The walls of Jason's apartment crumbled around him, but he remained rooted to the spot, watching as his darker reflection sneered at him. The room was no longer familiar. It had transformed, shifting into a nightmarish version of his past. The floor beneath his feet was cracked, the ceiling above him twisted and warped, its edges fraying like the remains of a shattered illusion.
"Prove it," the other Jason mocked, his voice distorted and echoing in the distorted space. "You think this world, this power, will make a difference? You're still nothing."
Jason felt a surge of anger, but he held it in check. The voice of his past self had no power here—not anymore. He was done running from his past. He took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Not this time," he muttered, a newfound resolve hardening his core.
As he approached the other Jason, the mocking smile faded, replaced by something darker, more sinister. "You think you can change? The truth is, you're nothing but a product of your choices, and you'll always be bound to them."
But as the words fell from the other Jason's lips, a voice broke through—soft and distant, but unmistakable.
"You must let go of the past, Jason. Only then will you be free."
Jason's heart skipped a beat. The voice was familiar, though he couldn't place it. It was the same voice that had spoken to him when he first touched the stone in the forest, when the trials began.
He closed his eyes for a moment, the words sinking in. Let go of the past.
When he opened them again, the apartment had changed. The twisted, decaying walls had been replaced with stone columns, ancient and weathered. The familiar floor beneath him had shifted to a golden mosaic, depicting scenes from myths long forgotten. At the center of the room was a massive stone pedestal, atop which lay an ancient tome, its pages flickering with a strange, ethereal light.
Jason moved toward it, a strange pull guiding his every step. The tome opened by itself, the pages flipping rapidly until they stopped on one particular page.
The page was illustrated with the image of a giant serpent coiled around a mountain, its eyes glowing with fire. Beneath it, a single line of text was inscribed in a language Jason couldn't understand. But as he touched the page, the words shifted, transforming into a language he recognized:
"The serpent of the underworld. It is said that those who defeat it shall be granted ultimate power, but at the cost of their soul."
Jason blinked, his heart racing. The image of the serpent—he knew this myth. It was ancient, drawn from the depths of human legend. The serpent was not just a creature of destruction, but a symbol of rebirth, of hidden knowledge and untold dangers.
But why is this here?
As Jason pondered the words, the image on the page began to shift again, the serpent's eyes locking onto him. He jerked back, but the serpent's gaze seemed to follow him, its fiery eyes filled with malice. Then, the voice returned, this time with an edge of urgency:
"The serpent is part of the trials. It is your next challenge. To defeat it, you must embrace the power within you. But be warned—the price will be high."
Jason's pulse quickened as the image of the serpent dissolved, leaving behind a dark void in its place. And then, with a force that shook the very foundation of the chamber, the ground trembled once more. The serpent had emerged.
In an instant, Jason found himself outside, facing an enormous, ancient mountain. The serpent's form slithered around the base, its body coiled in a labyrinth of twisting, shifting scales. Its eyes burned with a malevolent fire, and its hissing breath seemed to curl around him, choking the air.
The voice in his mind was clearer now, its tone insistent: "The serpent is both enemy and ally. It guards the path to your true power. But only if you choose to walk it."
Jason swallowed hard, feeling the weight of the trials pressing down on him. The serpent was not just a monster—it was a challenge of the soul. If he wanted to survive, to truly understand the power he had awakened, he would have to face it.
And deep within him, something stirred—an ancient sense of knowing, as if this was a test he had been destined for. Something about the serpent, the myths it represented, felt familiar.
But as the serpent's gaze fixed on him, Jason knew one thing for sure: the road ahead would be paved with sacrifices, and nothing, not even the whispers of ancient gods, could prepare him for what was to come.