The first step was like a free fall into an infinite void, a fall stopped by nothing, a feeling of absolute loss in a sea of nothingness. But Theo forced his other foot to follow, not with full conscious direction, but with an instinctive urge to survive, or perhaps a deeper urge not to give up. Then a third step, a fourth, and the steps continued endlessly in this non-existence that offered no physical support.
There was no sensation of ground beneath his feet, no firmness, no texture, no indication that he was moving in a specific direction or towards any goal. It was like walking in a thick, heavy dream, where limbs moved with a will separate from the conscious body, and where the surrounding reality faded to become just an abstract, intangible idea.
Darkness was the only constant in this changing universe, enveloping him from all sides like a thick shroud, pressing on his almost useless senses, whispering in his ears promises of absolute nothingness and eternal rest that held nothing but annihilation.
Initially, there was a kind of inherent defiance in his soul, a faint glimmer of determination stemming from the harsh training he received and the desire to survive, pushing him to continue this seemingly absurd movement.
Every step he took in this void was a small victory over this engulfing nothingness that was trying to crush him. It was a battle of will against non-existence. But as what felt like endless hours passed, elastic hours stretching mercilessly, another monster, more insidious and cunning than the direct fear he faced in the cave, began to slowly and steadily seep into his exhausted soul, the monster of boredom.
'How much time has passed? An hour? A day? A week? A month? When will this torment end?'
The boredom of this monotonous, unchanging blackness, the boredom of this profound silence broken only by the sound of his increasingly heavy and weary breaths, as if it were the only sound left in this universe.
The boredom of this absurd movement that seemed to lead nowhere. There was nothing he could see but the details of his body, which appeared with strange clarity in this darkness. There was nothing he could hear but the sound of his racing heartbeat and his strained breaths. There was nothing he could touch but the cold void around him. The senses he was accustomed to relying on in his physical world had become useless here, like rusty weapons that had lost their sharpness in a battle against a ghost that could not be touched, seen, or heard.
"For how long?" he whispered in a faint voice, hoarse from disuse, barely piercing the surrounding silence. The question was addressed to the void itself, or perhaps to himself. "How long will I keep walking aimlessly like this, without a destination, like a ghost in nowhere? Is this eternity?"
His body did not feel the usual muscle fatigue after the harsh training he received from Kyle. No new bruises formed, no old wounds bled. This void, despite its psychological and moral coldness, seemed to preserve his body in a strange state of stability and unchangeability, as if displayed in a bottle untouched by time or the harshness of the outside world. But his soul...
His soul was the one groaning under the weight of this invisible burden, the burden of loneliness and despair.
It was a different kind of exhaustion, a deep spiritual exhaustion that gnawed from within. Exhaustion from waiting for something that might never come, exhaustion from hope that began to dwindle with every desperate step he took in this endless nothingness.
Thoughts, those little demons that dwelled in the corners of his mind, began to exploit this weakness, this great void surrounding him, to return and gnaw at what remained of his once solid determination.
'What's the point of all this suffering?' a malicious and alluring voice whispered in a corner of his mind, a voice frighteningly similar to that of the dark entity he had faced in the cave.
'You're walking in a vicious circle that leads nowhere. There's no real exit from here. This is your inevitable fate. The darkness you boasted about mastering and using, here it is now swallowing you and making you a part of itself.'
Theo tried hard to ward off these negative thoughts, to focus on images of his loved ones, on images of his mother Elena and Celia, on his promise to himself that he would never give up. But darkness was a strong ally to these poisonous thoughts.
It provided them with the perfect environment to grow and thrive, like poisonous fungi growing in the fertile soil of despair.
He remembered his mother's anxious face, her last gazes filled with pleading. Was she still waiting for him at the doorstep? Had hope begun to drain from her loving heart as it was now draining from his exhausted heart? The image of Elena sitting alone in her empty room, silently weeping over her son's unknown fate, haunted him with unbearable intensity, and increased his spiritual torment.
'I've left her alone again. I'm a disobedient son, I couldn't protect her from her worries, and now I've added a new sorrow to her many sorrows that may never fade.'
Then Rayn. His foolish, loyal friend, who was always by his side despite everything, despite his occasional harshness towards him. What happened to him after darkness swallowed me? Did he escape the cave when the door closed behind me? Is he now facing his mother Elena's wrath alone, desperately trying to explain to her what cannot be explained, what cannot be believed about the mysterious cave and Theo's fate? Will he take care of her in his absence, and try to search for Theo?
Theo desperately hoped so, from the depths of his exhausted and pained heart, despite all the apparent harshness he sometimes treated him with, a harshness that was in reality a reflection of his inner weakness and inability to express his feelings naturally.
The idea that Rayn might have abandoned him, although it seemed utterly unlikely given Rayn's loyal and faithful nature, added another layer of bitterness to his growing despair and sense of loneliness.
The harsh words the dark entity had told him about his deep-seated feelings towards his mother and aunt Celia echoed in his ears with an annoying and painful intensity.
"Perhaps I am the part of you that feels bothered or neglected by your mother?"
