For a few seconds, none of us moved.
Then one of the adventurers stepped forward.
His foot crossed the threshold, and the moment it touched the ground outside, he stopped and stared at the open sky.
Another followed.
Then another.
Within moments, the entire group began pouring through the gate.
Some walked quickly, as if afraid the labyrinth might change its mind and close again. Others simply stood there, breathing deeply, unable to believe that they had actually made it out.
The sunlight felt strange after so much time underground.
I raised my eyes toward the sky.
It was clear.
No stone ceiling.
No narrow corridors.
No magical barriers.
Just an open expanse of blue above us.
The surviving adventurers gathered around the entrance, looking back at the enormous stone gate as though expecting it to suddenly disappear.
Nobody spoke for a while.
They had entered the Dymas expecting a challenge.
Some had entered for fame.
Others for money.
A few had probably believed that they were strong enough to conquer anything placed before them.
Yet only a fraction of those who had entered were now standing outside.
I glanced at Niel.
He was still staring at the entrance.
His shoulders were tense, and although he was trying to hide it, I could tell that he had not completely recovered from what had happened inside.
I reached beneath my clothes and pulled out the necklace.
Niel immediately noticed it.
His eyes widened.
I held it toward him.
"Take it."
He looked at me as though he had misunderstood.
"What?"
"The necklace."
He hesitated before looking at the artifact in my hand.
"But this is what you came here for."
"I know."
"Then why are you giving it to me?"
"Because you need the reward more than I do."
Niel stared at me in silence.
I remembered what he had told me before we entered the Dymas.
His mother was sick.
The money promised by the guild for retrieving the necklace was enough to pay for her treatment.
Without that money, he had no reason to have entered the labyrinth in the first place.
"You earned it," I said.
Niel slowly extended his hand and accepted the necklace.
He closed his fingers around it.
For the first time since I had met him, his expression softened completely.
"Thank you."
I gave him a brief nod.
The moment the other adventurers noticed the necklace in Niel's hand, however, their expressions changed.
One of them stepped closer.
"Wait."
Another looked directly at the necklace.
"Is that the real one?"
Niel's fingers tightened around it.
The reaction spread quickly.
The adventurers who had been celebrating their escape began looking at him differently.
Their exhaustion seemed to disappear.
A man with a scar across his cheek stepped forward.
"You were the one who took it?"
Niel did not answer.
Another adventurer moved to his side.
"If that's the necklace, then the guild's reward belongs to whoever brings it back."
"Exactly."
Their voices grew louder.
I remained still.
Three men moved closer.
Then two more.
Within seconds, Niel and I were surrounded.
Niel's breathing became heavier.
He looked from one face to another, clearly uncertain about what to do.
His hand remained closed around the necklace.
I placed myself slightly in front of him.
"You should think carefully before doing something stupid."
The men ignored me.
One of them smiled.
"We spent just as much time inside that place as you did. We deserve a share."
"Then you should have found the necklace yourselves."
His expression hardened.
"We can still take it."
Niel's eyes moved toward me.
He looked nervous.
He did not say anything.
I did not draw my weapon.
There was no reason to.
A strange sensation had already begun spreading through the air behind the group.
I felt it before anyone else noticed.
The shadows beneath the adventurers' feet moved.
Not because of the sunlight.
They moved on their own.
I remained completely calm.
The man in front of me took another step.
"Hand it over."
Behind him, something emerged from the darkness.
A black shape rose silently from the ground.
Then another.
Then several more.
The first creature seized the nearest adventurer from behind.
He barely had time to scream.
A dark claw pierced through his chest.
The others turned.
Their faces changed instantly.
More creatures had appeared behind them.
They were made almost entirely of shadow, their forms thin and distorted, with no clear features except for faintly glowing eyes.
The group scattered.
One man tried to run.
A shadow creature appeared in front of him.
Another tried to draw his sword.
He never managed to raise it.
The attack lasted only a few seconds.
There was no prolonged struggle.
The creatures struck with brutal efficiency, then dissolved back into the shadows from which they had emerged.
Silence returned.
Only a few seconds had passed.
Niel stood frozen beside me.
His face had gone pale.
I looked around.
The ground was covered with the remains of the men who had surrounded us moments earlier.
Niel swallowed.
He looked at me.
I could see the question in his eyes.
I raised a hand.
"Don't."
He immediately stopped.
He understood that I did not want to discuss it.
We began walking.
Neither of us looked back.
For several minutes, we followed the road leading away from the Dymas.
The sounds of the other survivors gradually disappeared behind us.
Niel remained unusually quiet.
Eventually, he broke the silence.
"Was that..."
He stopped.
I continued walking.
"You saw what happened."
"I know. I just..."
He shook his head.
"Never mind."
We continued.
The farther we moved from the labyrinth, the more signs of civilization began appearing around us.
Roads became wider.
Buildings appeared in the distance.
People walked between them.
The Dymas had been isolated from the city, but it seemed that the rest of Andomeda had continued moving normally while we were inside.
I remembered something.
"There's something I want to ask you."
Niel glanced at me.
"The woman."
"What woman?"
"The one I met when I first arrived here."
He waited.
"She told me she had already passed the Dymas."
