The Abyss Gazes Back
"There are no demons in the abyss—only reflections of oneself. The weak shatter beneath the weight of truth, while the strong carve their will into the void."
---
The descent was endless.
The spiral staircase stretched downward, swallowed by a darkness so dense it felt alive. Each step echoed, the sound swallowed instantly by the abyss.
Xian Ren's breath was steady, his grip on the Forsaken Blade firm.
But the air was different here.
It was not the lifeless stillness of the upper caverns.
It pulsed. It watched.
It whispered.
"Turn back."
A voice—no, many voices, layered atop one another, distant yet intimate.
Xian Ren ignored them.
Step.
The temperature dropped.
Step.
The darkness thickened, pressing against his skin like unseen hands.
Step.
His heart did not waver.
Step.
And then—
A shudder in the air.
A presence.
Something stirred in the abyss.
Xian Ren halted.
Ahead, the staircase ended abruptly, leading into a vast cavern.
No walls. No ceiling. Only an expanse of nothingness.
And at its center…
A single mirror.
---
It was unlike anything he had ever seen.
A full-length obsidian mirror, polished to unnatural perfection.
It stood unsupported, reflecting nothing but the void behind him.
No inscriptions. No markings.
Only silence.
Xian Ren stepped forward.
His own reflection flickered into existence—then twisted.
His face melted into a thousand different forms.
He saw himself as a child.
As a servant.
As a warrior drenched in blood.
As a corpse.
As something… else.
The images flashed, overlapping, distorting—until suddenly—
They settled.
And he was no longer looking at a reflection.
He was looking at a man.
A figure identical to himself, yet different.
The same white hair. The same red eyes. The same sword.
But colder.
Darker.
Stronger.
The man smirked.
Then he stepped out of the mirror.
---
Xian Ren's grip tightened.
His own voice echoed back at him.
"Do you recognize me?"
The mirror-self tilted his head.
"No?"
A soft chuckle.
"Then allow me to introduce myself."
The figure raised his blade.
It was identical to the Forsaken Blade.
Every crack, every imperfection, every drop of dried blood.
Xian Ren did not move.
His doppelgänger smiled.
"I am the you that you fear to become."
Then he lunged.
---
CLANG!
Blades met, sparks scattering into the void.
The force of the impact sent Xian Ren skidding backward.
His mirror-self did not relent.
Another slash—faster, sharper.
Xian Ren barely dodged, the tip of the blade slicing through his sleeve.
The mirror-self laughed.
"Is this all you are?"
His attacks were relentless.
Each strike was precise, each movement refined.
There were no wasted actions.
Xian Ren countered, parried, dodged—but he was always a step behind.
It was like fighting his own shadow.
A shadow that knew every weakness.
Every hesitation.
Every doubt.
---
Minutes stretched into eternity.
Xian Ren's breath came heavier, his muscles burning.
His mirror-self remained unshaken.
"You hesitate."
A downward slash.
CLANG!
Xian Ren deflected it.
"You hold back."
A sudden thrust.
Xian Ren barely twisted away.
"You still think there is another path."
A kick slammed into his chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
He coughed, blood staining his lips.
Above him, the mirror-self pointed his sword downward.
"There is no other path."
His red eyes burned.
"There is only the one I walk."
He brought the sword down.
Xian Ren reacted on instinct.
His blade shot upward.
The impact rang through his bones.
He gritted his teeth.
No.
This was not where he would fall.
He would not be caged by his own shadow.
His own fear.
He was not this weak.
A memory surfaced.
His mother's dying words.
"The path ahead will break you. But only if you let it."
Xian Ren's eyes sharpened.
His grip tightened.
CRACK.
A surge of energy erupted from within.
For the first time—
His mirror-self flinched.
Xian Ren smirked.
"You are mistaken."
With a single, decisive strike—
He shattered his reflection.
---
The void trembled.
The mirror cracked.
Then—
A whisper.
Soft.
Unheard by anyone but him.
"…Good."
The darkness receded.
The abyss crumbled.
And when Xian Ren opened his eyes—
He was standing before a new path.
Ahead, the third trial awaited.
He exhaled.
Then, without hesitation—
He stepped forward.