Silence fell.
A heavy silence, one that not even the distant creatures dared break.
The reflection raised the blade again. The tip glowed a deep green, but it wasn't just energy. It was something intimate, a thread of Daniela's own soul molded into steel.
She felt it.
If that sword cut her, it wouldn't be just flesh or scales. It would be her essence—what remained of the woman behind the beast.
And, for the first time, the dragon took a step back.
The reflection smiled calmly, as if it had already won. "See?" the voice reverberated, echoing in Daniela's gut. "You are fire, fury, and emptiness. But when you face me... you tremble."
Daniela pressed her claws against nothingness, green cracks spreading beneath her feet. Her heart pounded like a war drum, but inside her chest was more than hatred.
There was fear.
Fear that this was true. Fear that, in the end, she would be nothing more than a reflection of her own need to be seen.
