After meeting with the Titan Blacksmith, Alexander left the mountain cave and found himself in the open air. He looked around, assessing the endless distances of the Edge, and gave a mental command to display the map, received from Charon. Expanding the display, he mentally asked to show him the entrance to the Labyrinth of Oblivion.
The map came to life under his gaze. Colored lines and symbols began to move, creating a complex mosaic of intertwining roads and paths. Among this chaos of lines and contours, a clear path slowly formed leading to the Labyrinth. Alexander carefully studied the map, assessing the route. He noticed that the path to the Labyrinth ran through wild landscapes, crossing rivers and forests, winding mountain slopes and ending in a dark valley.
The entrance to the Labyrinth of Oblivion itself was marked on the map as a zigzag symbol, located in a deep gorge surrounded by high cliffs. He gathered his courage and began his journey.
The first stage of his journey was to overcome the dense forest. The trees around him were tall and dense, and the light of the sun barely broke through the foliage. The forest was full of rustling and life. The sounds of nature created the illusion of safety, but Alexander knew that nothing in Grani could be trusted one hundred percent.
After the forest, the road led him to a river that flowed quickly and noisily. Lush bushes grew on its banks, and the water attracted with its coolness. The young man tried to touch the clear waters of the river with his hand, but his soul seemed to be frozen, and his palm became covered with ice. The brush had to be cut off and then restored, spending a supply of souls. After wandering around, Alexander found a narrow bridge, barely visible among the foliage, and carefully crossed to the other side. There he found a portal that took him further.
Once on a rocky plateau, Alexander felt like a fighter against nature itself. The wind, growing stronger with every step, seemed to challenge him, inexorably trying to knock him off his feet. The rocks around were exposed and sharp, giving the impression of the walls of an ancient castle carved into stone.
Under Alexander’s feet, the stones slid and swayed, requiring maximum concentration and physical effort from him. He moved carefully, every step was measured and precise. The wind, like a living creature, whispered and whistled around, rushing at Alexander in gusts, as if trying to throw him into the abyss. “Balance is the basis of everything,” Cassandra’s whisper became an omen of visions, of a mortal fall. Time slowed down, and among the many outcomes, Alexander chose the one that ended with a bruise.
In the distance, he could see the wind playing with dust and small stones, creating strange, almost hypnotic patterns in the air. This dance of the elements was both beautiful and terrifying. Alexander felt how nature was demonstrating its power and unpredictability to him.
On one of the spurs of the plateau, Alexander found shelter from the wind behind a large rock outcrop. He stopped to take a breath and assess his future route. He has only a short distance left before the next crossing. While he stood and rested, before moving across the rocky plateau, he suddenly noticed a trembling haze in the sky. It gathered into the image of a girl who was difficult not to recognize - it was Poela. Her figure, although not as majestic as Maila's, was not as realistic, but was still impressive enough to attract the attention of all the inhabitants of the Edge.
- Residents of the Edge, the Reposed and the Forsaken, you all have a chance to return to the real world. And I am giving you this chance. This gift. Each of you is already worthy of having power. Each of you has a gift! — she shouted, and her voice echoed throughout the Edge.
With these words, a skull appeared in front of Alexander in a small whirlpool, pierced by metal rusty pins. Cassandra's gift immediately whispered "Little bunny" in Alexander's ear. Alexander, understanding the mockery, ironically showed his middle finger to the sky.
All over the Edge, living beings began to receive their gifts. Everyone had different ones, and many of them were really powerful. In one corner of the Edge, a person gained the ability to control time, slowing down or speeding up its progress. Elsewhere, someone became the owner of the ability to fly, cutting through the skies on an equal footing with birds.
In the ruins of unknown cities and in the communities of the Edge, people tested their newfound abilities. Some were able to manipulate fire, water or earth, creating different shapes and figures from them. Others received gifts of healing, the ability to heal wounds with a single touch.
This event brought a new round of energy and hope into Grani's life. Residents, inspired by the gifts they received, began to look for ways to use them to improve their lives and, to a greater extent, return to the real world where they could realize their ambitions.
Alexander, seeing the gift in front of him, guessed that everyone had the ability. He realized that Poela's game had changed the rules. Now every inhabitant of the Edge had a power that could both help and harm. Chaos could begin, an uncontrollable flow of power and the people who acquired it. It was the beginning of something new.
