Raelyn stood before the full-length mirror in the private room Amara had given her. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at her reflection. The person in the mirror was a stranger, someone carved out of hardship and terror, yet undeniably her. Her once soft, cascading brunette hair had grown uneven, jaggedly cut during her time in the maze, the ends rough and frayed. It framed her face in stark contrast to the smooth, healthy glow she once remembered.
Her skin, pale and almost translucent, bore a haunted quality, as if the life had been drained from her in pieces. Scars—tiny, subtle lines that hadn't been there before—etched her arms and neck. Her cheeks were more hollow, her jawline sharper, giving her an edge that hadn't existed before. But it was her eyes that struck her the most.
They were wide, yet shadowed, and instead of the youthful sparkle she once carried, they held a deep, unsettling gravity. They looked... older. Wiser. But more than anything, they looked burdened.
She reached out, pressing her fingers lightly against the cool surface of the mirror. "Who am I now?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
The sound echoed faintly in the quiet room before she pulled herself away, shaking her head as if to banish the thought. She turned and made her way back to where Amara was waiting, the faint aroma of cooking meat wafting through the air.
Entering the dining area, she noticed a plate of steak—perfectly seared, its juices glistening under the light—and a glass of golden juice waiting for her. Amara sat across from the table, her posture poised, those piercing green eyes watching her every move.
Raelyn hesitated but finally slid into the seat. She picked up the glass of juice, taking a small sip. Setting it down, she looked at Amara, her tone sharp and suspicious. "How did you know about the angel?"
Amara's lips curled into a faint smirk, though her eyes remained unreadable. "Because I had an angel too," she replied, her voice calm but tinged with bitterness. "It told me the same thing yours likely did—that the maze was a prototype, that others might have slipped into this dimension at different times. It's all lies."
Raelyn narrowed her eyes, leaning forward. "Did the man in the top hat kill your angel too?"
Amara's head tilted slightly, her brows furrowing. "The man in the top hat?"
Raelyn's tone sharpened as she pressed on. "Yes. A man in a top hat, like a shadow glitching in ad out of reality. Whenever he appeared, the walls and ground turned into flesh—pulsing flesh, with eyes and mouths whispering things meant to tear you apart inside."
Amara shook her head slowly, her frown deepening. "No. I never encountered anyone like that."
Raelyn blinked, startled. "How's that possible? He was there in the maze with me. He killed my angel—ripped it apart like it was nothing."
Amara's voice softened, though her expression remained firm. "Raelyn,the maze doesn't play by logical rules. It adapts. It's alive. It manifests things to break you specifically."
Raelyn's hand tightened into fists. "So, what? The man in the top hat is... what? My tormentor? My personal demon?"
Amara leaned back, her green eyes narrowing slightly. "Possibly. But he isn't the maze, Raelyn. The maze is something far older. It's... well, let's say it's beyond comprehension."
Raelyn leaned forward again, her tone more desperate. "Then if you didn't meet the man in the top hat, you didn't encounter the Bound Horror either, did you?"
Amara's brow furrowed deeply. "The Bound Horror? What's that?"
Raelyn hesitated, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you meet the Butcher?" she asked, her voice tentative but heavy with curiosity.
Amara's expression shifted, and she gave a small nod. "Yes, That's where I woke up. The Butcher was the first thing I encountered in the maze—a hulking mass of rage and blades. Escaping it was... not easy."
Raelyn leaned back, her expression darkened as a chill ran through her. "The Bound Horror..." she began slowly, her voice almost a whisper. "It was a fusion of the Butcher and the man in the top hat."
Amara's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? How?"
Raelyn exhaled shakily, her gaze distant as she recounted the memory. "I was running from the man in the top hat through this narrow hallway. He kept glitching in and out of reality, and every time he appeared, the walls would shift—turn into pulsing flesh, covered in eyes and mouths whispering 'Die' over and over again.I could barely keep my head together. The hallway led to a big room with massive stone pillars, and I thought maybe... maybe I could hide. So I ducked behind one of the pillars, hoping he wouldn't find me."
