The air grew colder the deeper we ventured into the labyrinth. The torchlight flickered against the damp walls, shadows twisting into forms that seemed almost alive. I couldn't shake the feeling that the labyrinth itself was watching us, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"We should stop for a moment," Lyric suggested, her voice breaking the tense silence. "Get our bearings before we stumble into another trap."
Corwin grumbled but didn't argue, leaning against the wall as Lyric and I consulted the orb. The faint glow emanating from it pulsed steadily, its rhythm eerily similar to a heartbeat.
"It's reacting to something," I murmured, tilting the orb to see if the light would shift.
"It's leading us somewhere," Lyric said, pointing to the way the light grew brighter when I angled it toward the left corridor. "But whether it's guiding us out or deeper in…"
"…remains to be seen," I finished, my voice heavy with doubt.
Corwin pushed off the wall, his impatience palpable. "Then let's find out. Sitting here won't solve anything."
I couldn't argue with that. Reluctantly, we followed the orb's light, the narrow corridor opening into another chamber. This one was smaller than the first, its walls lined with shelves that held ancient, dust-covered artifacts.
"Looks like some sort of storage room," Lyric said, stepping cautiously inside.
"Or a graveyard," Corwin muttered, poking at a cracked urn with the tip of his boot.
Ignoring him, I scanned the room, my gaze landing on a large, circular mirror mounted on the far wall. Its surface was polished to an unnatural sheen, reflecting the room with almost too much clarity.
"This feels… wrong," I said, keeping my distance from the mirror.
"You think everything feels wrong," Corwin said, rolling his eyes. But even he hesitated before stepping closer.
As he did, the surface of the mirror began to ripple like water disturbed by a stone. The reflection shifted, and suddenly, it wasn't just the room staring back at us.
"What in the…" Lyric's voice trailed off as a figure emerged in the mirror, its form cloaked in shadow.
The figure's eyes glowed with an unnatural light, and when it spoke, its voice was a low, guttural whisper that seemed to echo from every corner of the chamber.
"Seekers of truth," it said, "you stand at a crossroads. The path forward demands a price."
"What kind of price?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
The figure didn't answer directly. Instead, the mirror's surface shifted again, this time showing a scene from my past—a memory I had buried deep.
A younger version of me stood in a grand hall, my face lit with an expression of naive hope. Beside me was a man I recognized all too well—my father.
"Do you trust me, child?" he asked in the memory, his voice filled with feigned warmth.
"I do," the younger me replied, handing him a sealed envelope.
The memory blurred, the scene dissolving into darkness as the shadowed figure in the mirror spoke again.
"The price is truth. Relinquish your illusions, and you may proceed. Cling to them, and you will remain lost."
The weight of the figure's words pressed down on me like a physical force. I could feel Lyric and Corwin's eyes on me, their concern evident, but this was my choice to make.
"I…" My voice faltered as I stared into the mirror, the reflection of my past swirling just beneath its surface.
"Don't do it," Corwin said, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "Whatever it wants, it's not worth it."
Lyric placed a hand on my arm, her touch grounding me. "You don't have to face this alone," she said softly.
But deep down, I knew this was something only I could decide.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer to the mirror. "If truth is the price, then so be it," I said, my reflection staring back at me with equal determination.
The mirror's surface rippled once more, and the figure's voice echoed, its tone laced with an unsettling satisfaction.
"Very well. The truth shall be revealed."
The chamber filled with blinding light, and I felt a surge of energy coursing through me. When the light faded, the mirror was gone, replaced by an archway that led deeper into the labyrinth.
"What just happened?" Lyric asked, her voice shaky.
"I'm not sure," I admitted, still feeling the echoes of whatever power the mirror had unleashed. "But we have a way forward now."
Corwin shook his head, his expression unreadable. "Let's just hope it doesn't lead us straight to our doom."
With that ominous thought hanging over us, we pressed on, the labyrinth's secrets waiting to be unraveled.