Alexander looked thoughtfully at the skull with metal pins that Poela had sent him as a gift. Despite his initial desire to give it up, Alexander realized that this gift could be useful in the real world. After all, he had the ability to transfer such gifts from the Edge into reality, and it would be unwise to refuse such an opportunity. And the ability to identify a skill will probably be widespread, which means it could be exchanged for something.
Deciding that the gift would be a valuable investment in his future, Alexander focused his soul power. He slowly wrapped the skull in a protective cocoon of his spiritual energy, carefully sealing it to ensure that no breach would be left. When the cocoon was ready, Alexander carefully absorbed the sealed gift, integrating it into his soul.
The absorption process was subtle and required special concentration from Alexander, but he successfully completed this task. Feeling how the gift took a special place in his soul. After a short rest, Alexander set off again. He walked confidently, despite fatigue and obstacles. So he crossed the border of another portal, finding himself in a new place.
As we approached the gorge where the entrance to the Labyrinth was located, the terrain became increasingly harsh and dangerous. The rocks towered above him, giving the impression of the walls of a dungeon. The path became increasingly narrow and winding, and every turn could hide an unknown danger.
Finally, after several hours of travel, Alexander reached the gorge. He stopped at its edge and peered into the depths. There, below, among the endless fields of clover, a glimpse of the entrance to the Labyrinth of Oblivion could be seen. He began his descent down.
Finally reaching the lowland and standing in front of the entrance to the Labyrinth of Oblivion, Alexander felt a slight excitement in front of the structure, which helped him realize who he was and what preceded his appearance here. The entrance, as before, was represented by a huge mirror, which, unlike last time, did not reflect anything. Its surface was smooth and impenetrable, like a gateway to another world.
Looking back, Alexander saw the Dead busy mastering the new powers given to them by Poela. Many of them were focused on exploring their abilities by experimenting with them, but not all of them knew how to control their gifts. Alexander, a little earlier, miraculously escaped death when one of the Dead, not in control of his new power, fired a sharp stone cone in his direction. Thanks to his gift Shroud of the Lost, which shifted his body to the side, he remained unharmed.
Alexander saw a man throwing a stone, who ran away in panic. In the past, Alexander might have pursued and avenged such an attack, but now he acted differently. Having revived his past and returned to his life's guidelines, he decided to let go of the incident. Revenge was not what motivated him now.
Before entering the Labyrinth, Alexander gathered his will into a fist and finally stepped inside. Entering the Labyrinth of Oblivion, Alexander found himself in a hall of mirrors. It was empty and quiet there.
Moving deeper into the hall of mirrors, Alexander felt a strange atmosphere. The mirrors reflecting his figure on each side created the illusion of an endless space in which he seemed to be the only inhabitant. However, this place had recently been the site of a battle, and now it stood empty and lifeless, as if abandoned and forgotten. These were traces of his battle, his blood was on the floor.
Alexander carefully touched the smooth surfaces of the mirrors, exploring every corner of the hall. There was no sound in its depths except the quiet echo of his own footsteps. This silence was so complete that even his breathing seemed loud and disturbing.
Using the mini-map, which this time continued to work, Alexander found a path leading outside the hall. The map pointed to one of the mirrors, which, as it turned out, was not just a reflective surface, but a hidden passage.
He carefully touched the mirror, and it, like the entrance to the Labyrinth, opened a new path for him. A narrow corridor opened up in front of Alexander, going deep into the darkness.
Walking along a narrow corridor that gradually became wider, Alexander felt the air around him becoming cooler and fresher. The walls of the corridor were covered with strange patterns, which, upon closer examination, turned out to be outlandish runes and symbols. He stopped, trying to decipher their meaning, but they were too sharp and different for him to understand and recognize.
Soon the corridor widened, turning into a large hall with a high ceiling. The hall was completely empty, except for the huge stone altar in the center. The absence of any sounds or movement gave the room a feeling of abandonment and oblivion. Alexander carefully walked around the altar, examining it from all sides. There were no runes or symbols on the altar, just a smooth, worn surface, as if no one had touched it for many years.
Alexander touched the stone, feeling its coldness and hardness. He wondered, trying to understand what role this altar could play in the Labyrinth of Oblivion. But there were no thoughts, for him now, it was just a stone.
