Fate Dark Side of Betrayer

Caius growled, his voice low yet edged with urgency. "Don't move." Just as I was getting ready to forward, his hand flew out to seize my arm.

I froze, looking down and my breath seized. Ahead, the ground had created a small fracture with faint, otherworldly light on its borders. The sigil on my wrist flashed in response, and I felt a pull—not physical but rather something deeper, as though the mark were urging me down the slope.

"What is that? My voice just above a whisper, I asked.

"It's a gate," Elara murmured, her voice austere as she approached. "The first of many. These are tests. Trials: meant to shatter you.

"Break me? Turning to her, I looked incredulous. You might have brought up this before we entered the middle of it.

"I thought you knew," she said, her face a mask of serenity. "The mark leads you toward your challenges. And if you fail... She left unfinished, but her stillness was more eerie than any words she could have used.

The air was heavy and stifling; the fissure's light created odd swirling shadows on the cavern's walls. As though the trial itself were alive, waiting to see what I would do, I could feel its weight down on me.

"We don't have to do this," Caius replied, his hand still on my arm. "Another way is here."

"There isn't," Elara shot back fiercely. "This is the design intended by Fate. She has to deal with it.

"She's not ready," he shot back, his voice rising. Elara, this is not some game. Should she pass away— "

I cut him off saying, "She won't." Though I couldn't let them see the terror wriggling at my chest, my voice was more steady than I could feel. "I have to accomplish this."

Caius fixed me with a tight jaw but did not protest. Rather, he let go of my arm and retreated, worried shadows in his eyes. "Just don't be reckless," he urged gently.

I moved toward the fissure, the tug of the mark getting greater with every stride. The earth under me changed as the glow got stronger and I got to the brink. I felt a surge of vitality and the world split into brightness.

I was not in the cavern when the light dimmed. I stood in a great emptiness, the air heavy and motionless. A figure appeared out of the cloud front of me, their form recognizable but twisted, like a mirror in rippling water.

I was the one doing it.

"Great," I said quietly. Because one of me wasn't enough.

Though there was no warmth in it, the figure grinned. "Had you not always been your own worst enemy? Their voice, a perfect echo of mine, said "This is appropriate..."

"What are you? Grasping the hilt of my sword firmly, I asked.

"Your first trial," they answered. The past you cannot let go. The decisions you avoid having to make. See how far you would go to cover the truth.

The person moved toward me, their blade materializing out of thin air. Before they hit, I hardly had time to respond; their motions matched mine with disturbing accuracy. Every step and every stroke seemed to be battling my own shadow.

Their voice resounding in my ears, they said, "You cannot win." You cannot run away from yourself.

I hissed, pulling back harder and said, "Watch me." But their smile never wavers; every hit I made matched blow for blow.

My wrist burned from the sigil, and I felt the pull once more, deeper this time, tugging me toward something I couldn't see. My hand wavered, and the blade of the figure sliced across my arm, agony exploding like fire.

"Is everything you have right now? They teased, whirled about me. "You think you can fight Fate? Not even can you fight yourself.

Their comments stung more than I would want to admit, and doubt crept in for a little period. Was sufficient for this my strength? Could I endure what was coming?

But then I considered Caius, of Elara, of all we had gone through to arrive here. I considered the Circle and the way they had seized all from me. And I considered the prophesy—the weight of the decisions that lied ahead.

"No," I answered, my voice firm despite the agony. I am not struggling with myself. I fight you.

I ran forward, my blade flickering slightly as the insignia on my wrist blazed with light. The figure failed for the first time; as I pushed the attack, their motions lost accuracy.

Driving them back, I remarked, "This is not about me." It is about what lies ahead.

The smile of the figure darkened instead. You believe this to be the end? Their tone low and menacing, they questioned. "This is only the beginning."

One last swing smashed my blade over their chest. The figure vanished and the planet changed once more.

Opening my eyes took me back into the cavern. Standing over me, Caius and Elara had expressions that combined anxiety and relief.

Elara murmured softly, "You did it."

"What transpired? My voice choked as I asked.

"The trial embraced you," she added. You have passed the first test.

And the others as well? Already afraid of the response, I inquired.

She acknowledged that these would be harder. And they will ask more of you.

Caius bent down next to me, his hand just brushing against mine before he backed off. "You scared the hell out of me," he whispered softly. "Don't do that once more."

The symbol on my wrist blazed once more before I could reply, more brilliantly this time. The ground shook beneath us, and the cavern echoed a far-off howl.

What then? With a thumping heart, I asked.

The look of Elara grew gloomy. "The Circle." They are aware you cleared the trial. And they are on their way.