Darkness swallowed everything.

For a moment, there was no sound, no ground beneath my feet, only the weightless abyss pressing against me from all sides.

Then, the light returned.

It wasn’t a normal glow. It pulsed, violet and midnight, rippling outward from Myrida’s suspended form. Her body twisted, unraveling into tendrils of shadow that danced like ink spilled across a starry sky. The energy didn’t fade, it rushed toward Max, wrapping around him, sinking into him.

Max gasped, his body locking up as the power coursed through him.

Mel stepped forward, but Trish held out a hand. “Wait.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

The glow intensified. Myrida’s shape had all but dissolved, her essence condensing, forging itself into something new. The energy twisted, collapsing inward, and then.

A shape formed in Max’s hands.

A bow.

Sleek, midnight-black, its surface a reflection of the endless sky, faint constellations shifting across it as if the stars themselves had been captured within its limbs. The bow pulsed once, a quiet heartbeat of power. And then, silence.

Max staggered, staring down at the weapon. His breath was uneven, his hands tightening around the grip. “Myrida…?” His voice barely broke the stillness.

No answer.

Just the soft hum of power, like the bow was listening, but unsure how to respond.

Max turned to look at us, and that was when I noticed the change in him as well.

His eyes, once abyssal orbs, now gleamed with a deep violet light, stars twinkling within them like distant constellations suspended in an endless void. The hair that fell loose from his hood shifted like the midnight sky itself, ever-moving, as if caught in an unseen breeze. It wasn’t just black, it was a living abyss, a window into something vast and infinite.

Then, my gaze dropped to the bow in his hands.

It wasn’t like anything I had ever seen. Looking at it felt like staring into the void itself. The limbs of the bow stretched outward in a smooth, elegant curve, yet the details were impossible to focus on. The stars inside remained eerily still, unaffected by movement, as if they existed separately from the weapon itself. Every time it shifted, it felt less like it was made of metal or wood and more like a gateway to something far beyond comprehension.

Max tilted his head slightly, as if discovering something new.

And then, the bow shifted.

With a whispering sound, the weapon folded in on itself, reshaping effortlessly into two short, deadly-looking blades. Their edges curved in a smooth serpentine arc, and their surfaces bore the same infinite night, a reflection of a sky filled with stars that did not belong to our world. The transition was seamless, fluid, almost unnatural. The stars within the blades still did not move, locked in an eternal, silent expanse.

Max turned his hands over, watching as the twin blades pulsed in his grip, the stars within them undisturbed by movement. His breath came slow and measured, as if some part of him already understood what they were.

"Max?" Trish's voice was cautious, uncertain.

A moment of silence passed between us.

Then, slowly, Max turned the blades over in his hands. The metal, if it even was metal, whispered as it cut through the air, a sound like distant stars winking out of existence. With a flick of his wrist, the weapons merged, folding back into the shape of the bow as if they had never been separated at all.

He let out a quiet breath. “...It feels like she’s still here.”

That caught me off guard.

“She?” Mel asked, stepping closer, her expression unreadable.

Max nodded slowly, his fingers tightening around the bowstring as if testing it. “Myrida. I can’t… I can’t hear her, but…” He hesitated, struggling to put it into words. “It’s like… she’s watching. Listening. Waiting.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

She was still there.

Somewhere, within the endless void of that weapon, Myrida remained.

It seems your sister may still be with us, I thought to Virellia.

A wave of warmth passed through me, hope, hesitation, and sorrow intertwined.

Max turned the bow over in his hands, his gaze distant. “Umbranyx… huh. A fitting name.” His voice was barely above a whisper, more for himself than the rest of us.

“Goddess of the night.” Virellia’s voice echoed in my mind, reverent and heavy with meaning.

Max’s eyes flickered to the haft at my side, his expression softening. He gave a small nod before tightening his grip on the bow. “I will protect her with every breath I take.” His fingers traced along the smooth, midnight surface.

Then, his grip firmed, and he whispered, “I swear it.”

I stiffened, my gaze flicking between Max and Virellia.

He heard you? I asked, my thoughts laced with disbelief.

