Jade picked a seat at the head of the table, settling into it with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Beside her, Naomi lowered herself into a chair of her own, perching on its edge and looking as anxious as Jade felt. She wasn't sure what to expect from Damos, the aged man had an inscrutable expression. Jade had to remind herself that, despite his appearance, he wasn't actually human. Rather, Damos was somehow a part of the Labyrinth itself, a shape shifting creature the system labeled as a labyrinth elemental. Maybe it was foolish to even try and interpret his mannerisms, but Jade thought she could make out lines of tension creasing his brow. That didn't fill her with confidence, and she was about to ask what he'd meant when he'd said, 'future of their world', but Luis spoke before she had the chance.

"Where is Shari?" he asked, dropping into the seat beside her and kicking his feet up onto the table. Or rather he tried to, but Naomi swatted them off with an exasperated whisper. Chagrined, Luis shifted to sit up straighter.

"The two of you were met by her at your first sanctuary?" Damos asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Had Jade imagined his stress? Or was he simply skilled at masking it?

"Yes. She was… energetic." Naomi said. "But she didn't explain much at all before she disappeared on us. Just walked us through picking our classes. Then she said something about having to help other people."

"I liked her." Luis added with a grin.

"I'm sure you'll run into her soon." Damos assured him. Then, the butler turned to Siora. "I must confess, I am surprised that you found your way to a group of newly fledged wayfarers, miss Siora."

"Yeah…" The elf said, rubbing the back of her head and looking embarassed. "I tripped a trap near my village, it dropped me down a floor and cleared out my node access. They're helping me get back."

Damos nodded in understanding, moving to stand at the head of the table opposite Jade and surveying their group.

"Very well. I believe it would be best for you to hold any questions you have until after I finish the introduction that you normally would have received upon your arrival in the Labyrinth. It may answer some of them."

Each of them nodded in response, and the atmosphere in the room became noticeably more tense. Jade and Naomi were focused on Damos intently, and even Luis was listening closely. Siora was also paying rapt attention to the conversation, despite not being from Earth herself. The elf looked apprehensive, which didn't do anything to calm Jade's nerves.

"Let me start by again explaining what exactly the Astral Labyrinth is." Damos began, clasping his hands behind his back once more. "As I told miss Jade during our first meeting, you can think of it as the land that links the many worlds of the universe. One of the links, at least. The Labyrinth is always growing and, periodically, this expansion brings it into contact with a new reality. Most recently, it has connected to the world you call 'Earth'."

Jade wanted to ask how the wayfarer trial worked into all of that. The Labyrinth clearly had a lot more to it than merely being a bridge between worlds. For the moment, though, she remained silent and let Damos continue.

"When the Labyrinth forges a connection with a new land it begins a process of…" he hesitated for a moment, searching for the right word. "Sampling… the new environment."

"Sampling?" Naomi asked. For some reason, she shot Jade a glance as she spoke. "What do you mean?"

"It retrieves small pieces of the world it has connected to, employing dimensional magic to shift them inside itself." Damos elaborated. "That, miss Naomi, is how the three of you were transported here so abruptly. While the Labyrinth tries to avoid drawing in locations that are inhabited, it isn't always successful."

"But why does it 'sample' anything at all?" Jade asked. "What is it doing with what it takes?"

"I apologize, young lady. While I do possess some knowledge as to 'what' the Labyrinth is doing, my understanding does not extend to 'why' it is doing it." Damos replied, turning to face Jade. He closed his eyes for a long moment. When the butler continued, his voice was subdued. "After these samples are examined by various magical means, The Labyrinth begins to extract resources from that world."

"What…?" Jade breathed. That feeling of anxiety was quickly turning to dread. "How? What does it take?"

A pained look crossed Damos's face. Or at least, Jade thought that's what it was. It was gone in a moment, his normal reserved expression returning.

"Material resources are generally the primary harvest." He explained. "You would know them as rare elements, raw ore and mineral deposits, and some naturally occurring sources of magic."

"So, you're saying that the Labyrinth is strip mining our home?!" Naomi exclaimed, horrified.

Jade felt her temper rising. She was standing up now, with no memory of when she'd risen to her feet. Forcing herself to remain calm, she asked the most important question she could think of.

"How much does it take?"

Damos didn't reply immediately. That was confirmation enough for Jade. This was bad.

"It depends." He sighed. "But often, it is enough to cause societal disruption on a large scale."

As the butler replied he glanced at where Siora sat opposite Naomi. Jade followed his gaze, but the elf wouldn't meet her eyes.

"It came to Myrthrin, where my people are from, over two hundred years ago." Siora said quietly, looking at the floor. "The lorekeeper says that in the aftermath, the land was so bleak that our village was forced to migrate inside the Labyrinth to survive."

"You knew…?" Jade asked her. Finally, the elf lifted her head to meet her gaze. Siora's eyes, deep hazel pools with slanted pupils, were filled with sorrow.

"I only know the stories. I didn't know what you'd heard, what you'd been told… and I didn't want to get it wrong. I'm sorry."

Her distress was so evident that Jade found she couldn't be very upset with her. Damos, however, was another story.

"Why?" She growled, shifting her ire back to the sanctuary attendant. "Why is this happening to us?! What right do you have to come and… and… harvest our planet?!"

Anger boiled up within her, sudden and fierce. Something stirred in that dark corner of her mind, the one that had reacted when she'd transformed into her demon body during the fight earlier. It fed into her emotions, stoking the flames.

"Jade…" She felt a hand on her arm. Naomi was looking up at her in concern. "Let him finish. I think there's more."

