Lucian’s head lolled to the side, checking to see if the Temporary Barrier of Immaculate Respite had disappeared yet.

At the sight of opaque, shining white, he found it had not.

Readjusting back to his prior position, he languidly dug the back of his head deeper into the pillow he had purloined from his room, eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at the dancing tongues of fiery red, warm orange, and brilliant yellow licking at the dense tangled canopy of black leaves and scarlet thorns.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been specifically, but it must have been close to ten minutes—at least—since the protective barrier of solid energy had gone up.

In that time, all he had done amounted to picking up the sole loot that had –fortuitously—decided to appear right by where the corpse lay while he was there, as well as regain energy for the—no doubt arduous—journey that still lay ahead.

Don’t get him wrong, Lucian had nothing against the former, let alone the latter, but all this inactivity was going to drive him mad – especially trapped as he was, in a caged clearing of bloodthirsty briars that could awaken at any moment.

Dispelling such thoughts, the raven-haired man opened his eyes fully and raised his hand up to eye level, peering at the little trinket he had picked up from alongside the rat’s corpse even as he triggered his Knowledge implant.

Name: Rune of Insatiable Hunger [Shard].

Descriptor: A rough chunk of obsidian imbued with corruption from the Deep, shattered and scattered by the Arcane to weaken their grasp.

Remarks: Collect 3 shards to reforge a Rune.

Unlike the rune fragments he had collected earlier, the rune shard was several times larger and boasted pearlescent black fractals that shimmered under the firelight like kaleidoscopic black opals.

From what Lucian could recall, the information on this so-called Rune of Insatiable Hunger wasn’t all that dissimilar from the blurb on the three fragments of Corrupting Hoarfrost; the number of shards required being the biggest change.

Even the names ‘Arcane’ and ‘Deep’ were familiar ones, even if their roles had experienced a complete reversal.

Unfortunately, for all its similarities with the earlier fragments, the actual effects of the shard were unclear.

While the Eye around the Corner had displayed, to great effect, the likely ability the fragments would allow for, the Hungering Rodents hadn’t displayed anything truly supernatural – discounting their freakish sizes, that is.

Tucking the rune shard back into his hoodie’s pocket, Lucian let his arm flop back to rest amongst the blades of bone white grass, light brown eyes narrowing back into thin slits as he stared up listlessly.

From time to time, golden snakes of silent lightning would flicker in the depths of the storm clouds overhead—or at least, the intermittent flashes he managed to catch through the dense canopy of leaves—adding colour to the black monotony.

Time flowed on, gentle crackling from the torches all that punctured the silence.

Suddenly spotting a blurry blob of snow white, cream, and reddish-orange from his peripherals, Lucian opened his eyes fully even as his head lolled to the side, meeting Transient Cardinal’s pale blues just as he did.

“Do you need something, Cardinal?” Lucian spoke up before the white-haired waif could say a word edgewise, curiosity lacing his voice.

A light blush bloomed across her pale cheeks, causing him to raise a brow in clear surprise.

“Would you mind shuffling over a little bit?” Her soft-toned request, combined with the ever-darkening blush on her cheeks, made her embarrassment even clearer.

Seeing no issue with her request—odd as it might be—Lucian scooted to the left, until his head was nearly off the soft pillow, before stopping and watching what the young woman was going to do next.

Without another word, she lay down next to him, head coming to a rest next to his own while her pure white coat fanned out underneath her like a thin layer of freshly fallen snow.

He blinked rapidly, stunned by her actions even as stray strands of snowy hair tickled at his right cheek, one of them even coming close enough to nearly touch the corner of his mouth.

“What are you doing?” Only after a couple of moments had passed did he voice out his confusion, one that made him cringe internally at how stupid it sounded the moment it left his mouth.

“What does it look like, Sir Knight?” While unable to see the white-haired waif’s expression, owing to his current position, the sarcasm dripping from her voice made it clear what it was likely to be at the moment.

Deciding to leave it be after a split second’s worth of thought, he chose to change the subject – though not before getting the last word in, as it were.

“There’s no need to be rude, I was just asking.” Readjusting himself, Lucian lightly bumped Transient Cardinal with his shoulder, reprimanding her both in deed and word. “Speaking of asking, are you really sure you don’t want to take the rune shard?”

Retaliating with a bump from her own more-padded shoulder, she said. “Of course I’m sure. Fair’s fair, and I didn’t contribute to killing the huge rat in the slightest bit.”

Feeling a soft weight rest on his right shoulder momentarily, Lucian lifted his head up slightly and glanced down, just in time to watch the young woman’s head of silky white hair lift off and away from his shoulder before resting back on the fluffy pillow.

“I appreciate the sentiment though, either way.” Before the raven-haired man could make a comment, the young woman’s voice trickled into his right ear like a gentle stream of water, light, soothing, and a touch embarrassed, if Lucian was reading things right.

Unsure how to respond, he chose to give a wordless hum of acknowledgement as a reply; silence, except for the quiet crackling of the torches overhead, falling over the small enclosed clearing once more…

One that, unfortunately, didn’t last for long.

