Maze

An obscured figure rose from its slumber, heaving sighs in between breaths. His rest couldn't have taken more than a few hours, or at least that's how it seemed to him.

Judging from his current demeanor, he seemed flustered, or worried even. What had transpired during his sleep was something which worried him. As for what it was, he said the following.

[3 days] He blurted out [3 days, 15 hours, and 43 minutes. That's how long I've been aware of myself now. How I know that, I'm not sure.]

[My sleep is not... normal, to say in the least. It's like I've had my thoughts controlled] He sounded dissatisfied [It's all a farce for all I care, I just want to sleep goddamit!]

[And what's with that timer? Information keeps filling my brain even though I don't know where it comes from. All this time, I've been fully aware of how long I've been up. It's like my mind has been keeping time since the beginning]

[And last, my dreams. I still feel conscious even though I'm already asleep. Can't my mind even separate my cognizance from simple sleep? Nothing makes sense, nothing at all!]

Indeed, the situation seemed unreasonable for him. He had been hoping for a nice, cozy rest. Something that should be devoid of any abnormality that his mind may have created. Reality is often harsher, however. What he expected to be a fruitful rest ended up bogging down his thoughts more.

[Enough, I'll just get out of this place as soon as I can.] He calmed himself down [Nothing good will come out of ranting any further]

He studied his surroundings once more, trying to look for any changes that may have happened during his sleep.

[What in the world?] His surprise exposed itself from his voice [What happened while I was asleep?]

This entire corridor seemed to have enlarged itself, statues and paintings inclusive of the changes. He saw the wooden door on the distant horizon, towering in appearance. The painting also seemed to have increased itself in size, parallel to the door below it. The door was a kilometer away from him, judging by the amount of statues as they had gaps 1 meter each. Said statues would also be 1 meter. How he gained this information related itself to his visual acuity. So he assumed that everything else grew bigger. Either that or he had shrunk himself.

The entrance to the throne room was no longer apparent, replaced by an unassuming wall. So the option of tracing his steps was already out of question.

[I don't recall ever compressing my size. My body still feels the same. Doesn't even seem possible to do that. It's probably everything else that changed then.] He assumed

'Say I continued walking down the hallway, it'll probably take me quite a long time to reach it,' He imagined the amount of effort it would take him to march there.

While he was pondering further, the ground shook. The rumbling had caught him off-guard, causing him to fall down, his body splayed in gauche form.

[Whoever created this place, I hate you. I scorn your existence.] He was mumbling these words while still collapsed, making no effort to stand up.

[Huh] He uttered out [What are the statues doing?]

The statues that were once motionless had moved. They weaved the spears they held, swinging it in the air. They held the spear's shaft parallel to the ground as they struck at the floor. Like the beating of drums, their actions resounded across the place, like a signal of sorts.

An uneasy feeling rose from inside him. He perceived a presence that seemed to observe his actions. He felt judged.

{10}

'Huh?' The number 10 appeared before him, giving him a startle.

{9}

{8}

{7}

Glowing lines appeared on the ground, lingering for a short while. From there, gray walls came from where the lines manifested, forming passages and walkways. The ceiling remained visible as this was happening.

{6}

{5}

[Things keep happening left and right, what am I supposed to do!] He roared, infuriated at the sequence of events

{4}

{3}

The walls finally stopped their ascent, forming twisted passages and dead ends. It was a labyrinth. The labyrinthine structure encompassed the entire corridor, blocking the statues from view. The only thing visible now was the ceiling, which remained unblocked, and the painting, which remained where it was.

{2}

{1}

{0}

The statues stopped their noisy assault, falling to a standstill. The air was frigid, with an atmosphere that felt choking. Anxiety welled up inside him, as he showed wariness at the situation, slightly nervous at the events.

|||

Reach for the moon, you foolish king.

Traverse this moonlit maze of your creation.

The sea of tranquility follows you,

scornful of your foolish crucibles.

|||

A hologram of sorts materialized in his view, with its entire theme muddied in emerald green. Words formed in the air, another poem.

He questioned the sudden pop-up, curious about who it referred to [By foolish king, is it referring to me or-]

Another rumble befell on the peaceful silence, shot down the boy's query. The sound of roaring water was audible, increasing in volume.

{Flee}

A single word replaced the previous poem. He knew what it meant, and what was clear of him to be done. He had to escape the maze. With the apparent danger, a sense of urgency hit him. He ran.

The sound was distinguishable, roaring waves in tow. The noise progressed to deafening heights, with the ground shaking more and more.

