Blaze's laughter rang out, a sharp, jarring sound against the heavy silence of the coral mound. Sunny and Nephis, however, didn't share the mirth. They looked at Cassie with a grim intensity that caused the hopeful smile to slowly drain from her face, replaced by a flickering confusion.
Feeling the sudden drop in temperature, Cassie whispered, "Uh… what's wrong?"
Sunny let out a long, weary sigh. "No, nothing is wrong, Cass. It's just that… that direction is the exact one we've been trying to avoid." He paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "That's where I came from yesterday. It's crawling with Scavengers. But," he glanced at Blaze, "Blaze was already suggesting we head west anyway."
The blind girl's face fell, her shoulders slumping. "Oh."
Nephis, who had been observing the exchange with her usual indecipherable mask, finally stepped forward. "Tell us more about the castle."
A shadow of her previous excitement returned to Cassie's eyes. She took a breath and began to describe the vision with a serious, focused nod. "I dreamt of a vast, ruined city built of weathered stone. It was surrounded by tall, impregnable walls. Various monsters were wandering its narrow streets—but in the center of the city, there was a hill. And on that hill stood a magnificent castle."
She smiled, her sightless eyes shimmering. "There were no monsters in the castle. Instead, it was full of people. I'm sure they were Awakened. Some were guarding the walls, others were going about their lives without a care in the world. I heard laughter, Sunny. I saw food and safety."
"Did you see anything else?" Sunny asked, his voice low.
Cassie frowned, her brow furrowing as she reached back into the memory of the dream. Then, her face cleared. "Yes! I saw you, Sunny. You were leading me through the gates of the castle. That means we'll make it! All of us!"
Blaze leaned back, a silent thought crossing his mind. Okay, so Sunny is the one leading her in the vision… where the hell am I? He didn't dwell on it for long. Prophecies were fickle things, and he wasn't one to let a dream dictate his movements—unless it aligned with his own goals.
"We go west," Blaze said firmly, his voice cutting through the deliberation.
*******
The decision was made. They abandoned their temporary sanctuary and descended back into the Coral Labyrinth. Their progress was rapid at first, driven by the urgency of Cassie's vision. Nephis and Blaze took the vanguard, their blades ready, while Sunny stayed behind to guide Cassie, his shadow darting through the coral ribs like a silent, spectral scout.
Suddenly, Sunny's expression shifted. He felt a familiar ripple of hunger through his shadow's senses. "Halt!" he whispered. "There are Scavengers on the path ahead. Six of them. They're moving slowly in our direction."
Nephis cast a calculating gaze forward. "Are they done with whatever carcass they were scavenging?"
Sunny paused, checking the shadow's feed. "No, I don't think so. But there's not enough meat for a pack that size. These look like stragglers, leaving with empty stomachs and looking for a fresh kill."
"Let's reroute," Blaze said, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "No need to engage in an unnecessary fight if we can slip past."
The four Sleepers moved with practiced stealth, changing their course to give the group of monsters a wide berth. For the next hour, the journey became a tense game of cat and mouse. Every time they made progress toward the giant statue in the west, they were forced to turn, backtrack, or wait in silence as monstrosities passed just feet from their hiding spots.
The distance between them and their goal wasn't shortening. If anything, the maze was winning.
They eventually found themselves catching their breath near a dead-end passage, forced to hide as a large group of creatures clattered past a nearby junction.
Sunny shook his head, his voice dripping with frustration. "We can't go on like this. At this rate, the sun will set while we're still spinning in circles. We'll never make it to safety."
"Maybe… maybe we should turn back?" Cassie suggested, her voice small.
"It's too late for that," Blaze said, his tone turning cold and professional. "There is only one option left."
Nephis looked at the coral wall, her eyes hard. "Fight."
Sunny couldn't hide his derision. "I know you're good with a sword, Neph, but have you forgotten that every one of those things is an Awakened Beast? They are a whole rank above us. We won't survive a meat-grinder against a pack."
Nephis nodded slowly. "We avoid the large groups. We cut down the smaller ones that block our path."
Blaze looked at Sunny. "She's right. It's the only viable way forward. We can't sneak past a wall of chitin forever."
Sunny wanted to retort, to find a clever way out, but the reality of the Labyrinth was suffocating. He finally let out a jagged breath. "Fine."
Nephis stared at both Blaze and Sunny for a moment. "Have either of you studied the corpses of the Scavengers you killed?"
"No," Sunny admitted.
"Near the eyes and the joints," Blaze answered, recalling his fight.
"There is a third," Nephis corrected. "It's where their human-like torso connects to the main carapace. If you hit that spot accurately, you can deal massive internal damage. However, unless you sever the spine, it won't be fatal. It will still fight for a while, so don't get careless."
Blaze nodded, committing the detail to memory. "Thanks for the pointers."
Sunny gripped his sword tighter. "Better yet, let's just not die."
*****
It wasn't long before the Labyrinth forced their hand.
They reached a small clearing with only one exit—and blocking that exit was a massive, lone Scavenger moving with a predatory deliberation. There were no branching paths, no way to circle around.
Sunny quickly relayed the beast's position. Nephis gave a sharp nod. "We fight in the clearing."
Blaze gently guided Cassie to a jagged coral wall, helping her find a stable place to sit. "Wait here, Cass. We'll be back." He paused, looking at her pale, tense face. "As soon as possible."
As he turned to leave, Cassie reached out, her fingers catching his hand. "Blaze… you… be careful, okay?"
"Sure," he said, his voice softening for a fraction of a second before he turned back to the battlefield.
Blaze, Nephis, and Sunny stepped into the clearing. The Scavenger let out a metallic screech, its mandibles clicking as it locked onto the three intruders.
Blaze took a deep breath, reaching into the core of his being. Ignite.
The transformation was violent. His skin didn't just burn; it dissolved in a roar of orange fire, sloughing off like ash in a gale. Within seconds, a terrifying, skeletal figure stood in his place—a frame of ivory bone wreathed in a swirling, soul-scorching inferno. Torrents of Hellfire poured from his sockets and ribs, illuminating the coral ribs in a hellish light.
Sunny and Nephis froze for a heartbeat
The skeleton's jaw unhinged as Blaze's voice rasped out, vibrating with a terrifying, otherworldly depth.
"LETS BURN THESE ASSHOLES."