The atmosphere felt dense and heavy, like a pause before a tidal wave, as Vex made his way through the dark disorienting paths of the labyrinth. He didn't know how long it had been, however, the dull ache in his chest, an emptiness he had carried ever since Nyx left-her presence was undeniable. It might have caused the void to be all the more disconcerting for one who had always enjoyed his battles without companions.
Every inch of the labyrinth appeared to contain pieces of his own broken memories, unfathomable and hazy pieces of an existence that he had built walls around. Vex traced his palm over the cold steel surface, his hands curling around faded grooves and scratches made previously on the surface by other competitors; individuals who had been bested by Echelon. It was a sensation, a travel where he felt he was following all of them and it was not letting him go.
Still there was a more profound source of his energy, one that only he could comprehend. He long remembered the bright sides of his childhood in which things were not so peaceful. Vex had seen the face of his father who worked pain-staking hours at a job that didn't pay much in terms of fulfillment, a man who gave everything to a system that had founded very little in him. "You make your own path, son," once his father spoke to a young boy with no awareness of the advice value. Those words had been engraved into him, and were a silent prayer which now resonated with every step of his legs as he maneuvered this infinite labyrinth.
He did not wish to merely win against Echelon - losing to oneself was not an option.
Meanwhile, Nyx's inner conflict was raging on the other end of the maze. All she could think about was Vex, his worried visage at the moment when they were sundered. That was a long time ago. She had not allowed herself to depend on other people since, well, as long as she could remember herself. In her world, however, attachment was a risk, a flaw rather.
Yet, for some reason, she had allowed this obstinate warrior to breach her walls. No, urgh, that was an annoying thought. This is work, and still, even more importantly, she has to concentrate right now.
The maze reshaped itself in front of her, the walls appearing to elongate and contract with each step she took in it. Each corner felt as if she was stepping into a flashback, and against her resolve, Nyx was being drawn into memories she had tried to forget. She had visions of her younger self – going through a packed subway with an old leather book that her mother had gifted her. That book had become a constant in her life, the only remaining piece from the before times when everything had been whole. But when everything turned upside down and she was needed, that too had to be left behind as it had been with her childhood.
She strode on, her expression steeling as she banished the memories to the back of her mind. This was not a place for sentimental reasoning. Echelon was no mere game; it was a battleground. And only the fittest would make it out alive.
As Vex turned another corner, he saw a peculiar mark on the wall. It was a symbol of a bird that he knew was a phoenix rising out of the fire. He had seen this symbol once before on an amulet his father wore. His heart ached. As this unexpected picture crossed his mind, he remembered emotions that had bonded him to someone several years ago. However, there was a faint noise coming from the other end of the corridor that distracted him from this thought. His body became stiff, and he listened carefully. There it was again — another dull sound, this time more pronounced, that of shuffling feet in what could only be twenty steps away.
Careful of the sound and with his weapon drawn, he advanced until he reached a small room that was partly open. In the middle of the room was someone, dressed in a hood and cloak, who was busy on the floor working on a bizarre piece of machinery. Vex's gut twisted in unease but he could not figure out why he was frozen. The motion was reminiscent of Vex's own movement – smooth, practiced, and effortless.
"Nyx?" he beckoned quietly, his voice scarcely audible.
The figure arrested its action and turned slowly away from the one that was in front of it, peeling off the hood. Nyx's green eyes locked onto his; for a brief instant, a hint of relief crept across her features as she managed to conceal it behind her cold mask.
"You took your sweet time, as always" she remarked with feigned annoyance but her eyes were a little softer than what they were supposed to be.
Vex let out a chortle, and the tightness in his shoulders relaxed. "I didn't realize you were at the finish line waiting."
Nyx raised a smile, but her eyes rather dropped to the floor, particularly the apparatus she had been fixing. It was a gadget, small and very detailed, adorned with pointers and switches which Vex could not interpret quite well.
"What's that?" he inquired gesturing with his head towards it.
For a moment, Nyx seemed to be weighing up whether to reply, her tone taking on a more modest note. "It's a device for sending messages. It's…private." She raised her eyes at him, albeit briefly. "This is something I have, um, sent to my brother. He was…is… a programmer just like me. A sort of home code language for us."
Vex nodded with the difficulty of one who cannot express his exact thoughts in words. He did not pursue the matter. There were scars concealed under the armor each had built about themselves over the years of their existence. There were also accounts.
Before they could speak once more they felt a shift in the entire section with them as they were, the floor beneath them began separating with loud groans emitting from the walls as the corridor behind them sealed. The maze had not yet released them.
Vex instinctively reached out for her hand as the floor fell away; however, Nyx propelled herself back, her reflexes quick as ever and grasped a small ledge protruding from the wall. Vex scrambled, managing to keep himself grounded while the floor rearranged beneath them, the lights flashing mockingly.
"Echelon doesn't plan on letting us go that easily," Vex murmured.
Nyx's eyes narrowed in response and lit up with fierce resolve. "Then we will find a way out ourselves."
Unfamiliar and loud mechanical sounds filled the room as two figures took center stage from the shadows. Each wore a menacing look on their faces and brandished a sleek deadly weapon. The guardians' disturbing red eye sensors focused on Vex and Nyx sliding into place and vengeance was evident in their visualization. "Stay alert," Vex replied quietly.
They again darts toward opposite directions as the guardians moved forward. All his years spent in training kicked in where Vex's anchoring instincts fathomed slow-moving muscles. Attack after attack from the guardians were fierce, each stroke of their swords swift and unforgiving, forcing him to evade with all the quickness he possessed. On the other side of the room, Nyx avoided the attacks coming her way and remained concealed. Her small stature gave her an advantage to such an extent that her actions seemed impossible in reality. She was also seen shooting back at the first guardian, a fierce look on her face, as she tried to locate the gaps in his armor. Vex's respect surged as he observed her fighting style, Vex applauding the way her every move was calculated to deliver a blow to an enemy, and thoughtfully suicidal. Yet she had soon learned the severity of the situation and though there was no real risk, even the elongated wing like chamber started to feel stuffy, walls of which threatened to converge and crush them with every provided opportunity.
Vex energized himself prepared to attack whenever possible enriching his senses in the process and risked his body forward thrusting his sword in an opening created at the joints of the first sculpture's plate armor and caused that first guardian to reel back. Next to him Nyx jumped onto a ledge, positioning herself for a better shot as she took aim and began firing at the second guardian. In the midst of all this chaos, their eyes locked for a lingering moment, and unspoken words of understanding flicked between them 'we shall not give up'. 'We have to finish this,' she yelled, her voice full of determination.
With a violent explosion of energy, Vex nodded and carried forth what he assumed would be his last attack. A firm swing later, he was plunging the edge of his sword into the chest of the first, cracking metal as he went on. The guardian let out a high pitched, mechanical wail before it rather ungracefully fell to the ground.
Nyx did well also aiming carefully; her shot found the core of the second guardian. The thing twitched then dropped unmoving on the floor with its lights closing off, power systems going offline.
Gasping and staring at each other, they couldn't help feel the tiniest uplift in the atmosphere from the stress.
"You really know how to take care of things," Vex commented, the warmth in his voice implied more than usual.
Nyx just raised her shoulder indifferently, though satisfaction sparkled in her eyes. "All in the efforts of keeping up with you."
They laughed together, the echoes reverberating off the walls of the empty room that for a while had been devoid of any sound as they composed themselves – a brief interlude from all the gloom that surrounded them.