Chapter 26: The Labyrinth of Glass Roots
The Tower of Echoes loomed in the distant skyline as a beacon of mystery and promise. With the forest behind them and night folding in, Kael and his companions stood at the edge of a strange valley where the ground shimmered like crystal, and glowing veins of energy snaked through the earth.
"This doesn't feel right," Aera whispered, her breath visible in the suddenly cool air.
"It's like the land itself is... aware," said Hiro, his hand resting near the hilt of his dagger.
The valley was known in ancient texts as the Labyrinth of Glass Roots—a relic of a war between old kingdoms and magical beasts. According to the Mark's guidance, they had to cross it to find the Guardian Seer, one of the beings capable of reading the full truth of the ancient prophecy tied to their marks.
Kael's monkey companion, Lumi, chittered nervously, its four tails flicking in all directions. Its glowing blue whiskers pulsed softly, reacting to the energies buried in the soil.
"It's reacting to something," Kael said. "Maybe a magical boundary?"
They took their first steps into the labyrinth, the air tightening around them like a whispered warning. Each step sparked tiny threads of light beneath their feet, revealing long-forgotten glyphs in the ground. The deeper they ventured, the more the environment twisted.
The landscape shifted in unsettling ways—trees growing upside down, stones floating gently, and reflections of the party members appearing in places they weren't standing. Time felt uncertain here, warped and stretched like taffy.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
From beneath the crystalline roots, creatures emerged. Shardsprites. Glowing, insect-like guardians of the labyrinth, constructed from hardened light and ancient glass.
Aera held her hands up, conjuring wind magic to push the first wave back. Hiro drew his blade, slashing through the air with speed, while Saria used a binding spell that Kael hadn't seen her attempt before—glowing silver threads latching onto the enemies and halting their movement.
Kael closed his eyes and called to the Mark.
What must I do? he thought.
The mark on his hand burned faintly, and a vision appeared in his mind—a glass flower blooming at the center of the labyrinth. He saw Lumi sitting beside it, its tails glowing bright as starlight.
He opened his eyes. "There's a core flower in the center. If we reach it, this whole trap might end."
They broke into a sprint, Lumi guiding them through the maze with eerie precision, choosing invisible paths, avoiding hidden glyph traps, and staying ahead of the waves of Shardsprites.
But the final stretch brought them to a dead end—a spiraling tower of roots and crystal walls, forming an organic prison.
"There!" Kael pointed.
The flower.
Suspended in the center of the prison was the glowing glass flower, humming with power. Lumi jumped from Kael's shoulder and landed lightly before it. The flower reacted—its petals unfolded, revealing a glowing orb inside.
And from the orb... a voice spoke.
"You have reached the Root of Time. You who bear the Mark must answer this question: What is the cost of power without purpose?"
Kael stepped forward, the words striking something deep inside him.
"Destruction," he said. "If power has no purpose, it only serves chaos."
Silence followed.
Then the orb cracked.
Light exploded outward, and the entire labyrinth began to shift. The creatures faded, the twisted reflections vanished, and a hidden door appeared behind the now-wilted flower.
They stepped through.
Beyond the door, they found a chamber where the Guardian Seer slept, sealed in crystal.
And above the Seer, etched in stone, were the numbers: 0169.
Kael shivered. Not because of the cold, but because the number was finally speaking again.
The mark on his hand flared.
The age of answers is beginning.
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