The Labyrinth:
The four of them arrived at the stables and waited for several moments, wondering if something would happen. Each of them thought of many different things or traps that could spring up at any moment.
Maximus kept his eyes on Aqua, noticing her discomfort had grown ever more since pulling her out of the mind game. He also felt the need to keep her close and a large portion of him did not want to let her go. After watching her die multiples times, more than he cared to count, his concern was intensely focused on looking after her.
Aqua could sense the growing concern from him emanating from his very essence. Despite her arms feeling tired, she still persisted on holding onto and keeping herself pressed against him.
"How many times did he see me die in his illusions?" She wondered to herself and did not have the courage to ask. "His confidence is not the same as it was before we entered here. He used to stand tall and firm against nearly anything that was not beyond his skill. Even when he retreated from the Giant Serpent, his confidence was not shattered at all. He confidently knew he was no match for it, but the other times he would stare down the impossible. I want to see that side of him again, I do not mind being held by him, but not in this way. I want to feel the same warm comfortable feeling he once had and not the fearful grip of someone who is afraid." She said to herself.
"So, what are we supposed to do here again?" Kazuma asked, breaking the silent moments they were having.
Chris noticed how Maximus was not saying anything. "It does not look as though he is going to be taking the lead on this one. He really has been shaken to the core watching Aqua die over and over again. It is good to see he is caring for her, but he should not dwell on that too much for too long." She said to herself. The next moment Chris took a step forward and pointed towards the stables. "Alright everyone, how's about we go in there and see if we can find any clues to getting us out of here. Then we can go home and celebrate once we are on the other side, because we should not stay down for too long." She said with a little enthusiasm to try and cheer everyone up.
"Yeah, I am with you on this, we have been stuck here for too long, who knows how much time has passed on the other side." Kazuma replied with the same attitude.
Maximus looked up at Chris and nodded his head with a little fake smirk. Aqua remained still, her head running with so many thoughts about what she saw and how she could try to prevent it.
They made their way into the stables and Chris and Kazuma peered around every corner. Once they arrived on the opposite end of the open stables, nothing stood out to them at all.
"Well this was a super drag; I was hoping we would find…" Before Kazuma could go on, his foot stepped onto a stone which sank under the pressure of his foot. "I did not do that!" He shouted, lifting his foot up and motioned his arms up as though he was ready to fend off some random creature.
Chris was a little irritated and both Maximus and Aqua did not acknowledge what had transpired. The next moment the threshold on both sides had stone slabs rise up and closed off the exits. The light quickly dimmed to black and both Aqua and Maximus held onto each other even more.
Chris approached the slab before here and thoroughly inspected it. After a few moments she could sense no dangers and pressed against it. The slab was light in weight and opened almost immediately.
The light from the other side of the entry lit up the darken stables and everyone shielded their eyes. After allowing time to adjust to the brightness, they made their way through. Immediately on the other side they stood on a small hill and after, they beheld a massive labyrinth that extended as far as the eye could see.
Maximus saw it and felt annoyed. "It had to be this right after being mentally exhausted and yet I am not surprised this would be next." He forced himself to say out loud.
"Why do you say that?" Aqua asked.
"Well, in the old stories I grew up on, many heroes who were mentally broken find themselves in this kind of situation. Forced to navigate through an endless labyrinth that could be, and in all likelihood, filled to the brim of various traps and monsters alike. Not to mention test your mental state even further, seeing your will to survive be tested on a whole other level. Also, test your patience and persistence with this kind of trap. We will need to be extra careful and try our best, even with our mental exhaustion, to be on our guard for anything." He said as he forced himself to walk towards the entrance of the labyrinth. "And one more thing, legions upon legions of smaller creatures inhabit a place such as this to test our endurance and stamina. Not to mention, I have heard stories of creatures who can literally live within the walls themselves." He finished.
The four of them began to make their way into the tall walls of the labyrinth, turning every which way. After walking for an hour, they found themselves right back at the beginning. Maximus was displeased with the sight, Aqua remained in the same position as before by not looking up at anything, and both Chris and Kazuma began to complain.
