The moment Rafe, Mara, and Lyn stepped onto the glowing path, the world changed.
The air grew heavier.The sound of wind faded.The trees around them bent inward, forming a tunnel above their heads.
Selene did not follow. She remained at the edge of the path, her expression grave.
"I stay here. The Path only accepts those it chooses—and today, it chose the three of you."
Lyn swallowed. "You're not coming?"
Selene shook her head.
"If I try to enter, the Path will close."
Mara scowled. "So we're alone?"
"You would be alone even if I came," Selene said. "The Path is… internal."
Rafe felt a chill run down his spine.
"How long will this take?"
"Seconds," Selene said——and that single word hit like a stone."Or hours. Or days. Time inside does not obey normal rules."
Mara's eyes widened. "What do you—"
"Return when you can," Selene said. "And return alive."
Rafe nodded.Mara inhaled deeply.Lyn squeezed Rafe's hand.
Then they took one more step.
The light swallowed them.
Selene vanished.
The Path Shifts
Instantly, the forest disappeared.
The ground beneath Rafe turned to mist.The sky dissolved.The horizon vanished.
Rafe was alone.
He spun around — Mara and Lyn were gone.
"Mara? Lyn?!"
Nothing.
No echo.No presence.Only silence.
He stepped forward — the mist parted.He stepped back — the mist sealed behind him.
There was only one direction to go.
Rafe clenched his teeth.
"Okay. This is like the Mental Arena… but worse."
A whisper rose behind him.
Not an echo.A voice.
"Rafe…"
It wasn't a monster.It wasn't the Shadow.
It was Mara.
But younger.Smaller.Dirty, bruised, curled up in a corner of nothingness, eyes wide and empty.
"You said you'd protect me…" she whispered, trembling."…but you left."
Rafe froze.
"You… you're not the real Mara."
Little Mara lifted her face, tears streaking down.
"But I am what she feels."
Rafe's heart twisted.
He knelt in front of her.
"I won't leave her," he said. "Ever."
The image flickered——and dissolved.
The mist shifted again.
Another shape formed.
Lyn.
But not the timid Lyn he knew.
A future Lyn.Eyes radiating blinding light, glowing with ancient power.
"You will be his downfall," this Lyn said."You will be the reason he falls."
Rafe flinched.
"S-Stop… you're not her."
"No," the vision answered. "But I am her destiny. Light draws shadows. And shadows… consume."
Rafe closed his eyes.
"I will protect her anyway."
The luminous Lyn vanished.
The mist laughed, low and cold.
"Interesting…"
Rafe stiffened.
"The Path… is talking to me?"
The mist answered:
"You walk between Light and Shadow.So we speak.Because you can hear us."
Rafe's shoulders tightened.
"What do you want from me?"
The mist shaped itself into an ancient face — enormous, incomprehensible.
"We want to see what you fear."
Rafe stumbled back.
"I'm not afraid."
The mist smiled.
"Everyone is."
The world trembled.
Then — a figure appeared.
Himself.
But older.
An adult.
Tall.Powerful.Eyes swirling with gold and black.Body marked with living runes.A presence so strong the air warped around him.
But his expression…
Cold.Indifferent.Cruel.
He looked at young Rafe with contempt.
"You'll never reach me," the adult version said. "Not in a thousand lives."
Rafe's chest tightened.
"…I don't want to become you."
The adult stepped forward.The mist recoiled in fear.
"You think you can wield light and shadow?"Another step."You think you can protect Mara? Lyn? Selene?"Another."You think you can survive the Primordial?"
Rafe stumbled back.
"I don't—"
"YOU LIE," the adult roared, and the entire world shook."You are weak.Afraid.Broken.And when the world tries to mold you…"
He lifted a hand — light and shadow exploded together—
"…you will become ME."
Rafe fell to his knees.
Darkness swallowed the Path.
A heartbeat echoed — deep, ancient.
Maybe the Primordial.Maybe his own.
Rafe forced his eyes open.
"I… am… not… you."
The adult version halted.
Rafe rose, shaking, tears in his eyes, but voice steady:
"I am who I choose to be.No matter how much power I have…no matter how many shadows follow me…no matter what the world tries to do…"
He stood tall.
"…I don't abandon anyone."
Light blasted out of him.
The older version screamed — not in pain, but in defeat — and dissolved.
The Path shuddered.
And behind Rafe, a door appeared.
A whisper echoed:
"You have crossed fear.Now find the other two."
Rafe inhaled sharply.
Mara and Lyn.
He ran through the door.
The Whispering Path was far from over.
But he had taken the first step toward mastering the power inside him.