mind itself.
"I see that I... have lost everything," Azar said in a choked voice, as if the words were suffocating him.
"Are you sure?" came the voice, with a hint of pleasure. "You have lost everything, yes, but you may have gained something far more important."
The voice grew in his mind, shifting between his thoughts as if every idea were merely a reflection of what was happening within. In an instant, he felt his mind cracking, every thought and emotion blending together, as if his very mind had become a battlefield.
At that moment, he began to see himself in an entirely different place. He was sitting in a dark room, surrounded by massive walls covered with monitoring equipment. Every device pulsed with life, as if the mind itself had become subject to analysis.
Then, the deep voice spoke:
"You are now in your true mind. This is your place. This is the world you've created."
Azar stood frozen in place. The walls were seeping with intersecting thoughts. Images from his past, images of his enemies, images of friends he had lost... all these images collided, like endless nightmares. He had to face them.
"What is this?" Azar asked, his voice trembling.
"This is your reflection, Azar. Your mind cannot comprehend what is happening to it, but you are now at the heart of an internal struggle. Can you escape it? Or will you remain a prisoner here?"
The voice continued, as if the very voice itself reflected the horrific mental struggle. The idea that a person could be a prisoner of themselves was ancient, but before Azar, it was terrifying.
Azar felt his mind splitting into layers, each revealing another secret. The layers tangled with each other, exploding into strange thoughts. This moment resembled something described by Dostoevsky in his novels, where a person is forced to confront their worst thoughts and deepest fears, not to escape them, but to face them and rebuild themselves.
And in that moment, Azar felt something strange. Images from his past scattered in his head: a bitter battle against a powerful foe, a moment of weakness before someone he trusted, and the moment he decided to abandon everything to gain power.
"Do you remember these moments?" said the voice.
Azar felt something stronger overwhelm his mind. He was facing himself, as every person must at a critical moment. In that instant, his thoughts clashed: Was he capable of change? Or had his pursuit of power been the cause of his downfall?
Then, at a decisive moment, a completely different image appeared before him. It was a picture of his face, but it wasn't him. The eyes were empty, reflecting a dark world. In that moment, Azar felt something flow through his mind. It was a new thought, but it didn't carry the power he had imagined. It was a completely new idea: "Is power what I need? Or is the truth I've hidden my whole life what I need to seek?"
An internal voice whispered to him: "Everything depends on your decision now. You will continue to spiral in this void unless you escape it."
Azar returned to stand at the center of this broken world. But this time, he was fully aware of what he had to do. He had to break the chains he had placed on himself. He thought of the moment he chose the shadows, and every decision he made afterward. He had to face two truths: the power he thought he needed, and the truth he was now seeing.
At that moment, as the final image approached its end, the great explosion occurred within his mind. It was as if everything inside him had exploded to rebuild itself.
And as he finally opened his eyes, he found himself in a new world. There was a bright light on the horizon, but it didn't mean victory. It meant a new beginning.
The end of this chapter was shocking and surprising: Azar was no longer the same person. But could he face the challenges ahead, now forced to confront both his weaknesses and his strengths?