Chapter 24

Felix and I exchanged uneasy glances, our shared reluctance unmistakable as we approached the third corridor. The dim light from the crystals and mushrooms behind us flickered weakly, casting long shadows that seemed to waver like they, too, were hesitant to proceed.

“We should really be fixing Byte before we go any further,” Felix murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper. He looked down at my now-empty arms, where Byte had been before I packed him away in my inventory, completely powered down.

I sighed, a part of me wanting to agree with him, but the sense of urgency from John’s call earlier still weighed heavily on my mind. “We have to stop them before midnight tomorrow. That only gives us about thirty-four hours,” I reminded him softly. “We don’t know how long this last part of the dungeon will take. Once we finish the dungeon hopefully we’ll have time to fix Byte before we stop Matt and his boys at Galene. For now we’ll have to manage this corridor on our own.”

Felix nodded slowly, his mouth set in a grim line. “Right. Midnight. Day ten. I can’t believe they took everyone’s credits. What could they possibly be looking to buy. Do you think they have enough to buy the resurrection stone? Or do you think they’re after powerful weapons?”

I shuddered at the thought, imagining Matt and his cronies with even more weapons and gear than they already had. Or even worse- immortality. “It’s not only the weapons that bother me, but the bigger picture. What does it mean to be a patron and why have they drawn the attention of one?” I paused, chewing on my lip thoughtfully. “Leander, Archelaus... How many of these guys are there?”

Felix’s brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to piece together the fragments of information we’d gathered so far. “We know Leander’s working for some bigger entity—Archelaus. It sounds like he’s trying to build a following or something. Maybe he’s using Matt and his goons as a starting point. The blessings could be some sort of incentive or reward for their loyalty.”

A chill ran down my spine as I considered the implications. “I don’t know. But I get the feeling we’re missing a big piece of this puzzle. I feel like there’s so much we don’t know. I wish we could talk to Abzx and ask questions.”

Felix shook his head, his expression pensive. “We’ll figure it out. But first, we need to clear this dungeon and get back to them. Hopefully, with three key pieces, we can use whatever it unlocks to help even the odds.”

I nodded, swallowing back the lingering apprehension. “Right. One more corridor, one more challenge, and then we’ll regroup and see what we’ve got.”

We turned to face the entrance of the third corridor. It was identical to the other two and I stared at it trying desperately to see through the darkness and catch a glimpse of what was to come.

“Ready?” Felix asked, his voice steady but laced with tension.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I forced a smile, though I doubted either of us bought it. Together, we took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The hallway was short, much shorter than either of the previous two corridors. Within a few dozen steps, we reached an archway, and beyond it, the space opened up into a vast chamber.

The sudden shift took my breath away.

Unlike the cold and damp cavernous tunnels we’d been in for days the chamber stretched out in every direction, the ceiling high above us lost in darkness. Soft white light filtered down from unseen sources, casting a delicate glow on the polished stone floor. In the center of the room stood a massive pedestal, its surface smooth and unblemished except for a single, ornate engraving.

I stepped closer, my eyes narrowing as I tried to make sense of the strange symbols etched into the stone. Felix leaned in beside me, his gaze intense.

The words seemed to shimmer faintly in the dim light, almost as if they were shifting and changing before our eyes. “It’s some kind of… riddle?” he guessed, his brow furrowing.

I nodded slowly. “Looks like it.”

I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?

Felix’s eyes widened, and he glanced at me sharply. “You know this one, right?”

I frowned, wracking my brain. I did know it—it was a classic riddle, one I’d read in books and seen in games before. “An echo,” I murmured softly, and as the word left my lips, the symbols on the pedestal glowed brighter, the light spreading across the floor like ripples in a pond.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a soft hum, the floor beneath us began to shift. I stumbled back, watching in shock as the ground rearranged itself. A labyrinth rose around us and at the far end of the room, a small platform rose up, revealing a glass case with a shimmering shard inside.

“Looks like that’s the last key fragment,” Felix breathed, staring at the case with wide eyes. “But how do we get to it?”

I glanced down at the newly formed maze, noting the intricate pathways and dead ends. “We have to solve this riddle. The word ‘echo’ was just the beginning.”

“Haha,” Felix forced a chuckle, shaking his head. “Of course it couldn’t be that easy.”

The air around us seemed to hum with anticipation as we stood at the edge of the maze, contemplating our next move. The echoes of our footsteps reverberated through the chamber, adding an eerie sense of presence to the stillness.

“Let’s go slow,” I suggested, glancing at Felix. “No rushing in this time.”

