The silence after victory was always the most unsettling part.
The labyrinth, once filled with the roars of the Hunger That Devours, was now eerily still. The only sounds that remained were Kieran's and Selene's heavy breaths, and the slow trickle of dust falling from the shattered ceiling.
They had won.
But something about this didn't feel like a victory.
---
The Aftermath
A soft chime echoed through the air.
A notification.
---
[You Have Defeated The Boss of the First Floor.]
The Path to the Second Floor Opens.
Rewards Will Be Granted.
---
A moment later, a golden light appeared before them.
It shimmered in the air, warping space itself, before splitting apart into two separate orbs.
Selene immediately grabbed one.
Kieran hesitated, then reached for his own.
The moment he touched it, a rush of energy surged through his body—
And then—
Pain.
A searing, blinding pain that tore through his very core, as if something deep within him was being rewritten.
---
The First Reward
---
[You have received a reward from the Labyrinth.]
Your existence is being refined.
Your connection to the Abyss is deepening.
You are evolving.
---
Kieran's vision darkened.
A massive pressure crushed down on him.
For a moment—
He was falling.
Not physically—falling inward.
A vast emptiness opened before him.
It was a void that stretched infinitely in all directions, a space without time, without form—
And in its center—
Something watched him.
A presence, vast and unknowable.
Not malevolent.
Not benevolent.
Simply beyond understanding.
Then, in a voice that echoed across eternity—
It spoke.
"You are not yet ready."
The void collapsed.
Kieran gasped, his body snapping back into reality, knees buckling as he barely caught himself before falling.
Selene frowned. "What the hell just happened to you?"
He didn't answer right away. His hands were trembling.
That thing in the void—
It had spoken to him.
And more than that—
It had been real.
Kieran clenched his jaw. "...Nothing. Let's move."
Selene gave him a long, searching look, but didn't press further.
Instead, she turned her gaze toward the far side of the chamber—
Where a massive stone door now stood.
It had not been there before.
Etched into its surface were symbols that shifted and moved, as if alive.
Above it, a new notification flickered into view.
---
[The Second Floor Awaits.]
Caution: Sanity is Not Guaranteed.
---
Selene sighed. "Well, that sounds promising."
Kieran stepped forward. "We don't have a choice."
Together, they placed their hands on the door.
And with a deep, groaning shudder—
It opened.
And the darkness beyond swallowed them whole.
---
The Second Floor: The Trial of Madness
The instant they stepped through, everything changed.
The air twisted.
Reality bent.
Kieran blinked—and suddenly, he was somewhere else.
The labyrinth was gone.
Selene was gone.
He stood in the middle of an endless city, its skyline broken and crumbling, stretching infinitely in all directions. The buildings were impossibly tall, stretching so high that they vanished into the fog-covered sky.
And yet—
The city was empty.
No people.
No sounds.
Only a quiet, endless whispering.
A whispering that came from everywhere at once.
And then—
It came.
A figure appeared in the distance.
It was him.
A perfect copy.
Standing still. Watching.
Then another appeared.
Then another.
And another.
Dozens. Hundreds.
A city filled with nothing but copies of himself.
They all stared.
Then, all at once—
They smiled.
And began to walk toward him.
---
A Battle Against Himself
Kieran's pulse pounded.
This was not normal.
This was not real.
He had to move.
The copies rushed him.
He reacted on instinct.
Threads of shadow erupted from his fingers, lashing out—
Only for the copies to dodge perfectly.
They moved like him.
Fought like him.
One of them smirked.
And then—
It used Abyssal Threads.
Kieran barely managed to throw himself to the side as a spear of void crashed into the ground where he had just stood.
They had his abilities.
This wasn't just a fight.
This was a test.
A trial.
A trial of madness.
Because how do you kill something—
When it's already you?
---
Selene's Trial
Meanwhile—
Selene stood in a different world.
She was no longer in the labyrinth.
No longer with Kieran.
Instead, she stood in the center of a burning village.
Her village.
The one from years ago.
The one that had been erased from existence.
A woman stood before her.
She knew that face.
Knew those eyes.
Her mother.
But that was impossible.
Her mother had died.
Burned alive in the flames that consumed everything Selene had ever loved.
The woman smiled softly.
"Welcome home, Selene."
Selene's grip tightened on her dagger.
She did not move.
Did not speak.
Because she knew.
She knew what this was.
A lie.
A memory twisted against her.
A nightmare made real.
But as the flames rose higher, as the screams of her past grew louder—
For the first time in a long time—
She hesitated.
Because what if—
Just what if—
It was real?
---
The Unseen Watchers
Far above the trials, beyond sight, beyond perception—
They watched.
The ones who had created this world.
The ones who had built the labyrinth.
The ones who had set this game into motion.
"Interesting," one of them murmured. "The boy is changing faster than expected."
Another chuckled. "The girl as well. Their limits will be tested soon enough."
A pause.
Then a voice colder than the void itself.
"Let us see how far they will go—before they break."
And below, in the depths of the labyrinth—
Kieran and Selene's trials continued.
Unaware of the true purpose of this place.
Unaware of who was watching.
Or what was coming next.