Kisho looked at the vines covering the entire passage and pondered,
"If we maintain a state of 'Zetsu,' we might be able to walk through without being noticed."
Kisho tilted his head toward Amos:
"But I don't really want you to keep going with me."
Hearing this, Amos raised a brow. "What? Think I'm dead weight?"
"I didn't say that, I'm not, don't twist my words!"
Kisho shot him a glare, then took a breath before continuing,
"Do you know Sonata of Darkness?"
Amos froze for a moment, then looked at Kisho seriously, waiting for his explanation.
"Legend says it's four solo pieces composed by the Demon King, divided into four parts: [Flute], [Piano], [Harp], and [Violin]."
"In the legend, anyone who comes into contact with Sonata of Darkness—whether listener or performer—never meets a good end."
He stared at Amos with absolute seriousness.
"But I can tell you, this isn't just a legend. It's a real 'curse.'"
"I'm certain the harp music I heard is connected to the harp version of Sonata of Darkness. Even knowing that, you still want to go with me?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Before Amos could answer, a voice suddenly came from behind them without warning.
The instant the uninvited guest spoke, the two boys turned around simultaneously, their gazes icy as they locked onto the newcomer, aura gathering and ready to burst forth.
Standing before them was Sion, dressed in black.
He glanced at Amos, then smiled at Kisho.
"By the way, everything you just said was a waste of breath. Didn't you notice? The more you talked, the more excited this curly-haired brat became."
Kisho: "..."
"But I have to say, I'm surprised. You know more than I expected."
Sion rubbed his chin and continued, "Relax, I don't have any ill intentions. If I did, the first time I met you in the underground lab of the Bankro family, you'd already be dead."
Kisho fell silent.
Beside him, however, after hearing Sion's words, a sharp, frigid glint flashed through Amos's eyes.
Sion stepped forward, passing the two of them to take the lead.
He looked at the vines covering the walls and gave a light wave of his hand. The vine-like living things parted obediently to both sides as if submitting to a monarch, pressing themselves flat against the walls and no longer moving.
In the center of the already narrow passage, a thin path just wide enough for one person appeared.
Sion turned back to look at the two who still stood motionless.
"Keep moving. Even if you change your minds now, I won't let you run."
A wicked smile curved on his lips.
"Don't forget, whether you pass this third stage is up to me."
Kisho and Amos exchanged a glance.
It seemed they had been targeted by this ill-tempered examiner. There was no escaping now.
But it didn't really matter. Even with an extra person joining them, it wouldn't affect what they originally planned to do.
And just as Examiner Sion said, he didn't seem to harbor any malice, and his strength was formidable—if he could lend them a hand, that would be even better.
Thus, the hastily formed trio reached a consensus to "explore together."
Sion walked at the front. Kisho followed about a meter behind him, while Amos lagged half a step behind Kisho.
With others present, the two boys refrained from pointless bickering and remained silent as they advanced slowly.
The vines scraped against the walls with rustling sounds, and the liquid dripping from them hit the ground with faint splashes, sending chills down the spine.
After walking for about two hours, the end of the passage opened into a massive stone hall.
The vines here were nearly overwhelming, completely sealing off the entrance between the passage and the hall.
If not for using En to detect the vast space beyond the vines, it would have been easy to overlook this entrance with the naked eye alone.
"You'll need to deal with the vines here. My Nen ability has a duration. If it suddenly wears off, we could easily get surrounded."
Sion looked at Kisho and spoke slowly.
Kisho said nothing. Then with a flick of his wrist, he hurled out a Fire Whirl, sending it slicing straight toward the vines blocking the stone hall.
The moment the extremely high-temperature Nen flames touched the vines, they ignited violently. Within mere seconds, the annoying growths were burned to ashes.
The air filled with the acrid stench of something scorched by blazing fire.
"Not bad, kid."
Sion stared at Kisho for a while before saying,
"That move of yours reminds me of an old friend."
Kisho responded with a simple "Oh," clearly uninterested in Sion's so-called old friend.
Sion smiled faintly and did not pursue the topic.
The three stepped slowly into the stone hall.
Unexpectedly, after all the effort to reach this place, the vast stone hall contained absolutely nothing.
There were seven side chambers connected to it—three directly ahead, and two on each side.
Sion turned sideways to look at Kisho. After studying him for a brief moment, he asked,
"Any ideas?"
Kisho remained silent, brows furrowed.
"Let me give you some information first."
Seeing this, Sion didn't press him. He slipped his hands into his pockets and continued slowly,
"This Truance Ruins Labyrinth was discovered about three years ago. It was originally classified as a 'maze-type ruin.' But during subsequent explorations, archaeologists found many ancient array symbols."
"These array symbols affect the flow of time in the surrounding area. The range is about one second—either compressing a second into an instant or stretching an instant into a full second."
Kisho abruptly looked up.
"Even with this discovery, no one has figured out how this phenomenon occurs, when it appears, or how frequently it happens. Even with monitoring devices installed, there were no results."
"Or rather, only someone standing far enough away can observe what happens to the person being affected."
"After that, my old friend and I spent quite some time fully exploring the area before we found this stone hall."
Sion smiled at the two of them.
"So for you two kids to make it here in just ten hours—honestly, that's impressive."
Kisho and Amos exchanged another glance.
Kisho crossed his arms, wearing a look that clearly said, Try and make me talk, and replied slowly,
"Everyone's got a few secrets. That's normal, isn't it?"
Sion chuckled. "I'm not interested in prying into your secrets."
He steered the topic back. "After discovering this stone hall, another problem arose."
"Generally speaking, structures with side chambers are usually ancient tombs. But as you can see, this outer stone hall is completely empty."
"So my friend and I speculated…"
Sion spread his hands. "The passage leading to the burial chamber has been hidden by some method, and the mechanism to open it is concealed within these seven side chambers."
Looking at the two boys, who were silent and deep in thought, Sion smiled teasingly.
"Well then, boys, whether you can uncover the secret… depends on you."