Aiden's POV The dust around us swirled, the world fracturing beneath my feet. The entity loomed in front of us, its grotesque form a pulsating mass of shadow and malice. The battlefield was in ruins, torn apart by its very presence, and the weight of everything pressing down on me felt unbearable.I could hear it. The voice. Whispering through the cracks in my mind, feeding off my hesitation. It was the same voice that had manipulated me from the beginning, a snake coiling around my thoughts. You’re weak, Aiden. You know what you have to do. Choose.Mila’s breath was shallow beside me, her body trembling with the effort to stay conscious. I glanced down at her, my heart aching. She was so close to me, but it felt like she was slipping away, like I was losing her with every second that passed. Her eyes met mine, filled with pain and something else—an understanding that cut deeper than the physical wounds she bore.Do it now, Aiden, the entity’s voice urged, its tone dripping with mali

Aiden's POV I stumbled over the uneven ground, my boots crunching against the remnants of what had once been the battlefield. The air was thick with smoke, the remnants of destruction lingering like a bad dream that refused to dissipate. The world felt... hollow. Silent. The roar of the fight had faded, and all that was left were echoes of what had happened, what I had done.Power. I had power. I was more than I’d ever been. I could feel it thrumming beneath my skin, every cell alive with it. But it came with a price. A price I hadn’t fully understood until now.Without Mila... everything felt wrong. The entity was gone. The battle was over. But what did victory matter if I had nothing left to fight for? I should have been grateful, relieved. But instead, I felt nothing but a gnawing emptiness that stretched deep inside me."Aiden?"I didn’t look up. I didn’t need to. I knew the voice—Tess, one of the few who had survived the chaos. She’d been by my side throughout this whole night

Aiden's POV I freeze. The figure before me, emerging from the rift, is like a twisted echo of everything I’ve ever loved. The shape is unmistakably Mila, her long dark hair flowing like a shadow, her face pale, lips parted as though she wants to speak, but her eyes—those eyes—are wrong.I can see it now, the corruption in her gaze. Gone is the warmth, the familiar spark that used to draw me in. Instead, there’s a cold emptiness, a chilling intelligence that isn’t hers. Something in her has shifted, something has… changed.My heart hammers in my chest. This isn’t her.“Mila?” The name barely escapes my lips, thick with desperation. I want to believe, so desperately, that this is still the woman I would risk everything for. But something inside me, something primal, tells me to take a step back.I can hear the murmurs of the Shadowborn behind me, their voices trembling with fear. Their words are a blur, but the meaning is clear. They know exactly what this is.“She’s Abyss-Touched,” on

Aiden's POV The world is gone.It’s a simple thought, yet it feels like the foundation beneath my feet is shattering in slow motion, stretching and warping like some cosmic rubber band about to snap. I feel the nothingness stretching, a cold, endless expanse where time should be but isn’t, where nothing makes sense. There’s no sky, no ground. No direction at all. Just an all-consuming void.Mila’s hand slips into mine, her touch warm against the overwhelming chill that gnaws at my very soul. Her fingers are trembling, and I know she’s as afraid as I am.“Aiden…” she whispers, her voice small, swallowed by the vast emptiness. “Where are we?”I swallow hard, the taste of salt and fear lingering in my throat. “I don’t know,” I admit, my voice echoing in the void, swallowed by the darkness around us. “I think… I think we’re caught somewhere between worlds. Between reality and nothingness.”She doesn’t respond, but I feel the weight of her worry, a quiet understanding passing between us.

Aiden's POV I freeze, my breath caught in my throat. The man standing before me—before us—looks exactly like me. Same eyes, same features, same stature. The only difference is the expression on his face.Confidence. Power. Unyielding control.A smirk curls at the corners of his lips, and he takes a step closer, his eyes never leaving mine. I want to move, but my body refuses to obey. My skin tingles with the oppressive weight of his presence, a force that feels so wrong yet so familiar.Aiden Prime.“Mila,” I whisper, but my voice cracks. She’s standing beside me, her fingers wrapped tightly around my arm. She’s trembling. I can feel it, the faint vibration of fear running through her fingertips.“He’s not you,” she murmurs, her voice barely audible, but the words are sharp, a blade of realization. Her eyes flicker between the two of us. She doesn’t understand it, but I do.This man—this thing—is me. But not me.“Stay close,” I tell her, my voice strained. My heart is hammering in my