Allegory of the Cage

You open a steel door, the handle is cold to the touch. The contents of the room behind the door is only darkness. As you enter the room

the door shuts, leaving you in total blackness for a while. When suddenly single beam of light cuts through the void, revealing a large iron

cage. the inside ofthe cage is somehow unseen. It is still black inside the cage, despite the light. Though you cannot see inside the cage

a primal power can be felt radiating from within the darkness of the cage. Inside the cage dwells a beast, ancient and formidable. The

beast does not struggle in its bondage, it simply waits patiently to be unleashed. The cage is sealed with four locks, each lock

representing a problem. The first lock is the lock of fear, the fear of failure, of ridicule. The second lock is the lock of complacency,

settling, the act of trimming your effort due to satisfaction. The third lock is the lock of arrogance, the lack of effort spawning from an

inferior opponent. The final lock is the lock of false hope, hoping for a miracle, hoping for an opponent's mistake. The column of light

surrounding the cage widens, revealing a table with for keys. The first key, the key of courage, it does not ask you to be a hero, or one

who forgets fear, just a being that disregards fear, one that does not care about mistakes made and one that does not care abot the

ridicule that others spew. The second key is the key of hunger. To be satisfied is to accept death as a competitor. You cannot ever think

of stopping, even once, else the lock will once again close. The third key is the key of respect, you must give every opponent your best at

all times. Whether they are greater than you or lesser than you they deserve all you strength when competing against you. The final key

which unlocks the final lock is the key of pessimism. You must always, always expect your opponent to succeed. That is unless you stop

them, you must imagine yourself as the only variable that decides whether they succeed or fail, and staying true to the previous keys you

must try to eliminate any success. Only through all keys being used in sync can the beast be released. The beast is all you need to

succeed for it is all your skill and strength focused and intertwined perfectly waitng to be unleashed. The beast is the apex of your

abilities, through it you become te best you can be. All you have to do is let him out.