Sosuke's pace down the dark corridor slowed until his legs buckled, sending him crashing to the ground. Ryoma fell with him, landing hard on his side. Sosuke's head lolled toward the distant light flickering at the tunnel's end — their only escape.
"Come on, Sosuke. We can make it out together!" Ryoma's voice trembled with desperation. He tried to push himself up, but his mangled legs refused to move. No matter how hard he fought, his body wouldn't obey.
Sosuke rolled onto his back, staring up at the black stone ceiling. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. He clutched his wound. It didn't hurt anymore. That scared him. Lifting his hand, he saw it coated in blood. His vision blurred, darkness swallowing the edges of his world as consciousness slipped away.
Arthur, Lyra, and Rin ventured down a corridor that shifted before their eyes. The black stone gave way to a vast, beautiful void. It felt like they stood on air, with star-like motes floating lazily around them. Rin reached out, touching one. It burst into a soft ethereal light, fading into the darkness.
"What is this place?" Rin asked, her voice hushed.
Arthur stared into the endless expanse. "I think... we're being accepted. This labyrinth isn't evil. It's testing us. You guys cleared a challenge, and now it's welcoming you. We're being rewarded before we leave."
"How do you know all this?" Lyra frowned.
Arthur hesitated. "I faced another challenge before I found you. Let's just say... it changed me. After that, I realized this place wouldn't have helped me if its purpose was to kill us."
Rin laughed softly, popping more floating stars with her fingertips. "It's kinda pretty."
Lyra glanced around uneasily. "We should go. I have a bad feeling about the others. I can't even sense my spirit right now."
A bright crimson path of energy formed beneath their feet, leading toward the void's end. They followed in silence, taking in the strange beauty around them. The path ended at a massive white door adorned with glowing runes.
"You think this is the way out?" Rin asked.
Arthur pressed his palm against the cold surface. "Only one way to find out."
The doors creaked open, revealing a vast icy forest. Snowflakes drifted down in lazy spirals.
"Fresh air!" Lyra sprinted out into the cold, spreading her arms wide. "I never thought I'd miss this freezing weather. I hate winter in Astoria already."
Arthur stepped out after her and turned to study the door. It stood alone, a portal to the labyrinth they had escaped. "I guess we're the first out."
"We failed," Rin muttered, dropping into the snow. "We didn't get anything out of this."
Arthur's brow furrowed. He had gained something invaluable — another chance to see his mother. That was enough.
Lyra crossed her arms, watching him closely. "I expected you to be more frustrated. What's up with you?"
"Nothing," Arthur said quietly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Another door shimmered into existence, its runes glowing softly.
"Wonder who that is," Lyra said.
The doors opened, and Ren, Reid, and Milo emerged.
"That whole place was easy," Reid yawned. "Kinda boring, actually."
Ren shot him a glare. "The mission was a failure. We were baited here and fell for it."
"Baited?" Rin frowned. "Lance Sterling wouldn't expect us to die in some ancient labyrinth. If this was a trap, there has to be more to it. What was the true purpose?"
"Could mean we're still not safe," Lyra muttered.
"Where are Sosuke and Ryoma?" Reid asked.
"We split up," Lyra said. "There was a fork in the path, and... I lost contact with my spirit." Her eyes widened. "What if Sosuke was the target?"
Rin stiffened. "That makes sense. They split us up to get Sosuke alone. Damn it!" She stood, brushing the snow off her coat. "What do we do?"
Arthur's expression darkened. "Nothing. If we go back in, the labyrinth will shift again. We'd be lost for hours."
Another door shimmered into view. The tension thickened as everyone turned toward it. Slowly, the doors creaked open.
Ryoma stumbled out, bloodied and broken.
"Ryoma!" Lyra and Rin rushed to his side, helping him to the ground against a tree.
"What the hell happened?!" Rin demanded. "Where's Sosuke?!"
Lyra placed her hands on his legs, channeling her mana to heal his wounds. Ryoma's face was pale, eyes empty.
"I... I don't know," Ryoma whispered. "I woke up and he was gone. We were attacked. A woman. Said she was an Imperial Knight from Astoria."
Rin clenched her fists. "Damn it. He can't be dead."
"If he was dead, his body would be there." Arthur's voice was calm, steady. "He was captured."
Rin turned back to Ryoma. She brushed his hair from his face, her eyes softening. "You're not dying here. You're an Estrella. Estrellas don't die easy."
Ryoma chuckled bitterly, the sound barely more than a rasp. "I'm hardly one."
"What do you mean?" Rin asked.
Ryoma stared into the snow. "I was abandoned. A failure. I grew up an orphan until some shitty family adopted me. They wanted a perfect son. I wasn't"
His breath hitched. "I couldn't save him. If he's dead... it's because of me. I wasn't strong enough." Tears welled in his eyes, slipping silently down his bloodied face. "He believed in me. And I failed him."
Rin knelt beside him, her fingers curling gently around his trembling shoulder. "You didn't fail him. He wouldn't want you to think that. We'll get him back." Her voice was quiet but firm, a promise carved into the frozen air.
Ryoma's eyes, glazed and distant, barely flicked toward her. "How do we leave this place without Sosuke?" Rin asked, her voice cracking under the weight of uncertainty.
"I have no idea," Lyra replied softly.
Two days dragged by. They trudged through the snowy forest, the cold biting at their faces and stiffening their limbs. Ryoma's wounds had mostly healed, though deep scars marred his legs, each step a reminder of the fight they'd barely survived. The weather only grew worse, heavy snow swirling around them, cloaking the trees in a white shroud and ruining what little visibility they had. Ren alone seemed unaffected, his silver eyes sharp, scanning the blinding white like it was an open book.
