Labyrinth

Briny then said, "As you already know, the event consists of three phases: the sand phase, the sea phase, and the phase inside the temple. The sand phase will be held on all the sand on the beach. It always changes from year to year, but after participating for several years, I realized that there is a pattern that always remains from one year to the next."

And Gen said, "Really? In the time I've been in town, no one has talked about a pattern staying the same."

Raja then said, "I also asked about the event yesterday and didn't hear anything about this."

And Briny said, "That's because the pattern is not a big deal. So most people don't care about it, but I, as a guide, consider any information pertinent."

Gen then said, "What is the pattern that repeats?"

And Briny said, "All three phases of the event have the same style."

Raja then said, "Style?"

And Briny said, "Yes, they are always path trials, or as I prefer to call it, labyrinths."

Gen then said, "Labyrinths? So when people say that the event always changes, they mean that the maze changes every year?"

And Briny said, "Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated to explain, but the stages are not real mazes. They are more like trials where you have to find the right path to a place."

Raja then asked, "And how is that different from a maze?"

And Briny said, "Well, what do you imagine a maze to be like?"

Raja then said, "A place with high walls and several paths for me to follow, but only one of those paths is the path that leads me out of the place."

And Briny said, "Yes. That was a good description of a maze, but now imagine with me, what if the maze had no walls? What would you do?"

"A maze without walls? What do you mean? There is no such thing as a maze without walls because then there is nothing to make it difficult for you to get to the end of the maze. It becomes a normal path."

"Yes, that's true, but imagine that even without walls, the limitations they bring still exist."

"The limitations still exist? You mean a maze with invisible walls?"

"Almost that. In a maze with invisible walls, if you stretch your hand to the wall, you'll still be able to feel it, but in the case I'm talking about, it's like there really are no walls, but you still have to follow the maze path anyway."

"Hm, I don't think I quite understand."

Gen then said, "I'm not sure I do either."

And Lina said, "I get it."

Raja then said, "Really?"

And Lina said, "Yes."

Gen then said, "Explain it to us then, please."

Lina then said, "Okay, but see if that's right, Briny, I might have got it wrong."

And Briny said, "I got it."

Lina then said, "Well, why don't you help me explain Raja?"

And Raja said, "Me? Didn't you hear that I said I didn't get it?"

Lina then said, "I know. I just need you to create an image with your essence to make it easier for me to explain."

Gen then said, "Oh, that's right. With a picture, it will be much easier to understand."

And Raja said, "Ok. I'll help you."

They then made a circle, and Lina said, "First, make a maze."

And Raja said, "Okay.", and then he made a little square maze in the middle of them so that they could see all the paths of the maze from above.

Lina then said, "Now, mark the paths."

And Raja said, "What do you mean mark them?"

"Paint them some color or something like that."

"Oh, got it.", and then the paths of the maze were marked black, and he said, "Done."

"Now, get rid of the walls of the labyrinth and paint the place where they were with another color."

Raja then did as Lina asked, and she said, "Well, that's what I understood, Briny. Now, I think you'd better continue your explanation."

And Briny said, "Yes, now it will be much easier to explain. I didn't know that Raja had such a useful essence. Otherwise, I would have asked for help from the beginning."

Raja then said, "Hahaha. What can I do? I am a man full of surprises, and with each one you discover, I get better and better."

And Briny said, "Hahaha, I bet you do Raja. Now, continuing what I was talking about. We have this maze with no walls. What would you guys do to get from the beginning of it to the end?"

Gen then said, "Well, I'd just follow the black path until I reach the exit."

Raja then said, making a figure to walk through the maze as they spoke, "No, Gen. That way, even without walls, you could still end up in a dead-end. The fastest way would be to jump from path to path until you get to the path that surely leads to the exit."

And Gen said, "That's true. You're right."

Briny then said, "Raja's way is indeed faster, but as I said before, even if there are no walls, you have to respect the restrictions they impose. The moment you touch the area where the wall is supposed to be, in the middle of jumping from one way to the other, it is considered as if you have failed."

Gen then said, "I think I understand. You mean we have to go through this maze without walls as if it were a maze with walls."

And Briny said, "Yeah."

Raja then said, "Hm, it's a lot harder this way because, unlike this picture, I don't imagine there will be anything marked on the event."

And Briny said, "Exactly."

Gen then said, "That's right. It does get a lot harder this way."

And Briny said, "Yeah, the sand phase usually stops a lot of the people who are participating in the event."

Gen then said, "That must be the hardest part of the event, right?"

And Briny said, "No. Unfortunately, the water phase and inside the temple are harder than the sand phase."

Raja then said, "Really? What are they like?"

And Briny said, "Well, we'd better concentrate on getting past the first stage first. Then I'll explain to you what the other stages look like. You just have to remember that they all follow this logic of one right path to the exit."

Gen then said, "Okay, and by the way, Briny. When does the event start?"

And Briny said, "It's already started."

Raja then said, "It's already started? What are we doing here then?"

And Briny said, "I needed to explain this to you before we entered the event, and besides, it will take us a long time to get to the end. So we'd better get something to eat before we go in."

Gen then said, "That's right. From what you said, it won't be easy to get past this first stage."

And Briny said, "Let's go back to the table. Our food should be ready soon.", and then walked towards the table with the three of them behind her.

When they arrived, they saw Isabelle and Zoe sitting around talking while some men and women were putting food on the table.

Seeing them coming, Isabelle said, "You guys are back on time. The food just arrived.", and then they walked over to the table and sat down.

Isabelle then said, "Feel free to eat. You'll need to be well-fed for the event."

Everyone then started to eat, and after they finished, Raja said, "Wow, the food was great."

And Gen said, "That's right."

Isabelle then said, "I'm glad you liked it."

And Briny said, "Well, we'd better go."

Gen then said, "That's true. Should we bring something with us? Like food and water."

And Briny said, "We can't. The event only lets you bring clothes and weapons."

Gen then said, "Got it."

The four then got up from the table, said their goodbyes, and then headed toward the stairs to go down.

Isabelle then said, "Good luck at the event, Gen. I hope you get the essence you're looking for."

And Gen said, "Thanks, Isabelle."

Isabelle then turned towards Zoe, nudged her, and said in a low tone, "Say something, too."

And Zoe said, "W-Why should I?"

"It doesn't have to be for him. You can wish the group luck."

Zoe then became silent, and after a while, she said, "Good luck, guys.", and everyone then waved at her and thanked her.

They then took the elevator in the building and went down to the ground floor, and then they left the building and went towards the beach, but just as they were about to reach the sand, Briny said, "Wait."