The corridor ended in a round room.
The floor was bare stone, covered in hundreds of shallow handprints. At the center, three glowing circles pulsed: one white, one blue, one black. Across the room stood a sealed bone door.
The system's words pressed into Kael's head:
[Room Detected: Trial of Three] Rule: Each Walker stands in a circle. Condition: Balance Echo. Fail: One will be taken.
Riven muttered, "Taken? Yeah, that sounds inviting." He spat on the floor. "Fine. I call black."
He stepped into the black circle. Shadows boiled up around his boots. His grin was tight, but he stood tall.
Seren hesitated, then stepped into the blue. The rune scars on her throat glowed faint. She winced, but didn't move.
That left white.
Kael's stomach twisted. The system whispered sharper:
White = Hollow. Black = Shadow. Blue = Silence.
The word Hollow cut deeper than chains.
Seren's gray eyes locked on his. She mouthed it clear: Kael. Not Hollow.
He stepped into the white anyway. The stone went ice cold.
Chains rattled down from the ceiling, dangling just out of reach.
Balance measured… Silence: 1 Shadow: 1 Hollow: 1 Condition met. Next: Endure.
The torches went out.
Figures peeled off the walls — half-human, half-chain, with blank faces.
"Great," Riven muttered, drawing his sword. "Here we go again."
The first shade lunged. Riven met it head-on, slashing hard. Shadows swirled thicker around him. The creature split but still crawled toward him like broken snakes.
A chain whipped at Kael. He raised the Key, twisted. The floor cracked, tide pulling the chain back.
[Rule bent] Tide lowered. Burden spread.
Seren dropped to her knees, pressing glowing hands against Kael's chest where a chain had struck. The pain eased. Her healing burned faint, but it held.
The biggest figure turned its blank mask toward Kael. For a moment, cracks glowed — and his own face stared back. Older. Colder.
A whisper crawled into his bones: "Again, Hollow. Again you fail."
Kael staggered. Seren grabbed his arm, shoved a scrap into his hand: Not Hollow. Kael.
He clenched his teeth, twisted the Key harder. The tide surged. The figure dissolved into dust.
[Trial Cleared: Trial of Three] Reward: Tokens +5 Echo +3 Group Trait: Shared Burden (active) Note: Hollow marked again.
The torches lit. The bone door unsealed with a low sigh.
Riven spat, panting. "Balance my ass. This trial's rigged."
Seren's gray eyes stayed on Kael. She mouthed it again, firm: Kael.
The Compass at his chest tugged faintly toward the door. Beyond it came the sound of people — voices, not Wardens.
Then the gong tolled, low and long.
BOOOONG.
It shook the room, rattled the chains, pressed into their bones.
Kael gripped the Key tighter. Riven grumbled. Seren stood steady.
The Labyrinth had written them down again. And it wasn't finished.