The skies still echoed with the last cries of battle as Riku and Aria flew back toward the glowing spires of Aetherion. The city beneath them, once vibrant and alive, seemed subdued now, like it was holding its breath.
Riku sat silently at the edge of the skyglider, his eyes fixed on the Arcblade resting on his lap. The blade's surface shimmered faintly, reflecting not just the fading light but the turmoil within him.
"Why me?" he finally whispered, breaking the silence.
Aria looked up from her preparations, wiping her sword clean with a cloth. "What do you mean?"
Riku's voice was low, almost bitter. "I was nobody back home. Just an ordinary guy. How did I become someone destined to fight monsters and shadows? I don't feel ready. I don't even know if I want this."
Aria set her sword down and approached him. Her usual confident demeanor softened, and she sat beside him.
"Riku," she began gently, "being chosen isn't about being perfect. No one is. It's about standing up despite the fear, the doubts, the pain."
He looked at her, searching her eyes. "But what if I fail? What if I hurt the people I care about?"
Aria's gaze hardened. "Then you fight harder. Because giving up is never an option."
Riku let out a slow breath, a mixture of relief and new resolve washing over him.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "For believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself."
Aria smiled, a rare softness breaking through her warrior's mask. "We're in this together."
---
Far below, in the dark catacombs of the Black Sun Citadel, the Shadow Herald stood watching Fen'raxx in a pool of flickering, living flame.
His voice was barely a whisper, yet it echoed through the chamber. "He doubts himself now. The seed of weakness is planted. Soon, the final phase begins."
Fen'raxx, still weakened but recovering, opened his glowing eyes. "I will not be defeated by a shadow of myself."
The Herald smiled, his fingers tightening around the Umbrafang — the dark counterpart to Riku's Arcblade.
"When the final strike comes, it will be his own hand that brings ruin. The mirror war is only beginning."
---