The world shattered around me—not the chamber, not the Nexus itself, but me. One heartbeat after the last clash, I stumbled and the edges of reality splintered. Light twisted and fractured, the air thickened into something tangible, like liquid metal pressing against my skin. Shadows wrapped tighter, no longer external—they were inside me.
I blinked. The floor beneath me disappeared. Instead of steel and sparks, I stood on a vast, endless plane of mirrors, each reflecting fragments of my life: childhood laughter, battles I'd won, friends I'd lost, and moments I barely remembered. The shards swirled around me, floating like a storm. And in every mirror, I saw him—Shadow Kieran. Not a reflection, not a copy, but a version of me darker, sharper, stronger, crueler. His eyes burned into mine.
"Welcome," he said, his voice echoing from every angle at once. "Welcome to yourself, Kieran. Every lie you've told yourself, every choice you've buried, every fear you've hidden… it's all here. And now you must face it."
I tightened my claws. "I'm not afraid of you. You're a part of me, yes. But I decide what that part does. Not you."
He laughed, a sound fractured into a thousand echoes. "Do you? Look around you. Every memory, every choice, every emotion you've tried to control is mine to twist. The Nexus listens to me. It amplifies me. You think you're choosing—but can you even tell what's real anymore?"
I stepped forward, the mirrors stretching endlessly. Each reflection shifted, showing versions of me that hadn't existed—battles I might have lost, faces of friends I might have failed. Shadow Kieran walked among them, gliding across broken glass.
"You hesitate," he whispered, voice seeping into my chest. "See? That doubt… that hesitation is mine. You want to strike me, but you fear the cost. Every strike could kill a part of yourself, every victory could destroy your humanity."
"I choose my humanity!" I shouted, letting shadow instinct surge, but anchoring it with human will. The mirrors shook, cracks racing across their surfaces. "I choose balance! I choose me! Not you. Not the Dominion. Not the power you offer!"
He grinned, his reflection splitting into dozens of identical Kieran figures, each stepping closer, mocking, taunting. "Balance? That's a fantasy. Power is absolute, Kieran. You can either have it… or die trying to resist it."
I clenched my fists, breathing ragged, but the voice of Lira rang inside me. You're not alone. You don't have to be him. You're Kieran. Her voice anchored me, grounding me as the mirrors swirled violently.
I turned, swinging at one reflection—and it shattered. Another rose in its place, and another, each more vivid, more convincing, more terrifying. Shadow Kieran's laughter pierced through. "Even now, you fight shadows of yourself. You're weak because you think choice can overpower instinct. You're afraid to embrace what you truly are."
"I am what I choose to be," I growled, raising my claws. "Not what you want me to be!"
I struck again, this time carefully. Each blow shattered the mirrors, revealing glimpses of my past: the streets of my childhood, my first training, moments with Malik, with Lira, all glowing faintly as if they were anchors tethering me to reality.
"You cling to illusions," he hissed. "Even here, in my domain, you pretend that memories make you strong. Memories are chains. And I will break them."
The shards of mirrors quaked violently, some falling like rain around me. I staggered, shadow and human power clashing inside me, trying to stabilize the mindscape. My teeth gritted as I focused, feeling my shadow whisper: Take him. Absorb him. Be one with all of it.
"No," I breathed, voice firm even as the reflections multiplied. "I will not become you. I will not surrender who I am to fear or temptation. I… choose me."
The central mirror rippled, and he appeared in full form—looming, eyes blazing, claws extended. The Nexus pulsed violently around us, amplifying the intensity. "Then fight me," he snarled. "Fight yourself, Kieran. Only then will you know what you truly are."
I raised my claws. Every muscle, every instinct screamed. I was exhausted, battered, and the mirrors threatened to swallow me. But I remembered Lira, her hand on my chest, her voice steady. We fight together.
I inhaled sharply, channeling every ounce of fusion, human and shadow, judgment and instinct, control and power. I lunged at him—not to destroy, but to confront, to force a choice in myself.
His grin widened. "Good. Let's see if your resolve is strong enough to survive me."
The mirrors shattered entirely in a blinding wave of light. The mindscape trembled, warping violently as I collided with Shadow Kieran in the center of the void. Sparks of memory, shadow, and raw energy exploded outward, and for the first time, I felt the full weight of him inside me—and the terrifying choice it demanded.
One strike. One chance. One decision.
The mirrors quaked violently around me, fragments spinning like stars collapsing in on themselves. Shadow Kieran's grin widened, claws raised, and for a heartbeat, I thought I would succumb to the whispering shadows, that I would let him merge with me and claim control.
"You hesitate, Kieran," he said softly, voice echoing from every broken shard. "One step and it's all mine. You can't escape yourself."
"I… choose me," I whispered, voice shaking but resolute. Shadows writhed like living smoke around my arms, but I forced them back, clawed fingers digging into the cracked surface beneath me. "I am not you. I am me. And I fight for what I believe in, not what I fear."
The central mirror shimmered violently, and for a moment, I saw a thousand possibilities of myself—stronger, darker, crueler, but all empty without choice. Shadow Kieran's form flickered, unsure, as if my conviction had struck deeper than any strike could.
"Impossible," he hissed. "You… you are resisting me."
"Yes," I said, stepping forward, eyes blazing. "I resist. And I'll keep resisting. Not for power, not for domination, not for fear… but for life. For freedom. For Lira. For us."
Her voice rang in my mind, warm and steady. "I'm with you, Kieran. You're not alone. You never were."
The shadows convulsed, retreating like smoke before wind. The mirrors cracked one final time, splintering into nothingness. The mindscape tilted, light and energy spiraling around us, and Shadow Kieran faltered, uncertainty flashing in his crimson optics.
"You… can't—" he began, voice faltering, but I didn't wait for him to finish. I lunged, not to kill, but to force him into the confrontation we both needed.
The void exploded in light, and for one suspended heartbeat, everything—the mirrors, the shadows, the Nexus—stopped.
And in that stillness, I realized: the battle wasn't about destruction. It was about choice.
My claws hovered over the remnants of the central mirror. Shadow Kieran looked at me, waiting.
I took a deep breath.
And I made my choice.