Antem moved forward. The world unfolding before him seemed infinite yet simultaneously empty. He felt that his journey was just beginning, even though the battles behind him had already changed everything.
His footsteps echoed in the silence. The space around felt transparent, and at times it seemed as though he was not moving forward but standing still, as if the world was waiting for him to decide what should happen next.
Antem gazed at the horizon when suddenly something changed. At first, it was just a faint sensation — a barely perceptible tremor in the air. Then he saw it: a shadow moving among the light. It was almost imperceptible, like a tear in the fabric of reality, but still impossible to ignore.
Antem stopped.
— Who’s there? — his voice broke the silence.
The shadow did not respond but became clearer, as if sensing his gaze. It began to approach, slowly but confidently. And the closer it got, the more Antem realized that this shadow was not something external. It was a part of himself.
— Do you think you have freed yourself? — a voice echoed, sounding like his own, yet colder and emptier.
Antem stepped back but then stopped himself.
— I have freed myself and this world, — he replied.
The shadow smiled, but that smile was far from human.
— You have freed the world from the system, but have you freed yourself? The illusion of time was only part of it. What will you do with what remains?
Antem felt his heart constrict. The shadow spoke of something he feared to acknowledge. He had changed the world, but within him remained fears, anger, memories of what he had lost.
— What do you want? — he asked, trying to control his voice.
The shadow moved closer, its contours now defined. It took on the shape of a person but was devoid of details, as if it were merely a silhouette.
— I do not want. I exist. You created me with your doubts, your pain, your unresolved questions.
Antem fell silent. The shadow was right. He had destroyed the mechanism, but his own essence remained unchanged. He sought the truth, yet at the same time, he avoided the deepest questions concerning himself.
— You will not be able to move forward until you accept me, — said the silhouette.
Antem took a step forward.
— You are not my weakness, — he quietly said. — You are a part of me.
The shadow froze. Its outlines began to shift, losing their clarity.
— To accept oneself is the hardest thing, — Antem continued. — But without this, no freedom holds any meaning.
The shadow started to dissolve, but this time it did not disappear completely. It integrated, flowing into him. Antem felt memories, emotions, even pain come flooding in. But this was his pain, and now he was ready to bear it.
When it was all over, the world around seemed brighter. The sky was clear, the horizon endless. But now Antem felt prepared for any challenge.
He took another step forward, knowing that his true journey had only just begun.