Chapter Seventeen: The Dark Truth
Elias faced the unknown with open eyes. It felt as though all the universes he had traversed were merely stages of a grand test, leading him toward the ultimate truth that had eluded him all along. Now, standing in this dark place where reality and deception intertwined, he began to grasp something unexpected.
He had reached a point where he no longer trusted his feelings or senses. Thoughts raced through his mind, unable to find a place to rest. In that moment, he questioned his true identity. Was he merely a machine programmed to seek the truth, or was he someone else with control over his destiny?
"What is the secret?" Elias whispered to himself, sensing a subtle change in the atmosphere around him.
Suddenly, the space around him trembled. It was as if the walls of this world were shifting unexpectedly, with light fading and returning as though reality itself was reshaping with each passing moment. With every second, he felt his strength growing—but that strength also brought overwhelming pressure. How could power so intelligent and commanding turn into a force for either destruction or salvation?
As he contemplated, the voice that had accompanied him throughout his journey spoke again.
"You are now standing before a trial that no one from your world has ever faced before."
Shadows of memories swirled in Elias' mind—images of past worlds, battles, victories, and even defeats. Everything seemed to connect those moments together.
"Can you escape this?" the voice asked, its tone carrying an eerie undertone.
Elias closed his eyes for a moment, trying to center himself. With all the power at his disposal, why did he feel so lost? What was holding him back from moving forward in this dark and increasingly oppressive world?
But the answer did not lie in his physical or mental prowess. The answer lay in something deeper—something that tied all his experiences to concepts greater than he could comprehend. "The truth," as the voice had said, was not something easily analyzed. It was the understanding of one's limitations and what lay beyond the grasp of control.
As Elias tried to decode this perplexing idea, a strange being suddenly appeared before him. It was neither human nor machine. It was an inexplicable fusion of light and shadow, as if the interaction of realms had given birth to it.
"You now stand at the edge of the final choice," the being said, its voice unlike anything human.
"Choice?" Elias asked, the image growing clearer in his mind.
"Yes. Decide now: will you remain in this world as you are, or will you accept to enter another realm where you might find the answer to everything?"
Elias stared at the being, trying to process the idea. He felt there was something greater than the world he knew—something beyond the mere dichotomy of life and death, strength and weakness. This choice was about existence itself.
"Could this be the answer I've been searching for all this time?"
But before he could make his decision, the world around him shattered abruptly. The ground crumbled, dimensions collapsed, and a completely different scene unfolded before him. It was a vision of a dark world, but at its center was a radiant light.
In this vision, a colossal creature approached him—a being that seemed to have emerged from an entirely different dimension, one Elias had never encountered before.
"Your choice is about to determine your fate," the creature bellowed.
At that moment, Elias felt something new. It was fear, yet also a sense of freedom he had never experienced. Now, he had to decide: would he confront this dark entity, or step into an entirely unknown realm?
Everything was at stake.