The darkness swallowed them whole.
Reinhardt barely had time to adjust before the sensation hit him—a weightless, twisting pull, as if the fabric of reality had unraveled. The world spun in silence, his body tumbling through the abyss, yet he felt no wind, no force, only the overwhelming presence of something ancient.
Then—solid ground.
He landed in a low crouch, instincts sharp as he reached for his sword. But there was no enemy, only an endless void stretching beyond sight. Black mist swirled at his feet, shifting like it was alive. The space around him pulsed, a heartbeat of the unknown.
A soft voice broke the stillness. "We are here."
Selene stood before him, her form glowing faintly, as if reality struggled to hold her in place. The moment she looked up, Reinhardt knew—she felt it too.
The abyss whispered.
It did not speak in words, but in feelings—pulling, beckoning, offering.
Memories clawed at Reinhardt's mind, ghosts of his past flickering in the air—his first battle, the oaths he swore, the faces of those he had lost. His sins.
He clenched his jaw. "What is this place?"
Selene's fingers hovered over the mist. "A realm between fates. A place where what was, what is, and what could be all converge."
A low hum vibrated through the void. Something was watching.
Then, the darkness stirred.
Shadows peeled away, revealing a throne—a monstrous construct of bone and obsidian, pulsing with veins of crimson light. And seated upon it…
A figure.
It was neither man nor beast, its form shifting between flesh and void. Its eyes were endless pits, consuming the very space around them. When it spoke, the words slithered into their minds rather than through the air.
"You who have forsaken your past… do you seek to rewrite your fate?"
Selene exhaled softly, stepping forward. "I seek the truth."
The entity's gaze burned into her. "Truth is costly. And once known, it cannot be forgotten."
A moment stretched between them—an unspoken choice.
Reinhardt's grip on his sword tightened. He could feel it now—the weight of destiny pressing down. This was more than just another battle.
It was the moment that would change everything.
And in the abyss, fate whispered its answer.