The ground didn't stop shaking for a long time. Dust rained from the ceiling. Kael shielded Selene as the last tremors faded into silence.
When they finally looked up, the mask was gone.
In its place stood a narrow, winding staircase that descended into the earth. It hadn't been there before.
Kael clutched his chest. The mark had stopped burning, but it pulsed faintly, like it was guiding him. Like it knew this path.
"I don't like this," Selene whispered.
"Me neither," Kael replied. But they had no choice. He took the lead.
The stairs were slick, carved from the same obsidian stone. The walls were lined with faded carvings—figures bowing before a dark shape with a crown of thorns. No eyes. No face. Just a silhouette of power.
Torches flickered to life as they passed, though no one lit them. Something was watching.
At the bottom, the path widened into a hallway lined with statues. Each one looked like a version of Kael—different armor, different scars, but the same face.
"Are these… you?" Selene asked.
Kael nodded slowly. He didn't understand how, but it felt true.
A deep voice echoed ahead. "You've come far. Now face what you were."
From the shadows emerged a figure—a mirror image of Kael, older, crueler, with eyes like molten iron.
Selene reached for her blade. "Who is that?"
Kael didn't answer. His reflection did.
"I am the Kael who made the wrong choice."
And then, he attacked.