"Start."
We ran.
No hesitation. No plan. Just movement.
The corridors twisted immediately, bending in ways that made it impossible to tell if we were moving forward or circling back. The walls pulsed faintly, the same steady rhythm as the temple—but here it felt closer. Tighter. Like it was breathing around us.
"Left!" I called.
"Why?" Nikolai shot back.
"Because it feels right!"
"That's not a reason!"
"Do you have a better one?!"
"…No."
We went left.
The path narrowed, then widened, then split into three.
Then four.
Then—
One.
We both stopped.
"…That's not normal," I said.
"It's reacting," Nikolai replied. "Or correcting."
"To what?"
He didn't answer.
Because we both heard it.
Footsteps.
Behind us.
I turned—
And froze.
It was me.
Running toward us.
Same stride. Same posture. Same face—
Except for the smile.
Too wide.
Too certain.
"…No," I muttered.
"Don't engage," Nikolai said immediately.
"Wasn't planning on it."
The other me slowed.
Tilted its head.
"You're going the wrong way," it said.
Its voice sounded like mine—but not quite.
"Turn around."
We didn't.
"Run," Nikolai said.
We ran.
Faster this time.
The labyrinth shifted violently. Walls bent inward, paths collapsed behind us, and the ground sloped just enough to throw off our footing.
The thing behind us didn't slow down.
It got closer.
"Why is it faster?!" I snapped.
"Because it doesn't need to think!" Nikolai replied.
We turned a corner—
And the ground vanished.
We dropped.
Not far—but enough to knock the air out of me.
I hit the stone hard and rolled, scrambling back to my feet just as the thing landed behind us.
Still smiling.
Still wrong.
I reached inward.
That spark—
"Dispello—"
Nothing.
The word fell flat.
"…That didn't work."
"We don't know how to cast yet," Nikolai said sharply.
"Then now would be a great time to learn!"
We ran again—
And stepped forward.
The world flipped.
No warning.
No transition.
One moment upright—
The next—
Upside down.
I slammed into the surface beneath me—above me—whatever it was.
And froze.
Completely.
"…Nope," I said.
"Not moving."
"I can see that," Nikolai replied.
I tried anyway.
Nothing.
Not my arms.
Not my legs.
Only my head.
Only my jaw.
The thing walked toward us.
Calm.
Unhurried.
"You won't make it out," it said.
"You don't know how."
I clenched my teeth.
"Neither do you."
It smiled wider.
Then—
Another voice filled the labyrinth.
Different.
Older.
Everywhere at once.
"Casting is simple enough…"
The sound pressed into the walls, into the floor, into us.
"But when I set this trap, I knew you children couldn't cast… or draw the power from within yourselves to break it."
I shut my eyes.
There had to be something.
Anything.
And then—
I felt it.
A spark.
Faint.
Deep inside.
"…Nikolai," I said quietly. "I think I found something."
"Then don't force it," he replied. "Reach for it."
I took a breath.
Focused.
Instead of pulling—
I reached.
The spark responded.
Expanded.
Barely.
But enough.
"Dimittis… nos."
Nikolai spoke with me.
The moment the words left us—
The world snapped.
Gravity returned.
We dropped hard to the ground.
The copy shattered like glass.
Gone.
I pushed myself up, breathing hard.
"…Okay," I said. "That's new."
"Yes," Nikolai replied. "It is."
I stood slowly.
Energy still buzzing inside me.
"Let's keep moving."
"Carefully."
"Where's the fun in that?"
I focused again.
More controlled now.
"Investigare locum."
A light flared above us.
Floating.
Glowing.
I stepped forward.
It followed.
"…That's not helpful," I said.
"It's tracking something," Nikolai replied.
"Yeah. Us."
We stopped.
The light stayed exactly where we were.
I frowned.
"…Wait."
"What?"
"What if we're not moving?"
He looked at me.
"…Explain."
"What if the labyrinth isn't changing," I said slowly. "What if we are?"
Before he could respond—
A scream echoed somewhere in the maze.
Sharp.
Panicked.
"…please—just—"
Gone.
Cut off instantly.
We both froze.
"They got removed," Nikolai said.
"Or lost."
"Same outcome."
Silence pressed in.
Heavy.
The light still hovered above us.
Unmoving.
"…Say it out loud," Nikolai said.
"What?"
"What you think is happening."
I hesitated.
Then—
"What if none of this is real?"
The moment I said it—
The world warped.
The walls bent.
The light flickered.
And suddenly—
Nikolai was gone.
My chest tightened instantly.
"Nikolai?!"
No answer.
The labyrinth stretched endlessly.
Perfect.
Too perfect.
Wrong.
No.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
I clenched my fists.
Found the spark again—
Stronger now.
I grabbed onto it.
Didn't hesitate.
Poured everything into it.
Fear.
Frustration.
Trust.
"Dispello!"
The world shattered.
Instantly.
The labyrinth collapsed—
And I was back in the temple.
The chamber.
The pulsing walls.
The acolytes.
Frozen.
Eyes unfocused.
Still inside.
I turned—
And Nikolai stood beside me.
Calm.
Like he had never been gone.
He gave a small smile.
"Looks like I wasn't too far behind you."
Relief hit me hard.
I let out a breath.
At the front of the chamber, the High Priest watched us.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Welcome back," he said.
"You are the first to finish."
I looked around.
Dozens of acolytes.
Still trapped.
Still lost.
Still believing they were somewhere else.
And for the first time—
I understood.
We hadn't escaped the labyrinth.
We had seen through it.