Side Story: In the Mists of Nightmare
Kelvin opened his eyes.
But it was not the real world that greeted him.
He found himself in a blurred landscape, a gray and endless desert under a leaden sky.
The wind carried muffled whispers, and each step echoed like a stifled scream.
Around him, indistinct silhouettes floated—fragments of human shadows.
Their faces were distorted by fear and pain.
A voice inside his head warned him:
"You are in a psychological nightmare. Here, your fear is the key, and your will is the only weapon."
Kelvin moved forward, and visions emerged.
He relived his childhood,
the loneliness,
the heavy, judging gazes.
Then, a figure appeared before him: a twisted version of himself, a distorted reflection.
— "You are nothing. You have never been anything," whispered this Shadow.
Kelvin felt fear creeping in, trying to paralyze his movements.
But he remembered Lila's words:
"Your nightmares are only pieces of yourself. Accept them, and they will lose their power."
He took a deep breath.
— "I am more than my fears," he declared.
The shadow recoiled, grimacing.
The scenery changed.
Walls rose around him—a labyrinth of corridors made of painful memories.
Kelvin had to cross this mental maze, each turn revealing a buried wound.
Behind him, he heard the breath of the Shadows, ready to snatch him away.
At every trial, he faced his doubts:
His father's voice telling him he wasn't strong enough.
The silence of his friends when he needed them.
The fear of being alone, always.
But he kept moving forward, firmly holding onto his will.
At the center of the labyrinth, he found a black mirror.
Looking into it, he saw all his fears gathered.
He understood that this mirror represented the barrier between him and freedom.
With a cry, he shattered the surface.
The nightmare collapsed.
Kelvin found himself in the soft light of the Sanctuary, breathless but free.
This dive into his own psychological nightmare had revealed an essential truth:
To defeat the Shadows, one must first conquer their own darkness.