The corridors of the First Trial swallowed thousands of contestants within seconds.
Screams echoed almost immediately.
Some came from fear.
Most came from something else.
Something moving in the darkness.
High above the labyrinth, inside the throne chamber, the Queen watched through floating projections that showed every corridor of the maze.
Her empire's greatest entertainment had begun.
She rested her chin lightly on her hand, observing the chaos.
"Predictable," she murmured.
Then one of the projections caught her eye.
A man sprinting through the tunnels, cutting down two creatures with brutal efficiency.
"Contestant 347," Vaelis said beside her. "Former arena champion from Varkon Prime."
She watched him for a few seconds.
Then looked away.
"Boring."
Another projection showed a figure moving quietly through the shadows, avoiding fights entirely.
"A thief from Rath IX," Vaelis added.
The Queen sighed.
"Also boring."
But among the thousands, five figures began to stand out.
---
1. Kael Varyn
Kael moved like a storm.
Tall, broad-shouldered, and covered in battle scars, he carried a massive blade forged from black star-steel. Every creature that lunged at him died within seconds.
He laughed while fighting.
Blood splattered across the corridor walls as he carved his way forward.
"COME ON!" he roared into the darkness.
"Is that all your queen has?"
The creatures answered him.
Many of them.
---
2. Soren Vale
Soren didn't fight unless he had to.
Lean, sharp-eyed, and dressed in dark traveler's armor, he moved through the maze like a shadow. He studied the tunnels, memorized the patterns, and slipped past danger whenever possible.
When one of the creatures dropped from the ceiling above him—
He didn't panic.
He stabbed upward once.
Clean. Efficient.
Then continued walking.
"Survival," he whispered to himself.
"Not heroics."
---
3. Darius Sol
Darius looked like he belonged on a throne already.
Golden armor. Perfect posture. A noble face that seemed sculpted for statues.
The prince of a distant star kingdom.
He moved carefully but confidently, cutting through enemies with elegant sword strikes.
Even in the middle of a monster-filled labyrinth, he looked composed.
"If I survive this," he muttered under his breath,
"That crown is already mine."
---
4. Rowan Thorne
Rowan was different.
He didn't rush forward.
He studied everything.
The walls. The creatures. The sounds in the distance.
A hunter's mind.
When one of the monsters crept toward him through the shadows—
He was already waiting.
His blade flashed once.
The creature collapsed.
Rowan wiped the blood from his knife and kept walking.
Silent. Focused.
---
5. The Ancient One
Far deeper in the maze…
Someone walked slowly.
No rushing.
No panic.
Just calm footsteps echoing through the corridor.
A tall man with dark hair that fell loosely around his face.
His coat moved softly behind him as he walked.
And the creatures?
They hesitated when they saw him.
One lunged anyway.
His hand moved faster than the eye could follow.
The creature's neck snapped instantly.
He sighed faintly.
"So impatient."
His eyes glowed faintly red in the darkness.
A vampire.
Older than most civilizations.
He smiled slightly.
"So… she is finally bored."
Then he continued walking through the maze like someone taking a quiet evening stroll.
---
Back in the throne chamber, the Queen suddenly leaned forward.
"Wait."
Vaelis glanced at her.
"Which one, Your Majesty?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes were locked onto one projection.
The vampire walking calmly through the labyrinth.
Something about him felt… different.
Ancient.
Confident.
Unimpressed.
She studied his face more closely.
And for the first time since the trials began—
The Queen smiled with genuine interest.
"Who is he?"
Vaelis checked the imperial scanners.
His brow furrowed.
"That is… strange."
"What?"
"There is no record of him."
The Queen's red eyes narrowed.
"No name?"
"No origin."
"No history."
The man on the screen stopped walking for a moment.
Slowly, he lifted his head.
As if he could feel someone watching.
His gaze locked directly with the projection lens.
With her.
For a brief moment—
It felt like he was looking straight into the throne room.
The Queen felt something unfamiliar stir in her chest.
Amusement.
Interest.
Maybe even curiosity.
She leaned back slightly, crossing one elegant leg over the other.
The movement caused her long silver-black hair to fall over one shoulder.
Even Vaelis, who had served her for two thousand years, still occasionally forgot how dangerously beautiful she was.
Her name had once terrified entire civilizations.
Queen Nythera Valerys.
The Eternal Queen of the Blood Empire.
Her beauty was the kind that legends tried and failed to describe.
Pale skin like moonlight.
Eyes glowing crimson like dying stars.
Lips the color of fresh blood.
A face so perfect it felt almost unreal.
Entire worlds had surrendered simply to avoid her attention.
And yet now—
She was staring at a man inside a maze.
"Interesting," she murmured.
The ancient vampire on the screen gave a faint smile.
Almost as if he knew.
Nythera rested her chin on her hand again.
"Yes," she said softly.
"You might be entertaining."
And deep inside the labyrinth—
The real game had only began...