As curfew fell over the Labyrinth, Ace parted ways with Owein and Roos, returning to his own room. He had always known that certain aspects of the Labyrinth’s rules didn’t seem to apply to him—his situation had been unique since the beginning.

It was the same tonight. The room fell into the same unsettling silence as the previous nights, but Ace activated his mana quietly, heightening his awareness of the Shadows patrolling outside.

His gaze drifted to the failed invitation he had sent to Edris earlier that day. A faint ripple of something stirred deep within his eyes.

It didn’t take much for him to grasp the fact that the “Edris” he encountered today wasn't the same one.

The reason? Mana.

The level of mana simply didn’t match—Edris had an unmistakable reservoir of power, one so vast that Ace could sense it even in his current suppressed state. But today, Edris’s mana had been oddly subdued. It felt manipulated, altered in some way. Though his outward appearance had been flawless, the mana channel couldn’t be duplicated.

As the white-haired man peered through the darkness, he picked up on something odd—among the other Shadows floating through the dorms, there was one that stood out, glowing ever so faintly, a beacon among the darkness.

Despite being a Shadow, this one was practically brimming in the crowd.

"Edris…?" Ace muttered under his breath.

His brow furrowed in disbelief. Had the man somehow become a Shadow?

Without a second thought, Ace strode to the door and yanked it open just as the glowing figure neared his room. The Shadow—Edris—seemed startled for a moment, if a mass of darkness could appear surprised. Ace’s sharp eyes glanced down the hallway, noting how the other Shadows shifted away, avoiding the area entirely. He then stepped aside, motioning to the blob of darkness with a chin tilt.

“Stop standing there like a dumbass,” Ace said, voice low but firm. “Get in.”

The Shadow hesitated but eventually waddled in, his movements slow and dazed. Ace could sense the other Shadows watching intently from the hall, salivating at the prospect of prey, yet none dared to approach.

Just as he was about to close the door, something caught his attention at the far end of the hallway—a fleeting figure darting through the shadows. His instincts flared instantly.

That wasn’t a Shadow.

Without a second thought, Ace bolted down the hallway, not forgetting to slam the door behind him.

The other Shadows parted for him as he sprinted, making way for the white-haired man with an unnatural deference. Ace’s gaze was locked onto the figure ahead. A cloak billowed behind them, their face obscured by a mask, yet their movements—elegant but taunting—were unmistakable.

“Robin..!”

Despite Ace's agility, Robin moved fluidly, somehow always staying a step ahead. Ace lashed his arm out to channel his mana, ready to strike, but just as he prepared to launch his attack, something yanked him backwards.

He spun around, only to see a second cloaked figure, moving silently like a wraith in the night.

The air in the dim hallway crackled with tension as Ace’s eyes flickered between the two figures standing before him. He had no idea whether they were players or some other entity, but the fact that they were defying the curfew rules like him was enough to confirm they weren’t ordinary.

Neither side made a move immediately, sizing each other up in the dimly lit corridor.

The second cloaked figure took a step forward, and that was all Ace needed. He lunged, his attack swift and precise, but the figure dodged, only for the first figure—Robin—to block his next strike. The clash was quick, but Ace soon realised he was being forced to divide his attention between the two opponents.

As from their previous exchanges, Robin moved like a serpent in water, always a step ahead of Ace’s strikes. His fluid motions were unpredictable, each attack designed to misdirect, making way for the second figure to weave in behind.

Ace gritted his teeth and attempted to channel his mana again, but something was off. His power wasn’t forming correctly—it was either the Labyrinth’s restrictions or the strange situation with Edris that was disrupting his control.

“Heh.”

A provocative snicker came out of Robin as he took advantage of the opening and tried to slip away—only to freeze half a step through. It was because, despite his plan at escape, his partner had lunged at Ace again.

The cloaked figure leapt to the side, their form a blur as they aimed a sweeping kick toward Ace’s legs. Ace spun on his heel, dropping low to the ground and narrowly avoiding the kick. The instant his feet touched down again, he surged upwards with explosive force, catching the person’s wrist mid-strike.

His grip was like iron, and before the figure could react, he twisted an arm back.

A high-pitched hiss of pain erupted from beneath the cloak, and it took a second for Ace to realise that the voice belonged to a woman.

The figure dashed away just in time for Robin to appear again, lunging forward with his fists aimed at Ace’s ribs. But Ace had already anticipated the move. He dodged to the side, pivoting sharply, and slammed the back of his elbow into Robin’s gut. The latter grunted and staggered, but didn’t fall.

From the corner of his eye, Ace saw the other one darting in again, a flicker of silver catching the light. A mana blade. She slashed at him with surprising speed, but Ace swerved, narrowly avoiding the strike. The sound of metal cutting through the air sent adrenaline surging through him.

Although Ace was handicapped by the mana blockage, he still had his brute reflexes. As the cloaked figure pounced forth, he pivoted sideways with a counter. He grabbed her arm again, this time twisting her entire body with the force of his momentum, and slammed the figure into the wall with a heavy thud.

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With a sharp swing, he threw her to the ground. Her mask clattered to the floor, exploding into pieces. Under Ace’s shakling gaze, the woman raised her head.

Ace narrowed his eyes. The one staring back at him was none other than Beatrise, the so-called "native" from their cohort on the first day.

“Who are you really?” Ace demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

Beatrise, who had looked fragile moments before, suddenly contorted her face into an exaggerated smile. Her breathing quickened, almost in exhilaration. Covering her face with a gloved hand, she steered herself up from the floor, dragging her feet over the shattered pieces on the ground.

The next moment, her voice shifted, its pitch dropping into something far more sinister.

“Ah... Robin, what to do?” She let out a strange chuckle, her entire body trembling as she did so. “I really, really like this one."