Niel stared at me for a moment.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly.
It was a short, sarcastic laugh.
"You believed her?"
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"She never entered the Dymas."
I stopped walking.
Niel continued with a smile.
"Neither did most of those people."
I looked back toward the distant labyrinth.
"What?"
"They were frauds."
"Frauds?"
"People hired to pretend they were adventurers."
He seemed almost amused by the confusion on my face.
"They wear old clothes, make themselves look exhausted, act like they're mentally unstable, and approach foreigners who have come to participate in the Dymas event."
I remembered the woman.
Her appearance.
Her behavior.
The way she had spoken as though she had survived something terrible.
I finally understood.
"But why would anyone do that?"
Niel shrugged.
"The Dymas event happens every year. It's supposed to be an opportunity for adventurers to prove themselves and compete for the rewards."
He paused.
"But the locals don't want to enter."
"Why?"
"Because they know what happens inside."
His expression became more serious.
"The Dymas has been around for a long time. Every year, the authorities announce the event, but hardly anyone from Andomeda is willing to participate. The labyrinth has killed too many people."
"So they hire people to pretend?"
"Yes."
Niel laughed again.
"They need participants to make the event look legitimate. Most of the people who enter aren't even from Andomeda."
I looked toward the city ahead.
"So the people I saw before entering..."
"Were probably actors."
"Probably?"
"Some are hired directly. Others simply pretend to be crazy or desperate because they know foreigners are easier to deceive."
He shrugged.
"It's a business."
That explained more than I expected.
The strange people near the entrance.
The exaggerated stories.
The woman who claimed she had conquered the Dymas.
None of it had been real.
We continued walking.
After a while, Niel pointed toward a large building ahead.
"There."
I followed his gaze.
A large sign hung above the entrance.
The Adventurers' Guild.
We entered together.
The interior was far calmer than I expected.
Several adventurers were sitting around wooden tables, while others stood near a large board covered with notices and requests.
Niel approached the counter.
A woman was standing behind it.
She looked to be somewhere in her thirties, perhaps approaching forty. Her dark hair was tied behind her head, and her expression was professional rather than welcoming.
Niel placed the necklace on the counter.
"I've returned with the Dymas necklace."
The woman's expression changed immediately.
She carefully picked it up and examined it.
Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the surface, then she turned it over and checked the markings.
After a moment, she looked at Niel.
"Come with me."
She placed the necklace in a small case and stepped out from behind the counter.
"Both of you."
Niel looked at me.
I followed.
We walked through a narrow hallway until we reached a large wooden door.
The woman knocked twice.
"Enter."
She opened the door.
Inside was a spacious office.
An older man sat behind a desk covered with documents.
He looked up.
His eyes immediately moved toward the case in the woman's hand.
"Is it authentic?"
"Yes."
She placed the case on his desk and opened it.
The man's expression became more serious.
He lifted the necklace and examined it carefully.
After several moments, he placed it back on the desk.
"Your name?"
"Niel."
"Family name?"
Niel gave it to him.
The man wrote something down.
"You entered the Dymas with a group?"
"Yes."
"And you returned with the necklace."
"Yes."
The director leaned back.
"You understand that the guild cannot simply pay anyone who claims to have retrieved an artifact. There are procedures."
"I understand."
The director looked at the woman.
She handed him a document.
He read it, then looked back at Niel.
"The authentication is complete. The necklace is genuine."
Niel's shoulders relaxed slightly.
The director opened a drawer and removed a sealed pouch.
He placed it on the desk.
"This is your reward."
Niel looked at the pouch.
"Is this enough for the treatment?"
The director nodded.
"According to the information submitted when you registered for the event, yes. It should cover the cost."
Niel picked up the pouch carefully.
He held it for a moment without opening it.
"Thank you."
The director nodded.
"Use it well."
We left the office shortly afterward.
Once we returned to the main hall, Niel finally allowed himself to breathe normally.
He looked at the pouch in his hand.
Then at me.
"I don't know what to say."
"You already said thank you."
"I mean it this time."
I smiled faintly.
"You did more for me inside the Dymas than you realize."
Niel shook his head.
"If you hadn't chosen me as your companion, I wouldn't have survived that place."
"You survived because you were useful."
He laughed.
"That's one way of saying it."
We stepped outside the guild.
The streets were busier now.
People moved between the buildings, merchants called out to passing customers, and carriages traveled along the main road.
Niel looked toward the distance.
"I should go."
"Where?"
"My home."
He adjusted the pouch beneath his clothes.
"My mother is waiting."
I nodded.
He turned and began walking.
After a few steps, he stopped and looked back.
"Thank you for choosing me as your companion."
I raised my hand slightly.
"Take care of her."
"I will."
Niel smiled.
Then he turned around and continued down the street.
I watched him disappear among the people.
For the first time since entering the Dymas, there was nothing immediately chasing us.
No monsters.
No traps.
No countdown.
No desperate battle.
Just the ordinary streets of Andomeda.
I turned away from the guild and began walking in the opposite direction.
The labyrinth was behind me.
The necklace was no longer in my possession.
Yet the fragment of power I had recovered remained within me.
And somewhere ahead, beyond this city, there were still answers I needed.
I continued walking without looking back.