Deciding not to waste time, Alexander continued his journey. He left the hall through another corridor, which led him deeper into the heart of the Labyrinth. The corridors of the Labyrinth of Oblivion, which turned out to be adjacent to the hall of mirrors, intertwined with each other, creating a complex network of paths and forks. Alexander stopped from time to time to check his location on the mini-map, but in this maze it turned out to be not so useful. Every time he thought he was on the right path, the corridor suddenly ended in a dead end or led in an unknown direction. But he was lucky, and ultimately, he found the abode of the owner of the Labyrinth of Oblivion.
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He emerged on a suspension bridge hanging over an abyss surrounded by fog, in which individual islands floated, floating in the air. Above them stretched a gloomy, starry sky, which this time was calm.
In the center of the bridge, where there had been an object before, this time there was no mirror. Alexander walked halfway across the bridge, but nothing caught his eye. This was the place, but it became lifeless. The young man decided to find out what was on the other side of the bridge.
Arriving at the place, Alexander found in front of him only an empty wall, covered with small cracks and stains of moisture. Behind him, he found the entrance to a small room. Alexander walked inside and examined the room, looking for any clues or hidden mechanisms that could explain the disappearance of the Mirror of Shadows. He carefully examined every corner, every crack on the wall, but found nothing. The mirror appears to have been moved, leaving no obvious clues as to where it might have been taken or how to find it.
After many hours of grueling searches in the empty Labyrinth of Oblivion, which seemed devoid of its mysterious properties without its owner, Alexander felt tired and disappointed. The labyrinth, once full of mysteries and challenges, was now just an endless complex of empty and monotonous corridors.
Having emerged from the labyrinth, Alexander turned to his map in the hope of finding the Keeper of Illusions. However, the search was unsuccessful. There was no mention of the Guardian on the map, as if he had disappeared from the very reality of the Edge. Alexander understood that without the Keeper of Illusions it would be much more difficult for him to achieve his goal.
Disappointed and tired, Alexander sank onto the soft clover. He looked up at the endless blue sky, wondering about his situation and what to do next. It seemed to him that he had reached a dead end, and all his efforts were in vain.
However, sitting on the clover, Alexander remembered Charon’s words about the third wish and realized that all was not lost. He had one last chance left that could change the course of his fate. Gathering his will, he decided to continue the fight for his goal and the restoration of his body.
Alexander stood up from the clover, shook off the green leaves from his clothes and looked at the map with renewed determination. He had to find Charon and ask him for his last wish.
At the same moment, Alexander noticed a strangeness at the edge of his consciousness. Alexander removed the map and saw a dark fog that was smoothly flying towards him.
Intuitively sensing the danger that the dark fog carried within itself, Alexander turned the mirror towards it. He tried to find shelter in the Labyrinth of Oblivion, but after taking a couple of steps, a dark fog covered him, and the entrance disappeared somewhere in the darkness. The fog accelerated, thickened, enveloping him from all sides, and soon Alexander found himself completely absorbed in its gloomy embrace.
Inside the fog, Alexander felt a cold and damp wind that blew him from all sides. Visibility was almost zero, and he could barely make out the outline of his own hands. He walked carefully, trying not to lose his bearings or fall into any trap that this strange fog might be hiding within.
Alexander understood that this was not just a natural phenomenon, but something more mystical and potentially dangerous. He strained his mind, trying to penetrate the fog and understand its true nature.
Suddenly, in the fog, strange, incomprehensible visual images began to appear in front of him - distorted figures, flickering shadows, silhouettes of forgotten memories. Alexander realized that this could be a manifestation of the Guardian of Illusions, who for some reason decided to turn his attention to him. But everything turned out to be more prosaic, although Alexander did not understand this yet.
Alexander's body suddenly jerked to the side, a reaction caused by his gift of the Shroud of the Lost. He managed to notice a dagger flashing in the fog.
- This is definitely not the Keeper of Illusions. If he wanted, he would kill me on his territory. - thought Alexander.
With these thoughts, he imbued his dagger with the power of his soul, creating a powerful one and a half meter long lightsaber. He began to swing it from side to side, repelling invisible attacks. The sound of a hiss and a roar of pain broke the silence, but the source of the threat remained hidden in the fog. “Watch your back, he is afraid to face you.” Suddenly, time slowed down, and Alexander himself found himself in a void, where he had to face visions of his possible death. However, it was impossible to understand who was attacking him.
Back in the dark fog, time was still in slow motion. He managed to dodge the next attack and even strike back, judging by the cry of pain that followed after the lightsaber met with an unknown enemy.