Behind her, Robin raised a hand to his face in dismay, his cloak swaying as he shook his head with a silent exhale. “Oh dear…”

Beatrise pulled her hood back, revealing hair as white as the snow outside, her eyes gleaming with something wild. She dipped into a mock bow, like a knight greeting royalty. Her eyes sparkled as she peered through her white lashes.

“Greetings, my name is Dove.”

Before Ace could respond, she straightened up and, without missing a beat, faced him with an expression comprised of a disturbing mixture of fascination and glee. She licked her lips.

“Will you marry me?”

***

Back in Ace’s room, Edris paced back and forth, the dark form of his Shadow self flickering slightly in the low light. His thoughts churned restlessly, grappling with the bizarre reality of his situation and the white-haired man’s words.

See me? How could he possibly see me?

He was a Shadow, his form completely overtaken, and yet Ace’s piercing gaze held a level of certainty, as if he could see through the layers of darkness enveloping him.

Just as he was organising his thoughts, the door creaked open, and Ace stepped back in. Edris floated up to him, ready to speak out of habit. Surprisingly, his voice carried through the air.

— Ace!

The moment the sound echoed through, Edris reflexively paused. He wasn’t expecting his words actually to deliver through.

— What happened?

Ace, his expression as stoic as ever, replied, "Nest. It's them."

Edris blinked twice, his shadowy figure stilling.

— They’re also in this Labyrinth? Is it Robin?

Ace nodded curtly. "He's one of them. There’s another. A woman who calls herself Dove."

At the mention of her name, Ace’s face grew more complicated, his usual cold demeanour slipping for just a moment. Edris paused in thought, not picking up on the man’s abnormality.

— Two of them.

Edris floated around, processing the information quickly.

— Were they here as players as well?

Ace shook his head.

"The one called Dove was Beatrise in disguise, and we confirmed that she was a native through the invitation on Day One,” he said, entering a brief pause. “I didn’t get the chance to test Robin, but chances are, he’s also masquerading as someone during the daytime. They used some sort of card to escape before I could get my hands on them."

The room fell into a brief silence as Edris absorbed the information.

The fact that members of Nest were here in the Labyrinth, bypassing its rules, was troubling. It could mean either that they possessed some rare ability to circumvent the Labyrinth’s restrictions or, worse, that they were in some form of collaboration with the Labyrinth itself. Neither possibility was particularly appealing.

Edris chuckled dryly at the absurdity of it all.

— It's like the first time we met. Only this time, our roles are reversed. I’m the one floating around now.

At his remark, Ace offered a small, barely-there scoff, but quickly regained his serious composure.

— On another note…

Edris shifted the topic, updating the man on his insights as a Shadow, including the Labyrinth’s mechanics and his discovery of [WEISHA’S WARD], the hidden “constant” outside the Labyrinth's control.

— The hidden locations could be something we potentially exploit.

Edris gestured toward the rooms beyond the walls with a tilt of his blobby head.

— We need to update Yukioe and Owein as well. If there’s anyone who could help us piece things together, it’s them.

"And Roos?" Ace asked.

Edris fell silent for a moment, hesitating before speaking.

— Only if it’s necessary.

He still wasn’t sure how much he could trust her at the moment. Surely, from what Ace had told him, she retained her perceptiveness and was a potential ally, but that still didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t the same as before. Plus, she no longer even remembered him.

Ace watched Edris carefully, but chose not to press the subject.

There was less than an hour left until curfew ended. Time was slipping away, and they both knew they had to be selective about what they shared and when. Edris shifted back to more urgent matters.

— The Labyrinth structure allows one hour at the end, where all mana restrictions will be lifted.

— When the Shadow overtook me, it stabbed straight through my stomach with its bare hands.

Ace’s expression remained unreadable, but he immediately caught on. "You want me to stab you when the time comes?"

— …You didn’t have to connect the dots so quickly.

Edris didn’t have the ability to fully access his own mana while trapped in the current Shadow form, so when the time came, he’d need Ace’s help. If not, he’d be left with the last resort: the Sacrificial Hourglass.

Edris gave the harbinger of doom a glance, then promptly shook his head. Noticing Ace’s silent gaze, he then gave an invisible shrug.

— Either way, I’d like your help on this. Since this shadowy state lowers my [AFFINITY] constantly. I mean, it makes sense; the [ROLE] everyone has to play is that of a student. If your Shadow takes over, you lose your [ROLE]. And, well… the Labyrinth wouldn’t miss a chance to make use of this.

Ace's eyes darkened slightly. "What's your [AFFINITY] at right now?"

— Fifty-seven.

His tone was nonchalant, as if answering what he had for breakfast this morning.

A silence fell between them, heavier than before. Ace looked at him, wondering how the man remained so composed, so sane, at a level that should have driven the average person insane by now.

"How are you—"

— I found a [MEDICAL PACK] in [WEISHA’S WARD]. It contains three tubes, just like last time. Each restores thirty affinity points.

Edris cut in, anticipating the question. He postured himself, almost as if he’d done some proud deed.

— Once it hits fifty-one, I’ll take another one.

"How many have you taken so far?"

"Two."

“...”

Ace let out a slow exhale, his face unreadable. He knew all too well what it meant to drop below fifty in [AFFINITY]. Eighty was when the player started to experience instability; fifty marked the beginning of hallucinations; below twenty was a death sentence—complete mental distortion, irreversible madness.

Edris, still smiling faintly, was oblivious to the shift in the white-haired man’s internal state as he shrugged his shoulders.

— It’s quite literally a race against time. Either I make it, or I don’t."

He chuckled softly, the sound eerie coming from his current form.

— Quite thrilling, isn’t it?