The darkness around her parted, and once again everything became clear, like a fiery cross burning in the heart of Melania. She stood before her dark reflection, and the sensation of being mirrored was so real that it seemed they were truly the same—only on the opposite side. The dark figure watched her calmly, without any tension, radiating an incredible force that seemed to emanate from the depths of her gaze.
“Are you truly ready to make your choice?” the dark figure spoke, her voice flowing like a heavy river current. “For this is not just a question; it is an attempt to understand who you will become in a world that was never yours. You are not merely changing your future—you are changing the very essence of existence.”
Melania gazed into the eyes of her reflection, and each look seemed to pierce through the surrounding darkness. She could not pull her eyes away from this being that was both herself and yet completely foreign. Her dark eyes reflected nothing but coldness, and it seemed they consumed all light.
“Do you want to become light?” the dark figure continued, her words crawling through the space, leaving behind a hellish afterglow. “Or do you want to be darkness, for that is your nature?”
Melania tried to break free from the paralysis. She took a deep breath, feeling her heart beat with a force that seemed to want to burst from her chest. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. The shadows that ruled the space began to pull her in, as though choking her thoughts, making them incomprehensible and heavy.
“I do not want to be either darkness or light,” she finally spoke, her voice low and determined, like the strike of a hammer. “I want to be myself.”
The dark reflection laughed, and her laugh was deep and cold, like a mountain storm.
“You already are yourself. But are you ready to understand what it means to be yourself in a world where there are no simple answers? Do you want to keep balance? But what will you be willing to lose for that balance?”
Melania felt her heart tighten, but she did not step back.
“I am ready,” she said firmly, though she wasn’t entirely sure she truly was. But in her words, there was resolve. She realized that she could not remain where she was, for every step had led her to this moment. She had chosen a path. And even if that path was unknown and uncertain, she could not allow herself to turn back.
The dark figure dissolved into the air, and in her place appeared a bright stream of light. Melania felt her entire body fill with warmth, and this stream seemed to carry her through a new reality, one that was pure and luminous, though difficult to comprehend.
She stepped onto this path. Each step she took echoed in the space, and suddenly, various scenes began to materialize around her—different worlds. She saw herself in different roles, in different dimensions. These were versions of her life that could have happened depending on the choice she made. She saw how every choice could lead to a new world, a new fate, a new reality.
However, not all these versions were light. Some were gloomy, dark, with shadows that consumed everything in their path. In some worlds, she was powerful and merciless; in others, she was worn down and surrounded by chaos, where there was no room for hope.
These worlds began to merge, like sand in water, and before her stood only one road—a narrow, dark, yet real one. And realizing this, she made her choice.
A choice that was now final.
Before her, the Master’s figure reappeared.
“You’ve made your decision,” he said, and his voice was calm but deep, like the echo of a thousand years. “Now your journey truly begins.”
Melania looked at him again, and in her eyes there was not only realization but also resolve. She had made her choice. And now she had to move forward, through all the trials waiting ahead.
And this path could not be turned back from.