Then, without warning, a portal tore open before them — tall, dark, and pulsing with energy so thick it pressed against their chests. The snowstorm shrank back from its power, the world falling eerily still.
They all felt it. The wrongness.
"No! Why, why now?!" Rin screamed, her voice barely carrying over the howling wind.
A shadow shifted behind the veil of snow, slow and deliberate. The figure emerged, black against white, his form barely visible through the storm. But the voice? That voice was unmistakable. Cold. Calculating. Menacing.
"It's the end of the road here." Silas.
The air grew heavy, each breath colder than the last. Ren moved first, faster than thought, his dagger flashing into his hand. He slashed through the air, and the snow obeyed, scattering in a wide arc as if pushed by an unseen force. His magic bent the blizzard to his will.
Silas barely flinched, his dark armor gleaming like obsidian beneath the muted light. "You're clearly the strongest right now, Snow Boy." His lips curled into a sneer. "You irritated me last we met, so you're first, unfortunately."
From the shadows, Silas reached into the air, and the darkness answered. A blade, pure black, emerged from nothingness. It hummed with dark energy, its edge devouring the light around it.
"Step back!" Ren shouted, his voice cutting through the wind. His eyes never left Silas. "I don't want anyone to die. Not by his hand."
In a heartbeat, they clashed. Weapons met with a deafening crack, the force of the impact sending shockwaves through the snow, lifting debris and ice into the air. Ren moved like the wind — fast, precise — his dagger glowing with icy blue mana.
"Critical Strike," he whispered.
Mana surged through his blade, ice crystals forming along its edge. He leaped, spinning through the air, his movements fluid and sharp. His dagger sliced toward Silas's back, striking true. The impact rang out, metal on metal, but not without effect. A jagged crack spread along Silas's armor.
Silas turned, unnaturally fast, his blade sweeping through the air in a dark arc. Ren barely managed to parry, the force of the blow sending him skidding backward across the snow. He dug his heels in, cold biting through his boots.
Ren exhaled sharply, his breath misting before him. "That was just a test."
Silas tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "I underestimated your rate of growth." His grip tightened on his blade. "Very well. I'll adjust."
Ren smirked faintly, eyes gleaming. "I'm surprised you're still focused on me. The others aren't even prepared to fight." He gestured subtly toward the group watching from afar, their expressions a mix of fear and awe.
Silas scoffed. "I'm an honorable warrior. This is our fight." He raised his blade in salute. "I wouldn't resort to such cheap tactics."
Ren's smirk faded. "Then let's begin."
Slowly, deliberately, he raised his dagger to his neck. The cold steel bit into his skin, drawing a thin line of crimson. Blood dripped down the blade, soaking into the hilt. The weapon pulsed in response, its form shifting.
The dagger grew, lengthening into a pristine white sword. Intricate designs danced along the handle, faint silver etchings shimmering beneath the falling snow. Two short ribbons unfurled from the pommel, fluttering softly in the icy wind.
Ren held the weapon aloft, feeling its power resonate through his veins. His eyes met Silas's, and the snowstorm stilled. Silence fell over the forest.
The cold pressed against Ren's skin, biting deep into his bones, but in this frozen forest, he felt alive. The snow swirled around him, responding to his presence like an old friend. Silas stood across the clearing, his obsidian blade glinting darkly against the pale backdrop, and the howling wind filled the silence between them.
Ren tightened his grip on the newly transformed white sword. The ribbons trailing from its hilt danced in the wind, and his silver eyes glimmered with icy resolve. Snowflakes clung to his white hair as he crouched low, feeling the mana surge through him. The cold amplified his senses, the frost sharpening his focus.
Silas tilted his head, watching Ren with a predator's patience. "Are you done admiring the snow, boy?"
Ren surged forward. The snow beneath him parted, a frozen gust propelling him faster than any normal step. He was a blur of white against the storm, his blade arcing toward Silas in a flash of ice-blue mana. Silas met him head-on, obsidian steel crashing against Ren's sword with a deafening clang.
Ren slid past him, snow curling behind his heels. He twisted, ice magic coiling around his weapon as he muttered an incantation under his breath. "Frostfang Crescent." The sword glowed, sending out a sweeping arc of frozen energy.
Silas sidestepped, but the icy wave grazed his armor, frost creeping along the dark metal. He glanced down, unimpressed. "Not bad."
Ren pressed the attack, feeling the cold seeping into his veins like liquid strength. The blizzard thickened around them, ice forming along his sword's edge. Each step he took was faster, each swing sharper. Silas parried with practiced ease, but Ren's movements grew more unpredictable, the snow answering his every command.
A flurry of slashes kept Silas on the defensive, Ren darting around him like a ghost. His blade left trails of frost in the air, each clash of steel sending sparks skittering across the ice. Silas swung wide, his dark sword slicing through the storm, but Ren ducked low, feeling the wind of the blow whistle past his head.
Ren spun, his blade finding a gap in Silas' armor. The white sword bit deep into flesh.
Silas hissed. He leapt back, hand clutching his side where crimson stained the snow. For a moment, he stared at the blood on his fingertips, then chuckled darkly.
"Impressive," Silas said. "I suppose it's only fair I show you something in return."
The crimson droplets lifted from his wound, suspended in the freezing air. Silas's dark mana twisted around them, the blood bending unnaturally to his will. It danced along the length of his blade, forming jagged crimson veins across the black steel.
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Blood magic."
"Let's see how long you last against it," Silas whispered, stepping forward. "White Star."