***
{Inside The Projection}
Blink...
A slow one this time.
When Malik opened his eyes, it was like nothing had happened.
He was back in Hell, the same frozen fire beneath his feet, Zamharir, the same black skies above him.
Indeed, he was right where he left off.
In the Seventh Gate, in the same exact place...
Right before the True Zaqqūm.
No doubt that... nightmare...
That endless carousel of death, failure, and betrayal—it was supposed to shatter him.
A mental execution... or more accurately, a slaughter of his soul.
Well, it didn't work.
It didn't even scratch him.
Malik stood there, empty as ever.
Hollow as a man could be without being dead.
This journey's last obstacle had failed completely.
Once, Malik might've been affected, but now, such thoughts were...