Virellia’s presence wavered, mirroring my confusion.

Max’s brows furrowed. “She… didn’t say that out loud?” His voice held an edge of uncertainty, his grip still firm on Umbranyx.

The others glanced between us, their eyes darting from Max to Virellia to me, clearly trying to piece together what had just happened.

I looked at Max, my confusion deepening. Can… can you hear me? I asked, reaching out inwardly the same way I did with Virellia.

His eyes widened in shock, realization dawning as he slowly nodded.

Virellia stirred within me, her presence growing stronger, then a faint vibration pulsed at the back of my mind.

“Try again,” she urged.

I obeyed, reaching out once more. Max, can you still hear me?

This time, relief flooded through both of us. A silent understanding passed between us; we weren’t permanently tethered to each other’s minds. We could choose when to connect.

Just as I was about to have Virellia undo what she did for more testing, a grating, screeching sound ripped through the walls. The floor lurched, shifting beneath us.

No. Not again.

"Run!" I yelled.

To their credit, they didn’t hesitate. Within a heartbeat, they bolted toward the nearest exit, just as the ground beneath me gave way.

I barely had time to react before I was plunging into darkness. The floor above sealed shut instantly, cutting me off.

I hit the ground hard, rolling into a crouch as my instincts kicked in. Total darkness. Silence.

Virellia?

"Already open," she responded immediately, the link between us active.

Max, is everyone okay? I reached out, hoping he could hear me.

For a long moment, nothing. Then, after a few tense heartbeats…

"Yeah, we’re good. Not exactly sure how this thing works yet. Freaks me out."

It was strange, hearing his voice in my head wasn’t like communicating with Virellia. It was… different. But there was no time to dwell on that.

"Neither do I. Not in this form, anyway. We’ll figure it out later, for now, we need to get the hells out of here."

"Agreed. Where are you?" There was worry in his tone.

I exhaled sharply, glancing around. Steel walls. No obvious exits. The labyrinth had moved me somewhere with intention.

"Hard to say. You all need to keep moving. James and I will try to find a way back to you," Virellia cut in. Her voice carried an edge, it wasn’t just caution. It was urgency.

"If you see a way out, take it."

"But…"

"No buts, Max," I interrupted. "She’s right. There’s no point in all of us being trapped. Get out if you can."

A pause.

"Then the same goes for you, damn it. Don’t be a hero."

I nodded, but deep down, I already knew, if I had a chance to delay the warden, to buy the others even a few moments, I would take it.

I moved forward, my eyes adjusting to the dark, pushing aside the shadows like they were nothing more than a thin veil. The labyrinth thought I was blind in its ever-shifting halls. It was wrong.

The floors were littered with traps, mechanisms designed to catch those who wandered too carelessly. I stepped around them with ease, ignoring the feeble attempts to slow me down. The labyrinth could twist and shift all it wanted; I wasn’t playing by its rules.

Time blurred. Minutes? Hours? I had no way of knowing. The only certainty was my growing irritation.

"If these damned halls want to keep me going in circles," I gripped Virellia, summoning my shield with a sharp pulse of energy. The labyrinth groaned in protest.

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"Then I’ll just start breaking through them and see where that takes me." A grin of determination pulled at my lips.

"James, what are you doing?" Max’s voice cut in, laced with concern.

Just gonna see where ‘straight’ takes me, I responded, laughing.

There was a brief pause before I felt a flicker of amusement from him. Then, almost immediately, the labyrinth screamed.

"We’re going to end up destroying the core," Virellia warned.

"I don’t think we have much of a choice at this point," I muttered.

Raising my weapon, I cast [Astral Wave] at the nearest wall. A massive crack split through it, deep and jagged. The structure lurched, trying to mend itself before my eyes.

"Oh, no you don’t."

I slammed my shield into the fracture, and with a deafening shatter, the wall crumbled into rubble.

The labyrinth let out a wail of pain, the sound rippling through the halls like a living thing in agony.

Then everything shifted.

The walls jerked violently, twisting and rearranging themselves in rapid succession, as if in a desperate attempt to regain control. In the span of a breath, the corridor around me vanished, and I was standing at the edge of a massive, open chamber.

