The reflections in the mirrors continued to watch the heroes, their images shifting as if responding to each gaze. The space within the node pulsed with mysterious energy, creating the sense that countless timelines and possibilities coexisted within it.
Melania stared into one of the mirrors, unable to look away. She saw herself in a world where her choice had been different. In that world, she had abandoned the node to chaos to avoid sacrifice. She lived in peace, but her eyes, filled with longing, spoke of something else: that peace was empty, devoid of true meaning.
“It’s just a possibility,” Endar said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let Eternity trap you in its illusions.”
Melania nodded, tearing her gaze away. But a shadow of doubt had already settled in her heart.
“If these mirrors show possibilities,” Linara said as she circled the space, “why do they cling so painfully to our deepest fears?”
“Because we didn’t come here just to change Eternity,” Kairen replied, his eyes fixed on the sphere at the center. “It’s testing us. It wants to see if we’re worthy of deciding its fate.”
Linara stopped in front of a mirror that showed her own death. Her body lay on a battlefield, surrounded by the ruins of the node’s structures. She stared at the reflection but did not look away.
“And if we’re not worthy?” she asked, her voice steady but tinged with bitterness.
“Then we die,” Endar answered, his tone devoid of emotion. “And with us, everything we tried to protect.”
His words hung heavy in the air, like the burden they all carried.
The heroes gathered around the node’s core. The sphere glowed with a strange, shimmering light, simultaneously warm and cold. It seemed to breathe, each pulse of its energy resonating through the space.
“We need to reach its essence,” Endar said, readying his blade. “But I can feel it—the node won’t let us do it without a fight.”
“A fight with whom?” Melania asked, clutching the amulet tightly.
The answer came faster than Endar could speak. The space around them began to shift: the mirrors cracked, and from their shards, figures began to form. They resembled the heroes themselves, but their faces were distorted, their eyes glowing red.
“With ourselves,” Linara whispered, drawing her weapon.
Each of the heroes faced their own reflection, now turned into an enemy. The reflections were fast, strong, and, most frighteningly, knew every move, every weakness.
Melania swung her amulet, sending a wave of energy at her doppelgänger. But the reflection only smiled, mirroring her movement and sending the wave back.
“They’re copying us!” she shouted, dodging the attack.
“Then don’t fight the way you usually do!” Endar yelled, evading a strike from his own double. His blade clashed against the mirror-like weapon, as if striking his own steel.
Melania took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus. Her reflection acted faster, but it was only a copy—soulless, without true understanding of her power.
She changed her strategy, stopping her direct attacks. Instead, she used her ability to transform the energy around her, confusing the reflection and forcing it into mistakes.
Nearby, Endar abandoned straightforward strikes, instead exploiting the weak points of his doppelgänger. His movements became less obvious but more precise, gradually driving his reflection into a corner.
Linara, a master tactician, realized that the reflections couldn’t handle unpredictability. She began acting erratically, shifting the direction of her attacks in moments when the enemy least expected it.
Kairen, drawing on the power of his element, directed energy at the mirror-like creature, slowly dissolving its form.
When the last reflection was destroyed, the space around them fell silent once more. The mirrors vanished, leaving only the glowing sphere at the center.
“It was a test,” Linara said quietly, lowering her weapon.
“And not the last one,” Endar added.
Melania stepped closer to the sphere, feeling its energy. It wasn’t hostile, but it wasn’t welcoming either. It was the essence of Eternity itself—neutral, unyielding, ready to accept whatever decision they made.
“We’ve reached the core,” she said, not turning to the others. “Now we need to decide what to do with it.”
Her words echoed like thunder in the silence. And they all knew: the hardest part was still ahead.