It was moonlight, a short but sublimely impressive period during which this star so far away, so resplendent and of a remarkable roundness remained perfect, before decreasing and disappearing again. Everything was absolutely visible. Horror screams, sinister grunts, and other animal noises of all kinds echoed in all the corridors, in the atmosphere saturated with black magic, gnawing at the ears to the point of blood. The night was getting colder and colder, bringing unimaginable misery to the mother star and its nocturnal children. As for these beasts, they understood nothing but the unconditional desire to devour the boys in their entirety, and would not stop until it was done. The monsters were scattered everywhere in a labyrinth as distorted as it was extensive, where a magical fog reigned, particularly more suffocating than that which covered Stanys. A large terrace overhanging the territory of combat was lit by immense white lanterns carried by beings hidden in black cloaks sewn with silver threads. And on which, of course, were comfortably installed the privileged guests of the show presided by none other than Sirkol. The latter, dressed in a sumptuous suite radiating black and prasin, stood up, betraying in all his physiognomy his immoderate joy of this game of atrocity, which he had invented to feel at last freely what the others, these so-called beings of light who have done nothing but despise and reject him, had forbidden him for so long to obtain.

Tiny scarlet flying creatures appeared and formed a huge purple clock that twinkled in the sky, indicating midnight. Then a resounding, heartbreaking sound echoed for many minutes, and the creatures created bright explosions, before dispersing and dissipating into the night.

"Dear friends, I welcome you to the twentieth performance of the Bloody Game of the Full Moon."

He paused for a minute, allowing time for the enthusiastic applause to die down, and took a deep breath.

"As you can see, there are only two boys, both thirteen years old, a first I am well aware of. However, you should know that the boy with the shiny black hair who is going to be thrown into this maze of death is a little prodigy in his own way."

For usually, all the participants, boys or girls chosen for this atrocious game, created to entertain the damned souls, had to be at least fifteen years old and counted as thirteen. Moreover, they were equipped with the best weapons available to survive as long as possible until the total satisfaction of the awful spectators, who wore special masks impregnated with magic in order to pierce the veils of fog and admire the show with a surprisingly perfect clarity, while the chosen ones of the tournament were granted special magic to be able to do it too.

"And to pay tribute to the one in whom we place all our hopes and to the show that he is going to offer us thanks to his incomparable ingenuity, I ask you to follow the great show with the greatest attention until its end".

During this statement, all the guests watched Miron carefully. The latter, annoyed, made an eloquent gesture.

"Anyway, it's not like I expect anything else from this game."

"Ah, I think they're talking about you, Miron." Kei interjected with a good faith as naive as it was unbearable.

Shaking his head, Miron looked at his friend with murderous longings.

"Thanks Kei, now it's clear to me."

"You're welcome!" the idiot replied, pleased with himself and delighted with the compliment that wasn't one.

Miron shook his head again in despair. Sirkol concluded his speech.

"Now Miron, I wish with all my heart," he concluded, with his hand on his chest, "that you will prove by your actions the very confidence I have placed in the choice of your person. And may this entertainment be worthy of your art for its continuance. Amen. Let the play begin!"

Resounding applause greeted the end of this overrated and morbid speech. Sirkol raised his hands and horrible glowing creatures with broken wings appeared in the night sky, covering the entire open space and performing a horrible dance, emitting foul cackles throughout the performance, crowning it with the sensational reproduction of the sacred beast of the city symbol, before dying in a thundering explosion. Another loud applause followed this horrible scene.

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Miron nodded his head.

"Finally finished. I think we should start the game now."

Then the young prodigy and his trusty companion hesitantly stepped into the maze.

"Now that I think about it, why are we entering the labyrinth, Miron?" the blond boy suggested, clutching the scepter tightly to his chest, as if that should be enough to protect him. "Perhaps if we remain silent there, next to the portal, the monsters will be too restless and too busy with their own presences to forget us."

Miron laughed sarcastically.

