Athena's eyes gradually cleared, and Alex could see that she was finally looking at him, emerging from her reverie. Instead of continuing to speak, he decided to use the forest energy on her. This was the best way he had to help her regain her clarity, as Athena herself had told him on several occasions that her forest energy felt so pure that it instinctively reminded forest creatures of being embraced by it.

Under the calming influence of the forest energy, Athena regained her senses completely and began to undo her transformation. The flames began to extinguish, and the feathers on her body slowly turned white, losing their reddish hue. The last thing to go was the abyssal mouth in her stomach, which resisted control but was finally brought under control.

What remained was a badly wounded Athena, too weak even to stand up, collapsing to the ground. "I think I've caused you some trouble," Athena said weakly.

"Nothing we can't handle," Alex replied with a reassuring smile. He picked up the owl in his arms and finally left the room, which was dangerously close to disappearing at this point. "Let's move forward," Alex said to Thorel as he infused some of his forest energy into the owl to allow her to fall asleep.

They finally entered the door, only to be greeted by a group of tired soldiers scattered throughout the area, with a few still standing guard. "Sir, you've finally returned!" shouted Kragash, running toward the human.

Alex looked at the young soldier; he was one of those who remained on guard, although this was almost obvious since the forest energy greatly increased an individual's resistance. Unsure of how much time had passed, Alex responded, "Of course, did you expect me not to return, Kragash? Has there been any trouble? Have rations been distributed?"

"I never doubted your return, sir. Rations have been distributed, and some have already eaten. As for dangers, nothing much has happened, although we haven't explored much either. It seems we're in a coliseum; there's a large platform in the center, but we don't know what it does," the boy replied.

"Very well. Unfortunately, we can't let them rest much longer. The labyrinth is very unstable after the fight, so it's best to leave as soon as possible," Alex said, remembering Athena's words. She could force her way out of the labyrinth, but she wasn't sure if she would survive the repercussions. If that were the case, after what they had seen, it was much less likely for them to survive if the labyrinth collapsed suddenly. It was better to resolve it first and rest later.

"Boys, it's time to move forward. The labyrinth is very unstable; we must first solve this last stage of the labyrinth, then we'll have time to assess our situation and set up a camp," Alex shouted to the soldiers.

The troops weren't in high spirits to begin with, but they still followed Alex's orders. There was nothing else to do anyway; staying here wouldn't solve any of their problems. The first thing was to figure out what they really had to do in this trial, and since there didn't seem to be any enemies or immediate danger, Alex divided the troops into several groups and they began to explore.

They were in a kind of enclosure similar to a coliseum with a platform in the middle. Although there seemed to be some exits, they were obviously protected by some kind of force field that prevented the troops from escaping. There wasn't really anything to interact with.

Thorel had tried jumping to the stands, but they couldn't leave the racing area either. "All right, let's try the platform," Alex suggested.

When Alex climbed onto the platform alone, nothing happened, nor was there anything he could do from there. "What a disappointment," said Alex.

"What can we do, sir? We've explored every inch of the facilities, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can interact with. Maybe we should wait for waves of enemies," Kragash commented.

"I don't know. This type of building isn't really meant for combat; it's more useful for hosting races and that kind of event. Plus, if the labyrinth is really testing us, it already tested our strength and endurance with the previous challenge, so it must be something different," Alex reasoned.

While Alex, Kragash, and Thorel discussed what to try to challenge the labyrinth, the soldiers continued to roam, examining everything they could. One of the groups finally solved the mystery.

"What's happening?" Alex asked, bewildered, when the Circus Maximus finally began to change. Several obstacles appeared on the track, and everyone present except for the ten soldiers on the platform were transported to the galleries.

"Sir, the change occurred when those ten soldiers climbed onto the platform. It seems to be a team obstacle course; the labyrinth allows you to choose the difficulty, promising a greater reward for greater difficulties," one of the soldiers summarized.

"Rewards? Why would the labyrinth offer rewards?" Alex asked, confused.

"We may have misunderstood the purpose of this place. These ruins could be a training ground for the younger troops of the original owners," Thorel theorized.

"That seems possible. Although it was quite difficult at first, it wasn't impossible, and there really were no deadly traps. If it weren't for the fight between Athena and the void entity, we might not have suffered many losses," Alex said, saddened by the deaths of his loyal soldiers.

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"You must harden your heart, boy. Long before all this is over, there will be rivers of blood, just as it has always been in Glamoria and always will be for centuries to come," Torel said, embracing him.

"You're right, it's just that it doesn't feel right. I don't think I can ever get used to this," Alex said.

"Boy, 'never' is a long time. In no more than a year, you alone will have shed so much blood that you will have long forgotten all this talk. Here in Glamoria, you have to become numb to losses, as dangers lurk around every corner. It's not uncommon to hear of betrayals even within your own family," a weakened Athena said.

Alex patted the owl's back with his forest energy to help her recover more quickly as everyone watched the rest of the troops complete the training course.

