The wind blew sand and dust across the temple ruins as the group faced the hooded figures. The tension was suffocating, each member of the team feeling the pressure of the moment. Akihiko gripped the hilt of his katana, his gaze fixed on the figure watching them from the top of the structure.
"You have disturbed knowledge that should have remained buried," the figure said, his voice firm and icy. "The Tree of Eden is not a prize or a weapon. It is a curse that has devoured entire civilizations. And you are about to repeat history."
Kael narrowed his eyes, his device detecting energy pulses in the ground. "Something in this place... It's not just history, it's alive."
"There are no further warnings," the hooded leader continued. "If you seek The Key, you must first survive the weight of your own shadows."
With a flick of his hand, the leader raised his arm, and the temple inscriptions lit up with a dark glow. The shadows of Akihiko and his party twisted and rose, separating from their bodies and taking on a form of their own. They were distorted reflections of themselves, with glowing eyes and hollow smiles.
"This isn't normal," Isabella murmured, watching her own shadow move autonomously, stretching its fingers as if tasting the air.
Orpheus frowned. "They've turned us into our own enemies. And if we don't stop them, they'll replace us."
The Battle Against Oneself
Akihiko barely had time to react before his shadow launched itself at him with the same speed and skill he possessed. They traded blows with surgical precision, each movement replicated perfectly.
"We can't win with brute force!" Helena shouted, evading her doppelganger's attack. "They're equal to us in every way."
Kael activated an energy field around him, but his shadow did the same, generating an identical barrier. "Damn, even our abilities are copied..."
Orpheus closed his eyes for a moment, his Fate Resonance sensing the fluctuations in the flow of events. "They're not just copies... they're what we could be if we took the wrong path."
Akihiko understood what Orpheus was saying. His shadow moved with brutal ferocity, without mercy or control. He was himself if he let his emptiness consume him completely. His every move was based on instinct, without strategy or humanity.
If what we're facing is our limitless version... then the key isn't to defeat them with power.
Pass the Test
Akihiko stopped attacking and lowered his sword. His shadow paused for a second, as if hesitating. And at that moment, Akihiko stepped forward and touched it with his palm. He felt extreme cold run through his body, but he didn't move his hand.
"You are not my enemy," he said softly. "You are my warning."
Akihiko's shadow shuddered, losing its shape, until it slowly faded into nothingness. One by one, his companions followed his example, facing their own shadows not with strength, but with acceptance. Isabella let her shadow try to manipulate her mind, but instead of resisting, she accepted the dark memories it showed her. Kael allowed his shadow to replicate her power, until they both collapsed at the same time, canceling each other out.
Finally, only Orpheus remained. His shadow stared at him, with an enigmatic smile.
"You already knew the truth," the shadow told him in a calm voice.
Orpheus nodded. "From the beginning. But I had to live it."
His shadow vanished in a last flash of light.
The temple's inscriptions stopped glowing, and the hooded leader lowered his hand. "You have passed the test. But that doesn't mean you are worthy. It just means you are not the worst who have ever come here."
Akihiko took a deep breath, his body exhausted. "Then tell me something. If the Tree of Eden has doomed entire civilizations... why is it still standing?"
The leader bowed his head. "Because there's always someone willing to risk their soul to change destiny. The question is... will you be next?"
The group didn't respond. Because they knew they didn't have the answer yet.