Home / Fantasy / The Healer’s Ascension / Chapter Twenty-Two: Trial of Shadows 3
Chapter Twenty-Two: Trial of Shadows 3
Author: Pheel-Grip
last update2025-08-22 08:53:34

The abyss didn’t end.

Jason’s body spun in endless freefall, darkness rushing around him like an ocean with no bottom. The sound of his heartbeat thundered in his ears, faster, louder, until it drowned even his thoughts.

Then, impact, He slammed onto stone, the air ripped from his lungs. Coughing, gasping, he forced himself to sit up. This place wasn’t ash. It was glass.

Black glass stretched in every direction, polished so perfectly it reflected the sky above. And that sky was his own face. Dozens, hundreds, mirrored across the heavens, staring down at him with violet fire in their eyes.

Jason staggered to his feet, heart hammering. His reflection in the ground wavered, and for a moment he wasn’t sure which one was real, the man standing, or the one beneath the glass, grinning back at him.

You let go of me, the shard whispered. The voice now carried weight, pressing on his bones, seeping into his veins. And still, I am here. You can’t escape. You never will.

Jason shouted into the em
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