PLAYER NUMBER 1
—VERA'S POINT OF VIEW —
The void stretched endlessly before them, an abyss of shifting darkness. It wasn't simply empty—it pulsed, breathed, moved as though alive. The shadows curled and stretched, whispering against the edges of perception, never fully still. Beneath their feet, the stone was ice-cold, rough and uneven in places, the kind of cold that seeped through their boots and wrapped around their bones. Every cautious step sent a hollow echo into the unseen distance, as if the space around them were far vaster than it appeared.
Silence pressed in on them like a living thing, thick and unnatural. It wasn't the kind of quiet that came from solitude—it was the silence of something waiting, watching. The air itself seemed heavier here, carrying an unseen weight that settled on their shoulders. It was the kind of silence that made a person hesitate before speaking, instinct whispering that breaking it would be a mistake.
Vera tightened her grip on the hilt of her dagger, her pulse steady but alert. Her eyes flickered over her companions—Raith, Liora, Soren, and Keal—each of them tense, absorbing the same unnatural atmosphere. She didn't need to look long to recognize what was obvious: Soren was the strongest among them.
Even when he wasn't speaking, his presence was unmistakable—calm, restrained, but carrying the weight of something unspoken. He had the quiet force of a storm waiting to break, an aura of carefully contained destruction. His dark eyes surveyed the group with quiet calculation, as if already deciding who among them would be useful… and who would not.
Vera's gaze lingered on him a second too long, and she felt it again—the pull. It was faint, like an invisible thread drawing her attention back to him, an inexplicable awareness of his presence. She dismissed it. There were more pressing matters to focus on than the strange gravity between them.
They were trapped in a place they did not understand, bound by rules they had not agreed to. And whatever entity governed this abyss had made one thing clear: they would not leave without paying a price.
Yet, something else was here with them. Something unseen, something ancient.
The shadows did not just exist in this place—they moved. They shifted like the slow pulse of a heartbeat, stretching and recoiling, as if something lurked just beyond their vision, concealed beneath layers of darkness. It was not just the silence that unnerved Vera—it was the feeling of being watched. Of being studied.
Of being weighed.
The stillness stretched too long. No one spoke. No one moved. The air around them seemed to grow heavier, as if the void itself were pressing in, demanding their submission. It was as if the labyrinth was holding its breath, waiting for them to make the first move, to slip, to falter.
Raith was the first to break the silence. His voice, rough yet steady, cut through the oppressive quiet.
"So… we've been pulled into this game together." He let the words hang in the air, glancing at each of them as if expecting confirmation that this was real, that they were all truly here. Then, after a beat, he gave a short bow. "Let's keep the peace."
The gesture was careful, deliberate. A formality. It carried the weight of habit rather than sincerity.
Vera watched him closely. He was a prince of the Kingdom of Storms, and here, his title meant nothing. That alone was enough to unsettle him. His carefully measured posture, the way he held himself a little too stiffly, spoke volumes. The idea of standing as an equal among commoners grated on him, though he masked it well.
Liora, standing beside him, let out a soft scoff, her lips curving into a sharp smirk.
"A prince bowing? To commoners?" Her voice dripped with amusement, but there was an edge to it, something cutting. "That's a rare sight."
Her words weren't just aimed at Raith—Vera could tell. Liora carried disdain for anyone she deemed beneath her, which, by the way she looked at them all, was everyone. But Vera had learned long ago that arrogance often hid fear. And in this place, fear was something they all shared, whether they admitted it or not.
Vera didn't react, though the corner of her lips twitched in amusement. Instead, her gaze drifted back to Soren.
His expression was unreadable, cold as the void around them. But when their eyes met, something passed between them—an understanding, brief but undeniable. Did he know more than he was letting on?
Soren finally spoke, his voice low, almost indifferent.
"Here, it doesn't matter if you're a commoner or a royal." His eyes settled on Liora, unmoved by her mockery. "The labyrinth doesn't care."
Liora's lips parted, a sharp retort ready—but before she could speak, a sound shattered the silence.
A single, deliberate click of heels against stone.
It was faint at first, barely a whisper beneath the weight of their own heartbeats. But with each step, it grew louder. Sharper. The air seemed to shift with it, the atmosphere tightening like an unseen force was pressing down on them.
Vera's breath caught in her throat. A shiver ran down her spine, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Something was coming.
The others noticed, too. One by one, their heads turned toward the sound.
The stone beneath them vibrated, ever so slightly, as if reacting to the presence approaching. The void no longer felt empty—it felt alive, charged with something unseen, something just beyond the veil of darkness.
Then, from the depths of the shadows, a figure emerged.
At first, it was nothing more than a distortion, a shape shifting within the gloom. But as it stepped forward, the darkness bent around it, accommodating its form as if the void itself recognized its presence.
She was tall. Unnaturally so. And she did not walk—she moved with an eerie fluidity, gliding forward in a way that made it unclear if her feet even touched the ground. Each step sent ripples through the space around her, bending the very fabric of reality.
Vera's stomach twisted. It wasn't fear—not entirely—but something deeper. A primal instinct, an understanding beyond words, told her that whatever this being was… it was beyond them. Beyond their understanding.
The others stood frozen, caught between hesitation and the sharp pull of dread. The labyrinth had made its first move.
And now, the game had truly begun.
—END OF CHAPTER—
Ohh~ dramaaa!!!!