The Labyrinth wasn't supposed to feel this alive.
Not just pulsing walls and flickering torches—the place breathed, shifted, and adjusted its thoughts. Yes, thoughts. Lucien could feel it like the phantom pressure of someone thinking behind your ear.
He didn't like it.
"You're being quiet," Caelum said, his voice just above a whisper.
Lucien, several steps ahead, tapped a gloved finger along the stone wall. The sigils here were subtle, clever. Not his style—but eerily familiar.
"Tell me something," Lucien muttered. "Do I give off the 'copy me and hope I don't notice' kind of vibe?"
"You give off the 'lazy genius who makes you feel stupid' vibe," Caelum replied.
Lucien turned back with a smirk. "Compliment accepted."
Then, without warning, he reached out and triggered a floating sigil with his bare hand.
The trap should have activated. Instead, it flickered, then glowed green. Green for recognition.
Caelum blinked. "Did you just get—welcomed?"
Lucien narrowed his eyes. "I don't like being welcomed into something I didn't build."
---
Down another corridor, Ira Moress was skipping.
Yes, skipping. Humming a tune that alternated between nursery rhyme and warped opera.
Renn whispered to Seraphina, "Is she always like this?"
"She's usually weird," Seraphina muttered. "Today, she's… unsettling."
Ira spun on her heel, looked at a completely blank stone wall, and said:
> "We shouldn't go that way. He's still watching us from that angle."
Lucien appeared from the corner. "Who's watching us?"
Ira blinked. "Oops. Did I say that out loud?"
She giggled. Then, deadpan:
> "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure he only eats people who wear red."
Renn looked down. He was wearing red.
---
Later, in a forked passageway lined with mirrors, Caelum called Lucien over.
"I found something," he said, pointing to a cracked tile.
Lucien bent down, brushing dust off an old memory sigil embedded in the floor. It pulsed weakly. Caelum activated it with a small drop of mana.
A projection played for two seconds.
A small boy—barefoot, quiet—stood over the early frame of the Labyrinth. Watching. Smiling faintly. The image vanished.
Lucien didn't move for a long moment.
> "That… might be me."
Caelum's eyes narrowed. "But you don't remember."
"I don't even remember the tea I had yesterday."
"You had ginger mint."
"Oh. Good choice, me."
---
Meanwhile, Seraphina cornered Lucien behind a collapsed arch.
"You need to tell me what you know."
"About?"
"About everything. The Architect. The Labyrinth. Why you keep dodging questions like you're allergic to the truth."
Lucien pretended to count on his fingers. "I might be allergic to certain types of honesty. The overly dramatic kind."
She sighed. "This isn't funny."
"Neither is being dragged into a magical dungeon by an ancient political cult," Lucien replied, still smiling. "But here we are."
Seraphina crossed her arms. "I don't trust this place. And I don't trust that you don't trust it."
"That's a lot of trust-trusting issues," Lucien said. "Therapy might help."
"Lucien—"
"I'll keep you alive. That's the only promise you're getting."
---
They walked deeper.
Past broken walls and breathing corridors.
Until Lucien stopped.
There, etched faintly beneath a sealed arch, was a single line:
> "Ruin doesn't design itself. ~A"
He stared at it for a long time.
> "I think someone's leaving me notes."
Caelum stepped beside him.
> "And they're better at your job than you."
"Impossible. I invented the job."
---
The group stepped through a narrow gap.
Behind them, the passage sealed. A floating sigil activated. None of them had touched it.
It shimmered in the air, then formed a single word in glowing gold:
> "Checkmate."
Lucien's smirk faded.
Everyone turned to him.
He raised both hands.
> "Okay. That one wasn't mine."
The Headmistress's private tower — midnight. Enchanted moonlight filters through silencing wards. A snowy owl perches on the balcony as Aurex Cain enters quietly, removing his hood-
Headmistress Elenora sat behind her crescent-desk, arms folded, reviewing a shimmering projection of student activity logs—specifically those near the sealed Labyrinth gate.
> Headmistress: "Too many anomalies. Magic doesn't lie… especially not this much."
She waved a hand, and the logs faded. The air rippled once.
> Elenora: "Seal the Labyrinth. Effective immediately. No students are to enter, research, or even mention it."
> Aurex Cain (dry): "So, we're pretending it was never reopened. Classic protocol."
L
> Elenora: "Sometimes the best magic is denial."
She stood, walked toward the northern stained-glass wall that overlooked the school grounds. Her gaze lingered, unusually thoughtful.
> Elenora: "Twenty years ago, a hidden ranker nearly collapsed this Academy. They infiltrated our systems, sabotaged internal duels, and led half the 4th years into rebellion. We buried that chapter."
> Aurex: "Until now."
> Elenora (softly): "I fear history is repeating."
> Elenora: "Page Sigil is moving again. I've confirmed it. But… we're not the only ones watching. It's time we activate the Order of the Veil fully. Inform the inner circle."
> Aurex (raising a brow): "You sure? Last time we 'activated fully,' Professor Mirein ended up stuck in a mirror dimension for three days."
> Elenora (smirks): "And learned the difference between 'illusion' and 'reflection.' Effective lesson."
> Elenora: "I want your honest opinion, Cain. Is there another hidden ranker here?"
Aurex didn't respond immediately. Instead, he moved to a console beside the wall and summoned a file—digitally sealed under "Top 5: Publicly Ranked."
He opened the student file of:
📄 MARTIN — Year 3 — Rank #1
Seen by no one
Attended no duel only tournaments
No known friends
Dorms alone — Roommate fled within a week
Suspected to be the Hidden ranker but not sure
> Aurex (flatly): "If you want my guess? This one. Martin. If he even exists."
> Elenora: "The top-ranked student who never shows up. How do we track someone we can't even identify?"
> Aurex: "The tournament. Two months from now. Every Year 3 must enter the preliminary rounds. Even if we don't get a face… we'll get a magical signature. I'll track him then."
> Elenora (pauses): "And… Lucien Drex. What about him?"
Aurex was silent for a moment. Then:
> Aurex: "I don't think the true hidden ranker would be that loud. Or that… annoying."
> Elenora: "Reverse psychology, Cain. You know it. He might be pretending not to be hidden by acting out."
> Aurex (dry): "Then he's either a genius or a very sarcastic symptom of caffeine withdrawal."
> Elenora: "He's linked to the Obsidian Project. All the signs point to that." and you know 20 yes ago the previous hidden ranker was also linked to the obsidian project.
> Aurex: "True. But being linked to something and remembering it are two different beasts."
He walks back toward the door, but pauses.
> Elenora: "Keep your eyes open, Aurex. The moment we think we've found the hidden ranker… might be the moment he finds us."
> Aurex (smirks): "Understood. But next time, if we're unmasking secret students… can I please get a chair? These midnight drama sessions are murder on the knees."
> Elenora: "Noted."
He vanished into the shadows. The owl turned its head. Behind her desk, Elenora whispered:
> Elenora: "Let's see if history repeats… or rewrites."