Chapter 21: The Reflection of the Collective
The light was different this time.
It wasn't bright nor dim. It wasn't burning nor cold.
It was… calm. Warm. As if the dimension itself was breathing with him.
Ryan was lowered gently—this time, not onto rocks or air, but onto a field of deep blue grass. Beneath him, the ground pulsed like a giant heart. Above, the sky was endless, shifting colors between violet and black in eerie harmony. No sun. No moon. Just floating luminous orbs drifting overhead, as if watching.
But he wasn't alone.
A few steps away, five people stood in a perfect circle—each of them strangely… familiar.
A teenage boy, a furious version of Ryan at sixteen.
An old man, tall and wrinkled, eyes gleaming with wisdom… and regret.
A blindfolded girl, in a white dress stained with dark spots, smiling as if she could see more than anyone.
A man who looked like a forgotten friend, born of an old betrayal.
And the child… half-smiling, half-crying behind a cracked mask, with eyes that burned like volcanoes.
Ryan looked at them, then at himself.
This wasn't a normal trial.
It was a reflection. Not just of himself—but scattered versions of his being. Some real, others symbolic.
The teenager stepped forward first, sneering:
"Hello, civilized version of me. Where was this calm when we used to scream at life?"
Ryan chuckled dryly.
"God, I was annoying."
The old man laughed softly:
"You still are… you've just learned to hide it under the mask of maturity."
Ryan winked:
"At least I got better at comedy."
The blindfolded girl smiled:
"Comedy is a shield of the ones who run. But running won't help you here."
As if the sky was listening, a deep, feminine voice echoed:
"Welcome to the Dimension of the Collective Reflection. Here, strength isn't measured by power, but by your ability to confront yourself—not alone, but as a leader of your inner flock."
His… flock?
Ryan laughed:
"Oh, great… always wanted to be a shepherd!"
The teenager rolled his eyes:
"With jokes like that, we're doomed."
Suddenly, the space shifted.
The ground vanished. Everything turned into a massive floating stage in an infinite void. Five glowing circles surrounded Ryan at the center.
The voice returned:
"You will face them—not to defeat them, but to understand them. Every failure repeats pain. Every victory… is a step toward the next gate."
⸻
First Trial: The Masked Child
The child ran toward him erratically. Laughing, then crying. Jumping, then collapsing. Screaming without reason, then silent like a statue.
He shouted:
"Why didn't you save me? Why didn't you hold me? I was crying, and you shut the door."
Ryan suddenly understood… this child was himself at his first true moment of pain.
A moment of loss. A moment of abandonment. The moment he refused sadness and chose to fake strength.
Ryan knelt and opened his arms.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know how to be strong without killing you inside me. I thought healing meant forgetting you."
The child paused. Looked at him. Then the mask began to crack… slowly.
He laughed and cried at once… then ran into Ryan's arms.
And within his embrace… vanished.
⸻
Second Trial: The Betrayed Friend
The man stared at him coldly:
"I am the trust you shattered. I'm the friend who betrayed you. Can you forgive?"
Ryan stepped closer:
"You're not the real person. You're what he represented in me. The betrayal, the doubt, the rage."
"You made me shut my heart."
The man asked:
"Will you open it now?"
Ryan paused. Took a deep breath.
"I won't trust easily. But I won't live forever in a cage of fear. I'll begin again… with trust that observes, not chains."
The man smiled—and faded like smoke into the air.
⸻
Third Trial: The Blindfolded Girl
She said:
"You pretend to be strong, but you don't even believe in yourself. Every step you take… you look back, waiting to fall."
Ryan approached her:
"I'm afraid… but I still move forward. Isn't that belief?"
She replied:
"Faith isn't just walking through fear… it's knowing something is worth walking for."
He paused, then answered:
"I believe… there's meaning in what I go through. Even if I don't understand it yet."
She nodded, smiling.
"Admitting faith is the beginning of having it."
And she vanished.
⸻
Fourth Trial: The Rebellious Teen
The teen glared:
"Everything you are now… was because of me. My rebellion. Do you hate me now?"
Ryan replied:
"I don't hate you. But you made me smash my head into walls way too often."
"You were angry… without reason."
The teen shouted:
"Everything was against us! Didn't we have the right to rage?!"
Ryan said softly:
"We did. But not the right to destroy ourselves."
The teen looked at him, then smiled:
"I'll remain within you… but as a spark, not a fire."
"Deal?"
Ryan nodded. The teen vanished, leaving behind a gray cloak.
⸻
Fifth Trial: The Old Man
The elder approached slowly.
"I am you… at the end of the road. Will you be proud of me—or ashamed?"
Ryan asked:
"That depends… did you live for others, or for yourself?"
The old man laughed:
"I lived to learn that the self is built through others, not isolated from them."
"Strength isn't just enduring pain… but shaping it into wisdom."
He extended a hand:
"Take my hand, and I'll show you the gate."
⸻
A huge ring of light appeared, surrounded by rotating beams.
But beyond it… were dozens of doors.
Each door bore a symbol: a star, a clock, an eye, a heart, a shadow, a broken cage…
The feminine voice returned:
"The circle is complete. But what lies ahead is not a trial—it's a choice.
Each door leads to a new dimension, carrying a different experience.
Will you choose alone… or summon help?"
Ryan stood before the doors, staring.
Then, with a deep, steady voice, he said:
"I'm ready. I won't just be the traveler… but the creator."
He stepped toward the door bearing the symbol of "the smiling shadow."
⸻
End of Chapter 21.