At first, Alex was worried about what would happen if his troops failed the test. To his surprise, he realized that this was not possible; the labyrinth pitted the contenders against a shadow version of themselves. In normal circumstances, these shadows would be slightly stronger than the person they reflected, forcing them to overcome the challenge with skill and teamwork.

However, with so much time being weakened, and worse still, with the recent fight between Athena and the void entity, the labyrinth was almost on its last breath and urgently needed to recharge. As a result, the clones barely had the power to compete with their counterparts, so no matter what level of challenge they chose, it was impossible to lose. Unfortunately, they also lost on the other side, as it was impossible for the labyrinth to deliver a reward.

"At least there won't be any more problems," Alex thought. He hadn't lost sight of his main goal; they were here looking for intruders who were supposed to belong to some mysterious organization, possibly the one behind Torel's husband's death, which in itself represented a great danger. Although there was little chance that such a being would be here doing errands, at least they knew they must have the backing of one.

Gradually, the troops completed the challenge. At first, with no pressure of losing the challenge, some had thought of taking it easy and doing the bare minimum to complete it. However, Alex opted for the opposite; this labyrinth was designed to train troops, so it wasn't bad to do just that while they could. He decided to organize a small competition since the labyrinth judged the completion time of the challenges. The group with the best time would receive a prize in the form of special training classes courtesy of Thorel.

Finally, everyone completed their challenge, including Alex, with which a large double gate at one end of the Circus Magnus opened.

"We've finally finished. Take all your belongings and stay alert; we don't know what awaits us on the other side," Alex ordered the soldiers.

This time, as they resumed their march, Alex was nervous. Fatigue in his troops was accumulating, and signs of exhaustion were becoming more evident. Many troops continued forward despite their crudely treated wounds, as they had had to leave the supply wagons behind.

"Torel, I'll count on you to give us time to regroup in the next room," Alex said seriously.

"Are you expecting trouble, boy?" Torel asked.

"No, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. I've lost too many soldiers, and we haven't even entered the temple yet," Alex said with regret.

"Don't worry, lad. If you really want that, I'll get involved at the start of any confrontation. However, I warn you to heed my previous words," Torel replied.

"I haven't forgotten. It's hard to forget the fight we witnessed," Alex said. "I just want to make sure we're not ambushed. As soon as the troops are in position, you can retreat; our troops will receive the brunt of the attack whenever possible."

"Although I'm not at my best, don't forget to count on me," said a weakened Athena.

"You shouldn't worry; we still have the energy to continue, and if it were something even Torel couldn't contain, then I think it would be our final hour anyway," Alex replied.

Athena tensed her muscles; she felt scorned by those words, and in a way, she was being scorned since she was in no shape or had any assistance to offer in case of any real problem. Worse still was the fact that if it was her fault for attracting the void entity, although it was still a great unknown what this entity was, there was a not small possibility that if she hadn't been deceived, they might not have encountered it during the rest of the labyrinth.

All the groups were formed knowing what to do and being on alert, and soon they began to march through the door. With his heart in his hand, Alex was one of the last to cross, not because he wanted to, but because of his troops' stubborn insistence; even after everything that had happened, they didn't want Alex to expose himself to unknown dangers before them.

Finally, Alex crossed the portal, and what awaited him was… the outskirts of the forest. It seemed they had returned to the forest after all; despite everything that had happened, they hadn't advanced more than 15 meters.

Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry; after all they had been through, they hadn't advanced more than 15 meters. Behind them were the supply convoy they had left behind to explore, and ahead, a large double door led to what seemed to be a temple in ruins.

"Report," exclaimed Alex.

"Sir, our scouts have quickly surveyed the surroundings; there are no immediate threats, and our provisions are intact," said the soldier.

"Very well, gather the supplies and set up a camp; it's a well-earned rest," commanded Alex.

Torel looked at the sky, and it seemed no more than twelve hours had passed since they had begun to explore.

"It's been a tough day, hasn't it?" the elf said relaxedly.

"It's been the hardest 15 meters of my life," the human replied.

"Indeed, it has," agreed Athena in Alex's arms.

"It hasn't been that bad, sir," Kragash replied cheerfully while chewing on a piece of smoked meat.

The statement caught the human by surprise; if he didn't know him, he would think he was being sarcastic.

"Why do you say that, Kragash?" Alex asked.

"Before you arrived, sir, we had been taken prisoner, although I had been sold as a slave a long time ago. I saw the battle in which Atasha was taken prisoner; it was a brutal massacre, one that they themselves started," Kragash said.

"You've been through a lot, lad," Alex said with pity.

However, what happened next was something that would even years later come to Alex's mind.

Young Kragash saw the pity in Alex's eyes and responded with pity of his own.

"No, sir, you haven't seen enough. I truly regret that someone as noble as you should be in charge of this," young Kragash said sorrowfully.

"It's true," said Torel.

"I agree," Athena responded at the same time.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked confusedly. He never thought that what little he had experienced could be even remotely close to the pain of being sold by your peers as a slave, or losing your loved one due to a betrayal by your government, or worse, having to hunt down your own family for betraying the forest. Yet everyone present treated Alex as if he were the most aggrieved.