Was that truly correct? Deep down, did he resent her constant grief for his father, a grief that sometimes made her seem distant from him, and which sometimes made him feel invisible, just a shadow of a father he never knew except through her stories? And did he feel jealous of his aunt Celia's strength and control, a strength that sometimes made him feel small and weak compared to her?
These painful thoughts tormented him, tearing him apart from within like sharp claws. He was no longer fighting only the external darkness that surrounded him, but also his internal demons, those demons that found in this dark void, in this unending stillness, fertile ground to grow and dominate.
"Shut up! Leave me alone!" he finally screamed, a desperate cry from the depths of his soul, but his scream was completely lost in the infinite void, it produced no echo, as if it hadn't even left his throat, as if it had no physical existence.
He felt weak, fragile, like a leaf in the wind.
He, who had sought strength, sought to be able to protect others, was now collapsing under the weight of his own thoughts.
Every step became heavier than the last, as if the weight of the whole world rested on his feet.
He no longer walked with determination or resolve, but dragged his feet, as if carrying invisible weights on his slender shoulders.
Spiritual boredom turned into deep despair, and despair began to give way to a very dangerous feeling of complete apathy.
'What if I stopped walking? What if I surrendered to this overwhelming darkness? Would it be worse than what I'm in now? Is there anything worse than this nothingness?'
It was a frighteningly tempting idea. The idea of stopping the resistance, of this absurd struggle against non-existence. The idea of simply closing his eyes, giving up everything, and letting this darkness completely swallow him, erase his existence, end this unbearable spiritual torment.
But at the moment he was about to succumb to this fatal temptation, at the moment his body and soul began to fall towards the abyss, something completely unexpected happened. Something that broke the monotony of this cursed darkness, broke its profound silence.
He felt a slight and unexpected resistance under his left foot as he walked. It wasn't the firmness of real, stable ground, but rather a light touch, as if he had stepped on an invisible but existing surface. Theo suddenly stopped, as if struck by lightning, his heart pounding with sudden and violent force, not from fear this time, but from an unexpected glimmer of hope that lit up in the darkness of his soul.
He cautiously extended his hand forward into the darkness, feeling the void. And at the same point where he felt resistance under his foot, his hand touched something. Something cold and smooth, solid, and... flat.
'A door!!'
He couldn't be mistaken about his sensation. The feeling was clear and unmistakable. A flat surface with discernible edges. A door standing alone in the middle of this nothingness.
Theo froze in place for a few moments, disbelieving what was happening. Was this truly real? Or had his mind, exhausted by loneliness, fear, and despair, finally begun to fabricate things to avoid complete breakdown? But the touch was painfully real. Cold, solid, and present before him in the darkness.
With trembling hands, he slowly and carefully traced the edges of the door. It was large, a little taller than him, and wide enough for an adult to pass through. He couldn't see it clearly, as darkness still enveloped everything and prevented vision, but his sense of touch, which remained functional, did not betray him this time.
He tried to find a handle, or a latch, or anything that could be used to open it, but its surface was completely smooth, devoid of any obvious protrusions or handles.
'How... how can this door be opened? Is it sealed forever?'
He pushed the door with both hands, using all his remaining physical strength, but it didn't budge an inch. It was as firm as a mountain rooted in this tumultuous nothingness. He tried again, using all his remaining physical and spiritual strength, but to no avail. The door remained tightly shut, unresponsive to his desperate attempts.
He felt a new and powerful wave of despair threaten to drown him again. Had he come all this way, to this mysterious door that appeared out of nowhere, only to find that he couldn't open it? Was this just another cruel trick from this cursed darkness that was toying with him?
"I won't give up now! Not after all this!" he said in a hoarse voice, filled with new determination and sudden stubbornness. "I've walked all this way in this hell. I won't stop at this closed door."
He thought deeply, his mind working quickly in this critical moment. If there was no handle, and if pushing didn't work to open it, then perhaps... perhaps it opened in another unconventional way. Perhaps it required something other than brute physical force. Something else... magic? A password? A riddle?
He remembered the words he always heard, "You are the future, you are the sacrifice." Did these words have anything to do with this door? Were they the key to opening it? He remembered the dark entity, his distorted copy that had consumed him. Did this door lead directly to it? Or to something worse? Was this place its own world?
He decided to try something completely different from pushing. Instead of pushing, he tried to pull the door towards him. He didn't expect it to work in this void where there was nothing to lean on, but he was desperate and determined to try. He placed his fingers on the cold, smooth edge of the door, took a deep breath that filled his lungs, then pulled with all his remaining strength.
And to his absolute astonishment, he felt the door move. Very slowly at first, with a faint, almost inaudible creak, then it became lighter, and began to open slowly and steadily inwards, emitting a faint and disturbing creak that broke the profound silence of this void that had lasted for a long time.
With every inch the door opened, Theo felt a light current of air touch his face, air different from the coldness of the void he had grown accustomed to. Air carrying... a scent. A faint scent, but strangely familiar and comforting after all this nothingness. The scent of old dust, and the scent of ink and worn paper.
