Desmond hesitated just outside the void that led into The Dark. Once he passed through the shadow, there would be no turning back. He had to see this through to the end and find the source of all the corruption in The Dark or else face a corrupted Mykel. A form of corruption that he would not be able to come back from like he had been able to last time. Desmond didn’t even want to think of what the third option could be, wanting to believe he wouldn’t lose his life trying.
After taking a deep breath, Desmond slowly stepped forward into the shadow. Just as it had done the first time he passed through it, it swallowed him up into an endless void. Unlike before though, he moved forward through the void knowing that there would eventually come an end to it and he would arrive on the other side in the ruined version of the city.