The floor beneath them turned to polished black stone. Their reflections wavered in the surface, but something was off - Kael's reflection had no eyes, and Selene's flickered like candlelight. Neither said a word.
They stepped through an archway into a vast chamber, its ceiling lost in shadow. A shallow layer of water coated the floor, glassy and undisturbed. It reflected the darkness above perfectly, giving the illusion they walked between two mirrored worlds.
The moment their boots touched the water, the chamber stirred.
Whispers rose, faint and formless. At first, Kael dismissed them as echoes of dripping water. But then he heard it -
"Kael... why didn't you save me?"
He froze.
"Lorel?"
Selene turned sharply, scanning the chamber. "What did you say?"
Kael's voice came out hoarse. "I heard her."
The water darkened. Ripples fanned out from their feet, warping the reflection. Fog bled in from the edges of the room, thick and cold. Selene vanished from view. The whispers multiplied, layering over each other.
"You let me die. You watched."
"You ran."
"You chose yourself."
Kael staggered back. The water at his feet became ink, churning with phantom shapes.
He turned, and Lorel stood before him. Not as he remembered, but pale, soaked, her eyes hollow and bleeding shadow.
"You promised," she said. "You said you'd protect me."
Kael's mouth opened, but no sound came. The weight of guilt pressed down like a hand on his throat. He reached for her -
Her skin cracked like porcelain, flaking into ash.
"You lied."
His knees hit the stone. He clutched his head. Images reeled: Lorel crying in the dark, Lorel screaming, Lorel dead.
"Stop... please..."
Her voice grew louder. Accusing. Mocking.
Then, something inside him shifted.
He looked up.
The thing before him wasn't Lorel. It never was. It was a mask made of memory and regret.
He whispered, more to himself than to her, "You died protecting me. You would never say these things."
The illusion trembled.
"You loved me. Even when I didn't deserve it. You gave everything. And I... I survived."
His sorrow broke into something else - rage.
The phantom twisted, but it was too late.
"I won't carry your death like a curse anymore."
Kael stood. The illusion shattered, exploding into shards of darkness that scattered like broken glass.
He was alone.
But not for long.
The water churned. Dozens of eyes opened beneath the surface. Flesh writhed and tore its way into the chamber - limbs twisted the wrong way, gaping maws full of bone and bile.
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Good."
They charged.
He moved like a machine.
Sword in hand, he cut through the first creature before it touched him. A geyser of black ichor sprayed across his face. He didn't flinch.
Another leapt - he ducked under it, drove his blade up through its jaw, then ripped it free sideways, splitting the head in half.
One clamped onto his shoulder. He roared, stabbed into its belly, then grabbed its skull with both hands and crushed it until it popped.
More came. Claws slashed. Teeth gnashed.
He welcomed them.
Each strike was an answer to the voices.
Each scream a release.
He tore through the mass, unrelenting, uncaring. His armor was ripped. His arms bled. But he didn't stop.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
He grinned. A wild, feral grin. Eyes wide, blood dripping from his lips.
The ground was slick with gore. He slipped, rolled, stabbed upward into a lung. Another beast tried to pin him - he bit its throat before his blade found its heart.
He laughed.
A creature tried to crawl away. He leapt on it, hacking again and again, long after it stopped moving. Flesh peeled. Bone cracked. Chunks flew.
"Is that all?!" he roared. "Come on!"
Only silence answered.
Kael stood in a pool of corpses. His hands trembled. His face, neck, and chest were coated in blood and bile. One eye swollen. A rib cracked.
But he felt clear.
Until a low growl rose from the heap behind him.
He turned. A monster half-torn apart dragged itself toward him. Its eye glinted. It breathed, barely.
Kael walked slowly.
It whimpered.
He didn't care.
He raised his blade, brought it down again.
And again.
And again.
Until nothing remained.
He stood over it, panting, blood-soaked.
The chamber was still.
And only then did he remember Selene.
Panic struck.
He turned, slipping over bodies, scanning through the fog.
He found her in the far corner, curled into a fetal position on the wet stone.
Her shoulders shook. She was crying.
Whispers still circled her, but weak now. Fading.
She whispered something unintelligible, again and again.
Her sword lay untouched beside her.
Kael approached slowly. His boots splashed softly through the water.
"Selene," he said.
No response.
He knelt beside her. "Selene, it's over. They're gone."
Nothing.
She trembled harder, muttering to herself, her eyes shut tight.
Kael placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come back. Please."
Still nothing.
He hesitated.
Then, with a shaky breath, he slapped her.
Not hard, but enough.
Her eyes snapped open.
She stared at him. Hollow. Distant.
He thought she might scream. Instead, she blinked. Sat up.
No words. No anger. Just breathing.
She looked at the chamber. At the blood. At the corpses.
And she stood.
Without looking at Kael, she walked past him toward the dark exit on the far side of the room.
Kael remained kneeling.
He looked back at the carnage. At the blade in his hand.
Then he rose, and followed in silence.