Two beings clashed relentlessly, neither one retreating. Swords clanged as blades crossed.

“You’ve got to stop this! This can’t go on! You know what will happen if you go through with this!” said Con. Their movements were those of passion, desperately trying to reach the other.

“It’s going to take more than that to stop me!” said Pro, blocking the foe's weapon with their own. “You’re too weak to stop me. Nothing can overthrow me!” The opposing figure had a look of defeat upon their face as they looked down to the ground.

“Fine,” Con admitted, “but it’s not over.”

  *        *        *

“Eh. I’ll do it tomorrow. It’s not that much work anyways. I still have two days left to finish the project; plenty of time!” I sighed, hopping onto my bed to indulge with some YouTube. A small wave of guilt washed over me. I rolled over and tried not to think about it.

Before I knew it the next day had come, and school felt as fast as detention on a friday. When I got home I changed into my pajamas and lay in bed for a few hours. I had rolled into the most comfortable position when a certain topic hovered over me like the Grim Reaper. My nose scrunched up at the thought of it.

                                        “The project.” I thought. “Why does this always happen to me?” I began to ponder if I should work on the project now or later.

  *        *        *

Again the two beings clashed. But things were different this time.

“Agh!” grunted Pro. “How did you become so much stronger in a day?! Impossible!”

“It’s not impossible,” began Con. “You have failed to see your blunder from the start.”

“What? What the heck does that mean?” Their swords clashed again, with one side putting more pressure on the other.

“I’ll tell you what it means,” the brute force hit the sword out of Pro’s hand, knocking it into the air so that it landed behind them, the blade stabbed into the ground. “It’s guilt.”

“Guilt?!” Pro could not believe what they were hearing. There’s no way they could be fooled by such a concept.

“The pressure of guilt adds up day after day, exponentially increasing until it reaches its maximum level: the day before the task is due. You can’t stop me.” A look of determination shone on Con’s face. “This ends now!” They turned their sword so the blade faced downward. They thrust it into the ground, and a grand lightning strike seared through the atmosphere.

  *        *        *

As I lay there thinking, a sudden jolt of motivation struck my chest, then flowed through my body like a rushing river. I got up, sat down at my desk and finished my project.