Blood dripped steadily onto the floor.
Argon stared at his trembling hands, the hacksaw still wet with crimson. His chest felt hollow, his lungs heavy, as though every breath dragged glass through his ribs. He had made the cut. He had obeyed. And now, the Game rewarded him with survival—while poisoning everything else.
The one he wounded lay slumped against the wall, blood soaking into her clothes, pale from the loss. Her eyes were wide, filled with either fury or betrayal—or both.
"Don't…" Argon rasped, voice cracking. "Don't look at me like that. I—"
The voice interrupted, cold and smug as always.
"You chose. You lived. But survival is never free. Prepare yourselves, contestants. Stage Two begins."
The newborn horrors twitched in unison, then dissolved into black sludge that seeped back into the corpse they had spawned from. The silence that followed was worse than the noise.
The Fracture
Selene clutched her arm—if it was her wound—and glared at him with burning eyes. Shadows trembled around her fingertips, twitching like feral animals.
"You think you had no choice?" she hissed. "You always have a choice."
Her voice cut deeper than any blade.
If instead Vanessa bore the wound, she smiled despite the blood running down her neck, lips curling wickedly. "Mmm. You've marked me, darling. I'll treasure it. But you owe me now. And I always collect."
Argon staggered, guilt twisting his gut no matter whose blood stained his hands.
"F*ck this game," he muttered, voice raw.
Vanessa's Whisper
Vanessa moved closer, ignoring—or perhaps savoring—the carnage. Her fingers brushed across Argon's chest, leaving streaks of blood. She pressed against him, her lips brushing the shell of his ear.
"Darling, you looked magnificent when you swung that blade," she whispered. "The hesitation, the despair, the hunger in your eyes… oh, it was exquisite."
Her nails dragged lightly across his ribs, making him flinch.
"You could do it again, couldn't you? Cut deeper. Bleed someone else. Maybe even me…" She pressed his hand against her side, guiding his fingers over her warm skin just above the wound. "Wouldn't that be fun?"
Argon jerked away, chest heaving. "You're insane."
She chuckled softly. "And you're pretending you're not. That's the fun part."
Selene's Breaking Point
Selene's shadows pulsed violently, snapping across the walls like jagged lightning. Her breathing was ragged, every inhale sharp, as though she were barely holding herself together.
"Enough," she hissed, her voice raw. "Stop playing with him."
Vanessa tilted her head, smiling. "Jealous, little shadow? Or just afraid you'll be next?"
"Keep talking," Selene spat, her eyes glowing faintly. "And I'll show you what's hiding in the dark."
Argon staggered forward, raising his hands weakly. "Stop it. Both of you. We don't have time for this—"
The floor shook violently, cutting him off.
The Transformation
The walls of the safehouse pulsed like veins beneath skin. Blood seeped through the cracks in the wood, dripping in steady streams until the air stank of iron. The floorboards bent and split, revealing slick, fleshy tissue beneath, throbbing like a heartbeat.
The ceiling bulged, then tore open, spilling black ichor that hissed as it hit the ground. Screams echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once, the sound of countless voices howling in torment.
The room convulsed, reshaping itself. Walls melted, floors stretched, doors twisted into fleshy archways.
And then, silence.
Where the safehouse once stood was a corridor of bone and flesh, lit by a sickly red glow that seemed to drip from the walls themselves.
Stage Two had arrived.
The Voice's Command
"Stage Two: The Blood Labyrinth. Only the daring advance. Only the ruthless survive. Those who falter… will be fed to the maze."
A low, guttural sound echoed through the hall, like something massive breathing just beyond the walls.
Argon's throat tightened. "Blood labyrinth? You've gotta be f*cking kidding me."
Vanessa's lips curved into a grin. "Mmm. A maze of blood and bone. Sounds like home."
Selene's hands trembled, shadows flickering wildly. "This… this place is alive."
The voice laughed, cold and merciless.
"Begin."
Into the Maze
The corridor stretched endlessly in both directions, the walls twitching like muscle tissue, the floor slick with gore. Every step made a squelching sound. The air was hot, humid, filled with the reek of rot.
Argon tightened his grip on the hacksaw. His knuckles were white, his arm shaking. He was half-dead already, yet the Game wasn't finished with him.
Vanessa leaned close, her breath tickling his neck. "Stay close, darling. Or get lost forever."
Selene said nothing. She walked stiffly, her body weak from overuse of her forbidden power, but her eyes stayed sharp, scanning every shadow.
The silence was unbearable. Only their footsteps and the wet sound of flesh beneath them filled the air.
Then the walls shuddered.
A sound echoed through the maze. A growl. Low. Hungry.
Something was coming.
The First Guardian
From the darkness ahead, it emerged.
A towering creature of stitched flesh and bone, its body a patchwork of limbs sewn together, its head a mass of screaming faces that wailed in unison. Black ichor dripped from its claws, sizzling against the floor.
It blocked the corridor, hunched but still scraping the ceiling, eyes glowing faintly within the cluster of writhing faces.
The voice spoke again, almost gleeful.
"The first guardian of the labyrinth. Defeat it… or be devoured."
Argon's grip tightened on the hacksaw. His body screamed in protest, but there was no choice.
The guardian roared, the sound shaking the corridor, and charged.
Cliffhanger
Argon raised his weapon, teeth gritted, blood dripping into his eyes. Vanessa's laughter rang out behind him, sultry even now. Selene's shadows coiled weakly, ready to strike despite her breaking body.
And then the guardian's massive claw swung down, blotting out the red glow of the maze.
The chapter ended in that moment of impact.
Next Chapter Preview
The guardian's strike shatters the group's fragile balance. Argon must fight with nothing left, Selene risks breaking herself completely, and Vanessa pushes him further toward madness. The Blood Labyrinth has only begun to feed.