Her hands clenched into fists as she continued. "But then the wall on the far side of the room broke apart. The Butcher stepped through it, dragging that massive cleaver of his, blood dripping from his body like it was alive. The air felt heavier the moment he entered. And then..." She hesitated, her voice faltering for a moment. "Then the man in the top hat appeared. They saw each other."
Amara listened intently, her expression unreadable as Raelyn pressed on. "The room—no, the maze itself—reacted to them. The moment they locked eyes, it was like the space around them fractured. They started to fight. The man in the top hat moved like a ghost, glitching through reality, while the Butcher was all raw strength and brutality. The room split in half, as if their fight was tearing it apart. One side was covered in flesh, the walls and floor writhing with eyes and mouth, whispering louder and louder. The other side was... bones. Skulls and fragmented remains everywhere, blood flowing down the walls like waterfalls."
Raelyn's breathing quickened as she recounted the horrifying scene. "It wasn't just them fighting; it felt like the maze itself was fighting with them. And then... the maze reacted. It was like it came alive—tentacles of flesh and bone erupted from the walls and floor, grabbing both of them. They screamed—no, the roared—and the maze swallowed them whole. The sound was deafening."
She paused, her hand trembling as she tried to steady herself. "And then it... it spat out the Bound Horror. It wasn't the butcher or the man in the top hat anymore. It was something else entirely—bigger, and more terrifying. A monster made from their hatred, their power. It... it wanted me to fail. It knew I was there, and it hunted me."
Amara's gaze hardened, her lips pressing into a thin line. "The maze fused them," she said softly, almost to herself. "It's alive, as I thought. It's evolving."
Raelyn sat back, staring at her hands. "Why me, though? If the maze is targeting descendants, why didn't it go after anyone else in my family? Were my aunts or uncles taken too?"
Amara's voice softened. "No. They weren't. None of your extended family has been taken."
Raelyn's voice grew quieter. "Then... anyone else? Other cousins, anyone?"
Amara shook her head. "No, Raelyn. It's only ever been you."
Raelyn's voice cracked. "Why?"
Amara sighed deeply, her gaze locking with Raelyn's. "Because you're special, Raelyn. The maze doesn't choose randomly. It knows."
Raelyn shook her head, her frustration mouthing. "Special? That doesn't explain anything."
Amara leaned forward, her expression serious. "In our lineage, there will always be four children born—three females and one male, or on rare occasions, three males and one female. But there's an even rarer occurrence—a curse—where one of those four will have only one child, while the others will have the typical four. That single child will bear the curse."
Raelyn stared at her, her voice barely a whisper. "I was an only child..."
Amara nodded solemnly. "So was I. And so was Aveline—our ancestor."
Raelyn's mind reeled. "Aveline... She's the one who was cursed, isn't she?"
"Yes," Amara confirmed. "Aveline had two aunts and one uncle, all of whom had four children. But her mother had only her.That's why she was cursed, and why the curse has followed us."
Raelyn's breathing grw shallow. "So... it's her fault. We're all suffering because of her?"
Amara's expression hardened. "It's more complicated than that. Aveline didn't deserve what happened to her anymore than you or I do."
Raelyn struggled to process everything. After a moment, she asked, "You said you've been alive for over 200 years. How is that possible?"
Amara's gaze darkened slightly. "Because I destroyed the heart of that place. When I did, it tried to consume me—to make me its new heart. But I resisted, and in doing so, I... changed. I stopped aging. I don't know if I'm truly immortal, but I haven't aged since."
Raelyn swallowed hard. "The war you mentioned... is it still going on? Is that why I saw monsters here but not in my time?"
Amara nodded slowly. "Yes. The war never ended. It only evolved. The monsters you saw are remnants of it, scattered across time and space."
The two sat in silence for a moment, the weight of everything sinking in. Finally, Amara leaned forward. "Enough about the past Raelyn. Tell me about your time."
Raelyn hesitated but began to speak. She described the towering cities, the technological marvels, and the strange peace that existed despite the scars of the past. As she spoke, Amara listened intently, her green eyes sharp and focused.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Raelyn felt a flicker of connection—of being understood. But even as she spoke, the shadow of the maze and the curse loomed over them, a constant, unstable presence.