The young man standing next to the Cretan Oracle had fair skin and long, blonde hair. Below his almond-shaped eyes rested a gentle, almost feminine smile.

He wore simple leather armor over his pristine white robe and a ceremonial dagger with a beautifully crafted obsidian handle resting on his waist.

Strapped next to the luxurious dagger was a small, utterly black notebook secured to his belt with a golden chain.

At first, the man looked no different than any other Author Nova had seen around the Hub. In fact, his appearance was more approachable than most. However, the red string of yarn that covered his body, sewn into the skin, left no doubts about his identity.

A Tribute. The most zealous of Labyrinthians, who served directly under the Cretan Oracle.

They were tasked with punishing infidels and pursuing the enemies of the church and did so with pleasure—the tales of their atrocities terrorized those who opposed them. In the Third Story, no one dared to stand against them.

Nova mentally counted the number of people gathered here —five. They were really pushing it. What if the Epoch had sent more than one person?

From his peripheral vision, he saw the walls slowly creeping up again. He couldn’t wait for this meeting to be over.

“Welcome to the maze, Nova of the First Epoch.”

A kind, old voice greeted Nova, breaking the silence. Each word was spoken after a brief pause, giving the sentence a strange cadence, almost as if it were poetry.

Does he know it's my first time in a maze?

It was not the kind of voice Nova expected to come from behind the bestial mask. The soft-spoken words and calm voice were almost enticing. He wondered if the Cretan Oracle had a Gift of Word, as rumored.

“Thank you for having me, Your Highness.”

Nova bowed respectfully. It was not that he cared about the Labyrinthians; he already had and would again spit on their crests and trash their churches. Their beliefs went against everything he stood for.

However, he didn’t have a death wish. He would pay his respects and obtain the information he had come for.

“I presume news of our meeting won’t make it to the Movement,” the Oracle continued softly. But Nova could hear the underlying threat in his voice.

Nova’s eyes bulged in panic. With a sinking feeling in his chest, he realized things weren’t going according to plan.

Nova unconsciously bit his lips even harder while his thoughts darted back and forth.

“N-No, rest assured,” he stuttered after deciding to come clean. “ We told the Movement we would have the information, but not from whom we would get it.”

Nova cleaned the sweat from his brow, took a couple of deep breaths, and barely managed to compose himself. The walls still appeared to be advancing, minutes away from crushing them.

“Good.” replied the Cretan Oracle. “Did you bring the scripture?”

Nova exhaled with relief and took a rectangular package from his pocket. It was wrapped with brownish-red leather and tied with flax string. Despite its small size, it was by far the heaviest page Nova had ever seen – not that he had seen many.

Based on its weight alone, Nova was willing to bet it was more similar to a slab than a page.

He held the package with both hands and gave it to the Cretan Oracle, who grabbed the package unceremoniously and untied the flax string, revealing a pale golden tablet.

A mystical, golden aura permeated the air, causing the air around the tablet to distort. Carved on it were ancient black runes—so ancient, in fact, that not even a dweller like Nova could read them.

However, it wasn’t a problem for the Cretan Oracle, as his green eyes rapidly scanned the page.

Nova kept shifting his weight around from one leg to the other. The Epoch was betting everything on this plan, and he was sure they wouldn’t send him to the meeting with the wrong page.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Well, Vanson would. The man’s desire to see him dead almost exceeded his will to leave this place. But no one would let him mess this up for personal reasons.

“Here, Minghui Li, a gift, as promised,” said the Oracle, passing the tablet to the tribute beside him. Minghui Li bowed deeply and received the tablet, hiding it inside his clothes.

“Back to my end of the bargain,” The Cretan Oracle’s gaze faced Nova again. “The prelude will start on the third of Delphi.“

Shit. I don’t know the Labyrinthian calendar, he realized.

But he chose to stay quiet. Someone at the Epoch should be proficient enough with the Labyrinthian calendar to give them an approximate date. If not, they could always ask the Movement.

The Oracle, however, seemed to read Nova’s worries and continued.

“... to you, it should be the fifth of Rains.”

Barely a month from now… That is during flood season.

