The great doors loomed before them, veined with veins of glowing silver that pulsed like arteries, carrying light instead of blood. The serpents carved into the stone writhed as if alive, their eyes following every breath, every twitch of the intruders before
A heartbeat reverberated through the chamber, deep and resonant, shaking dust from the vaulted ceiling. Each thud felt like it pressed against their chests, as if their own hearts were being forced to beat in rhythm with the thing beyond the
Carlos raised his hand to the stone. It was warm — too warm, like touching living flesh. He shuddered. "It's waiting for us."
"No," Maren whispered, her voice trembling. "It's calling us."
With a deep groan, the doors unlatched of their own accord. A seam of light split between them, widening into a blinding glow. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone and iron.
They stepped inside.
The chamber within was vast — not stone, not metal, but something organic. The walls curved like the inside of a colossal ribcage, throbbing faintly with every heartbeat. Veins of light pulsed along the surfaces, casting the chamber in an eerie, ever-shifting glow.
At its center hovered a massive sphere — the Heart of the Helm.
It was not solid. Its surface rippled like liquid silver, constantly reforming into faces — sometimes theirs, sometimes others they did not know. The faces whispered, thousands of voices overlapping, forming a chorus of temptation, accusation, and command.
"Victor…" Carlos froze. The sphere had spoken his name, in his mother's voice. He staggered, the Blade of Ascension trembling in his grasp.
"Don't listen!" Lys cried, drawing her bow, but already she heard her own reflection in the whispers — her sister's voice, begging, "Why did you let me die?"
Rina clutched her daggers, but her smirk was gone. The whispers clawed at her, each one a past betrayal she thought buried.
Thalor roared in defiance, but even his booming voice cracked as he heard the cries of his fallen brothers echoing around him.
Maren collapsed to her knees, the whispers twisting into thunder, lightning cracking inside her skull. "You are fire. You are ruin. You will burn them all."
The Heart pulsed. A tendril of liquid light lashed out, striking the floor. From it emerged a figure — a perfect copy of Carlos, but clad in black steel, eyes burning gold.
Another tendril struck — and Lys's shadow self stepped forth, face painted in blood. Then Rina's double, knives dripping with poison. Thalor's double, gleaming and unbroken. Maren's double, a walking storm of flame and ash.
The five shadows stood before them, silent but brimming with malice.
Carlos gritted his teeth. "Again?"
The Helm's voice boomed, overlapping a thousand tones:
"This is no reflection. These are the selves you could become. Kill them — or become them."
The battle ignited instantly.
Carlos clashed with his dark twin, their swords ringing like church bells in a storm. The black steel cut deeper than any mortal weapon, each strike testing his resolve.
"You'll never escape me," his double snarled. "Because I am what you want to be. Strong. Feared. Untouchable."
"No," Carlos spat, forcing his blade upward. "You're what I refuse to become."
Lys danced with her twin, arrows splitting in the air, each shot meeting another. Her double laughed cruelly, its movements flawless, merciless.
"You'll always choose wrong," it mocked. "Every decision you make leads to death."
But Lys slowed her breathing, focusing. "Not this time," she whispered. Her arrow sang true, grazing the cheek of her twin. For the first time, it bled.
Rina's duel was chaos, blades flashing in every direction. Her twin fought dirty — feints, traps, poisoned strikes. Exactly the way she would have, once.
"Trust you?" the double sneered. "They'll never. You're a snake. You'll slit their throats the moment it serves you."
Rina locked blades, her eyes blazing. "Maybe I'm a snake," she hissed, twisting free. "But I've found a nest worth fighting for."
She drove her dagger into the double's chest, snarling as it dissolved into smoke.
Thalor's clash shook the chamber. His twin towered over him, armor shining, shield unbroken.
"You are weak!" it bellowed. "You survived when stronger men fell! You are a fraud!"
Thalor roared back, smashing shield against shield. His arm ached, blood seeped from his wounds, but he stood tall.
"I am the last of them," he declared, his blade shattering his double's shield. "And that makes me their legacy!"
With one final strike, he cut the double down.
Maren's duel was the most terrifying. Her twin unleashed storms with every gesture, fire and lightning entwined into apocalyptic fury.
"You cannot hold me!" it screamed, unleashing a torrent that lit the chamber in blinding white.
Maren raised her staff, the ground cracking beneath her. For a moment, she faltered — then Carlos's voice cut through the chaos.
"You're not alone, Maren!"
She screamed, channeling her fear into fire, her sorrow into storm. Her flames collided with her twin's lightning, the explosion shaking the fortress itself. When the smoke cleared, her double was gone — only ash remained.
The five heroes stood, battered but unbroken, as the Heart of the Helm pulsed violently. Its whispers turned to shrieks, furious and desperate.
"You defy me again… but unity is fleeting. I will break you. I will claim you. The next realm awaits."
The Heart cracked. From within poured a torrent of light that twisted into a spiraling vortex — a portal unlike any they had seen. It pulsed with colors beyond sight, beckoning, promising power and ruin alike.
Carlos lowered his sword, chest heaving. He looked at the others. They met his gaze one by one, weary but resolute.
Without a word, they stepped into the light together.
And the Heart of the Helm shattered behind them.