The door opened completely slowly, revealing a narrow and dark corridor ahead of him. It wasn't a darkness like the darkness of the void he had been in, the absolute darkness that showed nothing, but it was a natural darkness, the darkness of an enclosed place that had not been reached by light for a long time.
Theo hesitated for a brief moment on the threshold of the door. Should he enter this unknown corridor? What awaited him in this place? Was it a new trap set by the dark entity? Or was it the exit he had been searching for, the end of this torment in the void?
He had no other real choice. Remaining in this dark void meant the slow death of the soul and inevitable madness. Moving forward, even if towards the absolute unknown, was much better than surrendering to the place he was in.
Theo took his first steps inside the narrow corridor. The corridor was very narrow, barely wide enough for his slender body, and the walls seemed to be made of cold, rough stone. He continued to walk slowly and cautiously, his heart pounding strongly in his chest, a strange mixture of fear and anticipation for what he would find at the end of this dark path.
After several steps in the corridor, which seemed longer than he expected, he began to see a faint light at the end of the corridor, a warm orange light, like the light of a single candle or an old oil lamp.
The closer he got to the light source, the stronger and faster his heartbeat became. Finally, he reached the end of the corridor, finding himself standing on the threshold of an incredibly spacious room, much larger than any room he had ever seen in his life, even in his dreams. The room was fully illuminated by hundreds of candles suspended in the air, floating in the middle of the room, their flames dancing with enchanting tranquility, casting moving and mysterious shadows on the walls completely covered with endless bookshelves. Books of all sizes and shapes, old leather covers, and yellowed, worn manuscripts bearing symbols and languages he didn't know. It was a massive library, appearing to contain all the knowledge of the world, all the hidden secrets.
And in the middle of this enormous library, in front of a large old wooden desk covered with scattered books and papers in disarray, a person sat on a swivel chair, their back to Theo, engrossed in reading an old book. They were wearing clothes exactly like Theo's torn clothes, and their black hair reached their shoulders in the same way Theo styled his hair.
Theo felt his heart completely freeze in his chest, as if it had turned into a block of ice. This person... this person resembled him to a terrifying extent, to an extent that could not be just a coincidence.
"Welcome, my 'other self'."
The voice came from the seated person, a calm and deep voice, carrying a somewhat sarcastic tone, a tone that held ancient knowledge. It was the same voice he had heard in the cave, the same voice of the dark entity that had swallowed him.
But didn't the entity have his same voice originally?
The seated person slowly turned on their swivel chair, revealing their face completely. It was Theo's face, an exact replica. The same features, the same facial contours, the same black hair color, the same small scars on his forehead. The only difference, a terrifying difference that struck fear into Theo's heart, but it had now vanished.
Instead of crimson eyes, the eyes of this doppelgänger were like Theo's familiar black eyes, now they were this profound darkness, exuding ancient power and an indescribable hidden evil. People were afraid of Theo's eyes, dark as an abyss, but now his eyes were like a child's compared to the doppelgänger's eyes.
They were an incredibly terrifying darkness, an abyss, like an endless pit.
Theo tried to look into the doppelgänger's eyes, but he was completely swallowed, the abyss tried to swallow him already.
Theo stood frozen in place, unable to move an inch, staring at this terrifying doppelgänger, this dark reflection of himself.
The fear he had felt in the dark void returned to overwhelm him with much greater force, a cold fear that paralyzed his limbs and made his blood completely freeze in his veins.
"Surprised to see me here?" said the doppelgänger, a smile beginning to form on their lips. It wasn't the same smile he had seen in the cave, now it was like Theo's smile but it was very different now.
That smile now terrified Theo more than the previous one, the doppelgänger's eyes said they were the father of darkness, their smile not reaching their ears now.
Now it became more realistic on Theo's doppelgänger's face, but it was very terrifying, Theo felt death already assassinating him.
"Or did you expect something different? Perhaps an easy exit from this little darkness you were aimlessly swimming in?"
Theo couldn't utter a single word. His tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth from the intensity of the shock and fear, and his mind was struggling to comprehend this terrifying surreal scene that defied all logic.
"Don't be so shy," the doppelgänger continued in a voice carrying clear sarcasm, as they slowly and confidently rose from their chair, moving towards Theo with confident, quiet steps like a predator approaching its prey. "We've come a long way on our journey to finally meet face to face, haven't we, Theo? Or perhaps... face to face... again after our short encounter in the cave?"
The doppelgänger stopped directly in front of Theo, the distance between them no more than a few steps. Their eyes pierced Theo, as if searching the depths of his soul, revealing all his secrets and fears.
"You have many questions, don't you, Theo? Questions that burn your mind and gnaw at your soul?" the doppelgänger said, the sarcastic tone in their voice becoming clearer and harsher. "Questions about this placeless place, about me, and about... your true self that you're trying to hide. Don't worry, we have all the time in the world here in my library to answer them. Or perhaps... to make you answer them yourself by confronting your truth."
The terrifying smile reached the doppelgänger's ears, and this time it revealed their teeth, which were very normal, not like a monster's teeth or anything strange.
Theo now saw a mirror, but it was the hardest mirror he had ever seen.
Theo felt that the end was the beginning of something more terrifying and darker.