Ghost's Misty-fying Maze

“What a headache…” 

Arik found himself sitting down on a floor of some kind, a migraine forming seemingly from no where. He could barely remember what had happened…

“AH!” Red flashed into his eyes. He remembered now. He had accidentally chosen to enter someone named… Ghost…’s maze? 

“Dang it all. Miserable me must have tripped. That damn Masked… uh… Maskoff! I was just trying to go out and be social for once.” Arik brought himself to his feet as fog curled and swirled closer to him. “What have I gotten myself into…”

Arik remembered running out towards the edge of the fair and stumbling into this strange labyrinth— and tripping over something… he couldn’t remember. But all of these thoughts suddenly halted all at once with a voice creeping into his ears.

“Ah, you’ve finally awoken. Many others have begun their descent into my Maze.” There was a haunting chuckle from the Cypherus Grem, apparently known as Ghost, with mist seemingly dripping from its form in front of Arik. “Oh, not to worry, this won’t affect your journey. I’ve particularly insured you’ll face your own set of fears here. Maskoff only allows me to draw others in once in awhile after all…”

There was an oozing tone of false calm in this Grem’s voice, Arik had found. His recessive blood type was still coursing through his own veins, eyes and ears, mouth, all flushed with red from fear and aggravation. 

“Well look, I never signed up for this!” Arik yelled indignantly. The Ghost-Grem didn’t seem to care Arik had said this at all, and continued speaking meanwhile. “I will be hunting you down with one of my creations, don’t you recognize them?” Ghost said. 

A shadow was forming from the mist, resembling Arik’s form with lashing split tail and tall build. It dashed away into more shadows, and Arik wasn’t sure if more had begun to take its place. 

“Well, good luck— getting through here. You’ll be brought back to the beginning if you are found during your trek. You’ll need to reach the end in some destined amount of time, but you won’t be rushed, per say.” 

Arik shivered terribly, and all at once shouted some choice language in Ghost’s direction. But the Cypherus Grem simply laughed and faded into nothingness. 

Arik was all at once alone and rather terrified. His recessive blood had calmed, and his head was returning to a clearer state. Pounding from his earlier fall, but nonetheless rational came back to him.

“Well, little does this Ghost know that I’ve read up on my old myths… and the one way to ensure you don’t backtrack in a Labyrinth is to always have your right arm following the wall to your right. And of course… I don’t happen to have any thread with me right now. That would’ve been helpful if they had been honest about their intentions!” He stamped the ground a bit indignantly. 

“Getting angry isn’t going to help me escape these…” shadows moved out of the corner of Arik’s eyes, “things… though.” 

With a quicker pace than one might normally start with, Arik descended into the foggy and unsettling sound filled maze, and set out with his right arm following the wall. It was reassuring, at least, to touch something in this fog…

…

And so it went, for hours it seemed to Arik, and with no idea of how much progress had been made. He had been dragged back three times by the shadowy doppelgängers, and gotten frightened by all manner of ghosts and ghouls another ten times. All trying to tear his arm from the right guiding firm wall. 

He shouted at the air, half in a yell of frustration and the other half in a scream of fear.

“You hear me Ghost, I’m not going to let you beat me!” Blood flushed again to Arik’s face. This time Arik had surpassed his previous trips, and had gotten a newer area that seemed aglow with will-o-the-wisps, casting something of a more calming atmosphere into the gloom.

In fact, Arik noticed in general a change in the general atmosphere here, he had noticed other Grem stumbling throughout the Maze, but no one was here right now… was this a final area of sorts? 

“Well it seems I just needed some time and energy to follow my thoughts to this conclusion.” Arik told himself, almost a verbal pat on the back.

In fact… was that more light from something up ahead? A door like shape… white and bright in the gloom.

“AH! Finally!!! But I must be careful…” calmly, Arik strode towards the lightened doorway. Expecting entirely for some horrible manifestation to show its head at the last moment. 

Except…

“Arik… its so cold. What happened?” A small voice trembled.

Arik whipped his head in confusion, “No… nothing but illusions, you won’t bother me Ghost!”

He started to pick up his pace, but the voice kept pleading again and again.

“I don’t understand, where am I? What happened? Things were so good, then weren’t they?” The voice continued in a chant of sorts.

Arik trembling called out a name, “You aren’t real are you? No, you passed years ago! Ghost is just trying to get me caught again!!!” Panicked, Arik lost his grip on the right wall, and started to wheel about, shadows creeping into his vision. 

The voice continued to plead for aid, and the shadow-gangers crept closer to Arik.

All at once, Arik startled and slapped his cheek. “No… this is an illusion. This is a low blow, Ghost.” Arik spat to the foggy air. He gathered his energy and sprinted forward, tail nearly being touched by the incoming shadows—-

And all at once upon touching the doorway’s light, Arik found himself out of the Maze.

“Hm… I suppose you wouldn’t fall for that… shame. It was enjoyable watching you freeze though.” Ghost’s voice echoed in some amount of distance. 

“A low blow indeed.” Arik mumbled, tears forming on his eyes.