The hall had grown colder since the last soul departed. The air felt heavy, not in silence alone but in expectation, as though the walls themselves were bracing for something far worse than before. Lyra could sense it even before the door began to stir.
Her breath came shallow, and she gripped her hands together to keep them from trembling. She told herself she was ready, that she had endured cruelty, obsession, and manipulation. But some instinct deep inside whispered otherwise. This was not the same.
The door groaned open, slow and grinding, and from its shadow stepped a man.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, his presence filling the space like a storm pressing into the hall. His dark hair hung loosely around his face, but it was his eyes that froze Lyra where she stood. They gleamed with a wild light, sharp and unrestrained, like a predator barely leashed. His lips curled into a grin that was more snarl than smile, teeth flashing as though he relished the fear he caused by merely existing.
Kaelen's voice broke the tension. "You stand in the Hall of Judgment. Here, your life will be revealed."
The man tilted his head back and laughed. It was not loud, but the sound carried deep, unsettling, like a growl turned into mirth. "Judgment. How quaint. How pathetic. Do you really think you can measure me with your mirror, judge?" His gaze flicked to Lyra, pinning her in place. "Or perhaps it is her you bring me for."
Lyra stumbled backwards a step, her chest tightening. His eyes were not cold. They were alive, burning with amusement, with hunger, with anticipation of pain he had yet to inflict. She could feel it pouring from him like heat.
Kaelen did not move. His voice was steady as stone. "The mirror will reveal your truth. Nothing will remain hidden."
The man chuckled. "Good. Let them see. Let the little apprentice see what a true monster looks like."
The silver mirror pulsed into being, and its surface shimmered. Lyra wanted to look away, but she forced herself to see. She needed to know.
The reflection began with a boy no older than ten. He sat in a barn, holding a small bird in his hands. For a moment, Lyra thought he was gentle. Then the boy's fingers tightened. The bird's wings flailed. He laughed quietly, rocking back as if the creature's desperate struggle amused him. When it stopped moving, he set it aside like a broken toy and looked for another.
Lyra's stomach lurched. "No… he…" She pressed her hand over her mouth, bile rising in her throat.
The man grinned at her reaction. "It was so small, so fragile. To feel life slipping away in my hands was… divine. And no one could stop me. They never even knew."
The mirror shifted. He was older now, a teenager, stronger, crueller. He dragged dogs behind sheds, cornered cats in alleys, always smiling, always laughing. The pain of others, the helpless cries, only made him bolder. Soon it was not animals. Soon it was people.
Lyra's knees trembled as she watched. A boy her age stood bound, his cries muffled. The man, younger but already monstrous, struck him again and again. Each blow was measured not in anger but in delight. He revelled in the pain he inflicted, as if each scream was music only he could hear.
Lyra cried out, "Stop it!" She turned her face away, tears streaming. "Why… why are you showing me this?"
The man's grin widened. "Because you need to understand. Because you need to feel what they felt. Their terror, their despair, their hopelessness. That is my truth."
Kaelen's gaze hardened, but his tone remained calm. "You thrived on suffering. You chose cruelty not from necessity, but from desire."
"Yes!" the man roared, his voice echoing against the walls. He spread his arms wide, chest heaving. "I loved it. The look in their eyes when they realised no one would save them, when they begged and I denied them. That was life. That was power."
The mirror pulsed again. He was a man now, feared by all who knew him. He terrorised villages, not for wealth, not for vengeance, but simply for the pleasure of hearing screams in the night. He burned homes to watch families wail. He left survivors only to relish the despair in their eyes when they saw what he had taken.
Lyra clutched at Kaelen's sleeve. "He… he's worse than the others. He… he hurts because he enjoys it. There is nothing else inside him."
Kaelen placed a steady hand on her shoulder. "And that is the lesson. Some souls are not twisted by accident or circumstance. Some choose the darkness fully, without regret, without excuse."
The man turned his gaze to Lyra again, leaning forward slightly, his smile predatory. "And you, little one, do you think you could endure me? Could you withstand what I would do to you if I had the chance? I see fear in you. I could drink it forever."
Lyra's chest heaved. She wanted to shrink away, to hide, but she forced herself to stand, trembling though she was. Her voice cracked but held firm. "I… I will not break for you. You cannot touch me here."
He laughed again, low and taunting. "Ah, but I can touch your mind. I can leave you with my shadow. Every time you close your eyes, you will wonder if I am there, waiting."
The hall seemed to darken at his words, the lanterns flickering violently. Shadows writhed around his feet as though responding to his presence.
Kaelen raised his hand. "Enough. Your time here is over."
The man's grin sharpened, his eyes burning with savage delight. "Do it, judge. Send me where I belong. I will still laugh. I will still tear and break, wherever you place me."
The shadows surged, wrapping around his form. He threw his head back and laughed as they consumed him, the sound echoing long after his body had vanished.
Lyra dropped to her knees, shaking violently, her tears falling freely. "He… he was pure evil. He enjoyed it. He wasn't even hiding it. He wanted me to feel it. And I did… I did."
Kaelen crouched beside her, his hand steady on her back. "And that is why you must learn to endure. Not every soul has remorse. Not every soul hides behind excuses. Some embrace their cruelty without shame. You must see them and remain standing."
Lyra's voice broke. "I thought I was ready, but I… I felt like he was inside me, like he left something behind."
Kaelen's gaze was heavy but calm. "He wanted that. Sadists feed on fear, even when their bodies are gone. But you endured. You are still here. That is your strength."
Lyra wiped at her tears, her breathing ragged but slowly steadying. She lifted her chin, though her voice shook. "I… I will not let him break me. Not him, not any of them."
Kaelen's eyes softened, a flicker of approval glimmering in his expression. "Good. Hold to that. Each trial strengthens you. Each darkness you face prepares you for the next. You will not fall, unless you choose to."
The far door pulsed faintly, waiting.
Lyra stood, though her legs trembled. She pressed her hand to her chest, steadying herself. "Then let the next soul come. No matter how cruel, no matter how dark… I will face them."
Kaelen's gaze lingered on her a moment longer, then he nodded. "So be it."
The hall stilled once more, but the echo of the sadist's laughter lingered, a reminder that some darkness left scars long after it was gone.