The Choice

Reinhardt stood frozen, his hand still pressed against the pulsing obelisk. The power coursing through him was overwhelming, an ancient force demanding submission. Visions of forgotten warriors and shattered empires swirled in his mind, whispering secrets of the past—and the future.

The Keepers did not advance. They merely watched, waiting.

Selene's voice cut through the storm in his head. "Reinhardt! Listen to me. You must decide!"

He turned his gaze toward her, his vision flickering between reality and the echoes of time. The darkness was intoxicating. It offered him strength, knowledge beyond mortal comprehension, a power so vast that even the gods might tremble before it.

But at what cost?

The obelisk's energy tightened around his very being, its voice now clear in his mind.

"Submit, and you shall be reborn. Resist, and you shall be forgotten."

The weight of the moment pressed upon him. He thought of his journey, the battles fought, the sacrifices made. He thought of the world beyond this cursed place—the people waiting, the lives hanging in the balance.

Would he become something more? Or would he remain who he was, uncertain yet free?

His fingers curled into a fist.

Then, with a deep breath, he made his choice.

The Path of Control

Reinhardt exhaled and tightened his grip on the power surging through him. But instead of submitting, he did something no one before him had dared—he bent the power to his will.

The obelisk trembled, its dark tendrils recoiling as Reinhardt's mind refused to yield. He would not be consumed.

Selene gasped as the runes on the obelisk flared, shifting from a deep crimson to a brilliant silver. The Keepers stirred, their hollow eyes now fixed on Reinhardt not with menace, but with something akin to… reverence.

The tallest of them inclined its head.

"You have done what none before you could. The Mark is no longer your burden—it is your weapon."

Reinhardt felt the power settle within him—not a curse, but a tool, bound to his will alone. He turned to Selene, his eyes now shimmering with an eerie light.

She smiled. "You're still you."

He smirked. "Of course I am."

The Nexus shuddered, its purpose fulfilled. The Keepers faded into the mist, their task complete. The sky above them began to crack, as if this realm itself could not hold Reinhardt's presence any longer.

Selene grabbed his hand. "We need to go. Now."

The world around them collapsed, the shadows folding into nothingness. And then—

The Path of Submission

Reinhardt closed his eyes and let the power consume him.

Darkness flooded his mind, swallowing his past, his doubts, his fears. The obelisk pulsed with satisfaction, its energy weaving through his very soul, reforging him into something beyond human.

Selene's desperate voice became distant. "No—Reinhardt, fight it!"

He opened his eyes.

The Keepers knelt.

The tallest one spoke, its voice hollow yet filled with certainty.

"The Dark One has returned."

Selene stumbled backward. "No… this isn't you."

But it was him. And yet, it wasn't.

Reinhardt turned to her, his expression unreadable. The Nexus around them trembled, acknowledging its new master.

The world would kneel.

Or it would burn.

The choice had been made.

And the world would never be the same.