“Agreed,” he said, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “After all, we’ve already triggered enough traps to last a lifetime.”

With cautious steps, we began our descent into the maze, each twist and turn bringing us closer to the heart of the challenge. Every now and then, the walls would shift, and the paths behind us would close off, forcing us to constantly reevaluate our route.

“What if this isn’t just a maze?” Felix asked as we reached a particularly convoluted section. “What if the maze itself is an echo?”

I looked at him, surprised. “An echo of what?”

“Of us,” he said quietly, his gaze distant. “Every move we make, every choice… the maze reacts. It’s reflecting our actions back at us.”

The idea made sense. Was the maze sentient, or was it merely responding to our presence? Either way, it meant that we couldn’t just find our way, we needed to solve the puzzle.

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“Then we’ll just have to outthink it,” I said, determination hardening my voice. “We’ll get that shard, Felix. No matter what.”

Felix nodded, his eyes scanning the shifting walls as he followed closely behind me. The maze seemed to pulse with a life of its own, reacting to each step we took. The paths changed almost imperceptibly, forcing us to make split-second decisions at every turn. Every now and then, I could hear faint sounds—the whispers of wind brushing against the walls, the low hum of magic weaving through the stones. It almost felt like the maze was watching judging us.

As we moved deeper into the maze, I noticed a strange phenomenon. Each time we made a decision—a left turn instead of right, or moving forward instead of doubling back—a slight delay would follow, almost as if the maze was thinking about how to respond. It was subtle, but it was there.

“See?” Felix whispered, his voice tense. “It’s mimicking us. Reacting. Like an echo… just like the riddle.”

“Then how do we beat it?” I asked, frustration creeping into my tone. “If it’s just copying us, we’re running in circles.”

Felix paused, brow furrowed in concentration. “Maybe it’s not about beating it,” he said slowly. “Maybe it’s about understanding the pattern. If it’s an echo, then it’s bound to repeat itself, right? So if we can predict the reflection, we can outmaneuver it.”

“This is the answer,” I muttered, as the idea sparked something in my mind. If the maze was copying us, then it stood to reason that we could use that to our advantage. “Okay. Let’s try something. Take three steps forward.”

Felix did as I asked, and sure enough, the walls shifted slightly, revealing a path that hadn’t been there before. I mirrored his movements, and the maze responded again, this time shifting in the opposite direction.

“Okay, I see it now,” I murmured, excitement building in my chest. “It’s like a dance. We just have to keep moving in sync, like we’re leading the maze instead of the other way around.”

We began moving more deliberately, stepping in rhythm and anticipating the maze’s reactions. It was almost like a game, each of us taking turns to lead and follow, watching the walls shift and realign as we moved. The sensation was surreal, like walking through a mirror that reflected not our images, but our intentions.

But just as we seemed to be getting the hang of it, a deep, resonating clang echoed through the maze. The walls shuddered, and the ground beneath our feet trembled. The path behind us closed off completely, trapping us in a narrow corridor.

“What was that?” Felix asked, his voice tight.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, scanning the walls. They seemed… different now. More solid, less willing to bend to our movements. “It’s like the maze is… locking us in.”

As if in response, the wall to our left slid open, revealing a new passage.

“Do we go?” he asked, his hand tightening on his staff.

“We don’t have a choice,” I said grimly. “We’re too deep in now.”

We stepped into the new passage, our movements slower and more cautious than before. The walls were lined with what looked like polished metal, the surfaces reflecting our faces back at us in distorted shapes. It was unsettling, like a carnival fun house.

The passage led to a small chamber. At its center was a pedestal, and on top of it sat a small, metallic sphere. A faint, pulsing light emanated from within the sphere, kaledoscopic patterns and colors across were thrown the entire room.

“What do you think it is?” Felix whispered, his voice barely audible.

“I’m not sure,” I said, stepping closer. The sphere seemed to pulse in time with the maze’s movements, like it was a heartbeat, or a core. “It could be controlling the maze, or…”

Before I could finish, the maze reacted again. The walls behind us slammed shut, sealing us inside. A faint, rhythmic hum filled the air, resonating through the walls.

The sphere began to glow brighter, its pulsing quickening. I could feel the energy radiating off it, an almost tangible force that made the hairs on my arms stand up. Slowly, I reached out, my fingers hovering just above the surface. Identifying the sphere led to no answers.

?

“Wait!” Felix said sharply. “We don’t know what it’ll do.”

