CHAPTER XXXVI

Daybreak

"Good morning, mom!" Lilly greeted Weiss as the latter prepared some breakfast for them.

"Good morning, Lilly," Weiss said, giving her daughter a smile.

"Dad! You're home early!"

"Yes, short night at work," he said. "What are you doing up so early? You're never awake before noon on a Saturday."

"Psh, I don't sleep in that late."

"I'm guessing you didn't keep her up all night with that videogame you two have been playing," Weiss said, preparing the table for breakfast.

"I deny all such accusations, thank you," Lilly's father said.

"Yeah, I dunno what you're talkin' about either, mom!" Lilly said.

"What do you two think about heading to the park for a picnic today?"

"You're not gonna get some sleep first, dear?" Weiss said.

"Well, maybe a short nap, but afterwards, why not?"

"Must've been a really easy night at work."

"It was quiet, actually."

Lilly...

"Huh?" Lilly said, turning to her right. There was no one there.

"Are you hearing things again?" Weiss asked her.

"Oh, no, I was just..."

Lilly...

The voice was coming from her room. She stood up to follow the sound, ending up in front of her mirror. She gazed at her reflection for a minute before brushing her long, snow-white hair. It was a nice day today. Dad was home, mom was happy, everything was as it should be. Why, then, was Lilly so unsettled? Everything was perfect, wasn't it?

She looked to her left, as though she was missing something, but she couldn't put her finger on what might be missing.

Help me, please!

She gasped, turning around. No one was there, but the feeling was intense. There was something she desperately needed to do. This idyllic life wasn't where she belonged, even though she never wanted to leave her mother and father. She threw on a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt before heading to the living room. Something was strange about her parents. She could swear that she didn't recognize their faces. It wasn't so much that they were blurred out or anything; her eyes were just fine.

"What's wrong?" her father's voice sounded from far away.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" her mother's muffled voice floated to her ears.

She continued to stare as her surroundings began to melt away. She found herself in a void of washed-out hues and undefined features. A sharp pain struck her in the side and she winced, putting a hand to the spot. It was warm and wet. Was she bleeding?

Lilly!

Everything was beginning to fade into darkness. Her head filled with a muffled whine, but at the back of it all was a voice calling out her name over and over again.

"Lilly!"

Lilly opened her eyes. She was in the middle of the most decrepit building she had ever seen. No, she had seen much worse than this, but right now it was the stench that got to her. She glanced around, her vision still blurry. From what she could tell, she was in a meat factory, one that was far beyond industry standards by this point. The walls were mostly gone, but that didn't stop the foul odor from assaulting her nose.

"Lilly!"

She turned to the sound of the voice. The face was familiar, but something about her was off. She wasn't dressed in the typical outdoor hunting attire she had come to be known for. Rather, she was clad all in black with purple trim here and there.

"Hey, you're finally awake."

"What...?" Lilly managed. "Where...?"

"Don't move. You're really badly hurt."

"Echo?"

"Yeah, it's me. And the rest of the team, of course."

Lilly glanced around. There were familiar faces in combat all around her, fighting against hordes and hordes of Corrupted and Grimm that she had never seen before. Athena was the easiest to spot with her shield and spear. Perseus fought alongside her with his own shield and sword.

"Perseus?" Lilly mumbled. "How is he here?"

"It's a long story," Echo said. "One that you still have to live out for yourself."

"What?"

"What month is it where you're at?"

"What the heck do you mean by that?"

"Is it still summer?"

"Yeah, we're at the end of summer break. I think the fall quarter is gonna start in, like, a few days, right?"

"Okay, sounds about right."

"Huh?"

"Where we're from right now, winter just ended."

"What?"

"So, the time discrepancy in the Labyrinth can be this bad, huh?"

"We're in a Labyrinth?"

"Yeah," Ingrid said as she came upon them. "You were wandering around when we got to you. You didn't seem to see anything, not even the Corrupted. Funny thing is they didn't do anything to attack either. They were kinda just gathered around."

"Huh?"

"I think we should probably not overload her brain right now," Echo said.

"Hey, what's with all those weapons?" Lilly said, eyeing Echo's new bow and Ingrid's new staff weapon.

"Long story," Ingrid said. "Let's get you up and back to the real world so you can catch up to us. Dude, it's so weird being the ones to help out the one who's been saving us all this time."

"What are you..." Lilly began before realizing that she must have been talking in past tense about something that she had yet to even do. "Oh, this time thing is really messy."

"No kidding," Echo said.

"Echo!" Athena yelled to her. "Nuke 'em! Now!"

Without a word, Echo nocked an arrow, which began to glow. She let the projectile soar at the massive ogre in the distance, obliterating it from existence.

"Whoa!" Lilly yelled at the sight of the explosion Echo's arrow had generated.

