The Clockwork Labyrinth

The loading space shattered like glass.

The trio was dropped—not gently—into a circular room filled with ticking.

Clockwork gears turned in the walls.

The floor was etched with spiraling paths, shifting like a giant puzzle box.

Overhead, a ring of lights flickered on.

NEW GAME INITIATED

TITLE: CLOCKWORK LABYRINTH

CARD TYPE: DIAMOND – Difficulty: 9

PLAYERS: 6

OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT

RULES:

– The labyrinth reconfigures every five minutes.

– Only one path leads to the exit.

– Touching a dead-end resets progress.

– Communication is disabled inside the maze.

– Only one player can reach the core.

– Cooperation optional. Betrayal permitted.

The trio looked around.

Three more players stood with them.

– A girl with burns across her arms and a steel collar.

– A man in a pilot uniform, silent, eyes calculating.

– A child no older than ten, holding a plush rabbit.

Sora whispered, "Another Diamond game. Logic, speed, and cruelty."

Matthew stepped forward, eyes scanning the spiraling tiles.

Rin cracked her knuckles. "No vote. No trial. Just a death puzzle."

And then the system said:

Time Remaining: 00:59:59

Maze Reconfiguration in: 04:59

A door slid open with a hiss.

Beyond it, the maze shifted—walls sliding like silent knives.

Sora stepped in.

"We can't talk once we're inside."

"So think like predators."

"And pray we don't die like prey."

In the final lines of the chapter:

The last thing they see before the door seals is the child smiling at the rabbit.

And whispering:

"It remembers more than me."