Fates and Thrones

Darkness

"I am the end of all things, the silence that follows the storm.
I am the shadow that lingers, the truth none can escape.
I am the divider of time, the ultimate fate.
I come for all, early or late, creeping through the cracks of life.
In my arms, kingdoms crumble, and even the stars bow.
I steal the final breath, and in my wake, nothing remains.
What am I?"

The monster spoke before I felt a tentacle wrap around my ankle, a stifled scream threatened to pass my lips. But before that could happen, the tentacle launched me into a wall. To my surprise, the wall crumbled and fell behind me.

I stood and wiped the dirt from my pants before looking around. In the new entrance, stood the beast staring at me. Daring me to turn around and leave. Instead of testing what would happen, I turned back towards the empty darkness.

"Now, we may begin. If you survive, you will answer my riddle."

As it spoke, unseen lanterns started to glow and showed a labyrinth in from of me. The walls were high enough to touch the ceiling in some parts while the parts that were lower were jagged.

As I walk straight ahead, the narrow path stretches into the darkness, the flickering lanterns providing just enough light to reveal the uneven stones beneath my feet. Each step echoes, as if the walls themselves are whispering secrets. Soon, I reach a crossroads where the path splits into three directions.

To the left, the passage slopes downward, the air colder and carrying a faint draft. To the right, the walls are lower, their jagged edges silhouetted against the dim light. Straight ahead, the path seems to wind deeper into the maze, disappearing into a shadowy corridor.

Then, a voice calls out from the left, the voice that almost makes me freeze. "Ajita... come home," it croons, but it's wrong. My mother's voice, but distorted, was warped by something that twists her familiar tone into something eerie and alien.

From the right, a different sound slithers through the darkness—a whisper, low and unintelligible, but somehow urgent. It's a voice I don't recognize, murmuring words that seem just out of reach.

Ignoring the unsettling whispers, I choose the left path, drawn by the haunting echo of my mother's voice. As I descend, the voice grows louder, bouncing off the walls, as if the maze itself is speaking with her tone.

"Ajita, why did you leave?" The hollow ache in the words feels almost mocking, a cruel parody of the concern I once knew.

The path curves sharply, and as I round the corner, I spot a faint glimmer in the dim light. There, on the ground, lies a small object. It appears to be a child's locket, tarnished and cracked. I recognize it; my mother used to keep it in an old jewelry box.

Before I can react, the shadows shift, and from one of the darker recesses, a figure begins to emerge. A form taking shape in the darkness, with elongated limbs and an impossibly wide grin. Its eyes are hollow, glowing faintly like dying embers.

"Ajita," it croons, the voice still carrying that sickeningly familiar tone. "You shouldn't have come here."

I instinctively leap back, barely avoiding the creature's grasp. The motion is swift and desperate, my breath catching in my throat as I bite back a scream threatening to escape. The creature's claws swipe through the air where I had just been, scraping against the stone floor with a sickening screech.

Glancing down, I search for my bag, my lifeline in this nightmare, but it's gone. Panic flares in my chest. I feel exposed, defenseless, with nothing to rely on but my wits and my will.

The creature snarls, its wide grin splitting further, revealing rows of jagged teeth. It lunged toward me, its arms stretching unnaturally, clawed hands reaching out to grab me.

I dive for the dagger, fingers brushing against its cool metal as I grasp it tightly. The moment I wrap my hand around the hilt, a surge of energy courses through me—raw and electric, as if lightning has struck my arm. It's overwhelming and disorienting; I can't help but feel that I'm not meant for this weapon.

The creature lunges again, and with instinct taking over, I roll to the side, narrowly avoiding its grasp. The dagger feels heavy in my hand, yet it thrums with potential, a pulse that aligns with my racing heart.

As I scramble to my feet, I face the creature, heart pounding in my chest. Its hollow eyes glare at me, a mix of fury and surprise etched across its twisted features.

"Foolish child," it hisses, drawing closer. "You think that can save you?"

Ignoring its question, I push through the haze of fear and uncertainty, letting the hatred and resentment boil over. "Perfect, perfect," I mutter under my breath, my voice steady despite the chaos. "Something I could never achieve. But here I am. Trying to be a Goddess's Champion and for what?"

With each word, the emptiness that has followed me like a shadow fills with dark energy, anger, frustration, and every negative emotion I've ever felt. It surges through me, and the dagger seems to resonate with that energy, amplifying it and turning it into a weapon against my own insecurities.

The monster sneers and lunges again, but I stand my ground, the dagger raised. "You don't get to define me," I shout, the weight of the dagger grounding me as it hums with newfound power.

With a swift, determined motion, I thrust the dagger deeper into the creature's arm, slicing through shadow and darkness as if it were flesh. The monster howls in pain, its voice warping into a discordant symphony of anguish and rage that reverberates through the labyrinth.

"Feel that?" I spit, my voice fierce and unwavering. "That's the power of everything you took from me."

The monster stumbles back, its form flickering as though the very essence of holding it together is unraveling.

I pull my arm back, snarling at the beast as if I were the monster instead. "Burn in Hell, Mother," I hiss, my words spilling from my lips like molten fire, igniting the darkness around me.

With a swift motion, I lunge forward again, the dagger poised to strike. The blade glimmers ominously, reflecting the flickering lantern light as I aim for the creature's heart. As I thrust the dagger into its core, a blinding light erupts, illuminating the labyrinth in a brilliant flash.

The monster lets out a deafening scream, the sound echoing around me as its form begins to dissolve, shadows peeling away like layers of paint from a forgotten canvas. The weight of every negative emotion surge through me, melding with the power of the dagger, and I can almost sense the darkness retreating, the air becoming lighter as the monster's form disintegrates into nothingness.

As silence settles around me, I pull the dagger free, panting with exertion and adrenaline. I've faced the Darkness and emerged victorious, but the echoes of my past still linger in my heart.

"Time to continue."