The Garden of Trust

Xyro woke up first.

And for a brief, impossible moment—

He thought he was dead.

Everything around him was black.

Not the kind of darkness that came from night. Not the kind that came from closing your eyes.

This was something else.

Something deeper.

Something wrong.

His breathing was slow, controlled—but too loud.

As if the air itself was listening.

Then—movement.

Not from him. From above.

Xyro's pulse spiked, his muscles tensing—

Then—

A slow, red glow flickered into existence.

Dim. Distant.

But growing stronger.

Not a sun.

Not a torch.

Something breathing.

Xyro's fingers twitched against stone. Cold. Solid.

And beneath him—something else moved.

Not the stone itself.

Something beneath it.

Shifting. Twisting. Waiting.

His breath came sharper.

This isn't normal.

His body screamed at him to move—but something was wrong.

Then—

A voice.

"You should get up now."

Xyro turned his head instantly.

Veynn.

She was already awake, already standing.

Already watching him.

Golden eyes reflecting the red glow from above, her expression calm. Collected. Unshaken.

Like she had been awake for a long time.

Xyro swallowed, pushing himself up slowly.

The ground beneath him wasn't stable.

Not shifting. Not breaking.

But breathing.

Like the walls of a lung.

He clenched his jaw, scanning the space around them.

And that's when he saw them.

Orris. Zkarn.

Both lying just a few feet away.

Orris was completely still, his small frame curled in on itself.

Zkarn was motionless too, his arms sprawled, his breathing deep—but controlled.

They weren't dead.

Not yet.

Xyro exhaled, his muscles still coiled, waiting for an attack that hadn't come yet.

Then, Veynn's voice cut through the silence.

"I would stop thinking so much if I were you."

Xyro's fingers twitched.

"Why?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Because it's already watching."

Then—

The world shifted.

Not an earthquake.

Not the movement of something collapsing.

It was subtle. Controlled.

Like the space had been waiting for them to wake up.

A single, deep vibration pulsed through the walls.

And somewhere, from the endless dark—

Something clicked.

Like a lock being undone.

Xyro's breath stalled.

The Labyrinth had just begun.

Orris woke up last.

He didn't open his eyes at first.

He didn't need to.

Because the moment his mind surfaced—he knew.

Something was watching them.

Not like the trial.

Not like before.

This was different.

This was real.

His fingers curled against the stone beneath him. It was warm. Too warm.

His breath stayed even.

Because he wasn't alone.

Then—a voice.

Not human.

Not alive.

Just—a whisper.

"The last one wakes."

Orris's chest tightened.

His pulse stayed steady.

Then, the whisper grew sharper.

"Does he remember?"

Orris's fingers twitched.

He did.

He remembered everything.

But he wasn't about to say that out loud.

Not here.

Not yet.

Because he had a feeling—the moment he answered…

He'd never be allowed to wake up again.

Zkarn's eyes flickered open.

And the first thing he saw—

Was a ceiling that moved.

Not shifting. Not twisting.

Dripping.

Like something was melting above them.

He exhaled through his nose.

"Well. That's unpleasant."

Then—

A second sound.

Not human.

Not machine.

Something ancient.

A grinding noise, deep and low—like something being woken up against its will.

Zkarn stretched, rolling his shoulders.

His body still worked.

That was a good sign.

Then—

The whisper came again.

"The last piece has woken."

Zkarn smirked.

"Oh, I like that. Feels dramatic."

He pushed himself up, shaking off the last remnants of sleep—but the moment he stood, something else changed.

The air around them thickened.

The space grew smaller.

And the sound came back.

A clicking.

A mechanical, impossible sound—from all around them.

Like something was locking into place.

Or—

Unfolding.

Zkarn glanced at the others.

Orris was silent.

Xyro was tense.

And Veynn?

She was smiling.

Zkarn exhaled.

"Let me guess. The real fun starts now."

Veynn tilted her head slightly.

"Oh, Zkarn. It already started."

Then—

The ground gave way.

Not falling.

Not breaking.

Opening.

They fell.

Not like before.

Not the slow, creeping sensation of drifting through endless space.

This was violent.

The moment the ground split open beneath them, the world rushed past at impossible speed, tearing at their bodies like invisible claws. The air wasn't air—it was something heavier, something thick, something alive.

Xyro couldn't breathe.

His mind screamed to react, to grab onto something—but there was nothing.

Then—

The fall ended.

Not with a crash.

Not with an impact.

Just… stillness.

Like the world itself had decided to set them down instead of letting them die.

Xyro's knees buckled slightly as his boots met solid ground.

He exhaled sharply. His breath was visible.

Not from cold.

From something else.

And when he looked up—

He saw the first Labyrinth.

The Garden of Trust

It wasn't a prison.

It wasn't a maze.

It was worse.

A vast, endless expanse stretched before them—a garden unlike anything that should exist.

Towering, twisting trees with obsidian-black leaves swayed in a wind that didn't exist.

Flowers of deep crimson bloomed from the cracks in the stone paths, pulsing faintly like veins.

The sky above them if it could even be called a sky—was not blue, nor black, nor red.

It was shattered.

Cracks in reality itself spread outward in jagged lines, revealing glimpses of something watching from beyond.

And worst of all—

There were doors.

Hundreds of them.

Some half-hidden in the roots of ancient trees.

Some suspended in midair, leading to nowhere.

Some standing alone in the open field, waiting to be opened.

Xyro's pulse hammered against his ribs.

This is a game.

He didn't know how he knew.

He just did.

And worse—he knew the only way to win.

Survive. At any cost.

Then—

The sky spoke.

Or maybe it didn't.

Maybe the words simply appeared inside their heads, ripping through their minds like a thought that had always been there.

"The only tool that can help you is trust."

A pause.

Then, something colder.

"Because you will need each other in everything."

The words sank deeper.

Darker.

"And yet, you cannot trust anyone."

Xyro's breath slowed.

That's the game.

Trust each other to survive.

Or die because of trust.

Then—

The voice faded.

Nobody spoke.

Not immediately.

Because everyone was thinking the same thing.

Xyro's fingers curled into fists.

He already knew his answer.

He wasn't going to trust any of them.

He didn't know who he was.

He didn't know what his life had been.

But he knew one thing.

He had to win.

Then—Veynn moved first.

Her steps were slow, unbothered.

"Well." She exhaled, stretching her arms slightly. "This is going to be fun."

Xyro's jaw tightened.

Orris was watching everything too closely. His small hands were still, his expression unreadable. Calculating.

Zkarn… laughed.

"Oh, this is cruel." He ran a hand through his hair, grinning. "They're making us play a team game with a group of liars. I love it."

Xyro barely turned his head. "So what's the task?"

Then, as if answering him—one of the doors opened.

A slow, deliberate creak as the heavy wood swung inward, revealing…

A mirror.

Not a reflection.

A person.

Someone standing on the other side.

It was him.

Xyro's pulse spiked.

The mirror-Xyro lifted his head—his expression unreadable.

Then, the sky spoke again.

"Your first test begins."

A pause.

Then—

"Find the real one."

Xyro's breath stalled.

"Or die together."

And before anyone could react—

The mirror shattered.

And something stepped through.