Vex weeped "Another puzzle?!"

  Aurelis nodded "Another puzzle."

  The two walked forward alongside the grass, the sun felt brighter and brighter under their skin.

  Across them, Zenshi stood still.

  He gazed at the two, biting his lower lip.

  Vex tilted his head towards Aurelis "Who.. is that?"

  Aurelis exhaled, his eyes narrowed "That's Zenshi, he can summon clones of his opponent's memories..."

  Vex's eyes widened, his fists raised up to his chest "He is the one from the maze!"

  Aurelis' head twisted towards Vex "..The maze?"

  Vex took a step forward "Yea! The place I was in..."

  Zenshi stepped forward, he pointed a finger at Vex, and from the tip of his finger black goo slowly dripped out.

  Vex stopped in his tracks "What the..?"

  Aurelis dashed forward "Don't let that distract you!"

  He threw an ice needle in Zenshi's direction.

  As soon as the goo formed a body, it's colors changed, first to white, then to pink.

  His head formed features, a white hair and blue eyes.

  The needle aurelis shot pierced the creation's torso.

  It fell to the ground, vanishing into thin air without a sound.

  Aurelis huffed "Dont let this thing create any clones."

  Vex nodded, stomping his foot "That bastard got me before, not this time."

  Zenshi's face remained still, he took a few steps back before turning around and running away.

  Vex and Aurelis ran after him, Aurelis straightened his hands downwards, ice under his feet formed in order to travel faster.

  As they chased Zenshi, a clone of Vex, one missing an eye, knocked Aurelis off his feet.

  Aurelis rolled back, using the momentum to leap up.

  His eyes darted between the two Vex's "Continue chasing him."

  Vex nodded "Alright!"

  Aurelis gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. His eyes locked on the eyeless Vex, whispering to himself "Can the clones even communicate?"

  The eyeless Vex nodded.

  Aurelis gasped, his pupils shrunk "You.. can understand me?"

  The eyeless Vex nodded again.

  The clone stepped forward, straightening his hand.

  Aurelis' eyes darted between the eyeless Vex and his hand "A.. handshake."

  He stretched his hand, shaking the eyeless Vex's hand.

  The eyeless Vex stood inplace, slowly reverting into a formless white goo.

  After a moment, its color changed to black, and after another, it fell into the floor, transmitted with the ground.

  Aurelis' head snapped towards Vex, watching him chase Zenshi from a distance "Something's wrong.."

  He swiped his hand, shooting an ice needle in Vex's direction "Something's wrong!"

  The ice needle hit the ground near Vex, piercing the grass with a chilling shatter.

  Vex tilted his head back, slowing down to a stop, shouting back "What is it?!"

  In an instant, Zenshi appeared in the space between them, the air thickened, blurring the two's vision.

  The sound of a clap pierced the air, the sun disappeared, and the space around them deformed into a house.

  As the two regained their vision, they found themselves near one another.

  Vex blurted "Where.. are we?"

  Aurelis stepped forward, his eyes darting around the place.

  In the middle of the house, a featureless body stood.

  Kisukan opened the door, humming to herself.

  She ignored Vex and Aurelis, as if they weren't there.

  she made her way to the body.

  She continued humming to herself.

  Vex whispered to Aurelis "That's.. an oddly alluring lullaby"

  Aurelis quietly nodded.

  Kisukan straightened her hand, her pointy ears twitching.

  Her smirk widened as she gouged the middle of the body's head with her thumb, hard enough to tear through it.

  Out of the hole, poured black goo.

  She swept the goo off the hole, leaving a straight mark, painting a face out of it.

  Kisukan giggled "I will call you.. Zenshi. An anagram for nature in Japanese, a nature of copying others. Silently."

  The goo on his face soaked into his head, growing an eye, and then another.

  A nose popped out, and a mouth quickly after.

  He slowly nodded.

  She clapped "Wonderful! You shall be my guardian."

  Zenshi nodded once more, not uttering a word.

  She tilted her head, her smirk froze "Unable to speak?"

  Zenshi stood still, his eyes gazing the floor.

  Kisukan patted his head "No need to."

  She clasped her hands, grinning "Alright, lets try forming clones, why don't we?"

  His head slowly tilted towards her.

  The moment his eyes locked with hers, he nodded, pointing a finger forward.

  Out of the tip of his finger, black goo dripped.

  The goo slowly formed another body, its color changing to white, and then shortly after growing orange hair, a face with blue eyes and a wide smile.

  Kisukan clapped "Amazing job, yes! My most cherished relic works!"

  She shot a sharp rock towards the newly formed Kisukan, slicing her neck.

  The Kisukan clone fell, and vanished. Kisukan pouted "Hmph.. We might have to work on that fragility."

  Zenshi nodded.

  Vex nudged Aurelis "What.. is he trying to show us?"

  Aurelis tilted his head to Vex "Are you stupid? That's his backstory."

  The moment Aurelis stopped speaking, the air thickened, blurring the two's vision.

  The house faded, Zenshi and Kisukan turned into a mist.

  After a moment, the grass field returned to their sight.

  Vex's head wobbled as he regained his vision, grasping his head "This is making my head spin.."

  Aurelis laid on the ground, his eyes gazing the sky.

  His head tilted towards the field's horizon.

  Zenshi walked in circles, aimlessly. Behind him, Kisukan clapped "Alright, first adventurer strolled in. Take care of him, will you?"

