Walking in Circles

The third checkpoint should have been just another step forward. Instead, it felt like they were walking in loops.

For the past half hour, the labyrinth had grown increasingly difficult to read—twisting paths that seemed to lead forward only to coil back upon themselves. The hedges whispered, shifting subtly when no one was looking, and the runes on the ground flickered erratically, offering no consistent guidance.

“This is the fifth dead end,” Thea muttered, planting her hands on her hips and scowling at yet another blank wall of bramble and stone. “At this point, I’m starting to think the walls are messing with us.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Eires replied, frowning. She turned in a slow circle, brow furrowed. “Because is it just me or does this feel... familiar?”

Rhydian had been silent for a few minutes, eyes narrowed in concentration as he mapped the recent turns in his head. At Eires’s comment, he blinked and looked up.

“Familiar how?” he asked, curious.