Zoren stepped through the First Door of Madness.
Instantly, the air changed.
The world around him warped.
The sky? A swirling void of black and red.
The ground? Cracked, burned, and soaked in something he really didn''t want to identify.
And in the middle of this hellscape, there was a man.
No.
A monster.
A towering reflection of himself, but distorted—
Wild silver hair. Unhinged eyes that glowed like dying stars. A body wrapped in darkness, pulsing like a living void.
Zoren squinted.
And then he noticed something worse.
The corpses.
Torn apart. Scattered. People he knew.
Nyssa.
Talis.
Linda.
Their lifeless eyes stared at him.
Zoren took a deep breath.
"...Huh."
--
He rubbed his eyes.
Still there.
He looked behind him.
The door was gone.
He turned back.
The evil version of himself was still standing there, watching him with a wicked grin.
Zoren crossed his arms. "Alright. What the hell is this?"
Evil Zoren tilted his head. "Isn''t it obvious? This is your future."
"Right. Sure. And next, you''re gonna tell me I was always destined for this, right?"
"Not destined. Just inevitable."
Zoren rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. ''Inevitable?'' What are you, a villain from a cheap stage play?"
Evil Zoren''s grin widened. "You joke, but deep down, you know it''s true. The Core inside you is waiting. It''s patient. But one day, it will take over. And when it does…"
He spread his arms.
"This happens."
Zoren nodded slowly.
Then he clapped.
Slowly.
Evil Zoren: "…What are you doing?"
"Just appreciating the effort. The whole ''tragic future vision'' thing? Classic. Love the atmosphere. Great presentation. But…"
He pointed at Evil Zoren.
"It''s kinda lazy."
Evil Zoren blinked. "What?"
"Like, come on. This again? ''Oh no! I lose control! I kill everyone! I become a monster!'' Blah blah blah. Real original."
Evil Zoren frowned. "This isn''t a story, idiot. This is the truth."
Zoren scoffed. "Oh, please. This is a test. I''ve seen enough of these ''fate'' illusions to know how they work."
Evil Zoren narrowed his eyes. "And yet… you''re still afraid, aren''t you?"
The air grew heavier.
Suddenly—
Zoren felt it.
A flood of memories.
Every time his Core had spiraled out of control.
Every moment where it felt less like his power and more like a curse.
Every second where the thought crept in—"What if one day… I lose control for real?"
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
His hands started shaking.
For just a moment—
He saw the faces of the people he killed.
The blood.
The look in their eyes.
And in that silence—
Evil Zoren''s voice whispered.
"You know it''s true. You can''t stop it."
---
Zoren stood completely still.
Evil Zoren smiled.
"You can already feel it, right? The truth sinking in. Soon, you''ll—"
SMACK.
Zoren slapped himself across the face.
Evil Zoren: "…Huh?"
Zoren shook his head violently. "Nope. Nope, nope, NOPE. Not doing this. Not today."
Evil Zoren blinked. "Wha—"
Zoren pointed aggressively. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I''VE SEEN THIS TROPE?!"
Evil Zoren: "What?!"
"EVIL ME KILLS EVERYONE. I ''SEE THE TRUTH.'' I GO CRAZY. BLAH BLAH, BLAH. I''M NOT PLAYING THIS GAME."
Evil Zoren stared. "That''s not how this works—"
"NOPE."
The world started glitching.
The battlefield cracked like glass.
Zoren kept ranting.
"Listen. I may be reckless, but I''m not an idiot. I KNOW what this is. You''re trying to get me to believe this is my fate, so I just accept it. Classic manipulation nonsense."
Evil Zoren took a step back. "You… you''re supposed to be in despair."
Zoren rolled his eyes. "Oh, I AM in despair. But that''s because this test is so damn lazy!"
The battlefield shook violently.
Evil Zoren grabbed his head. "No, NO! You have to—"
Zoren punched him in the face.
BOOM.
Evil Zoren EXPLODED INTO SMOKE.
The battlefield collapsed.
And suddenly—
Zoren was standing in front of the door again.
