Elias stepped forward, his pulse quickening with each movement. The mist curled around him like sentient tendrils, reluctant to release him, whispering faint echoes of forgotten voices. He felt as though he were crossing an unseen threshold—one that separated who he was from who he was meant to become.
The figure in black robes watched in silence, its presence both distant and omnipresent. As Elias moved past it, the air around them shifted. The stars above flickered and pulsed as though they were alive, responding to his decision.
Then, the world shattered.
A sudden force pulled at him, wrenching him into a spiraling abyss of light and darkness. He felt weightless, unbound by gravity or time, falling through a cascade of memories—some his own, others unfamiliar yet deeply resonant.
A woman's voice called out.
"Elias… Wake up."
The words reverberated through his bones, sending a sharp jolt through his body. He gasped as he landed, his hands pressing against a cold, smooth surface.
He was no longer in the mist.
Before him stretched an endless hall of mirrors, each reflecting not just his image, but different versions of himself—some older, some younger, some twisted beyond recognition. The reflections moved of their own will, their eyes piercing into his very soul.
One of them stepped forward.
A version of Elias, clad in armor blackened by war, his face marred by scars, his eyes burning with anger.
"You are weak," the warrior spat. "You hesitate when you should act. You fear the truth, so you bury it beneath your illusions."
Another reflection emerged—a younger Elias, no more than a child, his expression filled with sorrow.
"You always run," the child whispered. "You never stay long enough to understand."
More voices joined in, an overwhelming cacophony of judgment and regret.
Elias clenched his fists, his breathing ragged. "Enough."
The voices did not stop. They grew louder, the reflections distorting and twisting as if trying to consume him. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, drowning out his thoughts.
Then—clarity.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward, straight into the mirror.
The moment he did, the glass shattered into a thousand shards, the noise deafening. Yet, instead of chaos, there was silence.
Elias opened his eyes.
He was standing in a vast, open field under an endless sky. The air was crisp, filled with the scent of earth and rain. In the distance, a lone figure stood beneath a great tree, waiting.
This was not a dream. This was something more.
And he was finally awake.