They said the labyrinth had no name because the System could never tag it.
Even the most advanced Guild Archives labeled it ???, Unstable Mid-Tier Zone – Not Recommended.
But Zhen wasn't looking for safety.
He was looking for secrets.
And something in his newly awakened Runeborn core whispered that this place would hold more answers than any system-sanctioned tower ever could.
---
He stood before the entrance alone.
The mouth of the labyrinth was carved into a mountain that shouldn't exist—hovering halfway through a collapsing pocket realm, surrounded by floating debris and fragments of broken world laws.
There was no portal. No coordinates. No system beacon.
Just a stone gate, and above it, a line written in a dead language:
> "The Ranked are Bound. The Runeborn May Pass."
Zhen took a breath and stepped inside.
---
▣ The Descent
Instantly, all system interfaces cut out.
> [ERROR: System Map Unavailable]
[ERROR: Enemy Scan Disabled]
[WARNING: All standard Ranker functions offline in this zone]
For the first time in weeks, Zhen was without the constant hum of the interface in his mind.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
His steps echoed in a corridor made of shifting glass and rusted memory—walls lined with blinking runes that occasionally flickered into the shape of human eyes, mouths whispering things in no tongue he recognized.
Every so often, a memory not his own flashed through his mind:
—A sword plunged into a collapsing sun.
—A child floating inside a tube marked "SEED-α1."
—A woman laughing as she removed her system implant, and vanished into flame.
Zhen gritted his teeth.
It's not just a dungeon, he realized. It's a place that remembers.
---
▣ Outside – The Cover
Meanwhile, in Yunjing Realm—
Ji Yuyan faced off against two Watchers from the Arbitration Division.
Their aura was refined, polished, and utterly indifferent.
"You are harboring a Ranker marked for multiversal instability," one said flatly.
She smiled gently, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Me? I've just been meditating."
The Watcher didn't flinch. "The subject—ZHEN—is off-grid. His signal has gone null within the last two hours."
Shen Lian landed nearby, arms crossed.
"If he's so dangerous, maybe you should question why your system keeps glitching around him."
The second Watcher narrowed his eyes. "Your cooperation will determine your rank safety going forward."
Ji Yuyan's fan opened, glowing silver.
"That's a threat, isn't it?"
Her voice was soft.
But thunder rumbled behind it.
---
▣ Deeper into the Maze
Inside the labyrinth, Zhen descended past illusions of time.
Sometimes the hallway twisted on itself, forming recursive loops.
Other times he walked past versions of himself—silent specters standing still, eyes glowing, each holding a different weapon, a different fate.
He came to a circular room.
In the center stood a pedestal, upon which sat a worn manual written in fragments of code and runes.
He approached.
As his fingers touched the cover, the manual opened itself—and a fragmented voice whispered:
> "You are the Eight… of Nine…"
> "The ninth... is waking."
Zhen's heart clenched.
> [Runeborn Fragment Acquired: Seedline Echo 3 – "Remembrance of First Oath"]
Suddenly, the walls trembled.
The labyrinth didn't like him learning too much.
From behind, a ripple tore through space, and a beast without definition lunged forward—made of ink, concept, and broken text. Its name flashed into Zhen's mind:
> [ENEMY: The Forgotten Statement – Class: ??? – Type: Meta-Anomaly]
It struck.
---
▣ Battle in the Void
Zhen barely dodged.
No system to assist. No scans. No analysis.
Just instinct and what his core remembered.
His hand moved in ancient rhythm, forming a sigil none had taught him:
A glowing circle, then a line through it, flaring violet.
> [Runeborn Sigil Engaged: "Clause of Unreality"]
Effect: Weakens logic-based anomalies. Warps perception entropy.]
The beast screamed.
It spoke in unfinished thoughts: "You—you should—you're not supposed to—exist—!"
Zhen roared and plunged his blade into its heart.
Reality split like paper.
---
▣ At the End of the Maze
Hours passed—or perhaps days. Time lost meaning here.
Eventually, he reached a final chamber.
No treasure. No boss monster.
Just a mirror.
But the mirror didn't reflect him.
It showed a world.
A burned sky. A shattered moon. Rankers bowing before a dark-cloaked figure wearing the symbol of a crowned rune.
His voice—older, deeper—spoke from within the mirror:
> "You've started late, but your path is still yours."
> "If you wish to ascend beyond the Multiverse, you must stop trying to survive it."
> "Rule it."
The mirror shattered.
And a new sigil burned itself into Zhen's chest.
> [Title Gained: The Unwritten King (Fragment)]
Effect: Immune to Forced Fate Manipulation (1/9 Active Fragments)]
He walked back toward the light.
The Labyrinth behind him sealed.
But something had followed him out.
---