We walked for what I guessed was at least a twelve kilometer, zigzagging between the infinite corridors of the maze. Every so often we would find a room identical to the others, but with a baroque piece of furniture or a piece of modern art in its center or some other strange object and item.

It didn't make sense that they were there. But neither did our situation.

It was difficult to know where we had been and where we were going. The roads forked and joined as if viewing them through a kaleidoscope. I would swear that more than once I could see ourselves walking in the distance, like a mirage.

Sometimes we would stop in complete silence to wait for the Tulpas to pass by.

"Don't you think Tulpas look like slimes like in video games?" Taylor said suddenly.

"What did you say?" I asked, confused. "They are just Tulpas in their most basic and vile form, I already explained that to you. They don't have a nickname because they don't need a nickname."

"I understand... but, they're all slimy and jelly like, well... Slimes. Is that the only form they can have?”

"They can take the form of whoever creates them from their wishes, but nobody created them directly, they are energy without form or purpose. The product of the influence of all the minds that connects this space."

"Then it's perfect to call them Slime! In many RPGs they are the product of magical waste or abandoned experiments."

"Call it what you want" I sighed, giving up arguing.

We continued walking a while longer until we reached an open space, different from the rest of the labyrinth. It was circular. The black amber walls were encrusted with gems connected with lines of silver light, forming constellations.

In its center was a crystalline platform about one meter high, above it a white door radiated light, warmth and ecstasy.

It seemed that the source of the Mercury was the door.

"That must be the way out!" Taylor said as soon as he saw it.

"Wait…” I grabbed him to stop us in our tracks. “ It's not that way."

It was not the exit, I could recognize the door of my dreams wherever I went.

"It's the only door we've seen in hours! It has to be the way out?" Taylor replied, exasperated, evidently tired of searching.

"I know that door. Whatever is behind it cannot be good. Trust me!"

"No way… Lume… So where is the exit?"

I did not answer, I was very worried, trying to understand why the door to my mind was there, posing as the exit to this situation… Entering my mind would only make everything worse...

"Lume!" Taylor yelled at me in panic, breaking me from my thoughts. The door had distracted me too much. I hadn't noticed the Tulpa Slimes piling up around the round room’s exits, including the route we entered.

"We'll have to fight." I wasn't quite sure what I was saying, but I said it with conviction so as not to make Taylor any more nervous.

"Can we even hurt them?" He asked. "Let's make something clear first, are these our real bodies or is it like in a dream that if you die you wake up?”

"If they catch you, they'll swallow you whole and you'll dissolve inside them in a slow, agonizing death." I replied, dryly.

Taylor swallowed anxiously, not quite sure what he was supposed to do.

"Do they have any form of weak point?" He was clearly scared.

"I don't know if it helps to defend yourself... I... I'll take care of it."

At that moment, I made a decision that went against everything I had done for the last 7 years, against the aimless and unhappy being I had become, who had abandoned everything he loved because he felt he did not deserve it. But this wretch of a person I felt I had been was not going to allow someone to get hurt because of him... never again.

If I wanted us to get out of this alive, I'd have to do magic again.

I rolled up the sleeves of my sweater, standing firm like one of those comic book heroes who are about to face evil.

I closed my eyes, relaxed my body, and took a deep breath.

The secret of magic is to make our wishes come true, to visualize what we want with such detail and conviction that it feels real, and with it, make the universe also believe it's real. Instantly, my indigo aura began to glow, the radiance evaporated off my body and levitated around me like nebulae.

Inside Entelequia, making magic is much easier than in the material world. In the same way that in a lucid dream we have the power of gods, in this world that is equivalent to a dream, I felt capable of doing everything I set out to do even with my lack of training.

I clasped my fists in front of my chest at heart level. My left fist held the sheath of an imaginary sword, my right fist held an invisible hilt.

When they came together, a radiant circle emerged under my feet, inscribed with magic glyphs and seals. The circle focused the energy of my aura into my fists, in the same way that hydrogen in nebulae condenses at a single point until it gives birth to a star.

"Aciarius, Xiphos, Nike!!!!" I recited, invoking ancient words for steel, sword, and victory.

I imagined my favorite weapon in every detail. Its double edge blessed by the goddess of victory, its golden hilt, decorated with sapphires and how perfectly balanced its weight was. For me, that non-existent sword was more real than my memories, than my body, than my own soul.

"Release!" I yelled with all my might, as I drew my imaginary weapon from its invisible holster.

Even with my eyes closed I could feel the light of energy overflowing, of reality being altered, of the universe responding to my wishes.

I opened my eyes, and in my hands I held a translucent sword, as if made of crystal, within it a small universe exploded forming thousands of nebulae, stars and galaxies.

With its light, it made the Tulpas around us retreat slightly for a moment

"Wow!" Taylor was surprised, but his amazement was short-lived thanks to the danger ahead. "They are getting closer!"

It could have been a single Tulpa Slime, as it could be hundreds of them around us. Like zebras in a herd, we could not distinguish where the body of one began and that of another ended. We only saw a threat of amorphous and changing bodies that had no end.

"Stay back, Taylor," I gasped. “Don't let them touch you.”

I was exhausted and out of breath. This was the simplest Astra to summon and I was as tired as if I had run a marathon. Also, my chest felt heavy and strange. As if my heart had been replaced by a stone and refused to pump blood.

With my left hand I pressed against my chest, trying to contain that pain.

I didn't care if my heart exploded or if the Slimes ate me. I had only one idea in mind and that gave me all the power in the world: Save Taylor.

Without further thought, I wielded my weapon of light with both hands, I inhaled deeply and relaxed my body.

I was on guard. The indigo light in my aura intensified and the magic circle under my feet reappeared, channeling even more energy into my Astra blade.

"Run when you see an opening! And don't look back!”

"What are you doing, Lume !?”

"And don't go into that door for anything in the world!" I screamed.

I didn't know how long I could fight with this feeling in my heart, or if I could keep my Astra summoned for much longer, my only plan was to break through for Taylor to escape.

Prepared to take the consequences, I ran towards them. And with a single slash in the air, I released all the energy that I could channel through my weapon.

The door's plaza filled with blinding brilliance, destroying everything it touched, including the darkness of my soul.