The air inside the maze was heavy, almost suffocating. It clung to Erwin like a second skin, laden with the weight of countless choices he'd already made to reach this point. His boots echoed loudly in the metallic corridor, the sound bouncing back at him like a warning. Ahead, the hallway opened into a circular chamber bathed in dim, pulsating light.
The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind him with a metallic clang. Erwin didn't flinch. He was used to the system's games by now.
At the center of the chamber, two pedestals stood, bathed in an unnatural glow. One held a crimson vial, the liquid inside swirling with a dangerous, almost alive energy. The other displayed a dull, gray stone that radiated warmth and a false sense of comfort.
Above the pedestals, glowing holographic text appeared in sharp, angular letters:
"Choose: Sacrifice or Survival."
Erwin's jaw tightened. He approached cautiously, his sharp eyes scanning the room for traps or hidden mechanisms. The system's trials were never straightforward, and this one felt particularly ominous.
"What's the system trying to teach me this time?" he muttered under his breath.
---
The crimson vial's glow intensified as he drew closer, as though it were aware of his presence. Its base bore an inscription in small, precise letters:
"One life for the sake of many."
He turned to the gray stone, its surface deceptively simple. Its inscription was equally ominous:
"Survive, but pay the price."
The words lingered in his mind, each option carrying weight far beyond the inscriptions.
Above the pedestals, the holographic text flickered, and a timer appeared:
00:10:00
Ten minutes to decide.
---
Erwin's sharp senses detected movement, and he immediately spun around, his hand on the hilt of his dagger. In the corner of the chamber, crumpled against the wall, was a figure—a young woman, pale and barely conscious. Her clothes were tattered, and a dark stain spread across her side.
She lifted her head weakly, her lips trembling as she whispered, "Help…"
Erwin approached cautiously, his dagger still drawn. The system was notorious for its deception. Was she real, or was this another piece of the puzzle?
"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice cold and clipped.
Her head lolled to the side, and she didn't answer. Her breathing was shallow, her skin clammy. Whether she was part of the trial or not, she was dying.
Erwin's gaze flicked back to the pedestals. The inscription on the crimson vial—"One life for the sake of many"—now carried a far more sinister implication.
"She's the life it wants me to sacrifice," he muttered.
---
The disembodied voice of the system echoed through the chamber, cold and unfeeling:
"The choice is simple: take the vial and sacrifice another's life, or take the stone and ensure your survival at the cost of what you hold dear."
Erwin gritted his teeth. The system never made things easy. It wanted more than his survival—it wanted to strip him of his humanity, to force him into decisions that would shape the man he was becoming.
His gaze returned to the woman. Her fragile form, the faint rise and fall of her chest, was a stark reminder of the cost of survival in this world.
---
Erwin prided himself on his cold logic, his ability to make hard choices without hesitation. Survival was paramount, and attachments were weaknesses.
But as he stared at the unconscious woman, something shifted. Memories clawed at the edges of his mind—memories of a time before the Paradox World, when he had been just a man, not a player in some twisted game.
"Damn it," he muttered, shaking his head. "She's just a stranger."
And yet…
Erwin's instincts, honed through countless trials, told him this wasn't just about survival. The system wasn't testing his strength; it was testing his resolve, his morality.
---
The timer ticked down mercilessly, the seconds slipping away like sand through his fingers.
Erwin took a deep breath, his mind a storm of conflicting thoughts. He looked at the crimson vial, its glow casting ominous shadows across the room.
"One life for the sake of many."
He looked back at the woman. Her breathing was faint, her skin pale, but she was alive.
"No matter what I choose," he thought bitterly, "I'll lose something."
With the timer ticking down to its final seconds, Erwin reached for the crimson vial.
The moment his fingers closed around it, the liquid inside began to glow brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat. The holographic text above the pedestals shifted, spelling out a new message:
"Sacrifice chosen. Payment extracted."
The vial grew hot in his hand, and a sharp, searing pain shot through his arm. Erwin gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out. The liquid inside the vial evaporated, disappearing into the air like mist.
The chamber began to shift, the walls melting away to reveal a new corridor.
---
Erwin staggered, the pain in his arm subsiding but leaving behind a dull ache. He turned toward the corner where the woman had been lying—only to find it empty.
His heart sank. The system had taken her, erased her existence as though she had never been there.
Erwin clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as anger simmered beneath his cold exterior. He had chosen to sacrifice her, and the system had taken her life as payment.
Above him, the holographic text reappeared one last time:
"Sacrifice is not without consequence. Proceed."
---
Erwin stood there for a long moment, the silence of the chamber pressing down on him. He had survived, but at what cost?
The system had forced his hand, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this trial had been about more than survival. It had been about shaping him, breaking him piece by piece.
With a deep breath, Erwin turned and walked into the next corridor. The maze stretched on, its twists and turns promising more trials, more impossible choices.
And though he wouldn't admit it, a part of him wondered if survival alone would ever be enough. And the gate opens once more and Erwin walks in without hesitation.