It was hard to navigate in complete darkness, and soon, their pace slowed to a crawl.
Even Christopher’s newfound ability was useless to guide them inside the tunnel since the walls were not living beings.
Every now and then, a distant echo would cause them to freeze in alert, but so far, no more ghouls appeared. It seemed Christopher’s stunt had drawn all the nearby monsters.
They walked for countless hours until Jules couldn’t take it any longer.
“I need to rest,” he requested. “My legs are killing me.”
Christopher watched the boy with pity. Despite the blue hue surrounding him, he could tell his face was pale, and the legs below his knees were covered in a paste of blood and grime.
They hadn’t stopped to heal his injuries yet, trying to distance themselves from the ghouls as much as possible. But it seemed like now they had no other choice–either they took care of his wounds, or Christopher would be forced to carry Jules's unconscious body through the maze.
“It’s ok,” he said. “Sit down; I’ll heal your shins while you rest.”
Jules mumbled a weak thank you before falling heavily on the ground.
In the end, Christopher almost wholly exhausted himself to heal Jules's legs. He knew it wasn’t wise, but he owed the boy. If not for him, he would most likely have already died.
When he finished, he collapsed onto the floor, leaning against the cool stone. He breathed heavily, trying not to pass out.
“Are you ok?” Jules asked with worry.
“Yes, just tired,” Christopher assured.
“Let’s rest for a bit more,” Jules suggested.
Christopher nodded in agreement, forgetting that the boy couldn’t see him. He focused on his hearing one last time, ensuring that no foreign sounds were approaching, and then summoned his runes.
It was time to find out what had changed since the last time he entered the Labyrinth.
[Race]: Human
[Rank]: Drafted
[Synopsis]: Lazarus
[Stats]:
Breath: 10 Might: 10 Grace: 10 Zeal: 12
Enigma: 12 Tome: 13 Blood: 14 Integrity: 1
1 Free Stat Point.
He frowned when he noticed his Integrity stat. Only one point remaining. That couldn’t be good.
His eyes moved to check on Resilient Soul.
[Resilient Soul]: A soul wrestled from the path of reincarnation amidst its tempering. It cannot be shattered easily, yet it is only a few steps away from becoming tainted. (-5 Integrity)
He didn’t know what becoming tainted meant, but whatever happened in the future, he would make sure not to remove his gloves. He feared the next time he used Breathless Touch would be his last.
With a scowl, he moved to his other stats. There was something fishy there. If his memory didn’t fail him, the last time he checked, he had one point less in both Enigma, Tome, and Blood.
Curious, Christopher ignored the free stat point and read through the rest of the runes.
[Burdens]: Resilient Soul, Touch of The Breathless, Minor Blessing of the Breathless One.
[Minor Blessing of the Breathless One]: You’ve amused the Breathless One, earning you his minor blessing. +1 Enigma, +1 Tome, +1 Blood.
That explained his stat increase. However, he couldn’t help but shiver upon reading that message. The system almost made it seem like the Breathless One was real.
He shrugged off that feeling and went over his pages.
[Equipment]:
* Lazarus’ Robe
* Crimson Proof
* Tainted Son of Hor
* Triangulation Beam
He pushed down his curiosity and decided to equip Triangulation Beam first. Not only would it be cool to wield a mage-like power, but Jules had been the one doing most of the fighting. Christopher didn’t want to be defenseless if things went wrong.
[Name]: Triangulation Beam (Common)
[Type]: Enigma
[Description]: It started as a joke—mixing magic with applied mathematics. Yet, soon, the Scholars of El-Durei realized its potential.
Their favorite shape was the triangle–a simple but perfectly balanced shape, ideal for channeling power.
[Requirements]: 11 Enigma, 12 Blood, 1 Slot
Do you wish to equip it?
Christopher mentally agreed to it, and as expected, nothing happened. It was a shame there were no clues on how to use the page. He guessed he would have to find out.
He searched his bag and pulled out some rations and water. After sharing half of it with Jules, he could feel his strength returning.
“I’m going to try something, don’t freak out, ok?” Christopher warned Jules.
He extended his hand towards the darkness. Just like he did every time he used Crimson Proof, he turned his conscience inwards, focusing on the sounds of his beating heart and the blood circulating through his veins.
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Soon, his blood ignited, exploding with power, and Christopher didn’t hesitate to channel it to his right hand.
Triangulation Beam… Triangulation Beam, he uttered in his mind, but to no effect.
Weird, Christopher frowned.
“What are you doing?” Jules questioned after a while.
“I’m trying to activate this Enigma I got, but I don’t know how to use it,” he confessed.
“Were you trying to activate it like you do when using Crimson Proof?” Jules asked.
“Yes.”
“That won’t work,” Jules said, his voice low and serious. Christopher heard him turn to face him and whisper, “Breath for the body, Enigmas for the mind, and Blood for the Gods below.”
It was a short sentence, but there was an ancient weight to his words, and deep within himself, Christopher felt something stir, resonating with the echo of that old saying.
“What does that mean?” Christopher asked.