Alexander felt every moment as an eternity. With every flash of the dagger, he realized that his enemy was invisible and cunning. Every time he sensed an enemy approaching, he swung his sword sharply, only to be met with emptiness. But one day, when the sword passed through the fog, there was a hissing sound and a roar of pain. Alexander realized that his blow had reached its target, but the enemy remained invisible.
He concentrated, using his skills and intuition to anticipate the next attack. When the next blow came, he was already ready. Quickly dodging and aiming his lightsaber at the point of attack, he heard a loud scream. The blow was accurate, and the cry of pain confirmed that the enemy was wounded.
However, the next moment brought pain - Alexander felt a dagger pierce his stomach. He looked down and was horrified to see the dagger that had pierced him. At that time, his lightsaber hissed in the shoulder of a man whom Alexander recognized. It was Twilight.
- You'll die here! - Dusk growled, towering over Alexander in a cloud of smoke. His eyes sparkled with malice and triumph as Alexander felt his body slowly disintegrate, falling victim to the gloomy fog. The pain was unbearable, his soul powers could not cope with the power of unknown forces.
Alexander fell onto the green clover, his light blade dissipated, and then the dagger itself turned into ashes. The swirling fog swallowed up the pieces of his weapon, like his hand turning to dust. His body began to follow the hand, losing its shape and becoming part of the dust cloud.
- This is fate, Alexander. You see, my skill is Shadow Mist. You see, right? It's fate that I, Twilight, received such a skill. - the man shouted, looking at Alexander with a sardonic smile.
But Alexander, whose strength was running out, having gathered the last remnants of his strength, said:
- No, this is not fate... this is Poela... That's because... - his voice was weak, but there was confidence in it.
Dusk just spat, still smiling, enjoying the souls he took from Alexander. He seemed to savor the power that came from killing an old enemy. The man, laughing, disappeared into the dark fog and flew away, leaving Alexander to die alone.
Meanwhile, Alexander's soul almost completely disintegrated, reaching the repository of his gifts and treasures. All that remained was a dim spark of life, which slowly faded away in a soul engulfed in destruction.
At that moment, when Alexander's soul seemed lost and scattered, the cocoon containing the gift of "Little Bunny" collapsed. The skill began the process of integration into Alexander's soul, protecting him from complete destruction. The process of destruction of the soul stopped, but Alexander no longer realized this, immersed in the darkness of death.
Suddenly, he found himself in front of a woman with transparent flesh and bones visible through her body. She stood sideways to Alexander, her cloak fluttering lightly in the wind. She extended her bony hand to Alexander, as if inviting him to follow her. But a centimeter from her touch, Alexander’s body suddenly stopped and jerked to the side. The woman looked after the departing Alexander with her empty eye sockets, without making a sound.
The next moment, Alexander took a deep breath, as if returning to life after a long immersion in darkness. His soul, fueled by the new skill, began to slowly recover, although it was still weak and exhausted. Alexander felt how warmth appeared in his body again, and his consciousness became clearer. But at that moment, a shadow hung over him.
A huge girl appeared above Alexander, like a giant from legends. She was tall and slender, with long, wavy hair that shimmered with all the shades of the night sky. Her eyes were deep and mysterious, like two dark oceans.
- What a cute little bunny. Can I take it for myself? - she said in a gentle voice, extending her long fingers to Alexander.
Next to her stood a guy, the same giant with short dark hair and a serious expression on his face. He was dressed in simple but elegant clothes that showed off his athletic physique.
- You have nothing to do, take hares to Grani? He will turn out to be some kind of hellish hare and eat us. Let's better kill him. - the guy answered with an incredulous look. Meanwhile, the girl took him in her arms, which were warm.
Standing next to him was another guy, tall and thin with soft features and long blond hair adorned with fancy jewelry. He pointed his dagger at Alexander, and the image of a small white hare was reflected in his blade. The young man looked at himself and could not believe what he was seeing.
- No, he won’t eat it, he’s cute. I’ll call you bead...” the girl continued, carefully examining Alexander, stroking his skin.
At this point, Alexander realized that Poela may have wanted to trick him in the form of a skill that would turn him into a hare. Making his life impossible. But unexpectedly, this skill saved him from death, providing an opportunity for recovery. And even in his new form, without a dagger in his hand, slightly larger than a man’s palm, Alexander did not plan to give up. He wanted to live and return not only his real body, but also his spiritual one. “Rejected by life,” Cassandra whispered, making it clear that now everything would be even more difficult.