As the heroes stepped into the next chamber of the node, their footsteps echoed in deep silence. There were no mirrors here, no light—only a darkness that seemed alive. A faint shimmer floated in the air like stardust, and the energy of the node, which had previously surged with vigor, now felt muted, as though suppressed by an unseen force.
“This place… feels different,” Linara whispered, gripping her weapon tightly. Her voice seemed to echo from another world.
“The node senses our actions,” Endar replied, carefully surveying the space. “The deeper we go, the stronger its resistance.”
“Isn’t that proof that we’re doing something wrong?” Kairen asked, his watchful eyes gleaming in the dimness.
“It’s proof that we’re getting closer to its core,” Melania said firmly.
In the center of the chamber, a large symbol began to emerge, etched into the floor. It resembled a seal—ancient, interwoven with intricate lines that formed a complex pattern. The symbol glowed with a soft blue light, radiating a faint but palpable vibration.
“The Seal of Timelessness,” Endar said, his voice deeper, as though he had just remembered something from long ago.
“What is it?” Linara asked, leaning down to study the pattern more closely.
“It’s an ancient barrier,” Endar explained. “It was placed here to prevent the node’s energy from leaking uncontrollably. But it also serves to shield the node from interference.”
“How do we get past it?” Melania asked, her voice calm but her eyes filled with determination.
Endar didn’t answer immediately. He stepped closer to the seal and cautiously touched its glowing edge with the tip of his finger. The light instantly flared upward like lightning, wrapping around his hand but causing no harm.
“This seal demands a sacrifice,” he said at last, stepping back. “But not a physical one. It requires a piece of our time.”
“Time?” Kairen echoed.
“Yes. Each of us must give up part of our future. Without that, the seal will not open.”
A heavy silence fell. The heroes exchanged uneasy glances.
“If we do this,” Linara began, “what do we lose?”
“Time that could have been ours,” Endar replied. “Moments we might have lived. The node will take them and absorb them.”
“And if we don’t?” Melania asked.
“Then we remain here,” Endar said grimly. “And everything we’ve tried to protect will be lost.”
Each of them reflected on his words. The sacrifice wasn’t physical, but it felt no less weighty. Time was something that could never be regained.
Melania was the first to step forward. She approached the seal and placed her hand on its shimmering edge. The light enveloped her fingers, then spread upward, touching her face. She felt the node probing her future, tearing pieces from it—pieces that could have been real.
In her mind, images flickered: a home filled with laughter, a life where she was not a warrior but an ordinary person, calm and happy. She saw a child embracing her, calling her “mother.” And she felt those possibilities dissolve into the seal, transforming into energy.
When the light faded, she stepped back, but her gaze remained resolute.
“Next,” she said, without turning around.
Linara hesitated but stepped forward. As she gave up her share, she saw white voids appear in her future—moments that would never become reality.
Kairen and Endar followed suit, their faces impassive, though the weight of their losses was palpable in the air.
When the last of them had completed the sacrifice, the seal glowed brighter, and the chamber filled with a low hum. The lines of the pattern began to shift, unraveling like a living structure.
“We’ve opened it,” Endar said, watching as the pattern dissolved into the air.
“What now?” Linara asked.
A passage opened before them, radiating a blinding light. It seemed to promise something extraordinary, yet also dangerous.
“Now we see if our sacrifices were worth it,” Melania said, stepping into the passage first.
And the heroes followed her, knowing there was no turning back.