The maze, for all its unpredictability and chaos, had become something we could almost recognize.
Not because it made sense—no, it still twisted and warped at every turn. The walls would stretch and twist, the air would pulse with an unnatural energy, and the ground would crack open beneath our feet. But we had come to understand it, in a way. Or perhaps it had come to understand us, learning our movements, anticipating our strategies. With each shift, we had grown more attuned to the maze, its every tremor a whisper of its next move.
But now, the atmosphere felt different. Familiar, even.
There were no more unexpected turns, no more treacherous traps. We had been running, fighting, surviving for so long that the weight of it had settled into our bones. But we had no choice now—there was no going back. The end was near. And as the final stretch of the maze unfolded before us, it felt almost like we were walking toward our destiny.
"We're almost there," Seo-yeon said, her voice steady but barely concealing the exhaustion. Her hands were still crackling faintly with the remnants of her lightning powers, though they were weaker than before. We all felt it—the fatigue, the weight of the maze's constant trials, pressing down on our shoulders.
But we didn't stop. We couldn't.
Professor Lee was still ahead, his breath coming shallow, his body aching with the effort of staying upright. He had pushed through the worst of it, his strength wavering but not breaking. We had all kept going, through whatever the maze threw at us. We had become a team, bound by survival and the need to escape.
The walls ahead pulsed in time with our steps, as though the maze itself was breathing, feeling us approach. The path before us was narrow, stretching toward a final door, a door that we didn't know would exist until it did. The air had changed, becoming heavier, almost like the atmosphere was holding its breath in anticipation.
"Keep moving," I said, my voice low but firm. I wasn't sure if I was talking to the others or to myself. The doubt had already begun to creep in. What came next? The Scholar was waiting for us. We had seen him before—the voice in our heads, the cold presence that had overseen the trials. But what did he want from us? What was the purpose of all this?
It didn't matter. Not now. We were here. We had reached the end of the maze.
I could hear the distant sound of thunder, or was it the hum of machinery? I couldn't tell. It was almost like the maze itself was alive, pulling us in with every step we took, as though the walls were closing in, narrowing our choices until there was only one path left to take.
I glanced behind us. The walls had already shifted again, the maze alive, breathing, pulsating. There was no way to go back, no way to turn. We had come this far, and now, the only way out was through.
[Basic Information Sight]
Current Access: 5%
Status: Combat Analysis
Note: Preparing for environmental shift
My ability flickered to life, but it was sluggish—my mind tired, struggling to process the incoming data. There was no time for that now. The numbers flashed, warning of the final challenge, but there was nothing more to do but push forward.
I could feel the others behind me, their breathing labored, but their steps still steady. Even Ji-ho, who had been barely able to keep up, seemed to find strength in the final stretch. Min-ji, despite her exhaustion, was focused, her hands trembling as she clenched and unclenched them, ready for whatever would come.
We had reached the end.
The door was in front of us now, standing tall and imposing, like the very air around it had been stretched and warped by its presence. It didn't look like much—a simple archway, dark and uninviting. But I knew that beyond it was where everything would change.
"Is this it?" Min-ji asked, her voice raw, tired. She looked ahead, her face etched with doubt and fatigue.
I didn't answer at first. There was no need to. We had reached the door—the path had led us here, and now it was time to face whatever came next. Whatever the Scholar had in store.
"Yeah," I said finally, my voice quiet. "This is it."
The pulse of the maze continued around us, the walls vibrating with a sickly hum as though the structure itself was waiting for something. The air around the door seemed to shift, flickering like a mirage, the light warping, bending as though it was struggling to hold onto its form.
Seo-yeon stepped forward, her hands sparking faintly with the last of her electricity. "We've made it this far. Whatever happens now, we're not turning back."
Professor Lee nodded, though his face was pale. The exhaustion had taken its toll, and even now, I could see the doubt in his eyes. "We've survived… this part. But the game… the game is just beginning."
I nodded slowly, understanding what he meant. The Scholar had made it clear from the start: this wasn't over. But right now, we had reached the end of this chapter. The maze was done, for now.
The door before us pulsed one last time, and then it opened.
Beyond it was a dark room, illuminated only by the faint light from the door we had just passed through. The Scholar stood in the center of the room, as immovable and cold as ever. His eyes flickered over us, unblinking, as though he had expected us all along.
"Congratulations," he said, his voice a perfect balance of detached approval and cool authority. "You have finished the tutorial. The real game begins now."
I felt the words reverberate in my chest, like a punch that knocked the wind out of me. This was just the tutorial?
There was no time to process. The weight of his words settled over me like a fog, thickening the air around me. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were nothing more than pawns in a larger game.
"You've done well," the Scholar continued, his voice dry and almost rehearsed. "But understand this: every step you've taken, every decision you've made so far, has been nothing more than preparation. The real trials await, and they will not be as forgiving."
His words hung in the air like an unsolvable riddle. The maze had been terrifying, but now, standing in the presence of the Scholar, I felt the dread of something much larger, much darker.
"Where do we go from here?" Ji-ho's voice was raw, but it carried the weight of all our fears. We had made it this far, but was it enough? Was this just a prelude to something much worse?
The Scholar's gaze flickered, and for the first time, there was something almost human in his expression—an amusement, maybe. "You have earned your place here. The next trial will test you far more than you can imagine. Be prepared."
He didn't wait for a response. The door behind him began to close, slowly but decisively, leaving us alone in the dark room with the weight of what was to come.
The Scholar was gone now, the door closing behind him with a faint click that sealed us off from whatever lay beyond. The room was now silent, but the stillness only heightened the unease in my chest. There were no more answers, no more clues.
Just silence.
And then, the walls around us trembled, and I knew without a doubt.
This was only the beginning.