  Zenshi stopped, straightening his hand.

  Black goo dripped out of it, forming a rectangle.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The rectangle's color changed white, then brown, gaining a wooden texture.

  He pushed the rectangle, and as he went past it, the air around Aurelis and Vex changed.

  Vex forced his eyes shut "Not again!"

  The sun disappeared, darkness swallowed the two.

  The sound of a falling brick filled the air, a torch's light following shortly after.

  The two looked around, Vex tilted his head back "Is this..."

  He nodded to himself, and sighed "Yep. This is the maze.."

  Aurelis exhaled, mist forming out of his mouth "Well then, we better prepare."

  In front of the two, a man walked by.

  He wore a red necklace across his neck with a cross in the middle, his clothes dark red robes.

  Vex stepped forward, waving his hand "Hey!"

  The man walked away from Vex, mumbling to himself.

  Vex sighed "Is.. he ignoring us?"

  Aurelis snapped his fingers, shooting an ice needle towards the man.

  The ice needle pierced through him like butter, causing no damage "No.. It is another illusion."

  The man clutched his necklace as he turned over a corner.

  A shockwave exploded in the air, the man's body flung back, smashing into a wall.

  He fell on the floor, gasping for air "Wh-what in the atrocities?!"

  He tilted his head up, another him with a missing mouth lifted his leg.

  The man gasped again "In the name of the red cross, I will not die here!"

  He clutched his necklace harder, blood dripping from his hand.

  As the other-him's leg shot down, he rolled back, barely dodging the attack.

  The man's arm went limp, losing color "Tsk. I'll make you pay for that!"

  His lookalike stood still in front of him, gazing in the man's direction.

  The man gasped, blood dripping out of his mouth.

  The clone charged forward, lifting his leg up.

  The man lifted his hand, barely blocking the kick.

  The kick pierced through his hand, and then his stomach "I don't-"

  He coughed blood "I don't know who you are, but if I'm dying, you're dying with me!"

  He leaped forward, as the lookalike's leg caught inside his stomach.

  He barely lifted his hands around the lookalikes neck, his fingers sliding through like butter.

  He gasped as he fell back "H-huh?"

  The other him vanished into thin air, leaving him on the floor.

  His head twirled, his breathing slowly coming to a stop.

  Zenshi came by, dragging the man by his leg.

  He tilted his head back, scanning the corpse's attire.

  The moment he spotted the red necklace, he let go of the man, going around the corpse.

  He crouched, snatching the necklace off the man's neck.

  Zenshi lifted it up, examining it infront of one of the torches.

  He closed his hands around the necklace, and as he opened his hands, it was gone.

  He went around the corpse again, lifting it's leg up and dragging it out the dungeon.

  Vex stuttered "B-body disposal. That.. Explains the body we saw, huh?"

  He let out an awkward chuckle. Aurelis sighed "I guess so. What is there more to see in this place anyways, huh?"

  Behind them, a woman walked by, a blonde with a dark green spear in hand.

  Her eyes were sharp yellow, clothes with white fur and dark blue gloves.

  She hummed to herself as she skipped around the dungeon with carelessness.

  As she walked down the hall Vex and Aurelis found themselves in, another her stood still.

  She squeezed her eyes, hard enough to see the other her "..Huh?"

  The other her tilted her head up, revealing a faceless head.

  The woman gasped, clutching her spear harder, smiling an awkward smile "Wh- hello?"

  She shouted towards the other her.

  The other her walked forward, making her step backwards "S-step back! I have a weapon!"

  She held her spear high. Her clone continued walking forward, even quicker.

  She squeaked, turning around and running back.

  A loud crunch erupted. Vex turned around.

  As he looked at the girl, he nudged Aurelis "Look!"

  The girl's stomach was pierced with her own spear.

  She coughed, puking blood "N-no.. this cant be it..!"

  She clutched her spear, trying to pull it out.

  She stepped back, tripping under her own feet.

  Infront of her, another clone stood.

  She gasped once more, her hands trying their hardest to pull the spear out.

  Against her own force, the spear pierced deeper, slowly covering her body in roots.

  Her hands stopped moving.

  As her whole body stood still, Zenshi appeared behind a corner.

  He touched the tip of the spear, quickly moving his hand back.

  He sighed, stretching his hand forward, making black goo drip out.

  It gently coated the spear, going through her body to cover it whole.

  The moment it was fully covered, the goo dropped to the floor, and the spear was no longer there.

  He clapped twice, and the woman's clone tore the roots off, breaking them one by one.

  Zenshi looked back, gazing towards Aurelis and Vex.

  He whispered something intangible to himself, and the torches turned off.

  Aurelis and Vex laid on grass.

  Vex snapped his head up "Huh?"

  He tore off some grass weeds, placing his hand in front of his face "We're.. back on grass?"

  Aurelis leaped up, brushing leftover weeds off his body "Thank god."

  Zenshi stood in front of them, his voice stern but weak "They came in the hundreds.."

  He clutched his shirt "It... I just filled orders. That's all I was born to do."

  A tear rolled down his eye.

  He gasped, slapping himself in the face.

  The tear burst, the droplet's pieces and fell on the grass "No, an object cant feel."

  His voice lowered, he wiped the moist off and turned around.

  Aurelis grabbed Zenshi's shoulder "If you can shed a tear, you can smile. The way you were created does not define your emotions."

  Zenshi turned around, another tear rolled down his cheek "You.. really think a relic can feel?"