Author’s Preface
I wrote this when life broke open. It isn’t advice; it’s what helped me move an inch when I felt stuck.
Each chapter is a real fight and one honest step that steadied me.
Take what helps. Leave what doesn’t. Keep walking.
Quick take
The fight begins where you can’t stay.
The lesson: speak the hard truth out loud; doubt weakens.
One honest step: tell one avoided sentence to one trusted person.
What happens in this chapter
The Knight enters the Maze of Mirrors and meets the first enemy—his own fear, voiced by the Whisperer. The corridor throws back slices of memory: missed moments, promises delayed, the night everything broke. He does not win by force. He tells the truth, stays present, and keeps moving. The sword steadies; the Shield of Stars kindles its first small ember. At dawn by the river, the First Arrow lodges—marking the next trial and leaving him alive, not finished. This chapter is about naming doubt and taking one honest step you can repeat tomorrow.