Arc 3 - Chapter 2: Second Circle: Willingness

"It's safe to land my author."

"Alright then."

Past the flame of the first floor, Yhaovi felt he stepped on marble stone, cold and lifeless, the feeling under his feet. In front of his eye is a tower, the gate is closed but the moment Yhaovi reach the gate he felt something isn't correct. 

"You sense it too isn't it Quill."

"Yes my author, something isn't right."

The tower slowly change everything surround, the marble stone ground slowly erected to the sky and the world around turn into a maze, the tower can be seen from a far distance. Another labyrinth, the wall seem to last forever but Yhaovi don't waste any time and moving forward. The wall soon shift every second and the world change its color after that. Keep playing with the rule, Yhaovi keep moving inside the maze, he played this game before, he know anything can be solved but the more he goes, the more he lost. But in this maze there is no dead end, all road last forever so a maze with no end.

"My author..."

"They want to play a game but i don't have time for this, destroy this place, i have enough with these quiz. This memory, they want me to show them my merciless side. Then they shall see everything."

The last thing Yhaovi want to use is his rage, those dark memories is nothing different from the poison slowly corrupt his mind. The longer he walk in the more the memory came back for him, they slowly replace the good memory, the memories of torment and pain slowly creep into his mind. And in the end, his mind snap, this is the limit now he will let those sorrowful memories take him over.  Another garden rise, but the garden creature is different, the flower on the ground is white rose and the vine full of thorn. From the garden the butterfly appear but whenever it touch the wall, the crack appear on them instead. The vines cover the wall and the butterfly slowly erode the wall, the memories of being hurt and tormented slowly replace the joyful memories. The memories turned into nothing more than the fuel for his rage, he want to destroy this labyrinth if it not disappear on its own.

"Like all tyrant and arrogant fool dare to stand in my way, watching me trapped in the labyrinth you created on your own. Then all you get is a mass of crumbling stone, all tower must fall. This world don't need a tyrant."

The labyrinth crumble into dust, Yhaovi takes a breath of relieve like he just take out all of his frustuation, he walk toward the tower slowly. The butterfly and the vines slowly move after him, if the abyss want a battle of darkness then he shall give them a battle with darkness. The tower denide to open the gate but they stand no chance against the butterfly, the butterfly slowly erode the door and Yhaovi step inside. The structure of the tower is the same as a library. On the chair in the center of the tower is a person but something isn't right.

"Let's play a game little intruder."

The man jump from the chair and the book on the shelves start to floating around in the air, and with the command the book open and cover the space around Yhaovi, slowly the form a sphere and cover both of them. The books use the illusion to turn the space around into the Sea of Star.

"I am Yuzur, the librarian, the judge, this shall be the end for you, Yhaovi, all of your past sin is written here."

"I want to know my past too you know. Well since you are the one who begin to toy with me first, i guess i will go all out."

Yuzur conjure a blade and throw it at Yhaovi, the blade explode and shoot out more blade from the center mark the start of the battle. Yhaovi know his pray upon the black garden can't protect him the attack come from Yuzur and his prayer of light can't be use if he have sorrowful memory in his mind. Yhaovi avoid the large blade but he got cut by smaller blade, the pain infuse with the sorrowful memories driving him further into madness. Nothing can wake him up from this nightmare, even with the calling from Quil, Yhaovi can't open his mind and a question appear in his mind.

"How long are you going to suffer, how long are you going to remain inside your dream, how long are you willing to let yourself remain in the dream you can't wake up from ? If you just want to suffer then give up and stop fighting."

How long have he fight like this, always retaliating and never fight for anything on his own will, whenever something so hard, anything so fearful, he took shelter in his own dreamland. If anything try to hurt him, he will retaliate with the garden. In his mind, he always choose to defend himself rather than fight anyone.

"So you just let him hurt you ? He stand further than you and are you sure you can retaliate his attack ?"

"Why don't you just me do the job ? You can go back to your dreamland."

"No."

"Did i heard you say no ? Look, you can't even fight against him. I'm not gonna let us get killed by your fault."

"I will do this on my own, i have my own will and i won't let you take over."

"I would like to see you try."

"This is my garden."

Yhaovi call the vine forward and from the point the vine cross a white rose bloom, the blade hit the vine is being crushed and if it hit the rose it will be stopped. The vine sphere grow larger and when the sphere near take over the dimension the butterfly appear, if they attack any structure, they will crode the structure but if they attack a living creature they will sap their stamina. 

