Aiden smirked.
"I get it now. You're not attacking me. You're waiting."
The shadow did not reply.
"That means you're testing me," Aiden continued. "You want to see if I can figure it out."
His instincts screamed at him to run, to escape—but there was nowhere to run.
The only way out was forward.
Aiden took a deep breath—
And took a step.
The moment his foot touched the ground, the world shattered.
Not like glass.
Not like an explosion.
But like a book being rewritten.
Everything changed.
The gray skies twisted.
The silent realm spoke.
And Aiden saw the truth.
The shadow was not an enemy.
It was not a guardian.
It was a gatekeeper.
Aiden had passed the test.
The whisper returned, but this time, it was clearer.
"You are the first to step beyond fate."
The shadow moved.
Not forward, not back—but inward.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
And in its place, a door appeared.
Aiden exhaled. "Guess I'm going in."
Without hesitation, he stepped through.