---
Zoren rubbed his chin.
"…Man. That was dumb."
The door opened.
A deep voice echoed.
"You have passed the Trial of Truth."
Zoren snorted. "THAT was a ''truth?'' Pfft. If I ever turn into an evil monster, someone slap me."
A pause.
Then—
The voice spoke again.
"…Noted."
Zoren froze.
"…Wait. Who said that?!"
---
Zoren stepped forward.
The second door loomed before him, its surface writhing like a living thing. Shadows coiled around the frame, whispers bleeding from the cracks like leaking memories. He clenched his fists. He had survived the first door. He had endured pain beyond comprehension.
This one felt different.
His breath hitched as the door pulled him in, reality unraveling around him.
And then—
Agony.
A searing pain, deeper than any wound, deeper than any battle scar. It wracked his body—no, not his body—someone else''s.
He was lying on cold stone, his vision blurred by sweat and blood. His fingers dug into the ground, nails splitting against the rough surface as his body convulsed. Every breath was a struggle, every heartbeat a war.
Zoren wasn''t himself. He was her.
His mother.
The realization hit like a thunderclap. He wasn''t just witnessing this moment. He was living it.
Pain surged through him, raw and unbearable. He felt the life within him—the fragile, yet undeniable force of a child desperate to be born. The storm outside raged, howling as if the world itself opposed this birth. Fire rained from the heavens, crashing into the land with deafening roars. The temple trembled beneath the weight of fate.
Tears blurred his vision—her vision—as she gasped for breath, body wracked with torment. And then—
A cry.
His cry.
Through her eyes, Zoren saw himself for the first time. A newborn, small and fragile, yet impossibly heavy in her arms. A child that should not exist.
A Core, unlike any before.
One side, abyssal black—an endless void consuming the light around it. One side, brilliant white—a radiance too pure, too blinding.
She saw it. She understood.
Fear seized her heart. Not fear of death. Not fear of pain.
Fear for him.
The world would never accept him. The world would hunt him. His very existence was a crime against the balance of power.
She pressed a small pendant into his tiny fingers, the metal cool against his fragile skin. A sigil of forgotten history. A name lost to time.
"Live."
The temple''s entrance shattered.
Dark figures moved through the firelit haze, their cloaks billowing in the storm''s wrath. Their faces masked, their weapons gleaming.
Titan Hunters.
Their leader stepped forward, his voice as steady as stone. "The child must die."
There was no rage in his tone. No hatred. Only duty.
Zoren felt the weight of his mother''s decision. Her body screamed for rest, but she would not yield. She would not let them take him.
She ran.
Through the ruins, through the flames, through the storm that clawed at her with every step. She ran.
The first spear struck her back.
She did not fall.
The second pierced her leg.
She did not stop.
She held him tighter, whispering promises she would never have the chance to keep. Her heartbeat slowed, her vision darkened.
Then—
The third blade found her heart.
The world lurched. A sickening cold flooded her body. Her steps faltered.
But even as she fell, she did not let go.
Zoren—no, his mother—crashed to the earth. Her breath came in ragged gasps, warmth pooling beneath her. This was it.
Her final defiance.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then—
His cry.
A sound that shattered the heavens. A wail that sent a tremor through the temple ruins. The storm twisted, fire bent toward him, the very air trembled at his presence.
And then—
He felt their fear.
Not hatred.
Fear.
Through her dying eyes, he saw the Titan Hunters hesitate. Their weapons wavered. The leader clenched his blade, his hands shaking.
They weren''t just killers.
They weren''t just hunters.
They had seen this before. They had known.
The leader''s voice, barely above a whisper—
"He is the one,probably"
Zoren''s mind reeled. What did that mean? What had they known?
His mother''s strength finally gave out. Darkness swallowed her vision. Her last thought was not regret. Not sorrow.
Only love.
And then—
Zoren awoke.
The trial ended. The vision faded. But the weight of it—the truth of it—remained.
He fell to his knees, chest heaving, his mind spiraling. This wasn''t just about revenge. This wasn''t just about hatred.
The Titan Hunters had known something.
