Mirror's Edge

Leegna stood at the entrance of the labyrinth, his feet heavy as if the weight of the world pressed against his very soul. The air was thick, oppressive, and filled with the echoes of memories, some his own, others foreign. His mind felt fractured, each thought like a broken shard, pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together. The mirrors lining the labyrinth flickered with images—familiar yet strange, fragments of a life he could barely recognize.

-His reflection in the mirrors was distorted, shifting between a younger version of himself, the Leegna who had once been filled with hope, and another, shadowed figure, a man who resembled him but seemed far older, wearier. But worse than the reflection were the memories themselves, twisted and blurred, some true, some false.

"In a world full of lies, who is going to be the truth after all?" Leegna's voice echoed weakly as he stared into one of the mirrors, watching his own words repeat back at him in a tone that mocked his confusion.

He clenched his fists, feeling the cold metal of the ring on his finger—the one constant in this fractured reality. His chest tightened with anxiety, and his head spun with the weight of countless possibilities. Who am I really? What is the truth?

-As he walked deeper into the maze, a flood of emotions hit him like a wave—depression, anxiety, anger. Memories flashed by, some from his past, others that couldn't possibly belong to him. There was Stina's death, the tragic accident that had taken his parents, all of it blending into a series of nightmares. Some mirrors showed him images of a life where things had been different, where he had been strong, powerful, and others reflected his darkest fears—where his destiny had been nothing but failure.

His breath hitched as his reflection whispered back at him, "You don't deserve this power. You're not strong enough to carry this burden."

-Leegna dropped to his knees, overwhelmed. His heart raced, his vision blurring with the tears he fought to hold back. He was alone—completely and utterly alone. Yuj was nowhere to be seen, and Aternos... he had been betrayed, lured into this place by a shadow of a man who never existed.

How could I have been so blind? he thought, his hands trembling. The labyrinth wasn't just a prison of physical walls, it was a cage for his mind, a trap for his soul.

As despair began to take hold, something stirred inside him. A flicker of anger, a faint spark of determination, broke through the fog clouding his thoughts. No. He wiped the tears from his face, forcing himself to his feet. He stared back into the mirror, meeting his own gaze.

This is what Gestrong wants. He wants me to break, to give in to the shadows.

Taking a deep breath, Leegna activated the power of his ring. The velvet glove formed over his hand, and for a moment, the mirrors flickered. In that instant, he felt a surge of clarity. His heart still raced, his mind still swirled with doubt, but a calm, cold logic began to take hold.

"I won't let you win," he said aloud, his voice steadying. The reflections around him shifted again, some clearer now, others still muddled, but he could begin to see through the lies.

With each step forward, creatures of shadow and lesser beings emerged from the walls of the labyrinth, sent to stop him, to drag him further into despair. But Leegna, with newfound focus, fought back. He weaved between attacks, using the power of his glove to strike back, each blow fueled by his determination to push through the labyrinth and find the truth.

-The battle was relentless. The shadows seemed endless, a manifestation of his deepest fears and regrets. They whispered lies, taunted him with visions of failure. But Leegna pushed through, swinging his blade, his movements becoming more controlled as he allowed his emotions to fuel his fight without consuming him.

Step by step, he navigated the maze of mirrors, defeating the shadows that tried to keep him trapped. The deeper he went, the more memories began to surface—memories that felt true, ones he had buried deep within himself.

Then, just as he felt he was nearing the heart of the labyrinth, a mirror at the center of the maze caught his attention. Unlike the others, this one didn't distort his reflection. It showed him... a silhouette. Tall, cloaked in shadow, but undeniably familiar. It was him, or at least, a version of him—a version that felt both distant and yet intimately close.

"Is that... me?" Leegna whispered, reaching out to the mirror.

-But before he could touch it, the silhouette moved. It turned towards him, and for the briefest moment, Leegna saw his own eyes reflected back at him. The figure raised a hand, and at that instant, Leegna felt the full power of the ring surge through him, as if awakening something long dormant.

He gasped, the weight of the revelation hitting him like a tidal wave. The Shadow Hunter... it's been me all along.

The memories, the visions, the power—it was all leading to this moment. He had been chosen, destined to become the Veil of the Shadow Hunter, the one who would wield the power to stand against the darkness.

But just as the realization dawned, the maze began to tremble. The shadows closed in, and Leegna knew that this was far from over. His journey was only beginning, but now, for the first time, he understood what he had to do.

And in that moment of clarity, as the creatures lunged at him from every direction, the chapter ended with Leegna's eyes glowing faintly with the power of the ring, a smirk forming on his lips.

"I will escape this place... and I will become who I'm meant to be."

A sudden flash of light, and the screen went black...