“The two of you look mighty cozy down there, don’t cha?” Julia’s abrupt voice, tinged with hints of wry amusement, shattered the silence moments after the two had stopped speaking.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Jerking up ramrod straight at the honey blonde’s words, Lucian’s head snapped to the side in the same motion, eyes taking in the speaker’s laughing emerald eyes in a flash.

Catching Transient Cardinal doing likewise from the corner of his eye, Lucian replied after a brief, stunned moment, soft smirk stretching his face while a light blush rose to his cheeks.

“Glad to see that you’re alright too, Julia.”

----------------------------------------

Flattened grass barely crunched underfoot as the sixsome continued delving deeper into the Bloodthirst Briars maze’s depths.

Unlike earlier, when being chased by the swarm of Hungering Rodents, an oppressive silence blanketed the environs once more; the incessant thudding of the unseen Apostate Wraith having vanished at some unknown, earlier point.

After the veritable tidal wave of Hungering Rodents, the sight greeting Lucian after leaving the enclosed clearing hadn’t been much of a surprise.

Truth be told, the raven-haired man had been more surprised by the lack of damage, considering the name bestowed on the black-furred rats by his Knowledge implant.

Part of him had expected to see a bare ground stripped of every single blade of bone white grass and petal-less flowers, so to be welcomed by a scene of flora merely trampled flat was a pleasant surprise.

…

A couple of minutes had passed since Julia found Lucian and Transient Cardinal, the honey blonde having been trailed by the others; the rest hidden by her frame and the clearing’s narrow—no longer protected—entrance.

After the embarrassing wakeup call, it hadn’t taken long for the two to gather up their things—the white-haired waif having laid out her asymmetrical table legs on top of the raven-haired man’s end table—before exiting the clearing.

Once all six were gathered once more—and after a brief exchange of pleasantries—they had chosen, with Julia leading the charge, to continue down the path they had been traversing earlier.

After some talking, Lucian had managed to find out what had occurred while himself and Transient Cardinal were trapped cum protected in their own clearing. Evidently, after Julia and Cherub had been blocked off behind their own Temporary Barrier of Immaculate Respite, they had tried calling out – something which was to no avail, as the other four could attest to.

Much like the enclosed clearing Lucian had found himself in, nothing much of note—besides the pair of pole-touting torches—had been found in its confines, forcing the buxom beauty and the brown-clad man to wait; all without knowing what fate had befallen the others.

As such, it had been a relief to the pair when the opaque—evidently soundproof—white barrier had gone down about 15 minutes later – or at least, according to Cherub, who had supposedly been keeping track of the time throughout.

Much like the first pair, Boris and Tsumiki had found themselves in a similar clearing—with similar fixtures, apparently—the sole advantage in their case being the fact that the latter, like Lucian, was equipped with a Knowledge implant of her own; letting the pair understand that their imprisonment was only temporary.

Unlike the raven-haired man and snowy-haired waif, the bald bearded giant and ebony-haired girl had taken notice the moment their Temporary Barrier of Immaculate Respite had vanished; without either a sign or sound, apparently.

With some hesitation, the pair had left their clearing – only to cross paths with Julia and Cherub moments later, coincidentally enough.

And the rest, as they say, had been history.

…

“There’s another break in the briars ahead, people. I’m not sure if it’s another clearing or a path leading deeper into the maze yet, so best be prepared.”

Lucian was knocked out of his recollections by Julia’s sudden announcement.

Focusing back on the world around him, his eyes were attracted to the break in the righthand wall of Bloodthirst Briars after a quick sweep. Flexing his right fingers around his end table’s thin stand, he mentally prepared himself, hoping that the upcoming break in the flora wouldn’t be another damn false alarm.

While knowing that there were multiple enclosed clearings was a small comfort, all things considered, the raven-haired man would prefer to find a path deeper into the maze, and, consequently, closer to the Heavenly Constellation Spire, as soon as humanly possible.

“It looks like the break is a path leading deeper into the maze, I’m seeing another red skull; one that’s even brighter than the most recent one.” Said Julia, before Lucian could dwell on his thoughts for too long.

“I’m seeing the same thing!” Cherub piped up, quite unnecessarily in the raven-haired man's opinion.

Moments afterwards, the righthand passage came into full view, revealing a, as promised, wide, straight passage that led to and opened out into another slightly curved path which forked to the left and right.

Instead of hesitating, Julia forged forward without delay; the other five following her lead without prompting.

With the opportunity at hand—and more importantly, the lack of an unseen Apostate Wraith breathing down his neck—Lucian took the time to look around the pathway more closely, since he needn't flee like a headless fly for the now.

Comprising dense clusters of black leaves and countless crimson thorns, the connecting passage looked no different from the routes he’d already traversed thus far…

If not for one thing: the fact that the crimson pinpricks of light, at the tip of every single thorn, had dimmed by a touch, each one giving off illumination closer to a dark maroon bordering on purple.

Lucian wasn’t sure if the change meant anything specific, but his caution rose by a notch, nevertheless.

…

His tense muscles slightly relaxed when nothing jumped out at him even after he had traversed the entire passage's length.