"I'm never gonna get used to you being so surprised at all this," Echo said.

The fight was far from over, though. From the remains of the massive beast came pouring out every manner of Grimm and Corrupted.

"I've...never seen anything like that before," Lilly said. "And I've seen a lot in the Labyrinth."

"Figures," Ingrid said. "Don't worry about all this crap."

"Yeah," Echo said as she and Ingrid stood between Lilly and the monsters. "Leave this to us. You've saved us all enough times. It's our turn."

"I still don't know what you guys are talking about," Lilly said.

Ingrid chuckled. "You'll get there eventually."

"Now, do you know how to get back to the real world?" Echo asked.

"I, uh, I don't know, actually," Lilly said.

Echo and Ingrid exchanged glances.

"But you've been doing it at will since—" Ingrid began, but Echo silenced her with an elbow to the side. "What I mean is, you should be able to use a rune to get you back to the real world."

Lilly looked at the ground. While that might be true, she had no idea which rune it would be.

"I just," she began, "I have no idea how to control any of these powers. Most of them activate just by luck. The more complicated stuff, the ones that really require serious spell work, I have no idea how to use them."

"How've you been moving between the worlds, then?" Echo asked her.

She shrugged. "I've only ever done it by instinct, and only at places where the veil was thinnest. Never at will and never just anywhere."

"Try that, then. Just by instinct."

She tried, but nothing happened.

"You know, something's different about this, too," Ingrid said.

"What do you mean?" Lilly said.

"Just that you're not quite...you, I guess."

"You sense it, too?" Echo said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lilly said.

"There's something different about you. Like, a part of you is missing. Sorta feels like a shadow."

"Yeah, but not quite," Ingrid said. "Those people we've saved from personal Labyrinths have been very clearly not themselves. Their eye color is totally different, too, like, an unnatural glowing kinda thing."

"But your eyes are regular hazel, like they've always been," Echo said. "But still, there's something about you."

"Are you sure you aren't still crushing on her?" Ingrid said, her hand on her waist.

"Dude," Echo said, reddening. "You know Athena and I are officially together now."

"Wait, what?" Lilly said. "You two officially sealed the deal?"

"It happened a while back, when we saved my home village."

"Guys," Xanthus said, joining them. "If we interact with her too much, it might cause a time paradox."

"We've already got a paradox going on right now," Yuan said. "Besides, we haven't seen her in a long time. I'd like to spend a few more minutes with my team leader, you know."

"How long has it been?" Lilly asked.

"Months," Ingrid said.

"M-Months?"

"Yeah. A certain someone has been missing you, you know."

Lilly turned to the distance, where a young man in black and red mowed through hordes of Grimm and Corrupted with a scythe. His weapon looked a bit different from before, much more fantastical in appearance compared to its original mechanical form.

"Why does everyone look so different?" Lilly said. "Did you all upgrade your weapons?"

"Pretty sure we upgraded more than that," Athena said, holding a hand out. "Teufelsatem!"

Lilly watched with her mouth open as a fireball flew from Athena's hand, setting an Alpha Beowolf ablaze.

"D-Did you just—"

"Oh, man, it's awesome seeing you so surprised," Athena said. "It's been the other way around for so long."

"Guys!" Xanthus yelled. "We need to send her back!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ingrid said. "How do we do this?"

Lilly looked down at the ground. She had no idea what to do to get back to the real world, not without stepping into a rift first, but something was different this time. She wasn't quite herself, not fully.

"We might be able to channel our magic through her and open a gate," Yuan said.

"You all have magic?" Lilly yelled.

"Long story," Ingrid said. "Like I said."

"It will take all seven of us to do it," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "I don't know if it will work either."

"How do we keep all these Corrupted and Grimm off of us while we do it, though?"

"Leave that to me," Echo said, aiming a single arrow skyward. The one arrow turned into hundreds before raining down on their enemies all around them. "Leon, let's go!"

The final group member arrived once the battlefield went quiet, albeit temporarily. He gave his team leader a smile, getting one from her in return.

"We've missed you, you know," he said.

"He's missed you more than anyone else," Yuan said.

"C'mon, man."

Lilly giggled.

"Okay, let's see if it'll work," Xanthus said, reaching out to either side to lock hands with the rest of the group.

All seven formed a circle around Lilly, channeling their magical energy around. Lilly closed her eyes as the power began to flow through her. She looked at her hands as runic text and geometric arrangements glowed all over her flesh. She caught a glimpse of Perseus, her mind instantly filling with a sense of urgency.

"Yeah, you know what to do," he said.

"I have to get back," she said.

"Yup. I need your help now more than ever."

"I won't let you down."

"I know. By the way."

"Huh?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself, okay?"

