Chapter Seven: The Truth Behind the Shadows
I stood there, in the heart of the void, watching Lorasin… or rather, the part of me that had become clearer than ever before. After the explosion of light, after the sword fell from my hand, I realized something I could no longer ignore: Lorasin was not merely a shadow. He was a mirror of everything I had feared my whole life—every fear, every wrong decision, every secret I had buried deep within myself.
He began to speak in a low but lingering voice, like an echo in a vast cavern:
"You have always tried to run from me… from the truth… from yourself. You thought forgetting me would be enough to make me disappear. But the city was not created for anyone; it was made for something greater than both you and me… for a spirit that wants to be seen."
I tried to breathe, but the air was heavy, as if every inch of the place was draining the strength from my body.
I said, confused:
"A spirit? You're saying you're a spirit… but you're a creation of me… you're… me… and not me…"
He smiled a sad smile:
"Yes. I am you, and I am what you left behind. I am everything you did not face, everything you tried to bury, and everything your fear and need for control created."
Then he started to step toward me, each step creating a wave of intertwining light and shadows around us. The ground beneath us trembled as if it were the heart of the city itself, as if every part of the shadows was preparing for an event that had never happened before.
He said:
"The city was built to hide secrets, but it was also built to protect you. Everything you have seen here… every memory, every shadow… and everything you have forgotten was to protect you from yourself."
A strange emotional current ran through me. I felt fear, anger, sorrow, and astonishment all at once. It was as if an internal explosion had occurred, and every part of my being was now visible before me.
I said, raising my voice:
"If you are me… and if you are a part of me… then why all this? Why the city? And why all the shadows?"
He replied calmly but firmly:
"Because you created it to hide the truth from the world… and from yourself. Each of us tries to protect the world in our own way. You chose to build, and I was the result. Every step you took to protect yourself and what you created brought me into being."
Then he paused, as if the place itself were holding its breath.
"But now… everything is before you. You must choose: either destroy me, and you destroy a part of yourself as well, perhaps saving the city… or accept me, and you embrace the truth, perhaps freeing everything from the shadows."
I looked into him deeply. His eyes were steady, his features clear despite all the darkness. I felt that this choice was not just mine, but for the whole city, all its secrets, everything that had been buried for years.
I remembered the past—memories of the city with the other six, secret meetings, the desire to control, fear, guilt, everything I had buried far away. Now, it was all before me, like a massive mirror showing the whole truth.
I said slowly:
"If I accept you… does that mean everything will end? That all secrets will be revealed?"
He smiled gently:
"Not everything will be revealed immediately. The truth takes time; it requires someone with the strength to face it. But accepting me… will free the city from the shadows that hold it, and give you the freedom you have always sought."
Then the light around us began to change. The ground was no longer glass or stone, but began to take the shape of the city itself—streets, squares, even the old statue. Everything pulsed with life, as if the city itself were waiting for my final decision.
I whispered to myself:
"I built it… I tried to protect the world… but everything I did created the shadows."
Lorasin looked at me and said:
"Yes. But the shadows are not a mistake. The shadows are a part of you… a part that only you can face."
I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling all the fear, all the memories, all the secrets I tried to forget gather inside me. And everything began to fade, leaving only the sound of my heart, racing.
When I opened my eyes… the path was clear. The path was through him. The path was through acceptance, not fighting.
I whispered decisively:
"Alright… I will accept the truth."
I reached out to Lorasin. I had not touched him yet, but I felt something strange… as if energy were flowing through us, from the inside out, from within us to the city itself.
He smiled and said:
"Alright… let's see what happens when a person accepts the shadow they have feared all their life."
Then I touched his hand, and at that moment, the city exploded with light—a light that was neither white nor black, but a mixture of everything I had seen in my life, all the shadows, all the secrets, all the memories.
I felt every part of myself come together, and every part of the city pulse with life. There was no more fear, no more doubt, no more shadow watching me.
Lorasin became a version of me, but not dark… rather, clearer, calmer, and more honest.
Then he spoke softly, yet firmly:
"The city is free now… and we are reconciled. But remember… freedom is not the end, it is a beginning."
I stepped back, my breaths quickening, watching the city transform around me. Everything pulsed with life; all shadows became part of the light, all secrets were no longer hidden, but now safe.
I whispered:
"Now I understand… everything needed to be faced… not for others, but for myself."
Lorasin smiled and said:
"Yes… and that is what makes us… and the city… one."
With those words, the shadow disappeared completely. But I no longer felt emptiness—I felt fullness, strength, and peace.
I looked around; the city was as it should be—alive, interactive, full of mystery, but no longer deadly or frightening. Every secret buried for years, every shadow the city had held… was now part of my life, part of everything, without pain, without fear.
I stood there, raising my head to the full moon, its light reflecting on the city's renewed surfaces. I felt that I was no longer alone, no longer just a creator or a shadow. I was everything… and I was free.