Jaeden didn’t remember waking up, nor did he know how long he’d been moving through the labyrinth. One moment, he was enveloped in the old man’s calm presence by the misty pool, and the next, he was walking, his body moving on autopilot. The stone walls of the maze twisted around him, shadowed and formless, as if the labyrinth itself was guiding his path.

As he walked, his mind wandered back to his life outside the maze, the memories surfacing with startling clarity. His recent promotion loomed large, the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. He’d worked so hard for it, but now, faced with the reality, he wondered if he was truly ready. The pressure of success, of not failing with so much at stake, gnawed at him.

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Thoughts of Vee followed—her warmth, her laughter, her ability to lighten even his darkest days. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until now. But, as always, his mind circled back to Xander, his younger brother. Jaeden had always been Xander’s protector, a role he’d taken on without question, ever since the accident that changed everything.

The maze grew darker, mirroring his memories of those days—hospital rooms, whispered hopes, and the quiet despair that lingered after his mother’s illness. He’d buried those memories for so long, but here, in the depths of the labyrinth, there was nowhere left to hide. The past resurfaced, raw and inescapable, haunting him like the shadows that crept along the twisting corridors.

With every step, he realized he wasn’t just navigating a physical maze but confronting the labyrinth of his own mind, facing the memories he’d tried so hard to forget.