Jaune 14

outside world

Ironic isn't it. You spend your whole life roaming the labyrinth, fighting the monsters who's only purpose is to cause pain. And in the end, you become a creature like them. Nothing more than a tool to cause death. This is exactly what happened, Jaune lamented to himself.

He ran away from home at the age of thirteen, eager to prove his parents wrong and become the hero he always dreamed of becoming. When he heard of a dangerous mansion, he jumped at the opportunity to explore. He would prove that all the stories were just local superstition. He never expected to be greeted by the ghost of a little girl. He never expected to be thrown into a labyrinth. He never wanted to encounter the nightmarish creatures that roamed the seemingly infinite always.

When his mind had reached the end of its tether, She saved him. She had been able to open the exit, where he learned that he had been trapped within the mansion for four years, presumed dead. But now, he was free, and stuck within the shadowy shell he calls a 'body'. He had gotten a good look at himself before he stepped through the mansion door, into the outside world.
His whole body was wrapped in pitch black, his eyes a vibrant red. He looked like a shadow, a detailed outline of a person, yet a reminder to what he once was.

Who he once was...
He could only recall bits and pieces of the past. Brief memories of his family. But it didn't fill him with happiness. His family were the ones who denied his dreams of becoming a hero. They were the reason he left his home. The reason he entered the mansion. Jaune became aware that he had tightened his grip on the axe, drawing blood. He felt a long fingered hand gently grab him by the shoulder and spin him around.

It was Her, the one to free him. She was tall, almost twice his height. Her skin was bare and pale, almost ceramic looking. Black hair greasy and long. Her face, twisted, huge tearing scars surrounded her neck and head. And empty eye sockets that seemed to hold an infinite void of darkness.
"Jaune," Her voice was whisper and sweet. "Remember what you must do?"
Jaune hefted his axe over his shoulder, his eyes glowing brighter in the dim light of the shattered moon.
"Hunt down the entities. If they surrender, let them live. If not..." he brought his bloodstained axe down into his other hand, a resounding slap of steel against whatever he was composed off.
"Good," She hummed at his response. "The less of them out there, the easier this labyrinth will be to bring down." A glowing red outline of teeth appeared on Jaune's face, stretching to for a rough, yet crazed grin.

"You can finally be the hero you dreamed of my child."

And with that, Her body began to fade out of existence. And within the minute, it was like She never existed. But Jaune knew otherwise. She could not be killed. She could not be controlled. She existed in another, parallel world – The Spirit realm. He knew what he had to do. He had to become stronger. He had to become a better strategist. She was giving him a chance to do the two things he always wanted to do – become a hero and save the world.
And for that reason, he would remain her humble servant. Afterall, White Face and him were the same. Good people who had been wronged and abandoned. Even is She couldn't help the world herself; he was willing to fulfill their shared goal.

Jaune turned back towards the mansion entrance, the large yellow doors shut tightly. Through one of the broken windows he could see faces. The faces of the people who came before him, the ones who didn't survive, now stuck to endlessly wonder the halls of the mansion for eternity. There faces contorted – they were cheering him on.

Jaune promised himself. He would become a hero. He would stop the monsters that plagued the shadows. And when he was strong enough, he would return here and free the souls of his friends – the only ones to keep him company during his tireless survival.

He sprinted into the forest that surrounded themansion, axe in hand and eyes glowing. First, he thought to himself. Isthe problem of strength. How can I get stronger?