And there, at its center.

The bastard who killed Myrida.

"You are killing my child," the man said, his voice dripping with mock sorrow, that same sadistic grin stretching across his face.

He stood with his arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture, claws flexed, razor-sharp points glinting in the dim light. His armor was a dark, insidious exoskeleton, stretching from his neck down in jagged, overlapping plates. Spikes jutted from his elbows and knees, a brutal mix of offense and defense. His long, pointed ears curved back, partially hidden by the slick black strands of hair that clung to his scalp.

"Your child should learn not to torture its betters," I shot back.

His abyssal eyes, endless and unreadable, made it impossible to gauge his emotions. But I caught it, the brief flicker of irritation in his otherwise amused expression.

Then, a slow chuckle rumbled from his chest, low and full of malice.

"Let's see if you can live up to that gloat, human," he sneered, his grin widening, voice laced with gleeful malice.

He charged at me, crossing the span between us in a heartbeat. His claws lashed out, but my shield met his strike, the impact sending me skidding backward, boots grinding against the metallic floor.

A grin pulled at my lips. Finally, a real fight. A true test of my ascension.

For too long, I had held back, always wary of my strength, afraid of harming my friends or allies. But this time, there was no one else to worry about. Just me, Virellia, and this monster.

“James, what the fuck, man! I said don’t…” Max’s voice rang in my mind, but before he could finish, the connection was severed.

Virellia’s rage pulsed through me, intertwining with my own, raw and untamed. Power flared outward, golden-blue energy crackling along my body as I crouched low, readying myself.

I launched forward, shield raised and slammed into the warden with a force that sent tremors rippling through the walls and floor. The labyrinth groaned, shrieking in agony as our powers clashed.

Every strike of his claws met either Virellia or my shield, each impact sending out concussive waves that cracked the surfaces around us. Again and again, we collided, neither of us landing a decisive blow. The sheer force of our battle seemed to still the world around us, the only sounds the clash of steel and the ever-growing fractures splitting through the walls.

The warden let out a wild laugh, his movements becoming more frenzied. He lunged again, only this time, instead of blocking, I twisted, pivoting on my foot, and drove a roundhouse kick straight into the underside of his tentacled chin.

His head snapped back as he was hurled across the room, slamming into the far wall with a deafening crash. The impact sent spiderweb cracks splintering outward from the point of collision. But before the dust could settle, he pushed himself up, his abyssal gaze locked onto me.

“You are fun,” he sneered, wiping a trickle of black blood from his mouth. “But playtime is over.”

Demonic wings erupted from his back, tattered, fleshy, grotesque. At their tips, massive hooks glistened in the dim light. His form expanded, muscle and sinew stretching as he grew taller, broader, more monstrous.

I braced myself. This was about to get much worse.

He shot forward, closing the gap with terrifying speed. At the last moment, as his claws reached for me, I activated Virellia’s ability, [Eclipse Nova].

The world around us darkened into an unnatural twilight, a void where sight was rendered useless. I saw the hesitation in his step, the slight stumble as he adjusted to the sudden loss of vision.

I didn't hesitate.

Swinging Virellia in a deadly arc, the flail’s head struck the back of his skull with a sickening crunch. The force sent his head bouncing off the floor like a ragdoll.

But before I could press my advantage, something coiled around my ankle.

A tail.

I had never even seen it.

With a powerful whip, he flung me through the air, sending me crashing into the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Pain exploded across my back, but I forced myself up, shaking off the impact.

I glanced across the room. He was back on his feet, sniffing the air.

He couldn’t see me.

But then his abyssal eyes locked onto my direction.

“I can smell your blood,” he whispered, his voice dripping with hunger. A twisted smile spread across his face. “Taste it. Oh hoho… I can’t wait to savor your flesh after I break you.”

Slowly, deliberately, he stalked toward me.

I surged forward, shield raised, ready to meet him head-on.

But just as I closed the distance, his wing lashed out. The hook at its tip coiled around me, piercing through my side like a barbed spear. Before I could react, he flung me across the room with a brutal jerk.

