daedalus labyrinth: the path within

Noah and his echo separated from each other, scattering in different directions to widen their exploration area. Noah headed towards the left side of the room, while the echo moved towards the right. The echo entered a room filled with treasures stacked like mountains upon mountains. The echo began walking around the room and looked down at the shining white marble floor, where it saw its own reflection. It touched its cheek, its face expressing disbelief that it was truly alive.

On the other side, Noah was walking through another room, filled with weapons hanging on the walls, of all different types. "These weapons seem like they're from another era entirely. I read that the Daedalus Labyrinth is estimated to be over 4,000 years old, but there are still doubts about its true age. Some even believe it's older," Noah thought to himself as he stopped in front of a sword with a shiny silver blade, nearly the same length as his own body. Noah touched the blade and felt its cold surface.

"Daedalus, the one who created this labyrinth, was known to be an entity of immense power, someone who reached levels beyond human comprehension. Daedalus created this labyrinth to hide something from everyone, and for one to reach that place, they must complete three stages. The labyrinth is divided into three stages. We're in the first stage, guarded by that ugly serpent, Nagairos. The second stage is guarded by Chimera named Abyssaroth, The third stage hasn't been reached by anyone yet, so it's still unknown. We've reached the door that leads to the second stage. All we need to do is kill Nagairos to fulfill the condition and move on to the next stage. But our goal is to escape. To pass through safely, we must be at least rank B, or we'll die the moment we step into that place."

Noah continued, deep in thought, as he entered a room filled with mirrors of various shapes, reflecting distorted images as though it were a funhouse mirror room. Noah stopped in front of one of the mirrors and looked at his reflection. "Oh, I just remembered—I still don't know what my identity is. That woman erased my memory of it, and I've been following my echo like a puppet. I even forgot that I lost my identity and never questioned it or tried to find it... but now, I don't know. How can I search for something I've had all my life, something I thought was basic knowledge? What's my name? Who am I? What am I? All these questions... Would I have remained ignorant and never asked myself any of these my entire life? I always thought identity was an inherent, basic right, but how could I have forgotten the truth of this world? This world is built on hatred and vengeance, where truth is just an excuse used by the weak to protect themselves from the injustice of the powerful. A false hope to save themselves from the oppression. This won't work. I'm still weak, but I don't want to rely on false hope. My only solution is to go against the current and defeat that woman. Yes, I promised myself I would write the story of this cliché and write my own fate. I can never forget that promise. It's a goal, a wish, a dream, and without a dream, humans are just pawns to be discarded."

Noah thought to himself as he looked at his reflection and smiled faintly, extending his hand to touch his reflection's hand on the mirror's surface. "Yes, even though I've forgotten my identity, I still know what I want to do. I still have desires and dreams."

"How beautiful, for someone in your situation," a familiar voice said, appearing inside Noah's mind.

"This voice... you're that woman!" Noah said, startled and tense.

"I'll sympathize with you and help you, since watching you lost and clueless has become boring," the voice said inside Noah's mind.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Noah asked, tense.

"Hm? Didn't you hear me clearly? I said I'll help you. So stop asking those stupid questions," the voice responded.

"I don't need help from someone I don't even know!" Noah said.

The voice fell silent for a moment, then began to laugh lightly.

"I can't believe I was rejected twice by the same person. What a cliché story," the voice said inside Noah's mind.

"Rejected?" Noah thought to himself silently.

"Are you going to refuse this help, even if it's about how to regain your identity?" the voice asked.

"R-Really?!" Noah asked, shocked and confused.

"Yes, of course, I'm the one who erased it from your memory, so I definitely know how to retrieve it!" the voice said inside Noah's mind.

"H-How can I get it back then?" Noah asked, still confused.

The girl laughed softly.

"It's simple. All you need to do is kill that echo!" the voice said.

"K-Kill it?!" Noah said, his face turning pale.

"Yes, kill it. It's just an echo, after all. It will disappear the moment you leave the labyrinth, or it will kill you before that so its existence doesn't vanish," the girl said.

"B-But..." Noah hesitated.

"But? You don't have any right to hesitate here. You didn't hesitate that day when... no, forget it, it's not worth my time with someone like you. Anyway, I've given you the method. Whether you use it or not, let suffering be your fate," the girl said, and her voice disappeared after that.

"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Noah thought to himself.

Noah returned to the main room, and the girl's words echoed in his mind. He met his echo there.

"I'm back. Did you find anything?" the echo asked.

The echo shook its head, signaling "no."

"I see... Anyway, let's leave from here before that hideous serpent returns," Noah said, and the echo nodded, agreeing with him. They both began walking towards the exit.They both walked out of the room and heard a scratching sound and a pressing voice. They both knew that Nagairos was close by.They both exchanged a confused look and looked at the first exit that was close and in a moment they started running towards it then the maze started changing its shape quickly and closed the only exit before Noah and Echo could cross and trapped them there

"Damn...that snake can manipulate the structure of the maze," Noah thought to himself, feeling even more nervous.

Noah heard a crashing sounds, then the walls of the labyrinth collapsed in front of them and Nagairus got out of it, He held his head high, his eyes glowing crimson and his body emitting a green, poisonous smoke.

"Damn..." Noah muttered, feeling nervous.