"How are you ok with this?!" Jade demanded, clenching her fists.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I'm not!" She snapped fiercely, catching Jade off guard. She took a deep breath, trying to relax. The burning fury receded somewhat, but it didn't fade completely. A part of her didn't want to let go of it. It felt good, somehow. Natural.

That… That was concerning.

"Jade." Naomi repeated, squeezing her arm.

With effort she relaxed, sinking back into her seat with a thump.

"There's something we can do about it, isn't there." Naomi said more calmly, returning her attention to Damos. It was voiced as a statement, not a question. "Something to do with this wayfarer trial? If all the Labyrinth wanted was resources, none of the rest of this would be necessary."

"Well done, miss Naomi." Damos nodded in approval. "There is indeed something you can do to mitigate the Labyrinth’s impact on your world."

That got Jade's attention. She crossed her arms, as if physically clamping down on her anger would help keep it in check.

"So, what do we have to do?" Luis asked, speaking for the first time. A frown had replaced his usual laid-back expression, the only sign of whatever troubled thoughts these revelations had birthed.

"Every wayfarer gains access to a certain spell upon reaching level 7." Damos continued, leaning forward to plant his gloved hands on the rough surface of the table. "The 'Pathfinder' spell. When cast, this spell can be used to point you towards the closest active Labyrinth Core. These Cores are magical constructs woven into the mechanisms of this world. They are what provide the Labyrinth with the energy needed to extract materials across dimensional boundaries on a large scale. When a Core is destroyed, the rate of the harvest is diminished. When all Labyrinth Cores have both activated and been subsequently conquered, the Labyrinth ceases its collection entirely. At least, until it repairs itself and connects with a new, untouched land, and the cycle begins again."

"How many of these 'Labyrinth Cores' are there?" Jade asked, trying to wrap her around the situation. "Where are they?"

"One hundred." Damos said, tapping a finger on the table as he listed them off. "Thirty each on levels three and four, twenty on five, and another ten each on levels six and seven. Each watched over by their guardians."

"So many?" Naomi asked, her shoulders slumping as she contemplated the magnitude of the task.

"Yes." Damos confirmed. "However, they have not yet been activated. The Labyrinth has been behaving oddly in this cycle. It began by taking far more samples than is usual, and across a much shorter time. Over eight thousand people from Earth have already been pulled into this world, an unprecedented number for before it establishes permanent gates. Normally, attendants such as I visit a newly connected realm to introduce the Labyrinth and what its trials entail. This allows the people of that land to prepare themselves, and to select their most skilled warriors, explorers, and sorcerers to become wayfarers. People who are unfit for the rigors of the trial, or unwilling to participate, are not forced into the test. Regrettably, that is not what happened this time. And it is a major complication indeed."

"Why is that such a big problem?" Jade said, glancing at her companions. "Other than how much it sucks for the people like us that basically got abducted?"

"It is a problem." Damos explained patiently. "Because the Labyrinth imposes a limit on how many people from a certain world can undertake the wayfarer trial at once. You may not have learned this yet, but only wayfarers can select a class. Them, and wayfarer apprentices, but that isn't relevant right now. The important part is that full wayfarers are also the only ones to receive quests from The Voice of the Labyrinth. Seeing as quests are by far the most expedient method of gaining experience, teams of wayfarers are the only practical option for reaching Labyrinth Cores on the more challenging, higher floors in a reasonable amount of time. The other methods of advancement like monster slaying, node activation, and certain types of crafting, simply do not yield results quickly enough."

Damos breathed a heavy sigh, bowing his head. "The Labyrinth will put a stop to its collection before any world is put in true danger from it, but allowing it to get to that point would be destabilizing to the civilizations of your planet. That outcome is…" He paused, searching for the best description. "Best avoided."

There was another moment of silence as they all processed the sanctuary attendant's explanation. Naomi was the first to speak, giving voice to the question that was foremost among their thoughts.

"How many can undertake the trial at once?"

“Three thousand." Damos said at length, his words heavy with regret. "In light of these strange circumstances, however, that restriction has apparently been modified. Please understand that I am not privy to the inner workings of this world, I am but a small part of it. That said, the Voice of the Labyrinth has taken it upon itself to name all eight thousand four hundred and nine of the humans prematurely taken from Earth as wayfarers. This far exceeds the limit at which the Labyrinth allows new participants. No further prospective challengers will be allowed to undertake the trial. Not until a sufficient number of current wayfarers have completed the one hundred quests assigned to them… Or perish in the attempt."

Jade, Luis, and Naomi sat in stunned silence. Siora had a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in shock. She, more than any of them, knew what this meant.

"Fortunately, the Labyrinth has maintained its restrictions on who is eligible to participate. All those under the age of twenty of your years, and those too physically or mentally unfit, were returned safely to your world. But rather than the highly skilled, well trained, and brave individuals who normally volunteer for this task, Earth's champions will be the eight thousand people that were randomly pulled from its surface. Most of whom are wholly unprepared for what will be required of them."

Damos shifted his gaze around the table, looking in turn at Luis, Naomi, and finally, Jade.

"The three of you are now Earth's protectors. And believe me when I say that you are off to a much better start than the majority of your comrades."

Somewhere in the middle of these monumental revelations Jade's brain had blown a fuse. She found herself fixated on a strange thought, something utterly inconsequential compared to the gravity of what they had just been told.

I'm supposed to save the world… The thought repeated, over and over. With demonic seduction powers?

Maybe it'll feel less ridiculous once it sinks in.

It didn’t.