The world around Sam was silent, too silent. The Abyss had quieted after the chaos of the battle, but in its place, an oppressive stillness hung heavy in the air. He stood at the edge of the Rift, the disorienting hum of its energy vibrating through his bones, his mind still reeling from the storm of thoughts and visions that had ripped through him earlier.
The twisted version of himself—the one who had stared back at him with hollow eyes—was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than just a hallucination, more than just the Rift's corruption. There was something real about it, something that tied him to the very heart of the Abyss.
"Is it over?" Valencia's voice broke through the quiet, her tone worn and weary, as though she, too, was trying to make sense of everything that had just transpired. Her figure appeared beside him, her face grim, eyes scanning the desolate landscape around them.
Sam didn't answer immediately. His mind was still racing, piecing together fragments of the strange, fragmented vision he'd encountered. The future... his future... had been so distorted, twisted by the power of the Rift. And at the center of it all, was that dark version of himself.
"I thought I saw the end," Sam finally said, his voice low, as if unsure of his own words. "But it's not the end, is it? It's just... the beginning."
Valencia sighed, stepping closer to him. "We can't go back now, Sam. We've all seen too much. This war isn't just about stopping the Rift anymore. It's about stopping what we've become."
Sam turned to her, his eyes searching hers for some kind of answer, some glimmer of certainty. But there was nothing but exhaustion there, a deep weariness that matched his own.
"We're not the only ones trapped in the Rift," he said, his words sharp, bitter. "It's like... like it's trying to shape us, to twist us into something else. Something... worse." His hands clenched at his sides, the crackling energy of his Echoform pulsing beneath his skin.
Valencia was silent for a moment, processing what he said. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice cautious, but with an undercurrent of urgency.
Sam shook his head, feeling the weight of the revelation settle heavily in his chest. "That version of me... it wasn't just a vision. I think it's me. Or at least, what I could become if I give in to the Rift. If I lose myself to the Echoform completely."
The air between them seemed to grow colder, the very space around them charged with tension. Valencia stepped back, her gaze flicking toward the Rift, as though she, too, could sense the deepening darkness that pulsed beneath their feet.
"We have to stop it," Sam said, the conviction in his voice rising. "Before it consumes us all."
But as he spoke, the ground beneath them trembled, a low rumble echoing through the air. Valencia's eyes snapped toward the Rift, and Sam's heart skipped a beat. There was something in the distance—something dark, something looming.
"It's not over," Sam whispered, feeling the familiar pull of dread coil in his stomach. "It's coming."
[Elsewhere - Court HQ, The Architect's Chamber]
The Architect stood alone, cloaked in the shadows of the vast chamber. The room was dimly lit, the air thick with the weight of ages. His mind was focused, but his thoughts were a turbulent sea, crashing against the rocks of destiny.
The Rift had shifted, and with it, a new player had entered the field. Sam, the child of the Echoform, had proven himself a formidable force, but he was not yet ready. The Architect had seen this coming—he had seen the potential for chaos in Sam's power, and the Rift's influence had only just begun to take hold of him.
But it wasn't Sam alone who concerned the Architect.
In the dark corners of the chamber, the Shadowed Director—his most trusted strategist—watched from the shadows. Her expression was unreadable, but the air between them crackled with a shared understanding.
"It's begun," the Director said, her voice quiet, but filled with a dangerous calm.
The Architect nodded, turning to face her. "Yes. The Rift is responding to his resonance, but it will not be enough. Sam will fall. He will become what he was always meant to be: the key to reshaping history."
The Director's lips curled into a thin smile, the kind that never reached her eyes. "And if he refuses?"
"Then we will help him." The Architect's voice was cold, calculating. "He will join us. One way or another."
[Back at the Rift - Sam's Struggle]
Sam felt the cold wind biting at his skin as the Rift's pull grew stronger. His Echoform burned beneath the surface of his flesh, every step forward sending tremors through his body. He could feel the darkness gnawing at his mind, the power of the Rift tugging at his very soul, whispering to him, offering him strength.
But it wasn't the strength he wanted.
"Sam," Valencia called out, her voice cutting through the haze in his mind. "Focus. You have to stay with us."
He glanced at her, his eyes clouded with uncertainty. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on, Valencia," he confessed, his voice raw with desperation. "The Rift... it's too much."
Valencia reached out, her hand steady on his arm, grounding him. "We're in this together, Sam. You don't have to do it alone."
Sam closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply, trying to center himself. But when he opened his eyes again, there was something different in them—a flicker of something darker.
Suddenly, the air around them seemed to shift. The Rift pulsed, and Sam's Echoform flared out of control. Energy crackled violently around him, the surge of power threatening to overwhelm him entirely.
"Sam!" Rael shouted, stepping forward. "You're losing control! Fight it!"
But Sam was too far gone. The Rift's power surged through him, twisting and warping his form, bending his will. His body jerked as the power of the Echoform fractured his mind, splitting him in two.
And then, there was a voice—his voice—speaking from inside his mind.
"Welcome to the end."
With a final, terrifying burst of energy, Sam collapsed to his knees, his vision spinning as the Rift swallowed him whole.
A shadowed figure stepped from the swirling dark, its presence looming over Sam's unconscious body.
The Rift's voice echoed through the air, chilling to the core.
"You have become the architect of your own fate, Sam. Welcome to the true beginning."