"Are you serious, how did we get turned around so much we ended up back here?!" Chris shouted in disbelief.
"I thought it looked familiar when we made that last turn." Kazuma said feeling a little exhausted from all the walking and noticed Maximus was not even breaking a sweat. "He has been carrying her this whole time and he does not even look the least bit tired at all! Man, I wish I could be more like him and it is all Aqua's fault I was not able to get a cool skill from the start." He said, feeling a little depressed.
"Let us try it again, I am sure we will have better luck this time around." Chris said to cheer everyone up and noticed Maximus was starting to try to have some enthusiasm as he gave her a thumbs up.
They began to make their way again, trying to take a different turn at the start of their next round of walking. After making the last left turn, they saw a dead end before them.
"Ah man, I was hoping we would have found the way out of here. Seriously, this place is starting to give off some bad vibes." Aqua said, sensing an ominous presence.
"Hey, you actually paid attention this time around! Well, at least we know you are still in there somewhere." Chris chuckled.
They began to make their way back to the last turn when Maximus noticed an extra shadow pacing behind them upon the wall. When he turned around fully, the shadow was nowhere against the surface.
"Was that one of ours or was that just my imagination?" He wondered to himself.
"Hey, we better catch up with the others before we get left behind." Aqua said to him after noticing he had stopped. "What are you looking at or for anyway?" She inquired, looking where he was observing.
"It was nothing." He replied to her. "I swear I say something kind of shadow that was shaped like some kind of monster." He said to himself.
He gave it no more thought and used his magic to phase step behind the other two. He noticed they had not sensed he was gone from them and continued on. After a few more turns and walking down a long corridor, Maximus sensed an odd presence and heard the sound of falling rocks against the floor. He instantly and without hesitation, turned around to face the direction of the echoing noise sounded off. His right hand extended out, ready to employ an attack should something appear.
Chris and Kazuma hid behind him after hearing the unexpected sound. Both were also closing their eyes tight, afraid to even look down the ways, even with all the light from the sky shining into the long hall. Aqua remained still and hugged him tightly, afraid to look down the ways as well.
After waiting for several moments, Maximus lowered his hand and noticed nothing had made a move towards him.
"Was I dreaming that sound or did you all hear it too?" He asked and turned to each of them. All three of them shook there heads without hesitation and he focused his gaze back down the hall. "What could be playing with us, a spider; and I am not sure why I would think of that first. Could it have just been old rotting stone that fell from a bird taking flight. Although I do not recall hearing the flapping of a bird's wings. Or is it something else I am not familiar with, considering the odd ominous presence and the strange shadow from earlier, something is within this labyrinth. I wonder when it will start to toy with us and when it does, I will have something in mind for it." He said to himself.
He turned around and began to walk back to the four-way crossing and waited for a moment.
"So, which way do you want to go from here?" Chris inquired.
"Well, let us see what my familiar sees before we press on." Maximus said.
The next moment a bird formed in front of them and took flight. The instant it had reached the top of the wall, it was vaporized completely.
"What did that just now?" Kazuma wondered out loud.
Maximus studied it a little further as he sent an energy ball upwards and shortly after arriving at the same location as the bird, it was dispersed.
"Should have known there would be no way to fly above and see about where the end is." Maximus said and turned to his left. "Why don't we press forward in this direction." After making the turn he noticed it too was an extended corridor. "Wait, something is not right about this." He said stopping in his tracks noticing an oddity.
"Hold on a second, was this not a short walk 'til you would have to turn left of right when we last saw this spot?" Chris asked as she kept a close observation on the corridor.
"It was, but somehow it is not anymore." Kazuma said feeling confused.
The next moment Maximus teleported them back to the beginning after sensing something about to strike. Using his last memories of the entrance, they appeared with no visible harm at all.
"Wait, what happened, why are we…"
"I had to make a move at the last second." Maximus interrupted Kazuma. "Had I not, we all would have been defeated by something."
