The world crumbled before them, and light devoured their vision.

When the players finally came to their senses, the familiar MW Academy had been inundated by a field of colours.

A garden stretched out before them like a living tapestry, spectrums of colours adorning the rolling hills that spanned seemingly without end. Pastel hued flowers danced gently in the breeze, their petals shimmering in the sunlight.

Different from the sombre atmosphere making up the majority of their time at the academy, the air here was freer, thick with the sweet perfume of flora, the fresh scent of earth, and the distant hint of rain.

A winding pathway of cobblestones meandered through this sea of blossoms, bordered by clusters of tiny, star-shaped flowers that glowed softly under the sun.

Edris stood among the remnants of the players. Including himself, only 21 remained—a stark contrast to the 108 that the Labyrinth had started out with.

Around him, the survivors moved with a quiet, subdued energy. Their faces were etched with fatigue and sorrow, eyes scanning their surroundings with a wary vigilance.

In his pocket, Edris felt a slight movement and looked down to see a familiar little pink fluff. Ace’s transformation back into his diminutive form had been sudden, likely triggered by the drastic change in mana levels.

Edris exchanged a glance with the fluff in his pocket, then with the others in his group before stepping onto the cobbled path.

As the players walked on one after another, they were led to what appeared to be the garden’s edge. There, where the flowers began to thin out and the surroundings became still, four indistinct silhouettes stood waiting.

The figures seemed to beckon with an aura of quiet anticipation, inviting the players to approach the final chunk of their journey.

“Welcome to the [GARDEN],” Magenta said as they all gathered into a cluster. “First and foremost, please allow me to congratulate you all on your survival in Labyrinth 53.”

Naturally, their energies were duly received by the survivors in the garden. The players peered at them with bleak eyes, fully ready to take the rewards and leave.

Strangely enough, none of the professors seemed to noticed Ace’s absence. And even if they did, they’d concealed all irregularities, behaving as though they’d been four and only four to begin with.

“Now, now. Get excited! Because it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for.” Aureolin grinned.

The next second, the world around Edris fractured like a shattered mirror. He found himself alone, suspended in an opaque, white veil, the silence pressing in on him from all sides. Before him stood a Shadow, its form shifting and undulating as if composed of living darkness.

Flanking the Shadow were two ancient wells, their depths unfathomable, disappearing into the blackness below. The air around them crackled with a strange energy, and Edris felt a shiver run down his spine.

Just then, a massive screen unfurled before his eyes, and Magenta’s face flickered into view.

“As you see, two wells stand before you,” she began, her voice echoing eerily in the void. “Allow me to explain the rules.”

Magenta’s face, neutral yet defined, filled the screen as she continued.

“The first well,” she said, indicating the one on the left, “is where you drop all the remaining cards you’ve received from Labyrinth 53, if you haven’t used them already. If you do not have cards remaining, worry not. Just step in front of this well, and in doing so, you will claim your monetary reward: laveric diamonds, one of the most valuable currencies in the outside world...”

Edris’s eyes flicked to the second well as she spoke, contemplation boring in his gaze.

“The second well,” Magenta went on, “requires a drop of your blood. In exchange, you will keep your card, which will be upgraded with features personalised for you. This goes the same for those who had used up their cards. By choosing this well, you may redeem an upgraded version of any of your past cards, along with your monetary reward. Both can then be brought into the real world.”

A murmur of understanding rippled through the unseen crowd of players.

Magenta’s eyes seemed to pierce through each of them as she issued her final command. “You can only choose one well. And I’m sure most of you know this already, but once you leave this place, you won’t recall what happened here.

“The decision you make now will not affect your memories, but it will shape your future.

“That said, please choose wisely.”

Edris watched as the screen faded, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the shadowy figure.

Most players, he knew, would choose the second well.

A drop of blood? As if there hadn’t been enough bloodshed in this Labyrinth already.

The allure of an upgraded card, enhanced with unique powers and accompanied by laveric diamonds, in the real world was truly a temptation. Even if they wouldn’t remember how they obtained them, the thought was an irresistible draw.

The opaque, soundproof veils enveloped each player in their own isolated cocoon, rendering them completely alone with their decisions.

One by one, they approached the two wells, the weight of their choices heavy upon their shoulders.

Like the others, Edris stepped forward.

As he did so, a sixty-second countdown began, each second ticking away with agonizing slowness.

The two wells loomed before him, silent sentinels awaiting his decision. He slowly exhaled, his fingers brushing over the card in his hand—[BLAZING TORRENT]. He had to admit, the promise of both power and wealth back in reality was definitely enticing.

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Too bad Edris didn’t trust the Labyrinth one bit.

The darkness within seemed to be inviting him in as the dark-haired man strode forth. With each step he took, the tiled platform beneath his foot lit up with colour, one step after another, until he stopped before his final choice.

YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE FIRST WELL!

CONFIRM YOUR CHOICE?

[YES] [NO]

Player [EDRIS] has made his decision!

Although he’d chosen the first well, Edris didn’t give up his remaining card.

The reason was simple.

The instructions were to drop all of the unused cards one received from Labyrinth 53 into the chosen well.

[BLAZING TORRENT] wasn’t from Labyrinth 53.

