The air inside the First Gate hummed with ancient energy, thick enough to taste—a metallic tang that clung to Lian's tongue like blood. Before him, suspended in a void of swirling starlight, loomed the massive obsidian hourglass, its black sand cascading relentlessly. The Eclipse Core's interface flickered to life:
**[Trial of Eternity: Reverse the Flow]**
**[Failure Condition: Lifespan Depletion]**
**[Lifespan Remaining: 17 days, 6 hours, 33 minutes]**
Mei's voice echoed faintly, muffled by the void. "Lian! The sand—it's aging you!"
He glanced at his hands. His skin had already withered, veins protruding like gnarled roots. Pain seared his joints as the hourglass siphoned years from his body. *Reverse the flow. How?*
The Eclipse Core pulsed coldly. **[Analysis: Temporal Energy Detected. Shadowflame Incompatible.]**
"Useless," Lian hissed. He slammed a fist against the hourglass, but the sand flowed faster. His hair turned white, his vision blurring.
A laugh rippled through the void—smooth, amused, and utterly alien.
**"Struggle harder, thief. Your desperation nourishes the Core."**
Lian froze. The voice wasn't the Core's. It was *older*.
"Who's there?"
**"A spectator,"** the voice purred. **"You amuse me, crawling through this trial like a worm. Reverse the sand, or watch your sister crumble beside you."**
A section of the void shimmered, revealing Mei trapped in her own hourglass, her body contorted as shadows devoured her from within.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 19%]**
Lian's chest tightened. "Let her go!"
**"Reverse. The. Sand."**
The Eclipse Core flared suddenly, its interface glitching. **[WARNING: Anomaly Detected. Divine Spark Synchronizing…]**
Golden light erupted from Lian's right arm—the Divine Spark's runes blazing. The black sand recoiled, hissing like steam.
*The Spark counters the hourglass's energy.*
He pressed his glowing palm to the hourglass. The Divine Spark clashed with the temporal void, gold and black spiraling in a furious dance. The sand slowed. Stopped.
Then *reversed*.
Youth surged back into Lian's veins. He stumbled, gasping, as the hourglass dissolved into stardust.
**[Trial Complete!]**
**[Reward: Temporal Resistance (Immunity to Age-Based Attacks)]**
**[Divine Spark Synchronization: 15%]**
The void shattered, plunging them back into the cavern beneath the ravine. Mei collapsed beside him, coughing violently. The black veins now reached her jawline.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 20%]**
"We need to keep moving," Lian said hoarsely, pulling her upright.
A blade pressed against his throat.
"Not another step."
Serra Veyen stepped from the shadows, her Bloodbane dagger gleaming. Her Temple armor was scorched, one eye swollen shut, but her grip didn't waver. "The trial's over. Now you answer my questions."
Mei stiffened. "You followed us?"
"Tracked the Core's energy." Serra's gaze flicked to Mei's corrupted arm. "The pact's eating her alive. You've got two choices: let me help, or watch her die."
Lian's shadowflame ignited. "Why should we trust you?"
"Because the Temple's right behind me." She sheathed her dagger abruptly and tossed Lian a vial of iridescent liquid. "Drink. It'll stabilize her corruption. For now."
**[Item Acquired: Soulthread Elixir (Halts Pact Corruption for 24 hours)]**
Mei drank first, grimacing. The shadows receded from her neck, settling at her collarbone.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 20% (Paused)]**
Serra smirked. "See? I'm full of surprises."
Lian eyed her. "What's your price?"
"Take me with you. The Second Gate's in the Azure Labyrinth—a sentient dungeon. You'll need someone who knows its tricks."
**[New Quest: Accept Serra's Alliance]**
**[Reward: Guidance to Azure Labyrinth]**
**[Risk: Unknown Loyalty]**
Mei nodded weakly. "We need her."
Before Lian could respond, the ground trembled. The cavern walls cracked, revealing a hidden passage glowing with bioluminescent moss.
**"The path is open, little thief,"** the alien voice crooned. **"How far will you crawl to defy me?"**
Serra froze. "You heard that too?"
Lian ignored her, striding toward the passage. "Stay close. And don't touch anything."
---
The labyrinth was alive.
Walls shifted, corridors twisting like serpents as they navigated the Azure Labyrinth. Serra led them, her dagger carving sigils into the stone to mark their path.
"The dungeon feeds on memories," she warned. "Focus on the present. One slip, and it'll trap you in your own mind."
**[Alert: Azure Labyrinth's Sentience Detected]**
Lian's boot crunched on something brittle. A skull—human, its hollow eyes staring. Dozens more littered the path ahead.
"Defeated aspirants," Serra said grimly. "The labyrinth's first test."
A whisper brushed Lian's ear—*Mei's voice*. "You'll fail. You always do."
He spun. Mei stood feet away, her eyes voids of shadow, the pact's corruption swallowing her whole.
**[Illusion Detected: Memory Replication]**
"Lian, don't!" the real Mei cried.
He lunged, shadowflame roaring. The illusion disintegrated, but not before he saw it—a memory of Mei's kidnapping, warped by the labyrinth.
Serra cursed. "It's targeting her!"
The walls pulsed, vomiting tendrils of blue mist. Mei screamed as the mist coiled around her, thrusting her into a waking nightmare—the day Lian was cursed, played on loop.
"Make it stop!" she sobbed.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 20% (Resuming)]**
Lian slashed through the mist, but it reformed instantly. "Serra! Do something!"
"Working on it!" She hurled a Bloodbane crystal into the labyrinth's heart. The mist recoiled, and the walls stilled.
**[Azure Labyrinth Neutralized (Temporarily)]**
Mei collapsed, trembling. The corruption had reached her shoulders.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 22%]**
Serra yanked Lian aside. "The Second Gate's ahead. But the labyrinth's got a boss—a Memory Warden. It'll use her worst moments against her."
Lian's grip tightened on his shadowflame. "Then we kill it first."
---