The laughter stopped. The smiles faded. For the first time since this madness began, all three of them stood still. The tension in the air was suffocating, thick with Essence that I was releasing.
"Who am I?" Steve’s voice broke the silence, calm but strange. It was his tone, yet not his. His crimson eyes flickered faintly, the sign that it wasn’t Steve speaking anymore.
"There isn’t a single line, or even a single book, that could explain who I am," he said slowly. "But you’ll learn. Bit by bit. I’ll let you see my life, my story, and then you can decide for yourself who I am."
His gaze locked with mine, steady, piercing, almost human. For a moment, I forgot it was my friend’s body being controlled.
"As for your class," he continued, "yes... that’s bound to me. By design. By fate. In all of existence, only I can grant this class. And for now, you’re the one I’ve chosen to hold it."
"When did that happen?" I asked sharply.
"When you awakened."
The answer hit me like a strike to the chest. From the very beginning.
My mind spun, anger and confusion crashing together.
He didn’t pause. "Let’s just say the System has its agenda. And I have mine. The Null Core you hold, it’s a piece of something far greater. You haven’t even begun to understand it. That thing took me longer to create than your entire world has existed. And the cost..." He smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. "...was far heavier than you giving up a few memories and emotions in some trial."
His words cut deeper than I wanted to admit. The Null Core... wasn’t natural? It wasn’t from the System? It was his creation? Then what did that make me?
I stared at him, trying to read any hint of deceit but all I saw was quiet certainty.
"I created this realm," he continued, "to test the one who would bear my class. To see whether you were worthy of holding my legacy. This isn’t the last trial either. There will be others, each harder, each closer to the truth."
My jaw tightened. "You’ve killed my friends for your tests."
"I didn’t kill anyone," he said, a hint of amusement in his tone. "The realm only mirrors what’s already inside you. The choices, the judgments, the sacrifices, you made those. You decided who lived and who didn’t."
My hand twitched, rage threatening to break loose, but then his next words stopped me cold.
"I know you’re searching for your parents."
Every sound in the world seemed to fade. "What did you say?" I asked, my voice low.
"I know," he said simply. "I know where their souls are. I know what became of them, whether they were corrupted into Phantoms or turned into abominations."
My blood ran cold. "You....do you know something about them?"
"Yes," he said, smiling faintly. "And I can make sure they remain safe."
My heart thundered in my chest. I took a step forward, fists trembling. "How?"
"That," he said, raising one finger, "is my bargaining chip."
I wanted to tear that smug expression off his face, but I forced myself to breathe. "You expect me to believe you? How can I trust anything you say?"
"You have to," he replied quietly. "Because there’s no one else who can do what I can. Even your System can’t track their souls. It can’t protect them from the Eternals. Only I can. So, it’s simple, you must decide. Trust me, or don’t. Another judgment for your small brain."
His words lingered like poison. My mind raced through every possibility, every lie, every truth I had seen. If he was right, if he really could protect them... then I couldn’t ignore it. But if he was lying, then I would be playing in his hands.
He must have sensed my hesitation, because he raised his hand again before I could speak.
"Enough," he said. "I’ve watched your journey since the day you awakened. I’ve seen your struggles, your choices, your little flashes of defiance. You’ve grown... and I’m satisfied."
He paused, his smile returning, colder this time. "But not too satisfied."
The crimson glow around them dimmed, the air vibrating with energy.
"Beyond that door," he continued, pointing behind me, "is the Mirror. And the rewards I’ve left for the ones who survive it. You should be proud, Executor. You’re only the second to ever make it this far."
My gaze returned to Steve or rather, to the thing wearing his body like a vessel. "And the first?" I asked quietly.
A faint smirk curved his lips, one that didn’t belong to Steve. "Dead," he said, almost casually. "Must be somewhere below... in the endless horde."
I frowned, the words sinking in slower than they should have. "What?"
Steve’s head tilted slightly, that unnatural, deliberate motion that sent a chill through my spine. The crimson flicker in his eyes pulsed once. "Yes. She’s down there, bound by the chains. Just like the others. Even the friends you lost in the trial, they’ll remain here for eternity."
My heart twisted. "You mean they’re trapped?"
He shrugged, the smirk fading into a calm, almost thoughtful expression. "Maybe. Who knows? You might free them one day, if you survive long enough to learn how."
The idea that everyone who failed the trial was still here, bound in some unseen torment, hit me like a cold blade. I thought back to the countless corpses and silhouettes chained across the dark expanse of this realm. Were they all once like me? Warriors, seekers, fools trying to prove themselves?
"What are these chains?" I finally asked.
Steve’s expression hardened, the flickering glow in his eyes dimming for a moment. When he spoke, his voice carried an echo, like multiple beings whispering the same word through him.
"That is for you to find out."
Flat. Final.
The crimson chains pulsed once, like a heartbeat, and the laughter returned, low and distant, echoing through the realm as their bodies slowly went still, their heads dropping forward like lifeless puppets.
For a moment, I stood there in the silence, trying to make sense of what just happened. The chains that held them began to retract, sliding back into the abyss below.