Although Edris had no idea what he would do with an extra card, he wasn’t planning to give the Labyrinth anything that wasn’t its for free.

Instantly, the light above the door in front of him turned green, signalling that his decision had been made.

Edris thought back to Saire Harkness’s warning. The archmage with foresight had told Dolan Zacriya to relay him a message right before he left for Adalan’s capital.

Beware of your cards—those had been her exact words.

Edris stepped towards the door. If all went as expected, he would forget everything that happened in the Labyrinth, including the two months at MW Academy and the contents of Weisha’s diary.

That wasn’t a problem for him.

In the first place, he had only entered the Labyrinth because Celio’s parents had forced him with the double placement token.

Edris was already satisfied with merely surviving, and the monetary reward was his well-deserved bonus, a way to make the ordeal worth at least something.

Normally, he would have been fine with leaving the labyrinth information behind. He would have walked away without a second thought, content with his survival and his reward.

Normally.

However, this was not a normal situation.

Edris had to think long-term.

Given the unusual circumstances that had led him to discover the two Hidden Locations and The Real Story of Weisha, he couldn’t help but question the true nature of Labyrinths as a whole.

If everyone who survived a Labyrinth came out forgetting everything anyway, what good was it for him to learn about these extra pieces of information?

Edris didn’t believe in coincidences.

The gravity of Saire Harkness’s warning echoed in his mind. He had to ensure the information he’d acquired wouldn’t be wasted, especially since he suspected he might need it in the future.

Plus, it wasn't just the mysteries of the Labyrinth that compelled him.

— Nest is here.

He recalled the telepathic message from Ace, who now sat as a tiny pink fluff in his pocket.

Right before they were transported into the garden, Ace had informed him about the reappearance of the organization that they’d gone up against back in the Nolmes.

Edris thought about Nest’s member, Robin. He was the “hypnotist” they encountered in the underground prison. Robin had assisted Earl Eathe in importing Awakeneds all over the Zacriya Kingdom to strip them of their mana and fuel a sacred artifact.

That place was also where he met Ives for the first time.

The seven-year-old and her sister Darcie had suffered greatly because of that experience.

Although Ives was mature for her age, she was still a child. Edris and Ace tacitly agreed it was best to keep Nest’s involvement under wraps, especially when it came to the seven-year-old until they gathered more information and figured out a way to deal with the situation.

Ace had told him that Robin had possessed the Principal. Neither of them knew when the possession had begun.

In the worst-case scenario, Nest was affiliated with Labyrinth on a deeper level than he could imagine.

Considering that one of its members had clashed with Ace in combat—twice—it was wholly possible that they’d come after them again in the real world.

Edris wasn’t afraid of facing them, but without the crucial information from the Labyrinth, they’d be at a significant disadvantage. Sure, Ace was considered an anomaly in the Labyrinth, but it was still unknown on whether the man would retain his memories upon exiting.

In other words, he needed a backup plan.

That’s why Edris had asked Owein, a member of the Lucid Clan, to carefully read Weisha’s notebook. Owein’s Lucid Recall, an ability to retain memories outside the Labyrinth, was invaluable in this situation, and Edris intended to make good use of it.

He had set certain conditions with the man right before the [FINAL EXAM].

If Edris didn’t seek him out within three days, it would imply that he’d lost his memories, and Owein would be responsible for delivering the information to him.

"And you would believe me? Just like that?" When he explained the plan, Owein had asked him with eyes of skepticism.

At that time, Edris had shook his head with a smile. "Of course not."

Knowing himself, there was no way he would believe anything that came out of an untrustworthy source, even more so without any of his memories. This was why Edris had already thought of a way to go around it.

He had made sure to draft the necessary information in advance, so that when he receive them from Owein, the details would be structured in the precise manner that would convince him of their authenticity, even if he retained no memory of the Labyrinth itself.

Normally, it’d be difficult, but Edris knew himself quite well.

He knew himself well enough to be sure that, if Owein included that piece of information, Edris would believe him no matter what he said.

Turning the handle on the green-lit door, Edris paused for a second and glanced behind him.

Magenta’s face was still on the big screen, peering right back.

As he stepped through the door, Edris scoffed and, knowing the woman couldn’t actually see her, flipped her the finger.

Actually, it didn’t even matter if she could.

Edris was never going to step foot in here again.

A blinding white light engulfed him, erasing all sense of time and space. The light grew more intense, until it was all he could see, and then, as abruptly as it had come, it faded.

He blinked, his vision slowly clearing. Expecting to find himself back at the place where everyone had been pulled into the Labyrinth, Edris was startled to see that he was somewhere entirely different.

Still in his maroon school uniform, he found himself seated on a couch, the soft cushions cradling his form. The room was small and white, bathed in a soothing light.

Edris’s brow creased subtly.

He found the room…familiar.

He glanced around, and this time the feeling was undeniable. He was in a familiar room, on a familiar couch, with a pillow on his lap.

A familiar face was on the pillow.

“...”

The pillow and Edris stared at each other for a good three seconds before the latter spoke up.

“Miss Mia.” He squeezed out each word with a smile. “May I get an explanation of what in the world is going on?”

Not even a minute out the Labyrinth, and another headache had caught up to him.

“This is making me quite flustered, you see.”