The golden path behind them shimmered and vanished, swallowed by the ever-shifting folds of the Rift. Before them, a vast hall stretched into infinity—walls made of fractured mirrors reflecting infinite versions of Kael and Aeris, each trapped in moments both beautiful and broken.
Kael's gaze caught one reflection—himself standing alone, shadowed by regret. Another showed Aeris, tears streaming as she let go of a fading light.
A chill crawled up Kael's spine. "The Rift… it's showing us what we fear most."
Aeris nodded, eyes scanning the countless shards. "Every choice we didn't make. Every path we abandoned. It's all here, echoing."
Suddenly, the mirrors rippled. One fragment cracked open, and from it stepped a figure—a Kael unlike any they'd known. His eyes were cold, his smile cruel.
"I am what you could become if you lose yourself," the dark Kael said, voice a razor. "The version who surrendered to bitterness, who chose power over love."
Kael squared his shoulders, stepping forward. "You're a shadow. Nothing more."
But the dark Kael only laughed. "Shadows grow longer the more you try to ignore them."
From another shard emerged a different Aeris—soft, fragile, consumed by doubt. "And I am what happens if you let fear win. If you stop fighting for the light inside."
Aeris reached out, voice firm. "I am more than that. We are more than that."
The hall began to tremble, shards shaking loose.
The Rift was testing them—not just their love, but their resolve to hold onto hope amid infinite darkness.
Kael gripped Aeris' hand tighter. "We have to face them—all of them. Every broken piece—if we want to keep what we've built."
Aeris nodded. "No matter how hard it gets."
Together, they stepped deeper into the hall of fractured selves, ready to confront the mirrors that threatened to shatter their future.