Maze of Bonds

Location: Vault of Echoes – Trial Chamber Three

The chamber pulsed with a faint golden glow, humming with magic so ancient that it felt alive. As the mirror maze encased them, the air thickened—not with heat, but memory. A test of the heart was more dangerous than any bullet.

Zuri kept a firm grip on her daggers. "I hate riddles."

"This isn't a riddle," Victor said softly. "It's a choice."

Their reflections shimmered. In the mirror before Victor, he saw his father—weak, trembling, eyes filled with regret. He remembered the night his mother died. The pain. The rage. The vow.

"You have to choose forgiveness, or it'll consume you," Nora whispered beside him.

"How can I forgive a man who let her die?"

"Because if you don't," she said, her hand on his chest, "he wins again."

Victor stared long into the mirror… and closed his eyes.

The reflection vanished. A golden rune appeared on the stone below him.

One gate opened.

---

Zuri's Test

Another path twisted toward Zuri. Her mirrors shifted, reflecting scenes of her Dominion past—her hands drenched in blood, commanding raids, razing cities.

She backed away, shaken. "No. That's not who I am anymore."

The mirror whispered in a haunting echo, "You always return to the blade."

She clenched her fists. "Not today."

Zuri took a deep breath and tossed her dagger into the image. It cracked, splintered, and dissolved. A second rune lit beneath her feet.

"Two paths cleared," Nora said.

Zuri nodded once. "One left."

---

Nora's Trial

Nora stepped into a ring of mirrors that rippled with mist. Her past selves appeared—child prodigy, betrayed friend, grieving daughter, hidden cultivator. They surrounded her like ghosts.

In the center stood a version of her… cold, clinical, perfect.

"You abandoned them," the reflection said. "You left the hospital. Left your patients. Your parents. You ran into shadows."

"I didn't run," Nora whispered. "I searched for a way to protect them all."

"By hiding who you are?"

Nora reached forward. "No more hiding."

She touched the mirror. It turned to light and faded. The final rune glowed.

The floor beneath them shifted, and a bridge of light extended forward.

---

Behind the Wall

BOOM. A portion of the wall behind them cracked again.

Thorne's Reavers were almost through.

Victor grabbed Nora's hand. "We move—now!"

The trio ran across the bridge of light as the chamber shook violently behind them. Just as they reached the end, the entire maze vanished into dust, sealing the path behind them in golden stone.

---

Location: Vault of Echoes – Inner Sanctum

They emerged into the deepest part of the vault: an immense circular sanctum lit by floating crystals. In the center was a raised platform with an obsidian pedestal, atop which hovered an orb pulsing with silver-blue energy.

Victor stepped forward slowly, mesmerized.

Zuri frowned. "That's not just a relic."

Nora's voice trembled. "It's… a memory core. A sentient archive. It holds the truth of the war, of the old alliances."

Victor turned toward them, realization dawning. "This is what the Dominion feared."

Behind them, the echoes of battle rang louder.

They weren't safe. But they were closer than ever.