But something told me that this was the answer we’d been looking for. I took a deep breath, then touched the sphere lightly. Immediately, the room filled with a low, vibrating hum. The walls seemed to ripple, and then, slowly, they began to move—not shifting like before, but folding away, like pieces of a puzzle slotting into place.

“What’s happening?” Felix asked, eyes wide.

“I think…” I trailed off, staring as the walls continued to retract, revealing a straight path leading back to the entrance of the maze. At the far end, where the labyrinth had first formed, the glass case rose once more, the final shard shimmering within.

“It’s over,” I breathed, disbelief and relief warring within me. “We solved it.”

Felix looked around, bewildered. “But we didn’t even—”

“It wasn’t about navigating the maze,” I said softly, realization dawning. “It was about seeing through it. Understanding that it’s not just about the physical path, but the way we approach it. The maze was an echo of our intentions… and when we stopped fighting it, it let us through.”

Felix stared at me, then let out a soft, incredulous laugh. “So… we beat it by not trying to beat it? You know I’m half expecting GLADOS to start mocking us from the ceiling.”

“Something like that.” I glanced at the pedestal, where the sphere now lay inert. “A portal gun sure would’ve been fun though.”

I once again identified the now inert sphere:

Class Change Globe:

Rarity: Mythic

Description: A globe of immense power. This echo of your introduction to the system can be used one time to change your class to another compatible class.

I glanced at Felix and took the class change globe and slid it into my spacial storage.

With a final nod of approval we made our way to the case, each step lighter than the last. The final shard was warm in my hand, its glow soft and steady.

Fragment of the Key (3 of 3)

Rarity: Unique

Description: Collect all three fragments to unlock the vault.

“That’s three,” I said quietly, holding the shard up. The faint light from the crystal cast intricate patterns on the maze walls around us. “Now we can unlock whatever the vault is hiding.”

Felix nodded, his shoulders relaxing as a smile broke across his face. “Good. Because I’m ready to get my loot and get the hell out of here. Not that this wasn’t a lovely getaway, but next time, maybe somewhere with a bit more sunlight and cake.”

I snorted, the tension from solving the puzzle leaving my body in one big release. The sound echoed off the stone walls, and I let out a booming laugh that reverberated around the room. “Yeah, and maybe a beach too, right? With palm trees and piña coladas. Byte could serve us drinks with those little umbrellas while we lounge in the sand.”

Felix grinned, his eyes lighting up with the shared joke. “Exactly! You know, a vacation spot that doesn’t come with venomous spiders, shifting walls, or death traps. Just sunshine, drinks, and... hey, maybe even a cabana boy for you.”

“Felix!” I gasped, feigning a scandalized look before bursting into more laughter. “Who knew you’d be so good at planning imaginary vacations?”

“What can I say? I’m full of surprises,” he replied with a mock bow. Then his expression grew serious again as he glanced at the shard in my hand. “But if we found the class change globe already, what do you think this vault could be hiding?”

I stared at the shard, turning it over in my hand. Its surface gleamed softly, almost as if it were alive. “No idea. But if it’s something that requires all three keys it’s got to be valuable or dangerous.

“Well, let’s hope for more of the ‘valuable’ and less of the ‘dangerous,’” Felix said, his tone lighter, though there was a flicker of worry in his eyes.

I held the shard in my hand feeling the rough edges where the other two would fit together with it as we made our way back to the main chamber. The door leading outside was no longer sealed and I could feel the breeze moving through the dungeon beckoning us to leave.

“We’ve come too far to back out before the reward.” I said to Felix.

“I agree. Whatever lies within that vault better be good or I’m going to leave a nasty review.” Felix’s wit and charm seemed to be coming back now that we had all three shards. He appeared lighter than he had since the spider.

I removed the first two shards from my spacial storage and once they were within proximity to each other they began resonating and as if pulled by an invisible string they merged together.

Vault Key

Rarity: Unique

Description: Opens the vault to this dungeon.

Warning: This key will disintegrate if it is removed from the dungeon.

“Well. That’s that Felix. It’s now or never.” In a flash of light, a keyhole appeared on the pedestal in the main chamber.I slid the key into it’s hole and turned it. With a click gears began turning and the wall behind us opened up revealing a beautifully ornate set of double doors.

The air buzzed with anticipation, charged with a sense of finality that sent a shiver down my spine. As the gears finished and the room settled into place we were left with a silence that felt like the calm before a storm—one that would either carry us forward… or swallow us whole.

“Let’s go,” I said, taking a deep breath and stepping toward the vault’s sealed doors.