The world around Amina collapsed in a torrent of flames and shattered glass. The ground trembled beneath her, cracking open like the very foundations of the earth were being torn apart. The mirror, now nothing but broken fragments, scattered across the floor, each piece a reflection of something that could have been, or something that should have never been.
She was falling, plummeting through the fiery vortex. Time seemed to stretch, bending and warping around her as if the universe itself was caught in a frenzied dance. Her mind swirled with visions—images of her mother, of Valec, of the flames, and of a destiny that was too much for one person to bear.
"Amina!"
Ashar's voice broke through the chaos. His hand reached out, but the gap between them grew wider. She couldn't reach him. The distance was insurmountable.
"Amina, hold on!"
Her chest tightened. Her heart beat faster. But she couldn't hold on. Not to this world, not to what she had known. The flames were consuming her, burning away everything she had believed in. Her identity. Her mother's memory. The power she had tried to control.
And yet, in the midst of this chaos, one thought remained clear.
She had to stop Valec. She had to finish what had been started. There was no turning back.
The ground beneath her shattered like glass, sending her tumbling into an abyss of nothingness. But just as she thought she would be lost forever, she felt something pull her up—a force stronger than anything she had ever known. The power of the Flame surged through her body, but this time, it was different. It wasn't just fire. It was life. It was death. It was everything.
The world around her stabilized. The flames began to fade, replaced by an eerie stillness. She was no longer falling. She was standing.
The air was thick with the scent of smoke, but there was no fire. No destruction.
She looked around, disoriented. Her feet were on solid ground, but it wasn't the chamber, nor the mirror room. The world had changed. The sky above her was dark, swirling with clouds that crackled with energy. Lightning flashed in the distance.
And there, standing before her, was Valec.
His presence was like a storm—a force of pure chaos. His eyes glowed with an unnatural light, and the air around him crackled with power. He was no longer the man she had once known, but a monster. A force of destruction.
"Amina," Valec said, his voice a low growl. "You think you can stop me? You think you can save this world from what's already been set in motion? You are nothing but a puppet, controlled by forces you don't even understand."
Amina's chest tightened as she faced him. The power within her surged again, but this time, it wasn't just the Flame. It was something deeper. Something more primal. The voice of her mother echoed in her mind: "You are not alone. You carry me. And I believe in you."
She stepped forward, her gaze locked on Valec. "I don't need to stop you, Valec. I need to understand you. You're not the monster you think you are. You're lost. And I can help you find your way back."
Valec's laugh echoed through the sky, booming like thunder. "You think you can change me? You think I need saving? I've seen the future, Amina. There's no place for you in it. There's no place for anything but destruction."
"No," she said, her voice steady. "You've seen a future that doesn't have to be. You've seen a lie. You're not meant to destroy the world, Valec. You were meant to rebuild it."
His expression faltered for a brief moment. "Rebuild?" he whispered, almost as if he were remembering something. A flicker of something human in his eyes. "You don't understand. I've tried, Amina. I've tried to change everything. But nothing ever works."
Amina took another step forward, closer to him now. She could feel the intensity of his power, but it didn't scare her. Not anymore. She had the Flame. She had the knowledge. And she had the will to change everything.
"You didn't fail," she said softly, her words cutting through the tension like a blade. "You just lost hope."
Valec's eyes narrowed. The storm in the sky above him raged more intensely. "You think hope can undo what's been done? You think that after everything I've sacrificed, after everything I've lost, hope is enough?"
"Hope is all we have left," she replied.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them. The wind howled, the ground beneath them cracked, but the two of them remained locked in place, facing each other.
Then Valec's lips curled into a smirk, dark and mocking. "You're a fool. You think you can change the world with your hope? You think you can rewrite the fate that's been set?"
Amina stood tall, her eyes never leaving his. "I don't think I can. But I believe we can."
The wind howled louder, the storm above them threatening to tear the world apart. But Amina's words hung in the air, clear and unwavering. For the first time in her life, she felt a clarity she had never known. She knew what she had to do.
And she knew, deep down, that this battle was far from over.