“Judging from the map, this path should be concentric circle number three out of six, if I’m remembering things right… Lucian, Cardinal?”

Though she started off confidently, Julia’s tone became a tad hesitant towards the end, seeming to be unsure about her short term memory while turning to face the raven-haired man and white-haired waif.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Lucian confirmed, just as Transient Cardinal jumped in with an effusive, “Yep!”

“That’s nice to know and all,” Boris interrupted abruptly. “But knowing that won’t actually help us at the moment.”

“The big guy’s right!” Cherub chirped, as he turned to point left, then twirled around to point right. “Let’s choose which way to go first, yea?”

Tsumiki nodded even as Cherub was busy with his antics, making her opinion on the matter crystal clear.

Throughout the trio’s input, Julia was fidgeting with her hair awkwardly, clearly wanting to interrupt but holding herself back for some unknown reason. Seeing this, Lucian stepped in before Transient Cardinal could.

“Alright, alright.” He said, bandaged hand waving from side to side in a surrendering gesture. “Let’s choose then. Do y’all wanna go left or right? Personally, I’m cool with either direction, so majority wins, I guess?”

“I say right!” Cherub opined immediately, an opinion that Boris and Tsumiki evidently agreed with; judging from his low, assenting grunt and her silent, sharp nod.

At the same time, Transient Cardinal waved one of her hands in a dismissive motion. “That’s fine with me as well.”

Finally, Julia sent a questioning, arched brow his way, a wordless gesture Lucian replied to with a casual shrug; expressing his indifference, once again, to the direction they chose.

After another quiet moment, Julia shrugged to herself and spun to face the right, immediately setting off while wordlessly crooking her fingers at the others to follow after her.

Forming up into what was their standard formation at this point, Lucian trailed at the back of the pack, Transient Cardinal walking alongside as always.

“You know,” while her voice was close to a whisper, the white-haired waif’s words still carried in the silence, “I’m kind of shocked the Bloodthirst Briars haven’t acted up yet, all things considered.”

For some unknown reason, the moment he heard those words, a violent shiver of dread raced up and down his spine. Shaking off the feeling after a moment, the raven-haired man opened his mouth, about to respond, when a freezing drop of liquid splattered against his forehead.

“What the—!” Lucian’s eyes were crossing even as Cherub’s exclamation rung out, his mouth snapping shut as he instinctively tried to see what had just hit his skin.

…

The raven-haired man needn’t have bothered.

In a flash, more and more chilly drops of liquid impacted his body; splattering against his hair, his face, his arms…

In what felt like no time at all, all his clothes, from snug faded gold hoodie to boring greyish-brown cargo pants, were drenched and stuck to his skin; every iota of dust still clinging to his clothing soon getting washed away by the downpour.

Finally realising that he was being rained on, literally, Lucian looked up while squinting and nearly got blinded in doing so; a veritable waterfall of rain battering down on the overhead Bloodthirst Briars and causing a light mist to start forming from the violent impact.

Forced to look back down lest his vision become too blurry, he quickly noticed that the light mists were encroaching in on all sides; the innumerable pinpricks of light at the tips of each crimson thorn barely doing anything to pierce through the vaporous veil.

Sweeping his eyes over the others, he blushed lightly and immediately averted his gaze when they rested on an unexpected sight.

While an excellent match for her petite build, delicate looks, and pale complexion, Transient Cardinal’s primarily white ensemble gave up the ghost, as it were, under the rain’s onslaught; portions of her cream dress already growing a tad translucent, offering a tantalising view of her modest curves.

While none of the others were experiencing a similar wardrobe malfunction, it was instantly clear who amongst the rest were prepared for such inclement weather.

Once done with his survey, Lucian checked back on Transient Cardinal, expecting she would have addressed her slightly translucent clothing by now. Judging from the still open state of her waterlogged white coat, it was clear she hadn't. While no one else had realised what he had, as of yet—at least from what he could tell—it was only going to be a matter of time at this rate.

Plucking up his courage and stamping down on his embarrassment, the raven-haired man walked over to the increasingly exposed young woman—while angling his body in such a way to shield her frame as best as he could—and cleared his throat loudly, making sure his voice could be heard over the din of conversation and rain.

She flinched slightly before looking at him, an obvious question swimming in her eyes. Spending a second to think on how to phrase his observation in a delicate manner, Lucian thought to hell with it and pointedly dragged his eyes up and down her form.

Briefly skewing her head in confusion, the young woman mimicked his actions and looked herself over, mouth forming into a small o an instant later; finally having realised the problem.

She squeaked. “Ahh. Excuse me.”

Without another word, she whipped around, motion so violent that her sodden curtain of hair nearly smacked him in the chest, both her table legs falling from her grip as she frantically buttoned up her coat.

Satisfied with a job well done, Lucian turned away and splashed over to Boris, Cherub, and Julia, intent on listening in on what was being said; downpour having made their conversation inaudible.

…

As the raven-haired man walked away, he failed to notice that his initial approach to Transient Cardinal, and all his subsequent actions, thereafter, had been under close scrutiny from a pair of thoughtful, purple eyes.