We wandered the depths of the Jigsaw Puzzle Labyrinth for another 2 hours, hopelessly searching for Sullivan’s whereabouts, but to no avail. The entire time we searched, Miss Lionheart kept wailing about him leaving her side. She really did love him, but to be so pessimistic about his survival is a bit much, no?

After the nth empty room we entered, the Old Man suddenly spoke up and suggested we leave Sullivan behind, to which we obviously all declined.

“No way!” Marina screamed, “What the hell is wrong with you, Grandpa?! Did he really mean that little to you?!”

“Hmph… He’s nothing more than a party member.” Linus said nonchalantly, “I’ve seen countless party members die in front of me, so what? I mean, according to her story, he left Genevra to fend for herself just so he could save his own skin! What kind of a boyfriend is that?”

This really shook Marina and I. Did he really not value the time we’ve spent together at all? Even going so far as to mention Miss Lionheart…-huh?

I turned to check how she’d react to his outrageous words, but it appears she was actually giving the Old Man’s selfish idea some serious thought. After another moment of silence, she suddenly sighed and simply agreed to the idea of leaving Sullivan.

“You’re all starving, right? If we waste too much time on trying to get everyone out, then we’ll die pretty soon. It pains me to say it, but he’s probably starved to death by now if he wasn’t eaten by that shrieking monster…”

Even you? Are you not his lover!? At least have the decency to find his body and check for yourself!

“……” Marina paused for a bit before coming to a conclusion, “These two are right, Big Bro. Lil’ Bro’s probably… gone.” She said as she started quietly sobbing. The previously silent room was now filled with the sounds of her crying, which then further evolved into shrieks of full blown sadness (much to Miss Lionheart’s dismay). She was genuinely distraught, even though she ate the Golden Apple that seemingly forbid her from feeling negative emotions. Well, if even she says so, then I’d be pretty selfish to go my own way, huh? We’re a team now, we need to all compromise for each other’s sakes…

As such, we slowly made our way into the room where we blew a hole in the wall (and when I say slowly, I mean it, as the rooms kept randomly changing). After explaining what this room was to Miss Lionheart, she checked the Book and smiled happily as she spread her arms wide to give us all a big hug.

“This…! This is it! Finally! This path leads to the outside!” She said as she cried tears of happiness, “Sister! Oh my dear Gina, I’m coming back to your side soon! It was all worth it! The Book really did guide us!”

………This …This is… it? We’re finally… free? I thought as tears started trickling down my own face. Cecily, Nelly, papa’s coming home! We did it!!! This damned Book wasn’t fake all along!

Even as I was thinking these flowery thoughts, the feeling that we left Sullivan all alone kept stinging at my heart. To think he was so close to leaving with us… I don’t even wanna think about it. I just wanna go home…

The Old Man didn’t seem all too fazed by the discovery, weirdly enough. Looks like he’s still not lowering his guard, just goes to show how experienced of an adventurer he is.

“The hardest part of a marathon is the last 100 meter sprint.” He said resolutely, “It’s not over ‘til the fat lady sings.”

“Who’s the fat lady?” Marina asked without a care in the world.

He looked down at her in silence with a noticeable pause before letting go of a sigh and smiling, “It’s just an expression, kiddo. Don’t mind it.”

Looks like he’s happy too. (guess no one can best a grandchild’s innocent questions. Reminds me of the way Arthur looked at Anna…)

Oh, speaking of Marina, she suddenly remembered an important part of why we’re here in the first place.

“But wait, what about the mysterious Telefort Artifact?” She bit her tongue.

“It’s Teleport, Marina.” Said Miss Lionheart, “And if you want me to be honest, the Book doesn’t mention we find it if we go in here. This secret tunnel leads directly to the outside, but if you want to go back into these depths to search for an Artifact that may not even exist, then be my guest.”

Seeing as she made a snide remark, we could immediately tell she was still a bit on edge from losing Sullivan, but what seemed to shock her was the rest of the party’s unanimous response.

“Yeah! Fuck this place!” The Old Man said as he ventured forth into the passage.

“Agreed! Our lives are more important! Plus we’ve collected a lot of valuables from this place already, the ITA will surely be satisfied with this much!” I answered as well.

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

“Ehe!” Marina chuckled with a bright smile, “You guys are finally agreeing on something? Now I’ve seen everything!”

Loud chuckles and guffaws echoed throughout the hallways as we finally realized the true goal of this place was to, in fact, leave it and never come back. I had already started thinking about all the paperwork I’d have to fill in to quit the ITA and other such trivialities, but I honestly couldn’t care less. I don’t need the ITA anymore, I’ve already found my place in this world, and it’s right next to Cecily and Nelly’s side. But wait, can I even resign from the ITA? I don’t remember any mentions of people resigning from their nigh endless contracts… Eh, I’ll worry about it later.

With this, we all stepped in with expectant smiles on our faces. We were quite tired from the journey, and we couldn’t wait to get back to the warm lodging where we could depart from after a good night’s rest near the fireplace’s warm flames. Soon, this’ll all be over…

***

The passage itself was tunnel-like in shape, which made us think it’ll just be a straightforward path to the outside, but it seems we were wrong about that one as well. Indeed, after a couple of minutes of walking, we happened to spot a fork in the road, one leading up, and the other leading down.

