The island was immersed in a tense silence, as if preparing for an irreversible event.
Everyone stood in front of the tower, a massive structure that emerged from the heart of the Four Lakes, pulsing with a strange energy as if the entire island recognized its presence.
Celestia stared at it, her eyes filled with awe, before she said in a calm but certain voice: "The king has moved... That means the final test has begun."
Everyone exchanged glances, realizing that what they were about to face would be unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
Before they could analyze the situation, the ground shook violently, and mysterious symbols on his gate began to glow a dark red color, as if responding to an unseen force.
Suddenly, strange monsters erupted from within the portal, creatures bearing their shapes but distorted, distorted reflections that tried to mimic them but failed miserably.
Celestia immediately screamed: "Beware! These beings are not just copies, they are trying to take away your will!"
The confrontation began immediately, with everyone fighting fiercely.
Lin lunged at his own reflection, but with every blow he threw, the distorted version responded with identical moves, until it looked like he was fighting himself perfectly, only more brutal.
Ren was facing his own reflection, but it was so different in speed and strength that he had to constantly change his technique.
Maru was using his tentacles and weapons to counter his reflection, but he quickly realized that the monster was adapting to each attack, making him constantly change his tactics.
As for Yumi, she found herself facing her own reflection, which wasn't just a murderous clone, it was talking, whispering unintelligible words, as if fighting something inside her.
The battle was fierce, the ground beneath them began to crumble with each attack, and the air became saturated with an unstable energy.
But amidst the chaos, something strange began to happen to Lin.
As he fought, dark shadows began to surround his body, as if the island was directly interacting with him, trying to make him a part of it.
His energy was changing, his movements became abnormal, faster and more violent, as if he was going beyond his usual limits.
Celestia shouted a warning: "Lin! Don't let the island control you!"
But Lin didn't stop, as if he hadn't heard her, and his eyes seemed to reflect something different.
With this new power, he was able to bring down his monster with one powerful blow, making the tower shake violently, as if the place itself was recognizing his power.
"Celestia, it's a good thing he controlled that power or we're done for," she said.
At that moment, something strange began to happen to Yumi.
As she regained her breath, her hair gradually began to turn a deep blue color, like the night sky, and her clothes changed completely, as if she had become part of the island itself.
She looked at her hands in amazement, before saying in an uncharacteristic voice: "This is... It's strange, but I feel different."
But there was no time to make sense of this transformation, as the tower began to open a second portal, larger and more massive, bearing a mysterious inscription: "Passage to the Throne."
Celestia turned to them and said in a steady but warning voice: "If you enter now, there will be no way back."
Everyone exchanged glances, then moved toward the door, not realizing that what would happen inside the tower would be beyond anything they had ever known before.