"Like that's even possible."

"No, really? " the handsome blonde insisted, chattering his teeth.

"No, Sirkol will never allow us to. He didn't bother to organize this tournament, not forgetting to invite all those horrors to see nothing in the end. And no matter what, we have to go. Otherwise, we'll never have a chance to get out of here alive."

They wandered for a few minutes through the countless mazes of the labyrinth.

"And to think that those filthy creatures are after us. They will quickly cut us into small pieces before savoring our good flesh so young. I hope I'm not tasty."

As if to expressly confirm Kei's words, a huge, quadrupedal beast, wrapped in thick orangeish-black striped fur and with a large mouth, appeared at the end of a hallway. The intoxicating smell of the boys' flesh had probably led him to this part of the tangled web, and he sniffed with obvious pleasure the air intoxicated with the tantalizing odor, which, moreover, gradually increased as he approached his coveted prey. Fortunately, endowed with well-developed reflexes, the two chosen ones had the intelligence to hide in time behind a solitary wall and could thus put themselves out of sight of the beast and its sharp teeth. A few seconds later, seeing the monster pass by their makeshift hiding place to get lost in the fog, Miron took a quick look down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear, that's when Kei felt something brush against his body, and from the hairs on his body that stood up to the extreme, it must have been something really disgusting and dangerous.

"Miron?"

"Wait!"

"Miron!" his friend insisted, his voice laced with fear.

"But wait, I tell you! Can't you see I'm still busy? I'm checking if the way is clear."

"Sorry, but it can't wait. Miron, I think there's something on my back. "

Alarmed, Miron immediately turned to his friend and saw the thing that alerted the latter, and instinctively felt a shiver of disgust run down his back. Two giant insects with eight long hairy legs were struggling on Kei's back, trying to tear the thin suit probably to suck his blood and maybe even with all his organs. Miron blinked so sickened was he at the sight of them.

"Oh!"

"Oh what do you mean by 'Oh'? When you have no words, it's always a bad sign. Especially you!"

"What else does it mean, 'especially me'?

"What I mean is...No, not now, Miron, please." Kei cut off feeling hysteria cruelly overtake him. "We don't have time to play with words or anything. So just tell me it's not what I think!"

Miron gestured uncertainly with his head.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be afraid. When you look closer, they're not so... dangerous. I mean so ugly."

"Really?"

"Huh.... yes!"

"What doesn't look so... dangerous, I mean... ugly?"

"No, forget it!" the young mage resumed after a second of thought.

"I'm going to choose to believe you. So just take it off me, and everything will be fine!"

"Okay, I'll try. Don't move."

Miron concentrated, but despite all his willpower and desperation, he could not summon his new powers. He shouted with rage and frustration, gesticulating fiercely to get rid of his fury so that he could go to the aid of his friend, while Sirkol, who was observing this little tantrum, squeezed his eyes, sensing a bottomless pit lurking behind.

His outburst appeased, the young mage had to resign himself to resorting to more artificial means.

"Ah shit!" he shouted again, angry and upset. "I curse that Kriniela who had nothing to do but croak instead of using up all my powers with it, and I curse this place of perdition that I dream more than anything else of annihilating... "

But he recovered quickly and straightened up to think again because he had to remember that his friend needed him. Then concentrating, he stretched his scepter towards the two enormous insects sucking blood and flesh, and shining, he positioned himself and succeeded in launching a shot which made explode the two nightmares of Kei.

But if his gestures, assured, skillful, and implacable, aroused in the spectators and in particular in the Sirkol chief a feeling of admiration, it was also mingled with a dull bad feeling that they all swept away, however, with force and contempt.

Kei, on the other hand, could not hold back a high-pitched scream that clearly resounded throughout the labyrinth, not to mention that it was very entertaining for the spectators. And unfortunately for him, the other stray beasts that could only hear him, immediately rushed in their direction, fighting, crashing in a frightful race. Bursts of laughter echoed in the night...