The corridor was narrow—barely enough for the three of them to move shoulder to shoulder. Faint blue moss lit the path in scattered patches, but even that felt dimmer than before. As if the light itself had grown afraid.
"This wasn't here yesterday," Mia muttered, eyeing the carved symbols along the walls.
"The labyrinth shifted again," Ellen said softly. "It's watching."
Noct traced a symbol with his fingers. It pulsed under his touch—an ancient rune, humming with dormant Ather. The moment he brushed it, the walls groaned. Stone grated against stone.
Behind them, the path they'd taken crumbled into darkness.
Mia cursed. "It's sealing the way back."
Ahead, the corridor opened into a chamber. A circular room with stone tiles inlaid with glowing glyphs. Seven symbols in a ring—each veiled by a different color of light.
A puzzle.
Noct stepped forward slowly, studying it.
"What is this?" he asked.
"A trial," Ellen whispered. "A Nexus construct… they don't belong in labyrinths."
"Then why is it here?"
No one answered.
Not with words, anyway.
The glyphs lit up. A deep, mechanical voice echoed through the chamber:
"One has awakened. Step forward and be judged."
Noct froze.
The floor beneath him cracked with radiant lines. A circle of searing blue light pulsed at his feet. The glyphs spun. Aether swirled.
Mia reached out—"Noct!"—but it was too late.
Light consumed him.
Above ground – Academy Grounds
Instructor Vern stood facing Eira near the training yard. The sun had begun to set, casting an amber hue across the broken field.
Eira wore the same mask—kind eyes, soft voice, gentle concern.
"I wanted to help him," she said. "I truly did."
Vern didn't reply.
"I only told you what happened. It was chaos down there."
He held her gaze. "You said he slipped. That you tried to save him."
"I did."
"…But his body was never found."
Eira blinked.
Vern's voice lowered. "I've led countless groups into labyrinths. I know when something doesn't feel right. And your story… doesn't feel right."
Silence stretched between them.
Then she smiled faintly.
"You're grieving," she said gently. "You feel responsible."
And turned to walk away.
Vern watched her go, a storm behind his eyes.
> Far from the academy – The guild of the blood wind
The chamber doors burst open.
Selene Valen—cloaked in black guild armor with silver trim—strode into the command center of the guild. Eyes turned toward her, surprised.
"Where's the Guildmaster?" she asked, voice cold as frost.
Her second-in-command blinked. "Selene, what's going—"
"My brother is missing. Lost in a misclassified labyrinth. The instructor called it an accident."
Her aura flared—raw Ather leaking off her like a pressure wave.
"I'm going down there."
"But protocol—"
"Then strip me of rank."
She turned, black cloak billowing behind her.
"I'm not asking for permission."
> Back below – Trial Chamber
Noct opened his eyes.
He stood alone in a void of white stone and floating shards. Time and space bent strangely here—light rippling where there were no walls.
Before him stood… himself.
Or something that wore his shape, but older, crueler. Eyes glowing with Ather-blue flame.
"What will you become?" the doppelgänger asked.
Noct clenched his fists. "What are you?"
"The echo of what's possible. What you could be… if you survive."
It lunged.
Noct dodged instinctively—his body moved before he could think, the weeks of training with his instructor snapping into place.
A second later, a flash of metal caught his eye.
Scattered across the edges of the space, embedded in the marble-like ground, were weapons—swords, spears, broken shields. Abandoned remnants of those who came before him.
He dove for the nearest blade. A straight sword, chipped near the tip but still balanced. His fingers wrapped around the hilt.
No tablet. No ability. Just steel.
The doppelgänger rushed him again, faster this time.
Noct raised the sword and met the strike head-on. The impact rattled his bones, but he didn't fall.
Not again.
He gritted his teeth, braced his stance.
This wasn't about power.
It was about refusing to be broken.
"I don't need to be you," Noct snarled, blade catching the next blow.
"I'll carve my own path."
And then, with a roar, he counterattacked.