Under the pale glow of a waning moon suspended over the Fifth World, Shao stood alone before a colossal stone gate carved with starry symbols glowing in azure hues, as if breathing in the darkness. The cold wind brushed his face, carrying with it the echoes of ancient voices… as if the walls whispered forgotten secrets from ages long past.
"If truth is a dagger… would you grasp it by the handle—or the blade?" Shao murmured to himself, recalling Master Zairos' words, spoken once to quell his dangerous thirst for knowledge.
He raised his head slowly, his eyes gleaming with newfound resolve. Behind him, Aster and Heim approached with cautious steps. Their footsteps echoed through the deserted temple like the moans of spirits still haunting the place.
Aster spoke, her eyes scanning the celestial carvings: "This isn't just a gate… It's a mirror. A mirror that shows you your greatest hidden fear—or perhaps the truth you've always run from."
Shao smiled faintly, his voice hushed: "In moments of weakness, some believe that avoiding truth is salvation. But as the philosophers once said: salvation lies not in flight… but in the courage to stare into the eyes of the demons within."
He stepped closer to the gate, pulling from his pocket a black pendant in the shape of a broken crescent—the one he had found in the Tomb of the Gods in the Fourth World. As he pressed it against the central glyph, the gate shuddered—as if breathing for the first time in centuries—before slowly opening, releasing a haunting cry that shook the depths of the temple.
Inside, blue mist swirled, interspersed with shadows that moved like living memories. They stepped through the gate… and everything began to change.
The echoes of their footsteps faded as Shao and his companions passed through the gate at the edge of the Fifth World. A heavy silence settled, as if time itself had been stripped of sound. They opened their eyes to find themselves in a vast hall with no visible walls—only white mist stretching endlessly, as though they had entered the void between worlds.
At the center of this place hovered a massive mirror, suspended in the void, surrounded by celestial runes that shimmered in colors changing with each glance. It was no ordinary mirror… it was called: the Mirror of Truth.
Heim stood warily: — "What is this place? No energy, no sound… are we dreaming?"
But Aster, gazing deeply into the mirror, murmured quietly: — "No. This is the Mirror of the Soul. Whoever faces it is forced to confront themselves—their past, their regrets… and all they hide from the world."
Shao stepped forward slowly, his features frozen, his chest rising and falling heavily. He didn't need an explanation… he could feel something within the mirror calling his name from the moment he entered this place.
When he finally stood before it, the image it showed was not his current self—but a younger version of him, before the gods' war took his family, when he was still weak and helpless.
Suddenly, the mirror spoke with a voice unlike anything human: — "Who are you without your rage? Who are you if not driven by vengeance?"
Shao's body trembled for a moment, and his hand wavered.
He now understood—the mirror did not reflect appearances… but essence.
Aster spoke softly, her eyes closed: — "Socrates once said: Know thyself. But how many of us truly have the courage to see what we are?"
---
The ground split beneath them, and each of them began to fall—each into a separate realm within the mirror, as if the mirror itself had decided to test them individually.
In Shao's realm:
He found himself in a deserted battlefield, soaked in ancient blood. Before him stood a figure identical to him, but with eyes burning with hatred: — "I am you… without mercy. I am the one who survived, who killed, who abandoned everything to reach the top. Don't you wish you were me?"
Shao replied with steady resolve: — "I once believed I needed hatred to be strong. But true strength doesn't come from hate… it comes from choosing who you are, despite what happened to you."
The shadow screamed and lunged with a blazing black sword, but Shao drew his spear and shouted: — "Those who flee from themselves will be hunted by their own shadow forever!"
With a single strike, the shadow shattered… and the sky above him cracked open.
---
In Aster's realm:
She stood before the ghost of her late father, who condemned her for abandoning the path of prophecy, urging her to reclaim her place as "the chosen priestess."
But she answered, tears in her eyes: — "I will not be a tool in the hands of gods. I will write my own destiny—not live in the delusions of theirs."
Her father's specter dissolved into ash, and a voice echoed from the void: — "Those who lack the courage to reject inheritance do not deserve the freedom of choice."
---
In Heim's realm:
He faced his dying mother, who asked him: — "Why didn't you protect me that day?"
He remained silent, unable to answer… until he finally whispered: — "Because I was a coward. But I will never be that again."
The tears that fell from his eyes lit the ground beneath him, and the shadows faded away.
---
The three returned to the central hall at the same moment, each bearing a mark upon the heart unseen by the others.
Aster spoke in a low voice: — "We crossed… but no one leaves the Mirror of Truth as they entered."
Shao responded as he stepped toward the new path that had opened before them: — "The hardest battle isn't facing an enemy… but facing what we hide within."
As they crossed into the Sixth World, a distant voice echoed behind them from an unseen realm:
"Remember… the closer you come to the summit, the closer your shadow follows."