Absolute Cheater

The figure leapt forward, its claws a blur of darkness slashing through the air. Asher shifted his weight, sidestepping with precise timing, eyes sharp as he tracked the creature's every movement. With a fluid counter, he struck back, his blade slicing through the figure's arm. Shadows spilled from the wound, curling around his weapon before dispersing into the mist. The creature, undeterred, lunged again, its attacks growing fiercer, each movement more rapid and unpredictable.

They circled each other, each strike meeting with another in a clash of shadow and steel. Asher's focus narrowed, every swing of his blade matched the creature's relentless fury. Shadows twisted around his blade, the edge cutting cleanly through each attack, leaving only wisps of darkness in its wake. His strikes became merciless, his steps confident as he calculated every opening, slicing through the creature with deadly accuracy. The red energy pulsed from his weapon with each swing, his strikes carrying a brutal force that drove the creature back, inch by inch.

The creature let out a deep, guttural growl, its eyes narrowing before launching forward in one final attempt, claws aimed straight for his chest. Asher held his ground, his blade ready. He lunged as the creature did, his weapon piercing its core with a single, precise strike, cleaving upward as he cut through the writhing shadows.

The creature froze, a horrific scream tearing through the air as it began to dissolve, breaking apart into thin tendrils of shadow that faded into the mist around him. Asher straightened, his gaze unwavering as he looked down at his blood-stained blade, its dark energy still lingering.

The maze faded, the fog lifting to reveal an empty clearing bathed in a cold light. Asher remained still, his breath steady, his expression unreadable as he took in his surroundings. Every part of him felt sharpened, his focus honed, as he prepared for whatever waited beyond.

"You know," Asher muttered, sidestepping another claw swipe with eerie calm. "I was just watching the scenes from the outside, all those little memories. That pathetic me, waiting around for that woman… calling herself my mother." A twisted smile crept onto his face as he slashed his blade across the creature's chest, shadowy tendrils spilling from the wound.

He tilted his head, his eyes never leaving the creature. "Tell me," he asked, his tone a mix of mockery and bitterness, "do I look like I need a mother's love?"

The creature faltered for a split second, something like fear flickering in its dark eyes as it processed the look in Asher's gaze—the look of someone who was done with being haunted by the past. Its claws lashed out in response, but Asher easily sidestepped, each movement as if he were dancing around a toy, indifferent to any threat it posed.

"I grew tired of sitting quietly and watching. But this place," he continued, his voice almost a whisper, "it brought out what I buried—the trauma I needed to deal with." His blade gleamed as he raised it again, eyes narrowing with the thrill of finally confronting his demons head-on.

"Thanks for helping me get rid of it, I meant the goody two shoes Me"

The creature hissed, the shadows around it flaring wildly, but Asher barely flinched. He was in complete control, each step closing the distance between them, each strike deliberate and merciless. The creature's claws slashed through the air in a frenzied attempt to defend itself, yet every desperate move was met by Asher's blade with unyielding precision.

Asher's blade sliced clean through one of the creature's arms, severing it in an explosion of shadow. It stumbled, a hollow, distorted sound escaping from where a mouth might have been, as if it could sense its impending end.

"As if you could ever intimidate me," he sneered, advancing with slow, deliberate steps. The creature backed away, its twisted form shrinking, clawing at the air as if hoping to escape the merciless human stalking toward it. Asher grinned, savoring the moment.

Raising his blade, he let it pulse with that dark red energy, a twisted reflection of his own fury and liberation. The creature lunged, but Asher's blade met it mid-air, piercing straight through its core. For an instant, it froze, the light in its eyes dimming, as if the life itself was draining from it.

He twisted the blade, shattering the creature from within. It let out a soul-piercing shriek as its body disintegrated, dissolving into tendrils of darkness that swirled and faded into nothingness.

The maze around him began to unravel, the oppressive shadows peeling back to reveal a soft, dimly lit clearing. For a moment, he stood there, catching his breath, blood and shadow streaked across his arms, feeling as if the weight he'd carried had finally lessened.

The test was over.

"Pity, I wanted more fun," Asher's alternate personality muttered as he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the more composed, less ruthless Asher was back.

"Huh?" Asher wondered aloud, looking around.

He saw many contestants sitting calmly in the clearing, waiting. "When did I pass the test?" he thought, memories surfacing. "Don't tell me...?"

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. "Yeah, it must've been those memories that disoriented me," he reasoned, then found a quiet corner to sit in as he waited for the next trial.

As Asher settled into his corner, he observed the others around him. Many of them bore signs of strain—some were pale, others visibly trembling. The maze had clearly taken a toll, and it dawned on him just how brutal the tests had been. Yet, despite their shaken states, no one was openly speaking about what they'd experienced. There was an unspoken understanding that whatever horrors each had faced in the maze were their own to bear.

He leaned back, letting his mind wander over what he'd just been through. Those voices, that monstrous figure, the shadows… each seemed crafted to target something buried deep within him. It was as if the maze had reached into his very soul and pulled out every buried memory, every fragment of doubt and fear. Yet, something else had emerged from those depths—a darker side of him, lurking just beneath the surface, both unnerving and powerful.