"This is the way i fight, no matter agressive or defensive i won't stray from my path. My dream or the reality, i accept both of them."

Yuruz slowly fall into unconciousness and from him, a small orb of shadow formed and flew away, Yuruz slowly stand up, his face shown he has faced against something so horrible.

"Did i hurt you ? If i do then i am sorry... Did Fafnir safe ? "

"Slow down, everything is fine now. Let's do everything like this, i ask you one question, you give me an answer and vice versa."

"Alright, i will ask first, did i hurt you ?"

"A little bit but that isn't a great deal. Alright then, i saw a small shadow orb appear from you when i defeat you, did something happen ?"

"Yes, the abyss with the correct name for it is the place where we judge those with afterlife, fafnir as the watchman and the warden act to maintain the order of the abyss and i am the judge. Anyone from the lower floor is not our concern, one day i start to feel losing conciousness and i felt i am not control myself any longer. Is fafnir alright ?"

"Who is Fafnir ?"

"The warden of the first circle, that white dragon, he always afraid of his own appearance so he use illusion to hide it. Even he is a warden but he is really kind and treat everyone with the same treatment, anyone enter his circle with a judgement from my circle will be trapped in an illusion. Even we tried to talk he always say that they already suffer enough when they live, so when they leave this world they should live in a dream. So is he safe ?"

"Don't worry, he still fine and sleeping inside his illusion, i make sure he is safe after all."

"Even a mighty dragon still hate his own creation and try to hide in a dream. But i don't hate that, he is a just a child after all."

"So do you know anything in the lower floor ?"

"There are 5 floor total, the first floor as you see is the prison, the second floor is the court, the third floor is archive, the fourth floor is the chasm, it is used to travel between continent of this world and the fifth floor is where our father live."

"Father ?"

"The one who created us but if i got affected like this i guess there must be something wrong with him, please help our father."

"Don't worry, i will help you after all something in this abyss try to hurt my friend out there so helping you is helping me after all. So the way down ?"

"Well, let's take a walk outside alright ?"

"I suggest not."

"What are you talking... about..."

The moment Yuzur see the door he know everything, the door is destroyed, the stone maze outside is crumbled and nothing remain on the ground in one piece. The scene outside is nothing different from a ruin, Yuzur only see Yhaovi smile and he know everything, five book fly out from the library and they start scaning the ruin, a magic is used and everything is restored.

"It should took a while but i managed to fix the damage, the gate lead to the third circle. This could be a problem."

"What is it ?"

"The door got blocked, there are some type of seal over it, maybe there will be some record in the library can help us. And you could learn more about the archive."

Yhaovi and Yuzur head back into the tower, not as great as the archive the court can provide all basic knowledge. The court also act as a second way to bring the knowledge about a person record, but as Yhaovi know, only Yuzur can showing other those record. But even after Yhaovi ask, Yuzur didn't know anything because there is no record exist about Yhaovi. So the shadow only taunt him about knowing his past, the reason for the door to the archive is sealed is a sigil on it shape like a myosotis.

"It could be like this, Yhaovi, there might be a way to break the seal on the door to the third floor. If you pour light magic into the flower, you can summon the guardian and the defeat the guardian will remove the seal."

"Alright then."

The moment Yhaovi pray, the garden start to appear, the flower bloom and butterflies appear on the lock. The sigil glow and from the sigil is a person appear, he wear white armor, the knight charge at Yhaovi at the same moment he appear. The garden vine appear and bind him but the knight manifest a sword and cut through the vine, the flower and the butterfly can't stop him. 

"You thought that is everything in my garden ? Morphis !"

From the vine a of the garden, the cocoon break and from inside the cocoon is a mysterious gentleman with a pair of butterfly wings. Morphis wears a mask and in his hand is a set of knives, at the moment the white knight charge forward Morphis he is stopped. The white knight is binded in a set of string, the blade and the string dancing around the white knight, the string moving with the knife cut through the armor but the knight not giving up. Resisting the string the knight charge forward but he forgot about Yhaovi's garden. The vine become spear and pierce through the white knight armor. 

"That should take care of everything, you can return to the garden now Morphis."

The gentleman bow his head and a vortex paint appear and drag him back into the garden, the sigil is removed and the gate open again. Yhaovi say goodbye to Yuzur and jump into the black void.

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