The corridor opened into a wide square room.
The floor was a grid of black and white tiles, stretching out like a broken chessboard. At the near edge, three glowing circles waited. At the far side stood a bone door, shut tight.
The system's words cut into Kael's head:
[Room Detected: The Board of Bonds] Rule: Three Walkers enter, three must cross. Condition: Each step has weight. Wrong step = Burden moves.
Riven groaned. "What is this, a game? What's next, hopscotch?"
Kael didn't answer. His throat was too raw to waste on dumb jokes.
Seren crouched, drew a few marks in the dust, then scribbled: If one fails, others pay. She tapped the board, then looked at both of them, sharp.
Kael stepped onto the first circle. The tile under him glowed white.
[Correct Step] Burden safe.
Riven stomped into his circle. The tile flared red. Chains shot from the wall, wrapping his arm.
"Shit!" He swung his sword, cursing loud, and cut them loose. Shadows thickened around his legs, crawling higher.
[Wrong Step] Burden +1 (Riven)
"Hmph," Seren wrote, then shoved the paper at him: Idiot.
"Pfft." Riven grinned anyway. "Board's rigged."
Seren moved last. Her tile glowed blue, safe. She gave Riven a long look, then stepped ahead.
Row by row they crossed. Kael's Compass tugged faintly, showing him which tiles were safe. Seren mirrored the patterns, learning fast. Riven cursed at every wrong step, his shadow growing darker, but he kept up.
Halfway across, the walls groaned. Carved shapes of chained figures opened stone eyes.
The system whispered:
[Board Shift] Hidden Rule: The Hollow always carries more.
Kael's tile flared red. Chains lashed out, wrapping his chest, squeezing his throat.
He gasped. The Burden of Silence doubled, crushing him.
Seren grabbed his arm, eyes blazing: No. She scribbled furiously, shoved the scrap into his hand: Don't take it all.
Riven roared, hacking chains apart. "Don't keel over now! I'm not dragging your corpse across this board!"
Kael shoved the Key into the tile's seam and twisted. The stone cracked. The chains snapped back like snakes.
[Rule bent] Tide lowered. Burden spread.
Kael staggered. Seren steadied him, her small hands firm.
Riven barked a laugh. "See? Just hit the floor till it listens. Works on tavern doors too."
Kael rasped, "Idiot."
"Heh. Best idiot you've got."
They pushed forward. Step by step, until the bone door shuddered open.
The system marked their progress:
[Room Cleared: The Board of Bonds] Reward: Tokens +3 Trait: Shared Burden (seeded) Warning: Warden interest rising.
Riven snatched a token up. "Finally. Payment for services rendered."
Kael ignored him. He could feel the Labyrinth scratching their names somewhere.
Then the gong struck.
BOOOONG.
It rolled through the chamber, low and long, like iron dropped from the sky.
Seren's gray eyes found Kael's. She mouthed one word: Careful.
Kael nodded. His throat still burned.
Riven stretched, groaning. "If this is teamwork, I want hazard pay."
The gong echoed again, softer, as they stepped through the bone door.
BOOOONG.
Like the Labyrinth reminding them: you're still being counted.