Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women

The words hung in the air for a moment, and then, slowly, the stone door began to glow. A pulse of energy spread outward from the center, filling the hall with a soft radiance. The golden-masked figure watched in silence, offering neither approval nor disapproval.

Jude braced himself as the door shifted, sliding open with a sound like distant thunder.

Beyond it lay darkness. Not an empty void, but something deeper, something alive.

Jude turned to Lyara. "You ready?"

She gave him a smirk, though he could see the tension in her eyes. "Was I ever not?"

Together, they stepped through.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the world around them collapsed.

It was not like before, not the shattering of glass or the shifting of time. This was something else entirely. One moment, they were in the grand hall, and the next, they were somewhere new.

Somewhere impossibly familiar.

Jude's breath caught as he took in the sight before him. It was a street, a street he knew well. The buildings, the sky, even the air felt the same.

This was his home.

Or at least, it looked like it.

Lyara frowned, glancing around. "Jude… what is this?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. Because ahead of them, walking down the street, was someone he hadn't seen in years.

Someone who couldn't possibly be here.

His brother.

Jude felt his pulse quicken. His brother was older than he remembered, his posture heavier, but there was no mistaking him. He was walking toward them, but his gaze wasn't on them, it was distant, lost in thought.

Jude stepped forward instinctively. "Elias?"

His brother didn't react.

Lyara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jude… I don't think he can hear you."

Jude clenched his fists. "But he's right there."

He took another step, but as he did, the street around them flickered. For a brief moment, the buildings warped, their edges unraveling like smoke before snapping back into place. The air grew heavy, pressing down on his chest.

This wasn't real.

And yet, it felt more real than anything he had seen so far.

Elias continued walking, his expression unreadable.

Then, without warning, the street shifted.

The sky darkened, and suddenly, Jude was no longer standing on solid ground. He was falling.

Lyara's voice called out to him, but it was distant, as if she were on the other side of a thick wall.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the fall stopped.

Jude gasped, his body jerking upright.

He was somewhere new.

A vast expanse stretched before him, golden fields under a twilight sky. The air smelled of rain, though the ground beneath him was dry.

And standing in the distance was Elias.

But this time, he was facing him.

Jude's breath caught. "Elias…"

His brother's gaze was steady. "You shouldn't be here."

Jude took a step forward. "What is this?"

Elias didn't answer. Instead, he extended a hand. In his palm rested something small and glowing, a fragment, just like the one Jude had taken.

Jude hesitated. "You… you have one too?"

Elias nodded. "Everyone does."

Jude's throat tightened. "Then why are you here?"

Elias' expression remained unreadable. "Because you still don't understand."

Jude clenched his fists. "Then explain it to me."

Elias studied him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he closed his fingers around the fragment. "Understanding doesn't come from words, Jude. It comes from choices."

The world around them trembled.

And suddenly, Jude knew.

This wasn't just a test.

This was the moment that would decide everything.

Jude took a slow breath, feeling the air shift around him, as if the entire world held its breath alongside him. His brother stood before him, the fragment glowing between his fingers, its light flickering like a candle in the wind. The fields of gold stretched endlessly in every direction, the sky above frozen in an eternal twilight. This place, it wasn't real. But at the same time, it was. Jude could feel it in his bones, in the way his heart pounded against his ribs. Whatever this was, it wasn't just a dream or a vision. It was something more.

Elias watched him in silence, his expression unreadable, his stance calm but firm. There was something in his eyes, something distant and knowing, like he had already seen the path that lay ahead.

Jude swallowed. "What do you mean, I don't understand?"

Elias didn't answer immediately. Instead, he let the silence stretch between them, as if waiting to see whether Jude would find the answer on his own. The weight of the moment settled heavy on his shoulders. Every step he had taken, every choice he had made, had it all been leading to this?

Finally, Elias spoke, his voice quiet but steady. "Tell me, Jude. Why are you here?"

Jude exhaled sharply. "I already answered that."

"No," Elias said simply, shaking his head. "You answered what you thought you were supposed to say. But that's not the truth."

Frustration bubbled in Jude's chest. "Then what do you want me to say?"

"I want you to listen," Elias said, his voice calm but firm. "Not to me. Not to anyone else. Just to yourself."

Jude's hands curled into fists at his sides. "I don't have time for riddles, Elias. If you have something to say, then say it."

Elias studied him for a long moment, then took a step forward. The distance between them felt vast despite being only a few feet apart. "The door brought you here for a reason. Everything you've seen, everything you've felt, it's all been leading to a choice. But before you can make that choice, you have to understand what it is you're really choosing."

Jude's jaw clenched. "You keep talking in circles."

Elias let out a small breath, then raised his hand, holding the fragment up between them. "This power, it isn't just something you wield. It isn't a weapon, or a tool, or something you control. It's a part of you. Just like it's a part of me. Just like it's a part of everyone who's walked this path before us."