After Wayde's outburst, there was even more tension between the two of them but neither acknowledged it as they continued as though nothing had happened.
Focusing on the task at hand, Ryan activated his Mana Vision, but when he did, he faced another challenge - the maze's walls negated all mana as well as his ability to sense what was beyond them.
Revealing what he found to Wayde, Ryan, who thought he might have discovered something useful, was quickly shut down.
"That's obvious. It wouldn't be that easy, otherwise, I would haven't been stuck down here for so long."
There was no shortcut.
However, although Ryan couldn't use his Mana Vision, he could still sense faint traces of mana within the maze walls that even Wayde didn't seem to be able to.
He couldn't make any conclusions just yet, but it was something.
All he could do was rely on his instincts and observations as they went along, with Wayde nudging Ryan to lead the way, revealing his true colours as time went on.
Doing so without any complaints, Ryan scanned for disruptions in the faint flow of mana in the maze's walls, sensing a potential trap ahead and warning Wayde.
However, his words fell on deaf ears and merely earned him but another of Wayde's dismissive retorts.
"I know that, idiot," Wayde spat, downplaying Ryan's contribution.
Unfazed by his words, Ryan reached a halt to assess the situation.
Wayde, on the other hand, nonchalantly continued despite knowing that a trap lay ahead.
After he passed a certain point, arrows suddenly materialised, poised to strike. But simply with a wave of his hand, Wayde suspended the arrows in mid-air, as if catching them with an invisible force.
"Is this what you were so afraid of?" he asked, before redirecting them toward Ryan.
Caught off guard by his insane companion, who was descending into madness the more his desperation grew, Ryan barely managed to evade the arrows. Streaming mana through his body, he contorted his body in a nimble manoeuvre and flipped backwards, but one of the arrows still managed to scrape his arm.
Wayde's frustration boiled over. "If you can't do more than sense simple traps, you're of no use to me."
Silent but resolute, Ryan rose from the ground, seething with anger yet aware of the practicality of their alliance. Ripping a part of his shirt and tying it around the shallow wound on his arm that was rapidly healing, Ryan didn't even wince.
He was too frustrated and concentrated to do so.
'This crazy bastard, I swear I'll...'
Taking a deep breath and swallowing his pride, Ryan followed after Wayde who continued without him. He had to bide his time, and although the tension between them was rapidly escalating, their shared objective demanded cooperation.
And so Ryan refocused his Mana Vision and senses, driven to understand the intricacies of the maze and secure their exit.
-
Advancing through the maze, Wayde took the lead, handling any traps that came their way. Most were projectiles of some sort, which he handled with his mysterious abilities that Ryan had yet to understand.
While he did, he left the burden of deciding which path to take next to Ryan, and so far, it was hard to tell whether his decisions had been correct.
However, it wasn't like Wayde had anything else to try.
Ryan was the key, or so he told himself and hoped.
It was the only thing keeping him sane if he could even be called that.
Eventually, Ryan and Wayde found themselves at a crucial juncture.
Usually, they would have two paths to choose from to continue deeper into the maze, but now there were three.
They were at an intersection.
The air hummed with anticipation as they peered into each of the paths sprawled before them, each promising a unique challenge and unknown consequences.
Facing this critical decision, Ryan couldn't shake the sensation that every step they took was being watched by unseen eyes. It was as if the maze itself held the power to test and manipulate their fate.
It was a puzzle woven from threads of mana, a puzzle he was determined to unravel.
Turning back to see the path they had taken which would lead back to the Spatial Rift they had entered from, Ryan doubted they could retrace their steps once they continued onwards.
Whether the maze would shift or something entirely different were to happen, he felt as though the next path they took would seal their fate.
And so, with a firm resolve, Ryan dismissed the notion of turning back, realising the urgency of their situation. The spectre of prolonged isolation loomed over him, urging him forward to seek an exit before the creeping madness that gripped Wayde claimed him as well.
There was no looking back now...
-
As Wayde, his demeanour stripped of arrogance, awaited Ryan's decision, a subtle air of tension lingered between them. The maze, with its pulsating walls, seemed to scrutinise their every move, a silent witness to the unfolding drama within its confines.
"Choose, kid," Wayde urged, a sense of gravity underscoring his words.
Surveying the mysterious paths ahead, Ryan felt the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. The fate of their escape hinged on his choice, and he couldn't afford a misstep.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, immersing himself in the currents of mana that whispered through the labyrinth.
At first, there was nothing, but the more he focused, the deeper he fell into a trance.
As he did, he began to feel something.
A subtle resonance, a guiding whisper in the vast maze of energies that was beckoning him toward a specific direction.
Trusting this unexplained connection, Ryan pointed decisively to a leftward path.
"This way," he declared, conviction lacing his words, though unable to articulate the mysterious intuition that guided his choice.
Wayde, eyeing him with a mix of scrutiny and curiosity, accepted the decision, and they ventured into the chosen path.
To their surprise, the route lacked the usual treacherous traps that had marked Wayde's previous attempts, which sparked a glimmer of hope within the ragged mage.
'Maybe he truly is what I needed. I can, I can, I can actually get out of here!' Wayde was struggling to suppress his excitement, laughing to himself.
Meanwhile, Ryan couldn't help but think to himself, 'Maybe I was wrong about this path sealing our fate. It doesn't seem all that bad.'
But whether that was truly the case, only time would tell...
-
With renewed optimism, they progressed deeper into the maze, Wayde guarding against potential traps while Ryan, at each path's end, tapped into the maze's elusive consciousness.
A symbiotic dance unfolded, where Wayde's combat prowess complemented Ryan's intuitive navigation.
However, as they approached another complex intersection, Ryan faced a conundrum. The maze, seemingly alive with its enigmatic will, once again challenged Ryan with multiple potential routes. But this time, the subtle guidance he had felt before grew faint, testing his resolve in the face of uncertainty.
Standing at this nexus, Ryan felt the weight of their fate hanging in the balance. The labyrinth demanded an answer, pushing him to delve deeper into the intricacies of its design.
His brows furrowed in concentration, and he closed his eyes, honing in on his mana sensitivity. The intersection became a canvas of energy, with threads of mana weaving a complex tapestry. Intuition merged seamlessly with analytical thought as Ryan's inner connection with mana became a beacon of insight.
In the midst of this profound introspection, clarity washed over him.
He could see mana, but this time without his eyes as it danced all around him.
And it all seemed to be concentrated on a single path.
The path right ahead of them.
With unwavering determination, Ryan opened his eyes, fixing his gaze upon the chosen direction.
"This is the way," he announced, the echo of resolution in his voice as he became the beacon guiding their journey.
But fate, in the labyrinth's unpredictable design, had its own plans...