2025-01-08 11:11:09Aiden’s POV
The sound of crumbling metal echoed through the facility as I sprinted through the halls, Mila’s body cradled in my arms. Every step felt like the walls were closing in on me. The place was coming apart at the seams, the air thick with the scent of burning wires and malfunctioning systems. I could feel the weight of it—the weight of this place, of the choices I had made, bearing down on me. “Move, Aiden! Move faster!” Kara’s voice crackled through my earpiece, her urgency cutting through my thoughts. “Malrik sabotaged the facility. You’ve got seconds before everything comes down.” My pulse was a drumbeat in my ears as I ran, my legs pumping hard beneath me. The facility was collapsing. The walls were buckling, the floors shaking as though the entire structure was about to implode. But I couldn’t stop. Not with Mila in my arms. Not when I was so close. I reached the exit. The door slammed open with a violent hiss, and I nearly fell as I stepped into the open, the cold wind of the outside world hitting my face like a slap. But it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t just leave. Not like this. “Aiden!” Kara’s voice broke through the chaos, panicked. “Get out of there now! The whole place is rigged to explode!” But as I turned to leave, a voice echoed in my mind. A voice I knew all too well. “You think you can escape, Aiden?” I froze. The words sent a cold shiver down my spine. Malrik. His voice, deep and haunting, filled the air around me, though he wasn’t physically present. It was as if he was inside my head, speaking directly into my thoughts. “You are the Catalyst, Aiden. You always have been. Don’t you see?” I clenched my teeth, trying to shake off the voice, but it only grew louder. “You think freeing her will save you. But I gave you a gift, Aiden. The power to change reality. The power to control The Abyss. You’ve always had it. And you always will.” The words were like daggers, digging into my thoughts. My hands tightened around Mila’s fragile form, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was off. “No,” I muttered under my breath. “I’m not your weapon. I’m not your puppet.” But the voice only laughed, cold and taunting. “You think you can fight your nature? You are the Catalyst, Aiden. You were born for this. For me. For The Abyss. And now… now you’ll see the truth.” A cold sweat broke out across my forehead as the pressure mounted. The world around me seemed to flicker, the edges of reality warping and shifting. For a moment, I thought I was going to lose it—fall into madness. But then, just as suddenly as the voice had appeared, it stopped. The silence was deafening. But it didn’t last long. A sudden projection of Rhea Valen appeared before me, her form glowing with a pale blue light. She floated in the air, her eyes locked on mine, full of sorrow and determination. “Aiden,” Rhea’s voice was calm, yet there was a weight to it that sent a chill down my spine. “You have to make a choice. The facility is collapsing, and with it, the last chance to stop Malrik’s plans. You have two options now: Destroy the facility, and you will lose Mila forever. Or save her… and risk The Abyss merging with reality.” I stared at her, my heart racing in my chest. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could I make a choice like that? How could I destroy everything just to save Mila? But the other option… if I saved her, would I be condemning us all to chaos? To a world where The Abyss merged with reality? “Rhea, I… I don’t know what to do,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “I can’t lose her. I can’t let this place win.” Rhea’s expression softened, but there was no comfort in her gaze. “I know, Aiden. But you must understand—there are consequences to every choice. Every action you take now will echo throughout reality itself. The Abyss cannot remain in its current form forever. And if you bring Mila back, if you try to save her, you risk unleashing forces beyond your control.” The weight of her words hit me like a physical blow. I could feel the pressure of the facility, the walls shaking around me, threatening to tear everything apart. I had to act. I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t let Malrik win. But if I detonated the facility… if I chose to destroy everything, would Mila still be lost? Would I ever get another chance to save her? Rhea’s voice echoed one more time, her words more insistent this time. “You are the Catalyst, Aiden. You hold the key to everything. But the question remains: What will you choose?” I stared at Mila’s lifeless form in my arms, her fragile body as still as death. I could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on me, suffocating me. The Abyss, the power I had unlocked, it was all tied to me. To my very existence. But was it worth the risk? Could I truly save Mila without destroying everything else? The facility was falling apart. There was no time to hesitate. I made my choice. I set Mila down gently on the ground and pulled the detonator from my belt. My fingers trembled as I keyed in the sequence. The countdown started, the sound of the timer ticking away with each passing second. I had no more time. “Aiden!” Kara’s voice came through the earpiece, frantic. “What are you doing? The timer’s already counting down! You need to move!” I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I was too far gone. There was no turning back now. The ground beneath me trembled as the countdown hit its final seconds. “Goodbye, Mila,” I whispered softly, my heart breaking. “I’m sorry.” I hit the final button. The explosion was deafening. The entire facility rocked on its foundations, a blast of energy that sent me flying backward. The world around me dissolved into chaos—flashes of light, sparks of fire, and the crushing sound of the facility collapsing in on itself. I struggled to my feet, my body aching. I had to move. I had to get out of here before it was too late. As I staggered through the wreckage, the world around me began to distort. Reality was no longer clear, and I could feel the edges of The Abyss creeping in, threatening to consume everything. I reached the exit, my body screaming in pain. I was almost there. Almost out. But then, just as I stepped outside, something happened. A final, deafening roar filled the air. The world seemed to split apart at the seams, the fabric of reality itself tearing. I stumbled, barely keeping my footing. My vision blurred. And then… everything went dark. “Aiden?” Kara’s voice was distant, panicked. “Aiden, talk to me. Are you—” I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know if Mila had survived. I didn’t know if any of us had. And as the darkness consumed me, I realized one thing: the Catalyst’s choice had just begun.
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