The relics pulsed softly around them—the Scarab’s Mark humming beneath Alastor’s skin and the Eye of Horus glowing faintly on its pedestal, like a grim lighthouse illuminating the path forward. The air between them felt heavy with the weight of the impossible choice they faced. They had seen the future—a future where the Pyramid controlled not just life and death, but everything across time. There was no running from it. No surviving it. Not unless they did the unthinkable.

Alastor and Selene stood together, side by side, in the silent chamber at the edge of oblivion. The knowledge of the future’s ruin settled between them, like a knife balanced on a razor’s edge.

There was only one way forward now.

"We can’t fight from the outside," Selene said softly, her violet eyes reflecting the glow of the relics. "The loop will pull us back in. No matter what we do, the Pyramid will reset everything if we don’t break it at the top."

Alastor nodded grimly, running his fingers over the scarab beneath his sleeve. The power thrumming within it felt alive—hungry—and every time he touched it, it whispered of shortcuts, of power for a price. But no amount of power would matter if they didn’t reach the heart of the Pyramid. If they wanted to end the loop, they had to do the unthinkable: they had to take on the leaders of the Pyramid directly.

"And if they kill us before we reach the top?" Alastor asked, the weight of his question hanging heavily between them. "We’ll just reset again, and it’ll all start over."

Selene exhaled slowly, tension visible in every line of her body. "Not if we make a pact."

Alastor’s brow furrowed. "A pact?"

Selene nodded, her jaw tight. "The leaders of the Pyramid have power because of their connection to the loop—they’ve given everything to bind themselves to it. But there’s a way to challenge that power. A loophole." She met his gaze, her expression fierce. "If we bind ourselves to the same energy that fuels the loop—if we make a pact with death itself—we might be able to sever the connection between them and the cycle."

Alastor’s breath caught in his throat. A deal with death. The idea felt reckless, dangerous, but also strangely inevitable. If the leaders of the Pyramid had used death and rebirth to cement their control, it made sense that the only way to challenge them was to make the same bargain. But there was a catch—there was always a catch.

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"What’s the price?" he asked quietly, already dreading the answer.

Selene gave him a grim look, her eyes shadowed by the weight of what she was about to say. "If we succeed, we break the loop. We end the cycle. But if we fail…" She trailed off, her lips pressing into a thin line. "If we fail, we die. For good. No more resets. No more rebirth. Just death."

Alastor let the words settle over him, cold and sharp. This wasn’t just a gamble—it was all or nothing. If they went through with this, they wouldn’t get another chance. There would be no do-overs, no coming back from failure. They were betting their very existence against the power of the Pyramid.

"You’re sure this will work?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Selene gave a small, bitter smile. "No. But I’d rather take the risk than live another lifetime trapped in this loop."

Her words resonated with something deep inside Alastor—a tiredness, an exhaustion that went beyond physical fatigue. He had spent too many lifetimes fighting battles he couldn’t remember, making alliances that never lasted, dying deaths that always led back to the same beginning. This was their only way out.

"And if we win?" Alastor asked, his voice quiet.

"If we win," Selene whispered, "we take control of the loop—and destroy it from the inside." She stepped closer, her gaze steady. "But we have to do this together, Alastor. We have to bind our lives—our souls—to the pact. No more betrayals. No more lies."

Alastor looked into her eyes and saw the weight of everything they had lost—the lifetimes of pain, betrayal, and death. But he also saw hope, fragile but real, burning behind her fierce expression.

He reached for her hand, clasping it tightly. "Together," he said.

The relics around them pulsed, sensing their shared resolve. The scarab beneath Alastor’s skin thrummed eagerly, and the Eye of Horus glowed brighter, as if the Pyramid itself was watching—waiting for them to make their move.

"How do we make the pact?" Alastor asked, his voice steady despite the fear curling at the edges of his mind.

Selene glanced at the scarab under his sleeve, then at the Eye of Horus, her expression grim. "We bind ourselves to the loop. We swear an oath to defy the leaders of the Pyramid, to break the cycle no matter the cost." She swallowed hard, her voice softening. "But it means giving everything we are—everything we’ve ever been—to this fight. If we lose… there’s no coming back."

Alastor’s heart pounded, but he knew there was no other way. They had come too far to turn back now.

"Let’s do it," he whispered.

Selene nodded, her fingers tightening around his. "We swear on the deaths we’ve lived," she said softly. "And the ones we’ve yet to face."

Alastor felt the weight of the pact settle over them, binding them to the ancient energy that fueled the loop. The scarab flared under his skin, its power merging with his essence, and the Eye of Horus pulsed in time with their heartbeats, sealing the oath.

In that moment, the future splintered—two possible paths branching before them. Victory and freedom... or failure and oblivion.

Selene’s gaze locked onto his, her expression unwavering. "This is it. We fight our way to the top, and we end this."

Alastor gave a grim nod. "And if we fail?"

Selene’s smile was sharp, tinged with both defiance and acceptance. "If we fail, we die forever."