“So you’re sure that the path out is literally marked with a skull?” Peter asked skeptically as they set out down the path that was literally marked with a skull.

“Daedalus as much as told us so,” he insisted. “All of the other paths relate to a myth or monster which has endured timelessly for thousands of years. The paths marked with mythological beasts will indeed mark what we’ll find at the end of those passageways, but there won’t be a way out. This labyrinth was meant to hold those who were trapped down here. Except mortals. We’re mortals, and so the exit for a mortal should be marked with the symbol of mortality.”

“Are you certain?” the younger boy pressed. “The last floor was literally filled with zombies. Maybe we’re going to face one of those skeleton guys again, except dialed up to eleven.”

“You’re too young to make that reference,” Erik said. He sighed and smacked Peter again without moving his hands. The boy looked around, trying to figure out how the Trickster was doing that.

“What?” he said. “It’s a legitimate argument I think! And it’s a meme, not a reference, so what are you—”

“If we have to fight another Lich then we’ll fight another Lich,” Eli said. “But I don’t think that’s the case this time. I think that when we reach the end of the path, we’ll find something we’re not expecting, but ultimately it will lead to the way out.”

Nobody else had any better arguments, and nobody was that excited to go try their luck against six giant monsters which the system itself had marked as elites. So they returned to the central room and tried the archway marked by the skull.

The walls were cold and unmarked. The torches they carried were the only light. The passageway went on for what felt like miles, twisting and turning on itself. But, surprisingly, after the first time it had looped back on itself, everyone noticed that it was steadily moving upward.

And then abruptly the passageway opened onto a rocky shore, with the passage cut into a cliff. There were no defenders, no monsters, nothing to prevent them from escaping except a short drop into the water.

Elaine went first, and then the rest of the party one by one. The water was shallow, coming up only to their knees, and they walked quickly along the cliff before the tide started to rise. They could see the waterline of high tide, just below the opening of the labyrinth exit.

They found themselves on the opposite side of the island from the palace. But the system gave them no updates when they checked to see if they’d completed their objectives.

The party exchanged looks, wondering what was happening. They’d escaped the labyrinth, so why weren’t they advancing to the next floor.

A crow appeared, cawing at them. Then another, and another, and soon an entire murder was in the trees surrounding them. The crows flew off toward the palace.

“I think that we’re supposed to follow the birds,” Eli said.

“What makes you think that?” Erik asked.

“Just a feeling. But the palace is the logical next place to check. We’ve solved the mystery of the labyrinth, so it only makes sense that the king would reward us,” Eli said.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Right,” Erik said, and the party moved in that direction.

It took an hour to cross the island, but when they arrived, it swiftly became apparent that something was wrong. When they had arrived, less than six hours ago it seemed like, the city had been alive and vibrant. It was still light out, but there was not a soul in sight.

They proceeded up the stairs into the palace, which they found deserted.

Except for one skeleton sitting on the throne. At the skeleton’s side was a small piece of quartz.

Eli swallowed as a crazy idea came to him. He pulled an item out of his backpack; the metal half of the phylactery that he’d received on floor five.

“What are you doing?” Luke asked him, grabbing his arm.

“A séance,” Eli answered, shaking the arm off. “Let’s see what the ghost of the king has to say.”

Luke allowed himself to be shaken off, stepping back as Eli walked over to the skeleton and touched the soul crystal of the old king to a device that would animate his body. After a moment, the skeleton jerked, then looked up at them.

“Ah. So you have broken the curse,” the skeleton said. “And shattered the illusion of the island. Our neighbors will no doubt rejoice when we fail to raid their shores for young men and women to sacrifice to the labyrinth, but you’ve done our island no favors. You’ve cursed each and every one of my citizens to death.”

“I don’t think so,” Eli said. “I think you were already dead. Or never really alive to begin with. What we encountered was either a memory, or an illusion.”

“Is there a difference?” the dead king asked. He sighed and held out an empty hand, a ring on one finger. “You were supposed to die in the labyrinth, or you were supposed to fight and advance to the next floor. Why did you stir up things which you barely understand?”

“Because I barely understand them. I need to understand them if I’m going to help the titans win this war,” Eli said.

“There is no winning against the Antithesis,” the dead king said. “Now go away. I am dead, and the dead deserve their rest.”

The corpse abruptly turned to dust. The crystal shattered, leaving Eli holding a golden amulet without a stone attached to it.

The Echoes of the Land of Minos have Silenced

The Ripples in the Pond have Stilled

The Shadows have Walked into the Light

Floor 7 Puzzle Complete

Bonus Applied to Floor Rewards.

Advancing to 7th floor in 30 seconds

Please Secure all belongings before Transference

Eli turned to the others, but they were already looking about the palace for anything valuable to loot. The countdown ended before they found anything, and once more Eli found himself in the in-between place that happened between levels.

Floor 7 Summary (Hard)

Time Taken: 5:23:27

Rank: 1 (Rank Adjusted due to floor difficulty being advanced by Sysadmin)

Pacifist Bonus Applied

Secret Locations Found: 2/123

Floor Puzzle Solved: Yes (Bonus Applied)

Loot: Beginner’s Light Armor Token X4, Beginner’s Medium Armor Token X2, Beginner’s Heavy Armor Token X2, Novice Mage’s Robes, Inspiring Songs of Yore volume 34, A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dungeon Cooking, Needlework, Patchwork and Embroidery patterns v3, 352,000 experience, 120,000 Contribution Points.

Eli quickly assigned the loot, giving the heavy tokens out to Maia and Peter, the medium tokens to his mother and Mister Estabon, and the light tokens to Junior, John Sr., Susan, and Sophie. He naturally gave the mage’s robe to the party’s Mage and the songbook to the Bard, as well as the cookbook to the Cook and the book of embroidery patterns to the seamstress.

He didn’t assign any biases for the experience or the Contribution Points, and as soon as he’d finished making these decisions he exited out of the menu, zoning back into his body.

He sat upright and looked at the others. Everyone was present and accounted for and well accustomed to the ordeal by now. He looked around.

It took him a moment to realize the setting he’d found himself in. The previous floor was a large hint, as it prompted his mind to think about ancient Greece. Not that he was a huge mythology fan, but he had seen a movie about Troy once.

They were in an encampment on the beach. In the distance was a city whose walls rose a thousand feet into the air. In between the beachhead and the city was a battlefield littered with broken chariots, discarded armor, and bleached bones.

He swallowed.

“The Iliad?” he asked. “Really?”