Chapter 132 - Threads in the Dark

Date: May X789 — Midnight

Location: Fiore — Deep Eastern Labyrinth

📍 Eastern Ruins — Descending Vein Corridors

The deeper they went, the warmer the air became. What started as a thin, ghostly chill thickened into a stifling, mineral-scented heat that pressed into their lungs and coated their skin. Each breath tasted faintly of iron, as if they had already begun to bleed before the fight had even started.

Romeo wiped sweat from his brow, fingers trembling despite the steady flame coiled beneath his ribs. He had never felt the weight of the earth so sharply — each echo of their footfalls rolled back in heavy, muffled waves, like the labyrinth itself was breathing with them.

Ahead, Teresa moved with her usual quiet certainty, her cloak brushing against the tunnel walls in slow, measured sways. Her sword hung loose in her grip, but every so often her fingers twitched, as if gently reminding the blade it might be needed at any moment.

"How deep does it go?" Romeo asked, voice hoarse and cautious.

Teresa didn't glance back.

"Farther than most men dare remember," she replied. "These tunnels were carved in greed, then abandoned in fear. Every level below is a new wound — older, more feral."

Romeo swallowed, tightening his fingers on his hilt.

"And the guilds... they came down here too?"

She paused, turning slightly so her silver gaze flickered back to him. Even in the dim glow, her eyes seemed almost luminescent.

"Not all guilds," she answered. "But enough. Enough to seed something that learned to echo their hunger."

A shiver crawled down his spine. He shifted his stance unconsciously, trying to stay close without stepping on her trailing cloak.

📍 Lower Ash Vault

They stepped into a vast chamber that swallowed their light. The walls rose in broken spirals, disappearing into a dark ceiling they could not see. The floor was littered with shattered relic cases, melted glyph seals, and charred bones half-fused into the stone.

Romeo stumbled to a stop, eyes wide. He could almost hear screams clawing at the walls — a chorus of vanished voices scratching at the edge of memory.

Teresa advanced without pause. She knelt near a fractured relic case, brushing away soot and caked blood to reveal a half-melted rune stone beneath.

"Etherano conduits," she murmured. "They tried to bind something down here. Tried to force it to serve them rather than listen to it."

Romeo hesitated, peering over her shoulder.

"Did it work?"

Her hand stilled. For a long moment, her gaze seemed to drift beyond the labyrinth, beyond even this world.

"It always works," she said at last, voice quiet and distant. "Until it doesn't."

A low rumble trembled beneath their feet. Romeo's breath stuttered, a thin line of flame flaring instinctively along his wrist.

"Master—"

Teresa rose in one smooth, liquid motion. Her blade lifted as she tilted her head, listening to the air. Her face sharpened, though her eyes stayed calm.

The rumble deepened, dust falling from the blackened arches above. A pulse of corrupted magic rolled across the floor, thick and heavy, like a heartbeat gone rancid.

"Stay behind me," Teresa ordered.

Romeo hesitated, instinct screaming at him to stay at her side, but something in her tone — cold and final — pinned him to the ground. He dropped back, breath quick and shallow, sword rising shakily.

📍 Vault's Central Pit

A tearing sound split the silence, wet and jagged. From the far pit, a shape clawed its way forward.

It moved in stuttering, convulsive lunges, its body shifting as though woven from black coils and broken bones. Ember-like eyes opened across its form — not two, but dozens, each gleaming from a different angle.

Romeo's mouth went dry.

"What... what is that?"

Teresa's gaze never wavered.

"A remnant," she said. "An echo of old deals and desperate bargains, given shape."

The creature screeched, the noise scraping along their bones, setting Romeo's teeth on edge. It lunged, claws skittering sparks from the stone floor.

Teresa darted forward, her sword flashing silver in the dark. Her first strike severed a claw, shards of corrupted bone spinning away. She twisted past a second swipe and drove her blade into its torso.

The creature shrieked, ember eyes flaring brighter.

Romeo stepped forward instinctively, his flame roaring along the blade's edge. His heart hammered so hard he thought it might break.

"Stay behind me," she had said.

But seeing her alone, seeing her fight without hesitation — something inside him surged.

He dashed forward, slashing across one of the creature's limbs. Blue fire burst from the wound, freezing the twisted flesh before it shattered in a spray of ash.

The monster howled, convulsing wildly. Teresa flicked a glance back at him — sharp, assessing. But she didn't push him away. Instead, she shifted in tandem, cutting low while he moved high, their attacks weaving together in an unspoken rhythm.

Romeo felt heat rushing through him, his flame sharper than it had ever been.

"Thrust," he whispered to himself, lunging forward.

"Slash," he pivoted, carving through another limb.

"Strike," he brought the sword down, splitting a claw cleanly.

Teresa mirrored his movements, her strikes so swift they blurred like falling rain.

With a final combined swing, they split the creature's core. It convulsed, ember eyes flickering out like dying stars before collapsing into a heap of ash and charred fragments.

Silence flooded the chamber — only their breathing remained. Hers calm and deep; his ragged and burning.

📍 Edge of the Vault

Romeo dropped to one knee, his sword clattering beside him. His hands trembled violently, whether from fear, exhaustion, or something deeper — he couldn't tell.

Teresa approached, sliding her blade back into its sheath with a soft click. She stood over him, her eyes searching his face.

"You stepped forward," she said, her voice low but even.

Romeo raised his head slowly, ash streaking his face.

"I... I didn't want you to fight alone," he panted. "Not this time."

She watched him in silence, her gaze both distant and startlingly present. Then, to his shock, she knelt. Her hand hovered for a moment before settling lightly on his shoulder.

"You chose your echo," she said softly. "And you cut."

His breath caught. Slowly, he nodded, shoulders easing under her touch. For a fleeting moment, he felt something shift — not just in him, but between them.

She stood, extending her hand. He took it, rising unsteadily.

📍 Exiting Lower Corridors

"Come," Teresa said, turning to the dark corridor ahead. "There are more waiting."

Romeo fell into step beside her. This time, he didn't trail behind. His feet matched hers, his sword steady in his grip, the flame burning low and clear.

As they stepped into the next tunnel, the labyrinth around them shivered and twisted, the echoes shifting like an unseen choir.

But among those echoes, a new rhythm pulsed — not just teacher and student, not just shadow and flame.

A single, shared stride in the dark.