Jace woke to silence.
Not the silence of emptiness, but something heavier—waiting.
He blinked, vision blurred with white static. The world had fractured. Pieces of stone floated around him, weightless, suspended in the void. The platform beneath him was cracked, golden veins of light pulsing along its surface like a dying heartbeat.
Kael was gone.
Jace pushed himself up, wincing as pain lanced through his ribs. He turned, breath catching when he saw it—his double, standing amidst the shattered remnants of the battlefield, watching him.
"Not enough," it said.
Jace braced himself. His muscles ached, his lungs burned, but he forced his feet beneath him. The weight pressing down on his bones remained, a suffocating force he couldn't shake.
"Where is Kael?" Jace growled.
The figure tilted its head, expression unreadable. "That depends on you."
Jace narrowed his eyes. He didn't understand, and he hated that. His fingers twitched toward his dagger, but something told him steel wouldn't be enough.
His double moved.
Jace barely saw it—a blur of motion, faster than before. A fist slammed into his ribs, sending him skidding across the broken ground. He gasped, pain flaring white-hot. His knees buckled, but he forced himself upright.
"Again," the figure said, its voice his own but wrong—distorted, layered.
Jace exhaled sharply, steadying himself. If it wanted a fight, he'd give it one.
This time, when the double lunged, Jace met it head-on.
He ducked under the first strike, twisting on his heel to drive his elbow into its ribs. The impact connected, but it felt like hitting stone—unmoving, unyielding. The figure didn't flinch.
Instead, it countered.
A hand shot forward, gripping Jace by the throat. His breath hitched as his feet left the ground. His double's eyes bore into him, dark and knowing.
"You are not ready."
Then, without warning—it let go.
Jace hit the ground hard, coughing, gasping for air. The weight on his chest grew heavier, pressing down like invisible hands.
His double knelt beside him. "Why do you fight?"
Jace glared up at it. "Because I have to."
"That is not enough."
The platform beneath them rumbled. Cracks spread outward, golden light seeping through like molten fire. The void itself seemed to pulse, drawing closer.
Jace felt it—something pulling at him, unraveling him from the inside. His mark burned, searing through his skin like fire. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to his feet.
"What do you want from me?" he rasped.
His double smiled—cold, distant.
"To break you."
And then, the world collapsed.
Darkness swallowed him whole.