The impact rattled through my bones as I crashed into the wall, the force knocking the wind from my lungs. I slumped to the ground, hot blood trickling down my side.

I really need better armor.

Virellia’s worry surged through me, her fear bleeding into my own. Had we bitten off more than we could chew?

Before I could dwell on the thought, he was already upon me. His wings flapped once, launching him forward with a terrifying burst of speed.

I barely had time to raise my shield before one hook slammed against it, but the other found its mark, tearing through the chain links on my opposite side. A fresh surge of agony ripped through me as hot blood oozed from both wounds.

“Move!” Virellia’s voice snapped through my mind.

I activated [Celestial Sanctum], golden light radiating outward. The moment the healing magic flared to life; a flicker of pain crossed the warden’s features. He stumbled back, snarling, his flesh sizzling where my aura touched him.

I ignored the lingering pain and pressed the attack. Blow after blow, I drove him backward, forcing him onto the defensive. Each strike met resistance, claws deflecting, wings batting away my flail, but I refused to relent.

Then his tail lashed out.

I had been waiting for it this time. I twisted, sidestepping the whip-like appendage. But he was faster.

His left claw shot forward in a blur, raking across my face. The impact sent me sprawling across the floor, skidding out of the protective barrier of my sanctum. My vision swam as pain exploded along my cheek.

Before I could recover, he was on me.

Claws tore at my armor, ripping at any opening they could find. I barely managed to block some of the blows, but others raked across my exposed skin, searing pain flooding my senses.

Then the wall to my left exploded inward.

A dark blur shot through the debris, faster than my eyes could track. Shadows twisted violently as something, someone, collided with the warden in a furious onslaught.

A wave of healing energy crashed over me, warm and rejuvenating, but the pain had already taken its toll. Darkness crowded my vision.

And then… nothing.

Max

The moment James' presence vanished from my mind. I knew something was wrong.

Panic surged through me as I tried to reach him again. James? James, answer me!

Nothing.

I cursed under my breath, gripping Umbranyx tighter. My eyes darted across the shifting labyrinth as the walls groaned and twisted like a living thing. The others were still moving ahead, trusting me to guide them, trusting me to keep us together.

But James was gone.

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to take a steady breath. This wasn’t the time to lose my head. If I panicked, we were all dead.

Focus. Think. What would James do?

I scanned the labyrinth, taking stock of every twisting corridor and shifting pathway. If I were him, I wouldn’t be waiting for an exit to appear, I’d be making one.

The distant sound of shattering stone rang through the air.

I exhaled sharply. Yeah, that’s James, alright.

“We need to move faster,” I said, turning to the others. “James is fighting something, and we’re running out of time.”

We sprinted through the labyrinth at full speed, shadows stretching and twisting around us as the walls groaned in protest. I led the charge, my heart pounding in my chest. The clashing of titanic forces echoed from somewhere deep within, each impact reverberating through the shifting halls.

Hold on, James. Just hold on.

Then, silence.

The sudden absence of sound sent a spike of fear through me. My grip on Umbranyx tightened. No, no, no...

I could wait no longer. Spinning on my heel, I turned toward the nearest wall, shadows coiling around me like writhing serpents. I gathered them in my hands, forcing them into the steel-like structure before me. The void surged, responding to my will, and with a scream of rage, I pushed.

The wall exploded outward.

I charged through the debris, eyes locked onto the warden pinning James to the ground.

The bastard barely had time to register my presence before I crashed into him, sending him sprawling off my friend. The moment our eyes met, I saw it, the flicker of fear.

Good.

A familiar voice echoed in my mind, filled with grief and fury.

“Make him regret every person he ever tortured, devoured, and separated from their family.”

Myrida.

Rage surged through me like wildfire, my fists tightening around the daggers in my hands. Their midnight surfaces swirled, the stars within shifting like glimpses into an endless void. As the blades moved, the constellations within them twisted, offering ever-changing glimpses of the abyss.

I lunged.

Claws met daggers in a violent clash, the air ringing with the sound of steel and fury. One of his hooked talons snapped under the impact, a sharp cry of pain escaping him.

I pressed forward, unrelenting.