—

Lilly gasped deeply as she awoke on a lawn in the middle of night.

"Lilly?" Perseus said.

"Are you all right?" Demetri asked her.

"Perseus, Demetri," she said. "What...what's going on?"

"Do you remember anything from the past three days?"

"Three...days?"

She looked at both of her companions before turning back to the ground. They said three days, but the past however long it was felt a lot longer than three days. She could have sworn that those peaceful days with her mother and father were years in length.

Whatever it was she had just gone through, it was more than mere illusion. It was a reality that was denied by the flow of time, a reality that existed only in Lilly's memories now.

"I'm guessing you're yourself again?" Perseus said.

"Myself?" she said.

"You were right, Demetri. The Lilly we've been hanging out with this whole day wasn't Lilly at all."

"You mean, I've been awake all this time?"

"It wasn't completely you," Demetri said. "Perhaps I would say that it was a form of you without any inhibitions and without your kindness."

An image of her hateful self she had seen in the mirror more than once flashed before her eyes.

"There are more urgent matters, though. Perseus's parents have vanished, likely drawn into a Labyrinth."

She turned to Perseus, who nodded.

"I..." she began as she caught a glimpse of a faint memory of a conversation she never had. Apathy couldn't even begin to describe her treatment of Perseus's cries for help just moments ago. She looked at her companion. The hurt was still fresh in his eyes, but he tried his best not to let it show.

"I can sense it," she said. "There's a rift nearby."

"Where?" Perseus asked.

She pointed to the manor. "Right over there. But something is different this time. It's not our usual rift."

"What do you mean?" Demetri asked.

"I can't explain it."

The two boys followed her to the house. As soon as they stepped in, all three felt an incredible weight press down upon them.

"This is just like three days ago," Demetri said.

Lilly was quiet as she approached the center of the phenomenon. There were no words for what she was sensing now, but it was as though she knew exactly what it was that made her hair stand on end. There was an enormous amount of magic flowing through this place tonight. It was no surprise that this phenomenon would create a rift large enough to draw an entire building's worth of people into the Labyrinth. What she needed to know was what exactly caused this thing to form.

She stood at the very center of the flow of magical energy. Subtle pulses emanated intermittently from her body and the thing beneath her feet. She could see a faint glow of some kind of pattern. It wasn't quite a rune circle, but it was similar. The images were much larger and more intense, however.

"Whoa," Perseus said.

"L-Lilly?" Demetri said.

"Huh?" she said, turning to them.

"Y-You're..."

She looked at her hands. All over her flesh, the same markings appeared, glowing with power.

"Oh, shit!" Perseus said, looking at the back of his left hand. The Rune of Atonement also glowed, as if in response to the rest of the magical phenomena filling the whole room.

"What's happening?" Demetri said.

"I don't know," Lilly said as she began floating in the air. "Wait, this is..."

The two boys turned to her.

"I think this is what's called...a Nexus."

"Nexus?" Demetri said.

"I'm still not sure...what it is, but...there's a lot of magical energy flowing through here."

Their surroundings flashed, instantly transitioning to a dark, decrepit form. They were already in the third layer of the Labyrinth, complete with monsters surrounding them.

"Crap!" Perseus yelled, deploying his shield and drawing his sword before engaging the Corrupted. Demetri fought alongside him, gauntlets fully loaded with Dust and ready for action.

Being creatures born from magic, the Corrupted were much more difficult to deal with compared to the Grimm. They also fought with far different attack patterns, ranging from smart and almost human-like despite oftentimes being almost as mindless as the Grimm. But the most disturbing feature they had was their extreme similarity to humans, though that fact became less and less of a bother the more the group encountered them.

"Whoa, is that a fireball?" Perseus said as one of the Corrupted hurled some flames at him.

"Some of the Corrupted are capable of using magic," Lilly said, standing between her two companions. "Their numbers are mostly quite few, but in the deepest layers of the Labyrinth, there are a lot of them. Be careful of the other monsters, though, the ones that look like things from another world."

"Like the ogres?" Demetri said.

"Yeah. Those are totally capable of using magic and they're really tough to boot."

"Lilly, I know you said before that you don't want us going through the Labyrinth with you," Perseus began, "but this time it's my parents on the line. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I know. And I realize that I was wrong to refuse your help all this time. Still, until we can figure out a way to strengthen you guys, I don't want you fighting in the Labyrinth like I do."

"Hey, we're Beacon-trained. We're tougher than you might think."

She smiled. "Nice tattoo, by the way."

Perseus looked at the Rune of Atonement on the back of his left hand. Apparently, his companion hadn't noticed it glowing during all that magical activity earlier, but that was a story he and Demetri would save until later. The priority right now was saving his parents and whoever else they could rescue from this abominable place.