Aiden smirked.
"I get it now. You're not attacking me. You're waiting."
The shadow did not reply.
"That means you're testing me," Aiden continued. "You want to see if I can figure it out."
His instincts screamed at him to run, to escape—but there was nowhere to run.
The only way out was forward.
Aiden took a deep breath—
And took a step.
The moment his foot touched the ground, the world shattered.
Not like glass.
Not like an explosion.
But like a book being rewritten.
Everything changed.
The gray skies twisted.
The silent realm spoke.
And Aiden saw the truth.
The shadow was not an enemy.
It was not a guardian.
It was a gatekeeper.
Aiden had passed the test.
The whisper returned, but this time, it was clearer.
"You are the first to step beyond fate."
The shadow moved.
Not forward, not back—but inward.