The hacksaw came down.
Steel screamed against glass.
The chamber split with a deafening crack as every mirror shattered at once. Shards exploded outward, slicing through flesh and stone alike. Argon's roar drowned out Selene's scream, drowned out even the monstrous laughter of his double.
When the storm of glass finally fell still, silence reigned.
Argon stood in the center, chest heaving, blood pouring down his arms. The hacksaw dripped with dark ichor—not his own.
At his feet lay the twisted reflection. Split open from shoulder to hip, its face still grinning even as its body dissolved into black mist.
But as the last fragment of it faded, Argon staggered. His crimson eyes flared brighter. His veins burned like molten fire.
Because when he destroyed his reflection, something else had slipped into him.
The Corruption Deepens
Selene crawled to her knees, blood dripping from her mouth. Her own shadow-double had vanished the moment Argon's fell, leaving her trembling in exhaustion.
She looked up at him—and her heart froze.
"Argon…"
He stood taller now, his shadow stretching unnaturally long, bending at impossible angles. His grin was too sharp. His breathing too steady.
Vanessa purred behind him, her voice velvet against the silence. "There he is. My perfect darling."
Selene forced herself up, staggering toward him. "No—don't you see? She's twisting you! That thing you killed… it's inside you now!"
Argon turned to her, his crimson eyes locking onto hers. For a moment, there was recognition. The faint flicker of the man she knew.
And then it was gone.
The Maze Reacts
The labyrinth groaned.
The mirror shards on the ground pulsed with faint light, glowing like embers. One by one, they began to lift, floating into the air.
Faces pressed against their surfaces—hundreds, thousands—silent mouths screaming, eyes wide with terror.
The Game's voice rumbled through the chamber, colder than ever:
"Stage Three complete. Survivor's choice accepted. Corruption acknowledged."
The shards fused together, forming a massive archway of jagged glass. Beyond it, a swirling corridor of blood-red mist waited.
"Proceed to Stage Four."
The ground shook, urging them forward.
Selene's Defiance
Selene stumbled to Argon's side, grabbing his arm. His flesh was ice-cold, his pulse erratic. "You can't go on like this. You'll lose yourself completely."
He looked down at her, lips curling into a grin that wasn't his own.
"Maybe losing myself… is the only way to win."
Her eyes widened. "No. That's not you talking. That's her."
Vanessa laughed softly, gliding past them toward the archway. "Oh, Selene, you really don't understand. This is him. The maze only strips away masks. It shows us what we already are."
She glanced back at Argon, her smile wicked. "And what he is… is mine."
Selene's hand trembled, tightening on his sleeve. "Argon. Please. Don't let her—"
He ripped his arm free, the motion so violent she fell back against the wall, coughing blood.
Vanessa's Claim
Vanessa circled Argon like a serpent, her fingers brushing his jaw. He didn't flinch this time.
"You feel it, don't you? The power. The freedom. You don't have to carry their weight anymore. No pain. No fear. Just us."
Her lips brushed his ear. "All you have to do is keep walking."
And Argon—bloody, broken, corrupted—took a step toward the archway.
Selene's chest clenched. If he passed through with Vanessa's hand in his, she would lose him forever.
The Choice
The air grew heavier. The Game was waiting. The labyrinth was waiting.
Selene forced herself up, her body screaming in agony. She staggered forward, shadows flickering weakly at her fingertips.
"Argon!" Her voice cracked, desperate. "If you step through there, you won't come back! You'll just be another monster she controls!"
Vanessa tilted her head, smiling. "And if he stays with you, he'll be weak. Broken. Dying."
Argon froze. Between the two of them. Between salvation and damnation. Between chains and freedom.
His crimson eyes shifted, flickering with something unreadable.
Cliffhanger
The ground split beneath them, mirror shards rising higher, swirling like blades in a storm. The archway pulsed brighter, demanding an answer.
Argon turned—slowly.
One hand reached out.
Toward Selene.
The other stretched toward Vanessa.
And as the labyrinth roared, the hacksaw slipped from his grasp, spinning end over end toward the archway.
The moment of choice had come.
But whose hand would he take?
Next Chapter Preview
Stage Four begins with a brutal revelation: Argon's choice won't just determine his allies—it will determine what he becomes. The labyrinth hungers, Vanessa plots, and Selene's last shred of hope hangs by a thread.