[You're one messed up motherf---er, whoever you are!] He shouted while still running, shaking his head in disbelief. It was the only way he could confirm his anger at the moment.

Each attempt he made to close in on a passage lead to a dead end. When this happened, he would have to trace back to the starting point as the rolling waves came near.

The wall of water grew bigger, booming in dissonance. The wave lurched closer and closer, despite the amount of effort he put into traversing the maze. Dead ends and collapsed passageways hindered his progress in reaching the end of the hall. The maze did not help.

The water exposed itself from behind him. It had already reached the boy's position.

'The water... it's purple?' The water's color was indeed different from he had assumed. It was purple. 'Then... what's different about it?'

These were his thoughts when the wave of liquid came crashing down, mere seconds away from him. The brackish water seemed dangerous. It was as if he was going to die from the slightest touch.

'Is this the end?' He thought 'Nope, it's not. Get it through your thick skull, you amnesiac bastard!'

[Think!] He sprinted faster, navigating through the winding walls. [Think of a way to get out of this mess!]

Earlier, before the walls even existed, the glowing lines characterized where said structures would appear. The lines were visible, up to the door's anterior, on its front side. If the lines marked where the walls manifest at, he already possessed the means to escaping the maze. After all, he remembered every single detail, no matter how small.

[Welp] He muttered, an air of confidence surrounding him [Time to use that information then]

He had created a static image of the floor's entire arrangement in his mind, with the lines intact. Avoiding the closed routes, he wove through the labyrinth of stone, with the current still following him.

'750 meters left' He kept count of the remaining distance he had to navigate across.

Each step he took was a meter, his body somehow acting precise movements that rivaled the accuracy of machinery. His mind kept itself busy by layering the static image on top of the current reality he was trying to escape from, helping him move through the labyrinth.

'500 meters' The distance between him and the wave grew farther, easing his troubled mind.

'250 meters' He was close now. Close to escaping from the accursed maze. Hoped dawned on him.

'100 meters' The door towered before him, carrying an aura of simplicity. The painting above it seemed foreboding, as if it was mocking him. Its impression irked him.

'50 meters' As soon as he reached this hallmark, the door became smaller, the painting proportional to it.

[F—king non-euclidian geometry, why did it have to be this place?!] He screamed, unaware of the fact that the water was now a sizable distance away from him

'25 meters' Both objects were nearing his size now, at a magnitude where the door would be usable to him.

'10 meters' The door and the painting were now at a measurement equal to what he remembered.

'5 meters' He neared the doorway, as he slowed down in his mad dash.

'2 meters' He approached the door intending to escape, before noticing the painting's gaze. The moon continued to look down on him.

'0 meters' He stopped before the door, catching his breath. He looked behind him, no longer hearing the water from before. He felt a gaze suddenly pierce him, bringing his blood to a boil.

[That uneasy feeling… it came from you, didn't it?] He held the painting in his hand, wary of its existence [What happens when I break you?]

The boy held the painting in his grasp, clutching onto it in a hateful manner. After a bit more contemplation, he grabbed it with both hands and smashed it onto the door.

He continued to do so over and over. He struck, and he struck, his arm limping from the impact. The painting continued to suffer from his wrath, breaking apart from the sheer force he exerted until it had turned into a mangled piece of paper, with the frame already shattered. He did not exempt the door from his anger, for it had broken down already.

He focused on the painting, nothing more than a remnant now. [The gaze... it's gone. So it was from you after all.]

The boy was still wheezing from what he did, with both his arms flaring up in pain. Dropping the remnants of the canvas, he finally focused on the door that he had just destroyed.

[Well, what do you know...] He said in a mocking tone [It was a normal door after all!]

Beyond the door's rubble, a room had exposed itself. What set it apart from the corridor he was in was its strikingly colorful appearance. It was a beautiful garden, similar to ones seen in fairy tales.

The garden seemed to be in a transparent area, its size comparable to a private island. Constructed from brick and mortar, the walls had a mossy appearance to them. Sunlight shone from the sky, illuminating the room in a dazzling manner.

In its center was a tranquil lake, serene in both appearance and the impression it imposed. Flowers of all kinds grew from the lakeside, dotting the ground with vivid hues. The sight calmed him.

As he was still standing in front of the broken rubble, he passed through it. He walked in lumbering form, still surprised at the sight that lay in front of him.

[Finally...] He mumbled [I got through...]

He had every right to be at ease now. There was no need to run. He had escaped from the labyrinth.