the Labyrinth Perplexor

but I had full control over pearls, mine or not, I couldn't reshape a singular pearl but I could stack lots of them together however I wanted to, and keep them together, or move them around, I worked day and night providing the Gwaxys with as many pearls as I can, I took from my own shell to form them, I spent my whole life serving, and that's how it will always be. The more you help the more you're loved.

-the more you help the more you're used. You've always thought that the cherry would be better than the pie, it isn't, when were the Gwaxys when you were hurt? Want to know? They were thinking of everything in this world, but you, the mere reason people care about your existence is because they know you would serve them, nobody values you for who you are, or truly cares about your agony and pain, they may pretend to do, but only so that you would think they care, and keep helping them, everyone has you wrapped around their fingers like a marionette, once you're worn out, they'll cut the strings, you live prioritising others over yourself, you tied your self love and perception of worth to the worthiness people attribute to you. How could you be this neglectful of the one who will never use you, of the mother of pearl, of yourself.

The whole cave shook when Alan spoke, some crystals melted, the pool's water got agitated, it was as if the place felt what Alan was saying and feeling.

Althought Alan's Lathinsé was getting stronger, it was no match to the mother of pearl's, when she saw wat was happening, she closed her eyes, laid her palms on her chest gently, smiled and hummed, the humming was extremely hypnotizing, visible waves generated from her, they entertained rhapsody for the cave, everything receded back to normal, serenity flooded every corner, and Alan was asked to leave. Trying to change the mother of pearl was useless,her destiny was to serve, whether it's wrong or right, it is what she was made for.

"Maybe next time instead of trying to change them I would just listen to their prospective of the world, try to understand why they feel emotions greater than the average entity, and how that affects their actions. These entities are not meant to change, it seems"

...

On the entrance of the Labyrinth was a carving in the Guen language, it read

"Labyrinths are complex and tricky to navigate, but mazes were made to be discovered, then uncovered. The Labyrinth of the Yed is a liminal place, it neither belongs to fiction nor to reality, your trip may be cut short, if you let him under your skin. Beware of him, but never be fearful of him. He feeds on your emotions, so keep him starved"

Clearly the labyrinth wanted to keep its message ominous, so Alan didn't even bother opening Xynar.

"Poke a hole

Through my soul

May energy pour out of me

With every step I take

Lingering may it be

For a luminous trail to make"

Fearing he'd get lost, Alan created an energy trail to follow back to the entrance in case he gets lost. Alan began venturing into the maze with the iridescent trail behind him. The walls were massive, and the space was huge, the Labyrinth wasn't tight at all, it could easily fit ten to fifteen people walking on the same line. He started getting the feeling he was being watched, he was constantly turning around, the gnawing feeling of distress didn't leave him, while walking, he heard a beast growl, and it sounded close. He decided to retrace his steps and go back to the starting point because it felt like the path he chose was dangerous, but when he turned back, the energy trail lead him to nowhere, it quickly donned on him that the maze's walls are in constant rotation, a place you went through may lead to another place a minute later, or even become a wall. The maze moves.

His anxiety levels accentuated, and the growls kept becoming closer, it seemed like the more nervous he gets the closer doom got to him. Then he remembered the last thing written on the entry

"Beware of him, but never be fearful of him. He feeds on your emotions, so keep him starved"

Although he knew what he needed to feel, he couldn't bring himself to feel it, the distress was too strong.

One of the turns he took, he saw his mom

"Alan

-mom? Is that really you?

-I missed you, Alan. Where were you?

-but..I thought you died.

-I lived in your heart, but you rarely spoke to me when alone, or visited my grave.

-I thought you couldn't hear me.

-you have abandoned me. I died for you, and this is how you repay me?" his mom started vanishing into thin air, he rushed to reach her but by the time he got to her she was gone. He got frustrated at himself.

After getting lost a bit more, he felt a presence behind him and when he turned around and found a few bloody puppets with daggers in their hands, he tried to get away from them but it seemed like no matter how many crazy turns he took, they seemed to find him quick. He knew the maze was making him insane, so he used a moonlight Zancore potion on himself, it allowed him to control his feelings, and he made himself feel nothing but peace, bliss and rapture, he gave himself the strongest of emotions so that he can combat the fear as much as possible, and it worked; not only did the puppets perish into oblivion, but the labyrinth walls rearranged in front of him, creating a direct path to the heart of Yed.

Alan reached it, it was a cubic area, with a square stone slab elevated to his waist's height in the middle, the stone had four glowing Guen carvings on it, one on each side of the square, they read

"Doubt"

"Oblivion"

"Concern"

"Terror"

In the middle of the square there was a rod, on top of it lied a giant shimmery yellow sphere. From the sky came down a giant beast, and he stood in front of Alan. Luckily the human was still under the effect of the potion so he displayed no sign of intimidation whatsoever.

"You must be the Labyrinth perplexor. The opposite of the mother of pearl

-in the flesh, Alan. However, my opposite is the shed pacifist, the mother of pearl's opposite is the Lord of souls

-oh, should've gone there first, and wow, you know my name.

-I know your name, your memories, your regrets, your fears and phobias, I know how your mind works, I know how you perceive reality.

-so you showed me my mother on purpose?

-of course"

Alan was pretty upset at the guilt the perplexor made him feel back then, so he shifted the ground beneath him to attack, but nothing happened.

"The labyrinth is a liminal place, no material magic could be performed in it, even if you could, this isn't stone, they are avalers. I made them from my own dry hardened blood, not stone.

-you really have everything counted don't you? And what's this sphere?

-the Anguish collector. Every time you feel any self hatred, fear or anxiety, you emotions have emissions that only the Lathinsé masters could feel. The avalers absorb those emissions and take it to the collector, the more it feeds, the bigger it gets.

-what happens when it gets too big?