“It should coincide with flood season,” completed the Cretan Oracle, agreeing with his thoughts.

“Indeed. It will be a difficult prelude,” confirmed Nova.

The Cretan Oracle raised his left hand, and a piece of red yarn suddenly appeared on his palm. He carefully tied it around his ring finger.

Nova watched as the man brought his finger near his mouth, kissing the red thread while whispering a mysterious chant.

“I’ll pray for your success,” the Cretan Oracle said.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Nova bowed, expressing his gratitude. The Cretan Oracle was turning out to be nothing like he had expected. To the side, the tribute Minghui Li didn’t bother to hide the mocking smile on his face.

“Is there anything else you need?” asked the Oracle, his words spoken with the same entrancing cadence.

Nova hesitated. He should leave right away, but he was too curious. The Movement would pay him generously if he obtained important information.

“Your Highness, if you don’t mind me asking. What’s in it for you, the Labyrinthians?”

... besides the page, he added mentally. Given the influence held by the Labyrinthian church, Nova refused to believe they needed the Epoch to obtain it.

A gentle laughter came from behind the mask. Nova couldn’t read the Oracle’s expression, as the mask hid it, but the mocking smile disappeared from Minghui Li’s face.

“What is the Labyrinth for you?” The Cretan Oracle replied with his own question.

The knot on Nova’s stomach tightened.

“A prison, built to keep us locked up inside, together with these monsters.” He confessed.

“Where would you rather go?”

“To the Outside,” Nova stated bluntly.

“You think there are no monsters outside?” Laughed the Cretan Oracle, amused.

“I heard it from the Authors in the Hub,” Nova confessed, slightly embarrassed. “There are dangerous animals, but nothing comparable to the monsters we face.”

The Keeper’s decree prevented Authors from sharing information from the Outside. However, occasionally, a couple of drunks would let something slip.

“There are monsters everywhere, Nova. Only the naive believe otherwise,” gently stated the Cretan Oracle.

Nova’s vindictive spirit didn’t let him keep his mouth shut. “I’d rather have the option to choose."

The Cretan Oracle leaned over with a gaze so intense Nova was afraid it would pierce through his soul.

“We’re all entitled to make choices. If you wish to leave, you are welcome to do so.”

The Oracle paused long enough for Nova to believe the discussion was finished.

“Those who wish to leave should be able to leave,” he whispered. “But I believe that in time, all will return.”

If that were true, you’d join the Movement instead of fighting them. Nova thought, but he didn’t dare to say those words out loud. He had already pushed his luck today and couldn’t wait to escape the maze.

Again, the Cretan Oracle seemed to predict his thoughts.

“You can go now,” he dismissed with a warm voice, “Leave if you wish to leave… and when the time arrives, don’t hesitate to step into our great temple; I’ll personally welcome you there.”

Nova grabbed his trusty brass lantern and bowed down one last time. He slowly retreated through the narrow corridor, never turning away from the Cretan Oracle and his entourage.

After he cut a corner, and they finally disappeared from his vision, he exhaled in relief. Nova hadn’t noticed before, but he was drenched in sweat.

Why couldn’t this whole thing be resolved with a letter? He complained.

Nova was glad it was over. Right at the end, he could swear the maze walls were almost on top of them. If the Cretan Oracle and his entourage didn’t move soon, they would be crushed to death.

Nova scratched his head with confusion, considering the Oracle’s parting words. He had already visited a Labyrinthian temple once, specifically the Labyrinthian temple on the Third Story.

Naturally, he had not done so with good intentions. However, the plan had been trashed before they could act. The place was too well secured, probably due to its proximity to a maze entrance.

Could he have meant a different temple?

No one knew on which level the main Labyrinthian temple was located. All that was known was that they liked to hold mass inside the maze and could travel quickly across the Labyrinth.

Unlike Nova, they were not restricted to the Third Story.

It’s okay; soon, I will also be able to travel freely, both inside and outside the Labyrinth.

With a smile, he opened the piece of paper from his pocket. Some black lines were drawn on it, sketching a path through a maze of ink. However, the lines slowly disappeared as if the ink were evaporating.

Nova ran to the nearby exit as fast as he could.