“It’s an old mnemonic,” Jules replied. “It’s a hint for using the different pages. Epistles require you to burn your blood to power them. The stronger the Epistle, the more blood you burn–some Authors have even died from blood loss.”
Christopher nodded. It was just as he had thought. That’s why he felt so tired whenever he used Crimson Proof.
“Breathing Arts draw on your breath and can tire you out quickly, but they are also easy to use. Just focus on the skill, and they will activate,” Jules continued. “And finally, Enigmas. They don’t drain you physically but demand intense focus and tire out your mind.”
“Thanks for the explanation, but I still don’t understand how to use it,” Christopher confessed.
“All you need to use an Enigma is concentration, “Jules explained. “You have to focus on activating the skill until it's the only thing on your mind. It takes practice, and I’ve heard it can be challenging at first.”
Christopher nodded and went back to work.
He focused on the void again, chanting the Enigma’s name in his mind. He really did try his best, but even after twenty minutes, he had nothing to show for it except a huge headache.
“How is it going?” Jules asked.
“Nothing yet,” Christopher said, “But my head is killing me.”
Jules paused for a moment.
“What’s the Enigma you’re trying to use?” He asked.
“It’s called Triangulation Beam.”
“I know that one,” Jules said. “You got it at the E.A.C., right? I’m surprised Lisa let you take it. It’s a tricky one to use–most people avoid it.”
“Lucky me,” Christopher mocked.
“You have to pick and mark two points in space, and then a beam will shoot from them toward a third point, forming a perfect equilateral triangle.”
A laugh escaped Christopher’s lips. Was he supposed to figure that out on his own?
“What kind of skill is that?”
“Most of El-Durei’s pages work around creating geometric shapes,” Jules replied. “Don’t fret about it. You'll naturally figure out how things work once you spend enough time inside the Labyrinth.”
“How did you learn about it?” Christopher asked.
“Hard to be sure. But lower-level Enigmas like that one are common knowledge,” Jules replied. “Triangulation Beam packs a good punch; it’s just hard to use. Go ahead and try it.”
Christopher nodded and raised his hand again. He looked into the void, searching for a place to mark, before realizing the truth of the situation.
“I can’t see anything,” he said, cursing under his breath. How did he end up picking up a useless page? He might as well have picked Luminous Dawn. Or maybe not. Now that he thought about it, why didn’t Lisa warn them against using light on the 2nd’s maze?
He thought about trying to mark himself for a moment. After all, he could see himself, Jules, and his sword. However, he wasn’t sure what the Enigma would do and deemed it too risky.
“You can use another light crystal if you want,” Jules joked.
There was a brief silence before both boys erupted in laughter, restoring part of Christopher’s mood.
“No thanks,” Christopher complained. “Unless you want to fight them all on your own.”
“I’ll pass,” Jules replied. “Are you ready to go?”
“Not yet,” Christopher said. “There’s something else I want to check.”
He summoned his runes again and, this time, focused on the new page.
[Soulbound]
[Name]: Tainted Son of Hor (Unique)
[Type]: Breathing Art
[Rank]: Drafted
[Description]: An inheritor of Hor’s bloodline, the roaming titan of the 44th floor.
It wasted away, ravaged by taint, until the Ill-fated stole its breath and gifted it to the Breathless One.
The eternal bloodline remains, ready for the taking, but it is now tainted beyond redemption.
[Requirements]: 15 Breath, Less than 3 Integrity, 1 Slot
Soulbound pages grant you extra information and skills.
[Hor’s Tainted Bloodline] (Innate): Draw upon the Tainted Son of Hor’s physical prowess, enhancing your own.
[Feral Senses] (Drafted): See through his eyes, hear through his ears, smell through his nose, and feel through his touch. Beware, one day, his instincts may become yours.
Christopher stared at the page, dumbfounded. There was almost too much information to go through, but what first jumped out to him was…
Ill-fated?
He was pretty sure the page referred to him, which meant it wasn’t inside the wolf before he killed it but had been created after. He couldn’t help but frown at such a bizarre discovery.
And that led him back to a question he had already asked himself over a hundred times: How did he equip the page? He surely did not remember doing so. Besides, one of the page requirements was having fifteen on his Breath stat. It should’ve been impossible for him to equip it.
That’s when it clicked for him.
The Fleeting Breath he had been awarded. Whatever it was, that must’ve fulfilled the page’s requirement before dissipating.
Wait… Can I even use this page? Christopher wondered. After all, he didn’t have any Breath.
His sharp ears picked up the faint sound of a water droplet splashing onto the floor deep within the tunnel. Perhaps he didn’t need to worry–his senses had undoubtedly been enhanced, and just as he suspected, the ability to see in the darkness came from that page, too.
Christopher read through the runes one more time. This page had two extra attributes compared to Crimson Proof and Triangulation Beam. One was a rank level, Drafted, which matched his own, and the other was a single word on top of the page, Soulbound.
“Do you know anything about soulbound pages?” He asked.
“Yes,” Jules replied. “They are pages bound to you forever. They can never be unequipped.”
Christopher frowned. He had a bad feeling.