A flurry of stabs, slashes, and kicks, each attack fueled by vengeance, by fury, by her.

For Myrida.

For every soul this monster had ever broken.

For James.

For me.

I was not stopping until I ripped him apart.

This time, Myrida’s voice truly rang through.

"Max, you must stop this rampage. Remember what will happen if the labyrinth falls."

I froze. Just for a second.

But that second was all Mel needed. Her massive arms wrapped around me, yanking me away from the beaten, bloodied warden. I struggled for a breath, the blind fury still clawing at my insides, begging to finish what I started.

Leo didn’t hesitate, he seized the opportunity, his magic surging outward. The ground trembled, stone erupting around the warden, sealing him in an encasing prison. The moment it locked in place, silence fell over the battlefield.

"It’s okay, Max. I am still here with you."

The words drifted through my mind, soft yet firm, like a steadying hand against the rage threatening to consume me.

"Breathe. Do not let anger take hold. I am here."

I stiffened, my grip tightening around the daggers still slick with the warden’s blood.

“…Myrida?” My voice cracked, confusion warring with disbelief.

"You… you’re still alive?"

A gentle laugh echoed through my thoughts. "Alive? I don’t know if that’s the right word for it… but I am here. And I will be with you from this moment forward."

My breath hitched. "Are you imprisoned? How can I, "

"No, Max." Her voice was calm, steady, unwavering. "I chose this. I chose to stay with you, to aid you in your journey. This is what I wanted."

The rage drained from me, replaced by something else, something deeper.

I exhaled, my shoulders lowering as I finally allowed myself to breathe.

A deep tremor rippled through the labyrinth; the walls groaned in agony.

“Guys, we need to get the hells out of here… now!” Trish shouted; urgency laced in her voice. She gestured sharply to Mel.

Without hesitation, Mel hefted James onto her shoulder, his unconscious form barely stirring.

Behind us, a wet, gurgling chuckle broke through the chaos.

The warden.

I didn’t waste a second looking back. We ran.

The labyrinth fought us at every step. The tremor built into a violent earthquake, shaking the very foundation beneath our feet. Walls shuddered and cracked, corridors twisting and reshaping as if trying to swallow us whole.

Chunks of stone crashed from above, forcing us to weave through the falling debris. Every path we took seemed to shift the moment we stepped forward, the labyrinth desperately working to keep us inside.

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.

At last, an opening appeared at the end of the corridor, a way out.

Or so I thought.

"No! It’s false hope. Max, take a left up ahead!" Myrida’s voice cut through my mind, sharp and insistent.

I didn’t question her. I just ran.

The moment we veered left, the labyrinth screamed in protest, a guttural, shuddering groan reverberating through the shifting walls. It was angry. Furious that we hadn’t fallen for its deception.

Myrida guided me through corridors that seemed like dead ends, past doorways that looked like freedom. But every time she directed me away; the labyrinth’s frustration grew. That alone was proof enough, proof that she was leading us true.

The others followed without hesitation, trusting me, unknowingly trusting her.

Then…

"Jump! Now!" Myrida’s voice roared through my mind.

I barely had time to think, I just screamed the order aloud. "JUMP!"

The floor beneath us vanished.

For a split second, we were free-falling into the void. But just ahead, the real exit appeared, a gaping light amidst the darkness.

Then, before we could even react, a massive stone hand shot out from the abyss, catching us midair and pulling us the rest of the way.

I let out a breath of relief. "Nice save, Leo."

But he didn’t respond right away. When I turned to him, his expression was pale, his hands still outstretched but motionless.

"This… isn’t me." His voice was tight with unease.

A chill ran down my spine. "If it’s not you, then…"

"Fear not, little ones."

The hand parted slightly, revealing the colossal figure of a man, no, a bear of a man, his sheer size and presence enough to command the space. Despite his imposing form, his face was calm, his aura strangely soothing.

But then, his expression hardened. His gaze flicked to the side, toward something unseen. Something approaching.

"Get them out of here." His voice rumbled like distant thunder. "We will handle what is about to come."

The hand closed again, and the shift of our bodies showed that we were on the move, and fast.