The mist of the Labyrinth of Shadows thickened, pressing down on the air until each breath felt like swallowing iron. Every step echoed endlessly, as though the walls themselves were alive, whispering in countless voices, mocking those who dared walk its halls.
At a junction where three corridors met, Li Shen appeared first. His robes were torn, streaked with blood, his body trembling from the wounds he bore. Yet his back was straight, his eyes sharper than ever. He had just fought and defeated the shadow of himself. Though his body cried out for rest, his heart burned with iron will.
The aura around him flickered—sometimes a glow of blinding light, sometimes a surge of devouring shadow. It was unstable, dangerous, but Li Shen no longer flinched. He stood as if daring the labyrinth itself to break him.
Moments later, from another corridor, Mei Lin appeared. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her hair loose, her sword glowing faintly to ward off the shadows. She stopped the instant her gaze fell upon Li Shen.
"Li Shen…" her voice was faint, quivering. "The Labyrinth… it showed me something. Something… that binds us together."
Li Shen frowned, confusion flashing in his eyes, but before he could ask—
Footsteps thundered from the third corridor.
Zhao Wei emerged, his body cloaked in swirling black flames that writhed like serpents. His eyes gleamed crimson, and in his hand burned a forbidden talisman. The ground itself recoiled beneath his steps, and the mist hissed as if in fear.
"Zhao Wei…" Li Shen muttered, wary.
Zhao Wei pointed a trembling finger at him, rage twisting his face.
"You! I've had enough of you! The sect whispers your name, some in fear, others in awe—but to me, you are nothing but a stain! A shadow I will erase!"
The black aura burst outward, shaking the walls of the labyrinth. Mei Lin stepped forward, her sword raised, her voice urgent.
"Zhao Wei, stop! This place tests the heart. If you surrender to hatred, you'll be devoured by it!"
But Zhao Wei laughed, his laughter echoing like a mad beast.
"Let it devour me! If hatred grants me the power to destroy him, then I welcome it!"
Li Shen's fists clenched. The fight was inevitable.
Zhao Wei lifted his hand, and the black flames surged. They coiled into the shape of a colossal dragon, which roared as it lunged toward Li Shen.
Boom!
The explosion rocked the junction. Li Shen blocked with his left arm, blazing with light, but the impact hurled him across the corridor, slamming him against the wall.
"Li Shen!" Mei Lin cried, but Zhao Wei cut her off with another strike of searing black fire.
"Stay back, Mei Lin! This is between us!"
Mei Lin's grip on her sword tightened. Radiant energy poured from the blade, pushing the mist away.
"You're wrong, Zhao Wei. If it involves Li Shen, then it involves me as well!"
"Then you'll both fall together!" Zhao Wei roared, his black flames erupting with greater ferocity.
Between Light and Darkness
Li Shen dragged himself to his feet, blood dripping from his lips. Inside his mind, the voices returned—stronger, harsher.
"Give in! Let the darkness devour him!"
"Restrain yourself! Use the light, protect, don't destroy!"
The clash of whispers split his skull, threatening to tear him apart. But Li Shen roared back at them, voice shaking yet resolute:
"Enough! I am not your puppet!"
The storm of light and shadow within him faltered—then began to swirl together, no longer rejecting, but trembling on the edge of union.
Mei Lin gasped. "He's… trying to merge them? That's impossible…"
The labyrinth trembled. The mist rippled and formed visions upon the walls—two figures, faint yet clear.
One cloaked in darkness, radiating power and fury.
The other robed in purest light, her presence gentle yet unyielding.
From the two, shadows of infants appeared—a boy and a girl.
Mei Lin froze, her chest tight. "That… that's what I saw before…"
Li Shen's eyes widened, his breath shallow. The man of darkness glared with burning rage, the woman of light smiled with tenderness—and from them, two destinies were born.
Mei Lin's voice shook as she whispered, "Li Shen… I think… I was born of that bloodline too. Perhaps… you and I are…"
Before she could finish, Zhao Wei's roar drowned her words. "Enough of this nonsense!" His black flames surged, obliterating the vision. "I don't care about your cursed bloodlines! The only thing that matters is this—I will destroy you, Li Shen!"
The dragon of black fire lunged again. Mei Lin raised her sword, unleashing a radiant shield. Li Shen hurled himself forward, both hands glowing—one with searing light, the other with devouring shadow, spiraling together in unstable harmony.
Boommm!
The explosion shook the labyrinth to its very core. The mist screamed as though alive, walls crumbled to reveal an abyss of endless darkness beyond.
Mei Lin struggled to hold her shield together. Li Shen strained, his body on the verge of breaking as he wrestled the raging energies. Zhao Wei laughed, his voice filled with madness.
"Do you see, Li Shen?! Even if you wield both light and darkness, you'll never surpass me! I was born to destroy you!"
But in that chaos, another voice rose—not light, not darkness. It was Li Shen's own.
"It's not them who decide my path. It is me."
The explosion ceased suddenly. An oppressive silence fell. Then, from the depths of the labyrinth, a voice older than the heavens rumbled.
"Three paths converge—Light, Darkness, and Hatred. From this point forward, only one path will be set. The choice you make shall determine whether this world falls… or is reborn."
The three froze—Li Shen trembling yet resolute, Mei Lin with tears glimmering in her eyes, Zhao Wei laughing with feral madness.
The mist swirled violently, forming a great circle around them. The labyrinth itself seemed to hold its breath, waiting.
And at that junction, their fates were not sealed—but set.