The Crimson Labyrinth

Forks was no longer the sleepy town it once pretended to be. Beneath its rain-slicked trees, veils between worlds had begun to weaken. Magic bled through the mist, ancient symbols began glowing on rocks older than human memory, and time itself warped in flickers of blue lightning.

Raiko stood atop the roof of the Cullen house, her purple eyes glowing faintly. Her arms were crossed, and a distant thunder rumbled like a warning drum. Something was coming. Not from the Volturi, not from the Earth — but from the void.

"Did you feel that?" Alice asked, stepping beside her. Her raven-black hair flowed in the wind, and worry danced in her amber gaze.

"Yes," Raiko replied softly. "Something breached the sixth circle."

Rosalie emerged from below, her golden locks in a warrior's braid, two silver-toned swords sheathed on her back. "A realmwalker?"

"No." Raiko frowned. "Something older."

Just then, the earth beneath them shifted. Not trembled — shifted. As if reality rewrote itself.

-------------

La Push - The Circle of Ash Witches

The circle had gathered for the first time in centuries.

Eleven women cloaked in robes of ash and blood chanted under the moonlight. In the center lay a map — but not a map of any land. It depicted pathways, corridors between realities, corridors leading to one place:

The Crimson Labyrinth.

"It's open again," the eldest witch murmured. "The walls that sealed Nyxothar are crumbling."

One of the younger witches glanced at her. "Then we must summon the stormborn."

"She has already arrived," a voice whispered from the mist.

Raiko stepped through the trees, lightning coiling around her heels. Alice and Rosalie flanked her, their expressions sharp and ready.

"We seek the Crimson Labyrinth," Raiko declared.

The witches gasped.

"You would enter willingly?" the eldest asked.

Raiko's voice was steady. "It's the only way to sever Nyxothar's influence at its source."

The eldest sighed. "Then come. But beware: the labyrinth shifts to test the soul."

--------------

Inside the Crimson Labyrinth

No door opened. No portal shimmered. One moment they stood in the forest, the next they were inside — darkness above, crimson fog swirling beneath their feet.

Alice clutched Raiko's hand. "I can't see anything here. Not even threads of fate."

Raiko closed her eyes, letting her lightning guide her. "Follow the pulse. Stay close."

They walked.

Every corridor shifted — turning, melting, reforming into impossible geometries. The walls pulsed like a heartbeat. Screams echoed from corners that didn't exist a moment before.

And then they met their first trial.

A copy of Rosalie stood before them. Perfect in every way. Same scars, same thoughts.

"I am the part of you that doubts," the doppelgänger said. "Strike me down, and you lose part of your soul."

Raiko stepped forward.

Rosalie stopped her. "No. I'll do it."

A blade shimmered in her hand. They fought — evenly matched, blow for blow.

In the end, Rosalie disarmed her copy and whispered, "I am not perfect. But I fight for those I love."

She plunged the blade in. The copy smiled… and vanished into mist.

---------------

Their next trial awaited.

A child. Alone. Crying. Her skin cracked like porcelain.

Raiko walked over and knelt. "Who are you?"

"I'm the world… forgotten," she whispered. "And I will become everything."

Tentacles erupted from her back.

Raiko stood, eyes glowing with godlike fury. "You are a shadow. I am lightning."

She struck.

The child-thing screamed, its illusions breaking. Reality shuddered.

And then the heart of the labyrinth revealed itself — a vast chamber shaped like an eye. In the center floated a sphere — black, weeping, humming with Nyxothar's curse.

Raiko stepped forward.

Alice placed a hand on her back. "Are you sure?"

"If I fall," Raiko whispered, "strike me down before I become like them."

She reached out.

The moment her fingers touched the sphere, lightning exploded from her body — carving symbols of thunder into the labyrinth walls. The eye shattered. The void screamed.

Then silence.

---------------

They stood alone again, outside the La Push forest.

The witches bowed.

"You have cleansed the first mark," the eldest said. "Two more remain."

Raiko nodded. "Then we move before Nyxothar adapts."

Alice kissed her cheek. "You're getting used to this goddess thing."

Raiko chuckled. "Let's hope I survive it."