The mirror of Fate

The air crackled.

The rift pulsed, a silent heartbeat of energy at the center of the battlefield. The stranger stood just beyond it, the same crooked smirk lingering on his lips—but there was nothing human behind his eyes.

Anna felt it in her bones.

This wasn't just an interruption.

This was a warning.

And Ethan, for the first time in his existence, was hesitating.

"You're stalling," the stranger mused, shifting his weight. "That's not like you."

Ethan didn't react.

But Anna saw the way his fingers twitched at his sides.

The subtle tell of a man standing on the edge of something he wasn't ready to face.

"Tell me what you are," Ethan finally said. His voice was calm, steady—but there was an edge beneath it.

The stranger smiled wider. "I'm what's waiting for you on the other side."

Anna's stomach clenched. "You're lying."

The stranger's gaze flickered toward her, amused. "Am I?"

Ethan exhaled. "If I walk through that rift, do I become you?"

The stranger's expression didn't change.

But something in the air shifted.

Anna felt it—the weight of an answer that neither of them wanted to hear.

The stranger took a slow step forward.

"You don't have a name for what you are yet," he said. "You're not a man anymore. You're not a Hollow King. You're not bound by the rules of light or shadow."

His smile sharpened.

"But you will be something."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"And what if I refuse?"

The stranger laughed. "You think you have a choice?"

Anna moved before she could think.

Her dagger was out in an instant, the blade flashing in the dim light.

The stranger didn't move—not to dodge, not to block, not to counter.

He simply let her strike.

And the moment the blade touched his skin—the world around them shattered.

A Glimpse Beyond Reality

Anna gasped.

She was no longer standing in the battlefield.

For a split second—she was somewhere else.

A void. A place without stars, without air, without light.

A space outside of existence itself.

And in that endless abyss, she saw them.

Thousands.

No—millions.

Figures standing in the distance, their shapes flickering, shifting. Some bore Ethan's face. Some did not.

But they were all the same.

They were all him.

And they were all waiting.

Anna's breath caught in her throat.

Then—the vision collapsed.

She was back—back in the real world, back in the battlefield, back in the moment she had tried to strike.

But the dagger had never reached its mark.

The stranger stood untouched.

And Anna—Anna staggered back, gasping for breath.

Ethan caught her before she fell. "What did you see?"

She swallowed hard. "You."

Ethan frowned. "Me?"

Anna's hands trembled.

"Not just you," she whispered. "All of you."

The Truth That Changes Everything

The stranger sighed, watching them with mild amusement. "Well, that was quicker than expected. Normally, people take longer to break."

Ethan's grip on Anna's arm tightened. "Tell me what she saw."

The stranger tilted his head. "You already know."

Ethan didn't blink. "Say it."

The stranger held his gaze.

Then, finally, he said:

"You are not the first version of yourself, Ethan Ward."

Anna's breath hitched.

Ethan didn't move.

But the silence between them shattered.

The Endless Cycle

"You're lying," Anna said again, but this time—her voice wavered.

Because she had seen it.

Ethan was not just one man.

He was part of something bigger.

Something worse.

Ethan exhaled slowly, as if forcing himself to stay in his body, to not let the weight of the truth pull him under.

"How many?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

The stranger's grin widened. "How many times have you been created? How many times have you broken free?" He shrugged. "Enough that even I've lost count."

Anna felt like the ground beneath her was no longer solid.

Ethan was shaking. Ethan never shook.

Anna grabbed his wrist. "Ethan, don't listen to him. Whatever he's saying, we can—"

Ethan pulled away.

His black eyes burned like dying stars.

"You knew," he said, staring at the stranger. "Didn't you?"

The stranger nodded. "Of course I did. I was you once."

Ethan froze.

And Anna's heart nearly stopped.

The stranger took another step forward.

"Every version of you walks this path," he said quietly. "Some make it further than others. Some die before they reach this point. But the ones who do?"

He spread his arms wide.

"They come here. They choose. And then they become something new."

Ethan's hands curled into fists. "I don't accept that."

"You don't have to," the stranger said. "You just have to decide."

The Final Test

The rift pulsed.

The world held its breath.

Anna felt like she was watching the end of something.

Or maybe—the beginning of something even worse.

Ethan turned to her.

And this time—his gaze was unreadable.

"You saw them," he said.

Anna swallowed hard. "Yes."

"Then you understand."

Her throat tightened. "No."

Ethan exhaled. "Then I need you to listen."

He stepped closer—closer than he had in a long, long time.

"You can't follow me," he said softly. "Not where I'm going."

Anna's pulse pounded. "Ethan, don't do this."

But he only shook his head.

"You said you wanted to save me," he murmured. "But what if this is the only way?"

Her hands shook.

"Ethan—"

He reached out.

And, for the first time in what felt like lifetimes, he touched her face.

"You are the only thing that's ever made me hesitate," he admitted.

Then—

He turned.

And he walked toward the rift.