Chapter 2: The Rules of the Hunt
Vito crouched behind a jagged pillar of stone, his breath shallow, his hands gripping a rusty dagger he'd pilfered from a skeleton two corridors ago. The dim, flickering light of the labyrinth's eerie torches cast shifting shadows across the walls, making every moment feel like the prelude to disaster. His heart pounded, not from fear—well, not entirely—but from the absurdity of his current situation.
"Alright, Vito, let's recap," he muttered to himself, peeking around the corner to spot a hulking beast prowling the corridor ahead. Its skin was leathery and stretched taut over bulging muscles, its eyes glowing a sickly green. "You stole a bread loaf. Got caught. And somehow ended up in a death maze with this… lovely creature." He shook his head, a wry grin tugging at his lips. "Honestly, the bread wasn't even that good."
The labyrinth rumbled ominously, as though displeased with his casual disdain.
Vito leaned back against the pillar, considering his options. So far, the maze seemed to operate on some bizarre set of rules, none of which had been explained to him. The beasts patrolled certain routes, traps were hidden in the most ridiculous places (like the pressure plate he'd triggered by stepping on a tile that read SAFE), and the labyrinth itself seemed to delight in mocking him.
Earlier, he'd found a cryptic inscription on the wall that read:
"In the Eternal Hunt, cleverness prevails where strength fails. Choose your battles wisely, for every victory carries a price."
"Well, that's vague and ominous," Vito had remarked at the time. But now, as he stared at the glowing eyes of the beast ahead, he was starting to think the labyrinth wasn't kidding.
The beast snorted, its massive claws scraping against the stone floor as it sniffed the air. Vito held his breath, flattening himself against the pillar. He had no interest in testing his dagger against a creature that looked like it could bench-press a horse. But then his luck—or rather, his lack of it—kicked in.
A pebble, dislodged by some cruel twist of fate, clattered loudly across the floor. The beast's head snapped toward the noise, its growl reverberating through the corridor like a death knell.
"Of course," Vito hissed under his breath. "Because why wouldn't the universe hate me today?"
The beast began to advance, its massive frame blocking the narrow passage. Vito's mind raced. Fighting was out of the question, and running was only slightly less suicidal. That left… improvisation.
Vito grabbed a nearby skull—one of the many littering the labyrinth—and hurled it down the opposite corridor. It shattered against the wall with a loud crack. The beast paused, confused, then turned to investigate the noise.
"Works every time," Vito whispered with a grin, only for the labyrinth to rumble again, as if challenging his smugness.
The walls shifted, grinding and groaning as the corridor behind him sealed shut, leaving him with no choice but to follow the beast.
"Fantastic. Just fantastic," Vito muttered, reluctantly moving forward. "It's like this place has a personal vendetta against me."
As he crept along, keeping a cautious distance from the beast, he noticed something strange. The glowing symbols on the walls seemed to pulse faintly, their rhythm syncing with his own heartbeat. One symbol in particular caught his eye: a jagged spiral surrounded by what looked like claw marks. It glowed brighter as he approached, almost beckoning him.
"Touch the creepy glowing symbol? Sure, why not. What's the worst that could happen?" he muttered sarcastically, reaching out.
The moment his fingers brushed the symbol, the labyrinth shuddered violently. A burst of energy surged through him, and for a brief moment, his vision blurred. When it cleared, he found himself standing in the middle of a circular chamber, the beast nowhere in sight.
"Well, that's… new," Vito said, glancing around. The chamber was adorned with more glowing symbols, each more intricate than the last. At the center of the room was a pedestal, and on it rested a small, obsidian shard.
The shard pulsed with a dark energy that made his skin crawl, but Vito couldn't look away. Something about it called to him, like a whisper at the edge of his mind.
"Take the cursed shard," he said in a mockingly deep voice. "Nothing bad ever happens when you touch the ominous artifact."
Against his better judgment—because when had that ever stopped him?—he reached for the shard. The moment his fingers closed around it, a voice echoed in his head.
"Welcome to the Eternal Hunt, Seeker. Survive, and the Abyss may grant you its power. Fail… and you'll feed the labyrinth."
Vito blinked. "I don't like the sound of that 'fail' part."
Before he could process further, the walls of the chamber began to close in, and the ground beneath him crumbled away, plunging him into darkness.
As he tumbled through the void, Vito couldn't help but laugh—partly from terror, partly from disbelief at the sheer absurdity of his predicament.
"Next time," he shouted to no one in particular, "I'm stealing a cake. At least then I'll die with something worth it!"
And with that, the darkness swallowed him whole.