The cave at the waterfall was cold, but it was shelter. Water thundered down outside, shaking the earth like a living drum. Alpha lay against the stone, blood still seeping from his ribs, his pouch of Dreamstones clutched tight.
The fight replayed in his skull—every strike, every dodge, every breath. He had nearly died again. And yet, something inside him had changed. He had seen their moves before they struck. His body had known.
It was not skill. Not yet. It was instinct.
From the shadows, the knight stirred. The sound of bones shifting echoed softly. His armor rattled faintly as he approached, hollow helm lowering to watch Alpha.
"You fight like a starving wolf," the knight said, voice rasping with the scrape of stone. "Wild. Reckless. But… alive."
Alpha didn't answer. His breaths came ragged, his sword still lying on the ground beside him.
The knight knelt, the faint blue fire in his eye sockets flickering. "The Labyrinth tests you. Not with foes of strength alone, but of memory. That courtyard—" he paused, head tilting. "It was yours, was it not?"
Alpha stiffened. His fingers curled into fists. He didn't reply.
"You need not speak. I see it in your silence. The Labyrinth mirrors what we carry."
Alpha turned away, staring at the stones. His scar burned faintly, twisting like worms beneath his skin. He pressed his palm to it, jaw clenched.
The knight's voice deepened, slow and deliberate.
"You cannot fight with rage alone. Rage blinds. The Labyrinth will swallow you if you let it. But instinct—instinct can be sharpened into blade."
Alpha looked up. His eyes were shadowed, but fierce. "Then teach me."
The knight studied him a long moment. Then, the faintest nod. "So be it. But know this—training here is not as in the world outside. Pain will be your master. Time, your jailer."
Alpha forced himself upright, though his body screamed. His ribs flared, his arms shook, but he stood. The knight rose with him, looming like a tower of bone and broken steel.
"Again," the knight commanded. "Strike me."
Alpha hesitated, then snatched up his sword. His body was unsteady, but he lunged. Steel rang against the knight's shield. Sparks flew. The blow echoed into the cave.
"Too high. Again."
Alpha swung low. The knight blocked with a twist of his blade.
"Too slow. Again."
Again. Again. Again. Each strike bit into his arms, rattled his bones. Alpha's breath burned, his body trembling. His wounds opened again, but he did not stop.
The knight's voice cut through the clangor like a knife:
"Do not watch my blade. Watch me. My stance. My weight. Every motion tells the truth before the steel does."
Alpha staggered back, chest heaving. His eyes locked on the knight's body. The faint shift of a shoulder, the tilt of a helm—he saw it. When the knight's blade came, Alpha moved before thought. He ducked, twisted, and struck.
The knight caught his blade, steel locked. Blue fire flared behind the visor. "Better. Instinct is not luck. It is truth learned too deep for words. You are beginning to listen."
Alpha panted, sweat stinging his wounds. His scar burned hotter.
The knight raised his blade again. "One more."
Alpha gritted his teeth, lunged—only for the knight to slam his shield, sending him sprawling into the dirt. Alpha coughed, blood in his mouth. His scar flared like fire.
And then—
It moved.
The jagged tattoo writhed under his flesh, shifting like living ink. Alpha gasped, clutching his back, his body seizing. His sword fell from his hand.
The knight froze. His helm tilted, and for the first time, his voice cracked—not cold, not distant, but sharp with recognition.
"…Feylith."
The name tore the air like thunder.
Alpha's scar blazed, heat radiating through his body. His vision shook. The Labyrinth itself seemed to hum, the walls trembling faintly. He screamed, collapsing to his knees.
"What—what did you call me?" he rasped, voice broken.
The knight stood still, silent. Blue fire guttered in his helm. Finally, he said, "A name I should not know. A name long buried. Forgive me."
Alpha's chest heaved. His scar dimmed slowly, the movement beneath his skin halting as though it had never been. He shivered, sweat freezing against his flesh.
He raised his head, eyes narrow. "Say it again."
The knight was silent. The waterfall thundered.
But Alpha knew. That name was tied to him. Tied to the scar.
And the Labyrinth had heard it.