Theo and Alia had once again returned to their starting point — for what felt like the hundredth ti.
Ever since they had been teleported into this dark, eerie place, they hadn’t stopped exploring the maze-like corridors. Yet no matter which direction they took, they always ended up back at the sa spot.
Each attempt played out the sa way: they would venture into a new hallway, convinced they were making progress, only to find themselves right back where they started — without understanding how. The situation was starting to seriously get on their nerves... especially Alia’s.
Theo had already tried several thods to break the loop, but all had failed. They were literally trapped, with no way out in sight.
"Theo... do you think if we tried breaking the walls of the maze, we could move forward?" Alia asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Hmm, I already thought about that... but why not?" Theo replied after a mont of reflection. "I’ll just need you to give a hand."
"Got it," she nodded firmly.
Without wasting any ti, Alia made a flute appear between her fingers. A soft, soothing lody filled the corridor — calm, yet charged with a strange energy.
"Random Buff," she whispered.
It was her innate skill — one unique to bards: Random Buff.
As its na implied, it increased one random stat of her allies by 15%. It might not seem like much, but in skilled hands, the ability held trendous potential. Alia hadn’t yet pushed it to its limit — it was only Rank B — but its effects were far from negligible.
A mont later, Theo heard the familiar sound of a system notification.
Ding!
[ You have received a buff ]
[ Luck 15% ]
Theo froze, dumbfounded. Of all the stats it could have boosted... it had to be luck.
"Guess I’m not that lucky after all," he muttered bitterly.
Alia frowned at his tone.
"You got a buff that doesn’t help? I can try recasting the skill if you want."
"No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it," he replied simply.
Even if it wasn’t the stat he had hoped for, Theo didn’t want to waste Alia’s energy. Taking a deep breath, he raised his massive sword, lightning crackling along its edge.
"Greatsword Technique — Mountain Crush!"
He brought his weapon down hard against the labyrinth wall.
To his surprise, there was no impact. His powerful strike had been completely absorbed by the wall itself.
"The walls aren’t soft... so how the hell does that make sense?" he muttered, frowning.
"Theo..."
Alia was about to say sothing when the sound of footsteps echoed behind her. Instinctively, she froze.
Theo imdiately felt it too — a hostile presence. He spun around, sword at the ready.
And then, their hearts stopped.
Sothing was moving around them... sothing invisible.
They could hear a raspy breath, light steps scraping against the stone floor — but their eyes saw nothing.
"What... what the hell is that thing?" Theo whispered, his voice tense, his sword trembling slightly.
"I don’t know," Alia murmured cautiously. "But... maybe it’s better if we don’t find out."
The invisible creature drew closer. Theo felt a hot breath brush the back of his neck. He spun sharply and swung his sword — but struck only air.
"It’s there!" Alia cried, pointing toward a corner of the corridor.
Theo dashed in that direction, but the creature had already vanished. Instead, a muffled laugh echoed — coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"What are you doing here?" asked a deep, disembodied voice.
Theo and Alia froze.
The creature... was speaking.
Unlike the other monsters they had encountered, this one spoke clearly — almost like a human.
"Could it be... a person? Or an intelligent monster?" Theo thought, tightening his grip on his weapon. Alia, on edge, could feel her instincts screaming at her to stay alert.
"What do you an by ’what we’re really looking for’?" she asked warily.
"Ah, the question is simple," the creature replied. "You ca into this dungeon for a reason... but is it truly the one you think? Motivations are often far more complex than they appear, aren’t they?"
"A dungeon?" Theo frowned. "Wasn’t this a portal? A dungeon inside a portal?"
"And if we answer correctly, you’ll show us the way out of this loop?" he asked.
"Exactly," the creature answered, almost playfully. "But if you fail... you’ll be trapped here forever. And I don’t an simple death... I an oblivion. The loss of your very self in the depths of this dungeon."
It paused briefly before adding, in a darker tone:
"And don’t count on your friends to save you."
Theo and Alia exchanged uneasy looks. At least now, they knew — Deon and Alexia were still alive.
"And if we answer correctly? What do we get?" Theo asked defiantly.
"Ah, that depends on your answer," the creature said, voice dripping with mystery. "Perhaps you’ll discover sothing about yourselves... or perhaps you’ll finally find what you’ve been seeking all along."
Silence fell once more.
Theo stared into the void, tense. His decision was already made — there was no way he was going to trust a monster. The fact that it could speak made it even more dangerous.
He had to find a way to kill it.
Even if it was risky, he had no other choice. Playing along was the only way to protect Alia. He didn’t want his decisions to put her in danger.
By pretending to listen, he hoped to make the creature drop its guard... and strike when the ti was right.
Alia, however, knew instinctively that provoking this being was a bad idea. If it had wanted to kill them, it would have already done so. Yet for so reason, it was talking to them. That was... unsettling.
She knew Theo too well — his calm expression was a mask. He was planning sothing. And the last thing she wanted was for his impulsiveness to doom them both.
"We entered this portal to grow stronger — and to close it before it becos a threat to the outside world," she said finally, her voice steady.
Theo looked at her, stunned that she had answered so directly.
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