Something about him.
The Second Door of Madness had not shown him suffering. It had shown him a question.
Who was he, truly?
And why had the world tried to erase him before he had even taken his first breath?
And why kill his mother ?
---
Zoren stepped through the final door, his breath steady, his mind anything but. He had fought through pain, through terror, through the echoes of his past. But this door… this was different.
There was no storm. No fire. No ruins.
Just peace.
And that terrified him more than anything.
He stood in a quiet village, the scent of freshly baked bread wafting through the air. Children laughed as they ran past him, chasing each other with wooden swords. A merchant haggled with an old woman over the price of apples. Somewhere, a bard plucked at a lute, singing a song about a hero long forgotten.
It was… nice.
Too nice.
Zoren blinked, and suddenly—he saw himself.
Or rather, a version of himself.
A man with no Core. No power. Just an ordinary life. He worked at a smithy, his face smudged with soot, a satisfied grin on his lips as he wiped sweat from his brow. He had a house. A small one, with a garden. Inside, a woman—his wife?—called him for dinner, laughing as a child tugged at her dress, asking when "Papa" would come inside.
Zoren''s eye twitched.
"Okay. Now I know this is a nightmare."
A voice chuckled beside him.
He turned. A man sat on a nearby bench, lazily picking at his nails with a dagger. His face was hidden under a wide-brimmed hat, but there was something annoyingly familiar about him.
The man smirked. "Welcome to the final trial."
Zoren crossed his arms. "Yeah? What''s the challenge? Do I have to wrestle a giant? Fight my own reflection? Survive a thousand years in a time loop?"
The man shook his head. "Nah. You just have to decide."
"…Decide what?"
"To stay."
The words sent a chill down Zoren''s spine.
"Here?" He gestured to the village. "In this… peaceful little lie?"
"Peaceful, yes. A lie?" The man shrugged. "Only if you think happiness is a lie."
Zoren gritted his teeth. "You expect me to believe this is real?"
The man leaned forward. "It could be. All you have to do is give it up."
"Give what up?"
"Your Core."
Silence. Heavy, suffocating.
The man continued, his voice smooth, like a salesman pitching a deal too good to be true. "No more fighting. No more running. No more being hunted for what you are. You could be normal, Zoren. A simple life. A family. You''d never have to worry about anyone using you again. Never have to fear losing the people you love."
The words dug into him.
Deep.
Too deep.
For a moment, he let himself imagine it.
No more battles. No more blood. Just waking up to the scent of fresh bread. A warm bed. A smiling face waiting for him at home.
It would be…
Easy.
His hands clenched into fists.
"…What''s the catch?"
The man grinned. "Sharp as ever. If you stay, you won''t just lose your power. You''ll lose your memories." He tilted his head. "Your friends? Gone. Your journey? Never happened. You''d live a long, peaceful life, but you''d never remember who you really were."
Zoren felt his stomach twist.
Forget everything?
Forget Talis''s dumb jokes? Forget Linda''s scolding?
Forget the pain.
Forget the struggle.
Forget why he had come this far in the first place.
His chest ached.
For a second, just a second—he wavered.
Then, a voice.
Small. Familiar.
"…Live."
His mother''s voice.
Not just live.
Live free.
His eyes snapped open, sharp as blades. He looked at the man—the illusion, the trick, the lie—and grinned.
"You almost had me."
The man sighed, standing up and dusting off his coat. "Shame. You would''ve made a fine blacksmith."
Zoren rolled his shoulders. "Yeah, well. I think I''d miss some people too much."
The world around him cracked.
The village faded. The laughter disappeared. The scent of bread turned to ash.
The man—no, the trial itself—gave him one last look. "You do realize what you''re choosing, right?"
Zoren''s smirk didn''t waver. "Yeah. The hard path." He turned, walking toward the door that had appeared before him. "The one that''s actually mine."
The moment he stepped through, the world shattered like glass.
Zoren gasped, stumbling forward as reality came rushing back. The doors of madness were behind him now, their trials burned into his soul.
And at last—
He was free.
---
To be continued