Chapter 213: The Resonant Maze

The portal closes behind them with a soft hum, leaving Echo and Li Wei standing in a place that defies all sense of direction. The "Resonant Maze" dimension is a labyrinth of shifting walls, each one made of a translucent material that shimmers with iridescent light. The air vibrates with a constant, low-frequency hum, and every step they take sends ripples of sound through the ground, causing the walls to twist and turn in response.​Nova's avatar flickers into view, her form wavering as if the dimension's unstable energy is interfering with her systems. "This place is… complicated," she says, her voice tinged with confusion. "The walls are controlled by sound waves. Every noise we make changes the layout of the maze. And my scans show that the core of the dimension is a 'Resonance Nexus'—a point where all the maze's frequencies converge. If it's destabilized, the entire dimension could collapse in on itself."​Chen Jiuzhang's hologram materializes beside her, his expression 凝重. "The Resonant Maze has always been a test," he explains. "A place where travelers must learn to listen—to understand the language of sound before they can find their way. But something's wrong. The frequencies are erratic, as if someone's tampering with the Nexus."​Echo taps her peace drum lightly, and a nearby wall shifts, opening up a new corridor. "Tampering how?" she asks.​"By introducing 'Dissonant Frequencies'," Chen says. "They're disrupting the natural harmony of the maze, making it impossible to navigate. And if left unchecked, they could spread to other dimensions, causing chaos wherever they go."​Li Wei's charge pulses with a purple glow, and he sends a small burst of energy into the air. The hum in the air intensifies, and a wall slams shut behind them, blocking their path back. "Great," he mutters. "So we're stuck in a maze that changes every time we breathe, and there's a mysterious force messing with the works. Typical."​Echo smiles faintly. "At least it's not silence," she says. "We can work with sound."​They start walking, moving slowly and carefully to avoid triggering too many changes. The maze is a marvel of acoustic engineering—corridors that amplify sound, chambers that muffle it, passages that create echoes that bounce back and forth, distorting their sense of time and space. Every now and then, they catch a glimpse of other paths through the translucent walls—some leading to dead ends, others to what looks like bottomless pits.​As they walk, Echo begins to notice patterns in the maze's movements. The walls shift in time with the hum, and certain frequencies seem to trigger specific changes. "Li Wei, listen," she says, stopping in her tracks. "The hum has a rhythm. If we can match it, maybe we can control the walls instead of letting them control us."​Li Wei closes his eyes, focusing on the sound. After a moment, he nods. "I hear it. A 4/4 time signature, with a syncopated bassline. It's like… a heartbeat."​Echo grins. "Then let's dance to it."​She starts to play a slow, steady rhythm on her drum, matching the hum's tempo. Li Wei joins in, his charge emitting a series of notes that harmonize with the bassline. As they play, the walls around them stop shifting randomly. Instead, they move in a predictable pattern, opening up a clear path ahead.​But their progress is short-lived. A high-pitched, dissonant shriek cuts through the air, shattering their harmony. The walls lurch violently, slamming shut and opening up new corridors at random. Echo and Li Wei are thrown off balance, and when the chaos subsides, they find themselves separated—Echo in a small chamber, Li Wei nowhere to be seen.​"Li Wei?" Echo calls, her voice echoing through the maze. There's no response, only the sound of the hum, now distorted and irregular.​She takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Panic won't help her find Li Wei, and it certainly won't help her navigate the maze. She starts to play her drum again, a simple melody that she hopes will cut through the dissonance and guide Li Wei to her.​As she plays, she notices a faint light in the distance. She follows it, moving carefully through the shifting corridors. The light grows brighter, and soon she finds herself in a large chamber. In the center, a figure stands, its body made of swirling sound waves. It holds a tuning fork in one hand, and with each strike, it sends a blast of Dissonant Frequencies through the air.​"You're the one messing with the Nexus," Echo says, raising her drum.​The figure turns, and its form shifts to reveal a face—one that looks surprisingly human, with sharp features and eyes that glow with a menacing light. "I am the 'Frequency Fiend'," it says, its voice a harsh, grating sound. "And this maze is my playground. The Resonance Nexus is mine to control. With it, I can bend sound to my will—and through sound, I can bend the multiverse."​Echo slams her drum, sending a wave of harmonious energy toward the Fiend. It dodges, laughing as the energy hits a wall, causing it to shift and block Echo's path. "You think you can stop me?" it sneers. "You can't even find your friend. And soon, you'll be lost forever in the maze's endless corridors."​Echo refuses to be intimidated. She knows that Li Wei is out there, fighting to find her, and she won't let the Fiend win. She starts to play a new melody, one that's more complex, more determined. It's a melody that weaves together the harmonies of all the dimensions they've saved—the steady rhythm of the Mechanical Melody, the ethereal echoes of the Ethereal Echo, the cosmic crescendo of the Stardust Fugue.​The Frequency Fiend's 笑容 fades as the melody fills the chamber. Its form starts to flicker, and the Dissonant Frequencies it's emitting grow weaker. "No," it snarls. "This can't be."​Echo continues to play, pouring all her strength into the music. The walls of the chamber begin to shake, and the hum in the air starts to return to its natural rhythm. Through the translucent walls, she catches a glimpse of Li Wei, fighting his way through a group of smaller, sound-based creatures that the Fiend must have summoned.​"Li Wei!" she shouts, and he looks up, his face lighting up when he sees her. He sends a blast of purple energy at the creatures, then starts running toward her.​The Frequency Fiend, seeing that it's losing control, lets out a roar of rage. It raises the tuning fork high, preparing to strike it with all its might, to send a blast of Dissonant Frequencies that will destroy the Resonance Nexus and the maze along with it.​But Echo is ready. She slams her drum with all her might, unleashing a wave of pure, harmonious energy that crashes into the Fiend. The tuning fork flies from its hand, clattering to the ground, and the Fiend's form dissolves into a cloud of sound waves, which are quickly absorbed by the maze's walls.​As the Fiend disappears, the maze starts to stabilize. The walls stop shifting, and the hum returns to its natural, steady rhythm. Li Wei bursts into the chamber, a wide smile on his face. "Took you long enough," he says.​Echo laughs, relieved to see him safe. "I was just waiting for you to catch up," she says.​Together, they make their way to the Resonance Nexus—a large, spherical structure at the center of the maze, glowing with a warm, golden light. It pulses in time with the hum, and as they approach, they can feel the harmony of the dimension flowing through them.​"We did it," Li Wei says.​Echo nods, but she knows that their work is never done. The multiverse is full of challenges, full of threats to harmony. But as long as they have each other, and their music, they can face whatever comes next.​They step through the portal Nova opens, leaving the Resonant Maze behind. The next dimension awaits, and with it, a new melody to protect.