Chapter 6: The New World

I woke up on a slab.

I opened my eyes, but saw nothing. Just an endless swirl of black and white dots, as if my body wasn't ready to exist yet.

The New World was rejecting me.

Then came the sounds. Distant voices. Murmurs. Life. 

Light broke through. Colors exploded into my field of vision.

I opened my eyes wide. And I saw.

A city stretched out before me. But not like the ones in the Old World. No crumbling buildings, no ruined streets. Here, everything seemed... alive.

I slowly sat up. Beneath me was a slab of white marble with bluish veins. I recognized it. We had studied it at the Castle. Noble, ancient material, once used before the catastrophe.

But the marble wasn't what caught my eye.

Before me rose colossal structures. Golden domes glittered in the sun. Marble columns reached for the sky. And between them, thin towers like silver needles, adorned with filigree.

These weren't fortresses. They weren't shelters. 

They were masterpieces.

Built by people who no longer feared hunger, cold, or death.

I tried to take it all in, but it was too much. My heart was pounding. Blood rushing too fast.

Every fiber of my body was tense.

On high alert.

***

"There you are. Finally awake."

A voice. Warm. Female.

I turned. A figure was approaching. At first, she seemed blurred, like my mind was still trying to give her shape.

But then I saw her.

A woman.

Tall, elegant, with long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders like liquid light. But it was her gaze that took my breath away.

Blue eyes.

Deep. Vast. Like a night sky. Like the idea of infinity itself.

For a moment, I forgot everything. 

The Angel. The Labyrinth. The rage. The sacrifice.

I just wanted to run. 

Run beneath those stars. Let go of everything.

Who cares about power? Who cares about truth? About the end?

Only me. Only now. Only in those eyes.

***

"WAKE UP, DAMMIT."

A voice inside me.

***

"Get away."

***

"WAKE UP."

And the night shattered like broken glass.

***

The woman was still there. She smiled. Just slightly.

"This year's batch has some interesting ones," she said. And in her eyes, I caught a flicker of something. 

Not beauty. 

Control.

Her features sharpened. Delicate, almost ethereal. But sharp. Like a blade.

She didn't look much older than me. And yet, something in her posture said otherwise. Like time moved differently around her.

"Who are you?" I asked. Or thought. I wasn't sure.

But she answered anyway.

"My name is Iselin. You're in the New World."

Those words grounded me.

At first, it had been her beauty that struck me. But now I felt something else.

Power.

There was something different about her. Something that watched you from the inside.

I said nothing.

She continued, calmly: "The King wants to meet every new Blessed. I'm here to take you to him."

The King.

The man who rebuilt what was left. Who had turned the first level of the Labyrinth into a city. Who created the system that now sustained the New World.

We had studied him at the Castle. Feared him. Admired him. But none of us had ever seen him.

"And the others?" I asked suddenly.

How hadn't I thought of Klaus? Of Themdo?

Iselin looked at me. "They met the King last night. When they arrived."

"Last night?" I whispered.

"Yes. You were held in the Portal for an entire day. It happens. Some stay longer. And yet..." She examined me. "The mark on you is faint."

Her words stung. But they also reassured me. 

My friends had passed. They were alive. They were okay.

Pathetic.

The thought pierced through me like a needle.

Had that come from me?

Iselin stepped closer and handed me a white robe.

"Get dressed. It's time to go."

Only then did I realize I was naked.

Strange—at the Castle, it wasn't rare to end up without clothes. Hazing, punishment… you got used to it. 

But here, in front of her, it felt different. 

The shame hit me like an avalanche.

I dressed quickly. A plain, seamless tunic.

Where had my clothes gone? It didn't matter.

I turned. She was still staring. I understood—I shouldn't look her in the eyes. 

As beautiful as they were. As inviting.

"Let's go."

"When will I see my friends again?"

"After you meet the King. I already told you," she said. 

Her tone had shifted. Less sweet. Sharper. Even the light in her eyes seemed dimmer.

"Alright." I had no choice.

***

We walked along a stone staircase, beneath glass arches and bridges suspended between towers. All around me were Blessed. 

Some wore ornate robes. Others were armed. 

No one looked at me. No one spoke.

It felt like a temple where everything breathed discipline.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Nine years."

I turned to her. She said it like it was nothing. 

But nine years... 

She had entered at nineteen, like me. And had seen far more than she let on.

"The King chose you to bring me, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

She looked at me. 

And for the first time, her eyes didn't seem infinite. 

They seemed... tired.

"Because I always know what you feel."

She stopped. Then added, "What you think."

A chill ran down my spine.

"Your Blessing?"

"My sacrifice."

I froze. 

She kept walking.

I caught up with her.

"What did you give the Angel?" I asked, more out of defiance than curiosity.

She didn't turn.

"The possibility of ever forming a human bond."

Silence.

"When I entered the Portal, I was tired. Tired of being seen. Touched. Smiled at just to survive. In return, I asked to never have to trust again. Ever."

Then she turned to me. 

And her eyes were cold again. Impeccable.

"Now I know what's inside each of you. I can't love. I can't lie. But I can never be deceived again."

She smiled. But it wasn't a human smile.

"Does that scare you?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Good."

***

I turned toward the Portal.

I remembered the Angel. His smile.

That bastard just wanted fun. A good story. Something to watch. Something to feed on.

Perfect.

I'd give him his damn story.

The most interesting one he'd ever seen.

And as the thought sank into my mind, I followed Iselin through the streets of the New World.

It was all as they'd told us.

The Labyrinth. The Blessings. The King. The Angel.

Now, finally.

I could begin.