Elsewhere, Luo Yan was wandering, trying to find Noah, taking multiple paths and every turn. She felt like she was going in circles from the start, and an overwhelming feeling of being lost crept in.

"Damn, where could that boy be?!" Luo Yan said, feeling irritated and losing her patience.

Then she heard a crashing sound, and she looked in the direction of the noise, which was far from her current position. She saw dust swirling in the air with a green smoke.

"This... This is Nagairos' poison! He must be there! I have to hurry!" Luo Yan thought, and she started running towards the location.

Outside, at the school hospital, all the students were being treated under strict surveillance. In one of the rooms, Blake and Liam lay in the same room, both wrapped in white bandages that made them look like mummies. Victor was in good condition, sitting in a chair near Blake.

"Damn, what the hell is happening out there?!" Blake said, annoyed.

"A student is missing, and now everyone's trying to find him," Viktor said, tense.

"He's dead! No one can survive in the labyrinth now, not in its current state!" Blake said.

"Shut up, your words will bring bad luck!" Liam snapped, annoyed.

"Shut up, mummy, or go back to the pyramids! Anyway, who's the student who went missing?" Blake asked out of curiosity.

"I-It's Noah Grace," Victor said, tense. Blake and Liam were shocked, their eyes widening. Liam felt worried and tense, while Blake smiled sarcastically.

"That trash got lost, really? Ha ha, he must be dead. They're wasting their time trying to find his corpse!" Blake mocked.

"Blake, shut up! If Noah dies, you'll be the first to die!" Liam warned, his tone serious, as it was obvious that his father would come to kill everyone the moment he heard his son had died.

"Do you think I care?! That trash deserves to die! Didn't you see what his echo did to everyone?!" Blake said.

"It was his echo, not him. Don't blame the boy for something he didn't do!" Liam said, frustrated.

"Oh? Since when are you trying to defend that trash?! Don't forget, you're the one who pretended to be his friend just to attract the girls!" Blake said mockingly.

"I'm not trying to protect him. I'm just doing what I think is right!" Liam said, on the verge of exploding with anger.

"What you think is right? Who are you fooling? Your sins won't be easily forgiven just because you feel guilty for your actions and now you're trying to make up for them. It's too late, that trash will never forgive you!" Blake mocked, enjoying the conversation.

"At least I'm trying to change, unlike you. You still call him names and look down on him, even though he saved everyone from his echo and from a deadly serpent that could have wiped us from existence in a second, not to mention the assassin you hired to kill him!" Liam said angrily.

"Hah? An assassin? What are you talking about?" Blake asked, confused.

"Stop acting innocent! Everyone knows you hired that assassin to kill Noah during the test!" Liam said, furious.

"Hey, what are you talking about? I admit that I hired an assassin to get rid of that scum, but he won't act unless I give orders, and I haven't done that!" Blake said, confused.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about? If it wasn't you, then who?" Liam asked.

Liam and Blake quickly realized something, something dangerous they shouldn't have figured out so fast: someone else is trying to kill Noah.

Under the school, in an abandoned, locked basement, inside a dusty, spider-webbed room, the intruder who had tried to kill Noah earlier sat on a chair, surrounded by Noctis and Rael. Rael grabbed the intruder by his hair and lifted him up, his eyes glowing a deep crimson.

"I'll make this easy for you. Tell me, who sent you?" Rael asked.

The intruder laughed in Rael's face and said, "Your mother."

Rael punched the intruder hard in the face, causing him to spit out a tooth and blood to pour from his nose. Rael then grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up.

"I won't repeat the question. Who sent you?" Rael asked, his anger evident.

The intruder laughed mockingly and sarcastically.

"This bastard...!" Rael growled, trying to punch the intruder again, but Noctis stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"I'll handle it," Noctis said. He placed his palm on the intruder's head, enveloping his body in a dark, black aura that seeped into his veins. The aura turned his veins a dark shade, becoming thicker as it spread up to his neck. The intruder screamed in pain, feeling his blood being drawn out, his body draining of life. His eyes filled with tears, and drool began to pour from his mouth. His eyes turned white, completely lifeless.

"Answer me. Who sent you to kill Noah Grace?" Noctis asked.

"Ughhh... ughhh... His Majesty... ughhh!" the intruder began to scream, crying blood.

"Speak! Who sent you?" Noctis shouted, his voice demanding an answer. The intruder stuck out his tongue, revealing a tattoo of a tree with a twisted trunk and branches full of sharp, broken leaves, giving it a mysterious, powerful look. Blood began to seep from the tattoo.

"All heil...his Majesty!" the intruder said as his final words. Noctis then noticed something strange.

"Get down!" Noctis screamed as he jumped onto Rael, both of them falling to the ground and covering their heads. The intruder's body exploded violently, scattering his remains in all directions, torn apart by the blast. His shredded flesh stuck to the walls, while his hot blood splattered into the air, staining the ground with dark puddles. His bones shattered and scattered like broken glass, and his intestines spilled out, writhing like terrified snakes. The scene was a nightmare of red chaos, with only scattered remnants left behind, telling the story of the violent last moment.

Noctis and Rael stood, looking at the horrifying scene before them, both feeling a sense of repulsion and concern.

"Damn it!" Noctis shouted, punching the wall beside him.