Logic dictates we take the road leading up, but we could never be too sure. We decided to consult the Book Miss Lionheart was holding onto, just in case. She went to flip through the pages… Ahem, she went to flip through the pages… Uhh?

“Are… you guys seeing what I’m seeing?” Miss Lionheart showed us the Book.

Surely enough, the Book’s letters were changing rapidly, often overlapping with other characters. It was as if it was calculating all the possible outcomes in real time before finally coming to a conclusion.

“Taking the path leading down would take the party to their dear friend’s remains.” The Book read.

It was obvious that it was talking about Sullivan. I see, so he really did bite the dust…

We stood in silence for a while, awkwardly staring at each other hoping for someone to suggest what path to take. In the end, Miss Lionheart finally spoke up.

“His… remains. No matter how you slice it, it seems he really is dead already. Call me heartless, but this might be our only chance to escape. Should we really risk it for the sake of retrieving a dead body?” She said with a shaky but resolute voice.

In the end, I guess she really did say what we were all thinking. It’d be naïve to think we can just climb back out if we go back down. That’s just how this place operates. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was yet another trap set up by the Lair. Even so, I wonder why the Book took so long to tell us our future.

“Maybe the Book’s predictions take longer the farther away it is from this place?” Marina suggested.

“Or it just didn’t account for us actually going this way?” I added onto her hypothesis.

Old Man Linus really couldn’t care less how this artifact operated. We are to give it to the ITA after all, so they can figure it out themselves for all he cares. Honestly, I agree wholeheartedly. I really despise those ITA bastards…

………..

…………………………………………

“Genevra, could you check the Bo-…!” The Old Man turned to face Miss Lionheart and I buried under a pile of rubble that fell from the ceiling.

“!!!” Marina and the Old Man screamed in surprise.

I… can’t breathe…! My arm hurts…!

“Lune, Genevra! Shit!” The Old Man said as he told Marina to take cover, “Genevra… Genevra! Fuck, she’s dead!”

Whuh…? She died as well!? I turned to look at her hand being the only thing poking out of the rubble as she held the Book of Prophecies. No, nononononononoNONONONONONONONO! FUCK! NOT ANOTHER CASUALTY!

“L-Lune.” Linus turned to me, “Your hand’s broken. It’s stuck under the rubble.”

“Crap. Well just try and pull me out for no-”

*chop*

Chop?

Just like that, Linus had grabbed the knife from his pocket and freed my hand from the rubble… But at the cost of my left hand’s pinky and ring finger.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” I screamed out in pain, “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?”

“Calm the fuck down, there was no other way.” Linus shot back, “It was either that or you die here like her.” He pointed to the now completely buried Miss Lionheart.

“C-Cecily’s ring… My fingers.” I recalled the engagement rings I had pocketed back when we had just entered the Lair. “Gotta… dig them… up…” I tried scooping away the rubble with my bleeding hands.

“Quit it!” The Old Man said as he pushed me away, “This is a sign from the Gods! Notice how Genevra gave us her Book before passing away? It’s her way of telling us to live!”

No, that’s just your crazy delusions talking! I’m not leaving this place without those rings! Cecily…! Cecily!

“No! Let go of me!” I tried to fight off Linus, who was now trying to usher me away from the place.

“Sorry, boy. Life’s more important. You’ll understand what I’m talking about someday, but you need to live in order to see it.” Linus said with a quiet tone, “Treasure your life, you’re not immortal.”

The fuck are you talking about?!? You’re the one who chopped them off in the first place! You wretched Old Man! I’ll never fucking forgive you, damn it!

“Woah there, feisty one aren’t you?” Linus chuckled as he picked me up like a sack, “Don’t worry, I’ll save you…”

Save me? Phah, SAVE ME? I don’t want your help! I want to go back! Cecily! Take me to Cecily! GAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhh……

After that, the adrenaline finally left my body, and I suddenly fell asleep from the shock. I have no idea what’s happening right now, and I don’t care…

“Looks like you’re finally out of steam.” Linus said once more as he picked up the Book from Genevra’s cold dead hands, “Lune… live.”

The last conversation I heard was between The Old Man and Marina.

As my eyelids slowly closed, I heard him explain to her what had transpired.

“She’s dead. There was no saving her... Lune’s also lost two fingers, think you can patch him up?”

Marina started sobbing all over again as she went to pick something up from her bag. She had asked him about my fingers, to which he simply replied “Hey, I saved his ass! You kids really don’t appreciate what I do around here, heh!”

“But… There was definitely a way to free him without chopping off his fingers!” Marina stood to defend my now limp body as she bandaged my left hand.

“Yep, dozens!” He counted his options to her without a care in the world, “But none of those alternatives were faster than this one. I just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, you two should be glad I didn’t decide to just leave him for dead.”

“You… You sick bastard!” Marina screamed out, “When he wakes up…!”

I didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. I had now fully fallen asleep…

……………….

…………………………………………….