The Memory Warden awaited them at the labyrinth's heart.
It was not a creature but a *mirror*—a towering pane of fractured glass reflecting distorted versions of Lian, Mei, and Serra. The air hummed with static, and the ground beneath their feet dissolved into shards of recollections: Mei's laughter as children, Lian's village burning, Serra's Temple insignia snapping underfoot.
**[Alert: Memory Warden Activated]**
**[Trial: Confront the Unwritten Past]**
Mei clutched her head, shadows writhing under her skin. "It's pulling me in—!"
The mirror pulsed.
Suddenly, they stood in the village square on the night of Lian's sacrifice. But the memory was *wrong*. Villagers chanted Mei's name, not Lian's.
"No… this isn't how it happened," Mei whispered.
Old Varos pointed at *her*, not Lian. "The cursed one must die!"
Lian lunged, but his shadowflame fizzled. The Eclipse Core flashed:
**[Memory Lock: Host's abilities restricted to match the past.]**
Serra grabbed his arm. "Don't interfere! The labyrinth twists truths to break you!"
The villagers dragged Mei to the altar. Lian fought, but his fists passed through them like smoke.
"This isn't real!" Mei screamed as the blade descended.
The Memory Warden's voice echoed. **"Is it not? You've wondered, haven't you? What if he'd let you die?"**
The dagger struck.
Mei gasped—but no blood spilled. Instead, shadows erupted from her chest, devouring the villagers. She stared at her hands, now clawed and dripping void.
**[Memory Corrupted: Mei's Pact Origin Reimagined]**
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 25%]**
"Liar!" Lian roared. He shattered a glass shard underfoot, and the scene dissolved. The labyrinth recoiled, walls bleeding silvery fluid.
The Warden's mirror cracked. **"You resist? Then suffer your *true* memory."**
The glass reformed, showing Lian's curse-mark awakening—but this time, Mei stood beside him, her hand pressed to his chest.
*"I'll take the pain for you,"* memory-Mei whispered.
A shadow surged from Lian's mark into *her*.
The real Mei staggered. "I… I don't remember this!"
**[Revelation: Pact's True Origin Unlocked]**
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 30%]**
Lian's blood ran cold. "That never happened!"
**"Didn't it?"** the Warden crooned. **"Why does the Core hunger for her soul, little thief? You gave her to it first."**
The Eclipse Core flickered guiltily.
Serra swore, hurling a Bloodbane dagger at the mirror. "Don't listen! It's weaponizing doubt!"
The dagger struck true. Cracks spiderwebbed across the glass, and the Warden howled.
**"You dare—!"**
Lian moved. Channeling the Divine Spark, he slammed his glowing fist into the mirror. Golden light fused with shadowflame, engulfing the Warden in a storm of fire and fractured time.
**[Memory Warden Defeated!]**
**[Reward: Memoryshard (Allows one-time replay of any memory)]**
**[Divine Spark Synchronization: 20%]**
The labyrinth shuddered, walls collapsing into sand. The Second Gate materialized ahead—a pulsating archway of liquid shadow.
Mei collapsed, corruption snaking up her neck. "Lian… what did we do?"
He knelt, clutching the Memoryshard. "We'll fix this. I'll undo everything."
Serra yanked him back. "Don't. Messing with memories is how the labyrinth traps you forever."
Before he could argue, the ground erupted. The Devourer descended—reborn, its wings stitched from labyrinth glass, its maw dripping void.
**[Evolved Threat: Devourer of Memories (Tier 3)]**
Serra nocked an arrow. "Go! I'll hold it off!"
"You'll die!" Mei protested.
"Better than becoming *that*." Serra fired, Bloodbane crystals strapped to her arrows. "The Gate's open! Go!"
Lian hauled Mei toward the archway. The Devourer lunged, but Serra's final arrow detonated a pillar, burying it under rubble.
As the Gate's shadows swallowed them, Lian glimpsed Serra's smirk—and the Eclipse Core's sigil glowing faintly on her dagger.
**[Alert: Traitor Identified]**
**[Serra Veyen – Eclipse Core Affinity Detected]**
---
The Second Gate spat them into a derelict temple, its pillars carved with Eclipse Core runes. Mei's corruption had reached her jawline.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 35%]**
Lian activated the Memoryshard. The night of his curse played—but Mei wasn't there.
"It lied," he breathed. "The Warden twisted the memory."
Mei smiled weakly. "I know."
A voice clapped from the shadows. **"Touching. But she'll be dead by dawn."**
The Hooded Man materialized, holding a vial of swirling void. **"The antidote. In exchange for the Memoryshard."**
Lian's shadowflame ignited. "You planned this. The labyrinth, Serra—all of it."
**"Plans within plans."** He tossed the vial. **"The shard, thief. Or watch her fade."**
Mei grabbed the vial and drank. The corruption receded to her collarbone.
**[Mei's Pact Corruption: 35% (Stabilized)]**
The Hooded Man reclaimed the Memoryshard. **"Next time, you won't escape the truth."**
He vanished.
Mei gripped Lian's arm. "Serra… she's one of *them*."
"I know." Lian stared at the Eclipse Core's interface, now glitching ominously.
**[New Objective: Locate Serra Veyen – Terminate Traitor]**
---