The next moment the echoing sound of metal hitting stone vibrated past them. The screeching sound of a monster feeling cheated out of catching its prey followed shortly thereafter. The whole group felt chills run up their spines and shook with fear. Kazuma swallowed a mouth full of saliva as his nerves were getting out of control. Chris took a step next to Maximus who remained with his gaze focusing in front of them and Aqua held onto him tighter once more turning away.
"Ah," Aqua screamed. "I do not know what that is, but I want out of here. Please, do not let that thing get me." She pleaded.
"Were I alone, this would be no problem for me to deal with, however, I am stuck with them and it is already starting to get me off my groove." Maximus said to himself and turned to Aqua. "I need you to let me go and allow me to navigate through there alone." He said to her.
"No, that is the worst idea, what if we are captured while you are gone or worse, end up dead." She shot back at him.
The next moment his mind replayed one of the previous scenarios where he had left her and the other four alone while he battled a foe. Once he returned, he saw them all dead on the ground.
"You are right about that," He said and paused. "I should not even suggest such a thing at this point in time." He finished his thought out loud while looking at her eyes and turned back at the first turn. "I get the feeling the labyrinth could change on us and we should put that to the test." He began walking forward and marked the wall before him with his finger and a magic engraving appeared on it. "We will mark our way through here and see what happens as we go. The magic will ensure this mark stays on it. Now, let us go into this frustrating and dangerous test once more." He said with a little more confidence.
As they made their way into the labyrinth once more Maximus was thinking of several different ideas for their mysterious foe.
"Going off by what I saw for a brief moment, I would say we have one shadow type monster lurking about, or it is a monster using magic to travel through the walls enabling it to be nearly undetectable. If that is the case, I am going to trap it the moment it springs to action. Trouble is, I have to play it cool, almost to the point where it will believe I am not trying to seek after it. Having my attention focused on it while acting as though I am not is a little tricky and will be a first time for me. Let us see if it will take the bait and how long it will resist the temptation." He said to himself.
Several times while walking, they all noticed the route was not heading back to the front just yet but was continuing on.
"Do you think whoever is the master of this place is finally bored out of their mind and wants us to come to them. Because it sure feels like this could be the case." Chris asked.
"One thing I hated about some games was labyrinths like this one back on my homeworld. They are good, however none I have come across have ever been too exciting." Kazuma said remembering some old games.
The next moment both Chris and he fell into a pit and before they could begin to fall over, Maximus extended his hand out to catch them with his magic. He moved them back to him and Aqua with his mind and the two exhaled their breath.
"Whoa, that was too close, I thought I was a goner for sure." Kazuma said out loud.
"You would have been if not for me being here." Maximus said looking over the edge and saw spikes filled with more individuals impaled upon them.
"Who are they, were they…"
"More victims who unwillingly were sent here to be genuine pigs for Maxwell's trap, very likely." Maximus interrupted Aqua and answering her at the same time.
"They do not look that old, somewhat still fresh." Chris said after inspecting them a little further from where she stood.
"Unless this trap preserves the bodies a lot longer than normal, I would say they appear to arrive not but a few minutes ago. If that is true, then time has no meaning here at all. We could be here for an eternity and time back in our reality may not pass as much at all." Maximus said what was on his mind.
"Is that even possible?" Kazuma inquired.
"It has a chance of happening; however, it depends on how skilled the caster is." He replied.
The next moment the shadow figure upon the wall dashed for Maximus. The body was exiting out of the very wall itself as though it and the monster were one. Maximus was a little surprised their foe made a move so early, more than he was expecting. He dropped Aqua and maneuvered her behind him as he spun around to face the creature. He held out his hands to form a magical barrier to stop the attack just as it was about to strike him in the back.
The monster's weapon clashed against the barrier and the other three behind Maximus saw what was before them. The creature's skin was green with a shade of grey molded upon it. Its arms were long and small, wriggly as though slightly deformed in some way, along with the shape of the rest of its body. The torso had a shrunken sickly look with the skin wrapping nearly around the ribs and bones. The head was unlike anything either of them had seen before. A cluster of long razor-sharp blades formed its teeth in a ring that was collapsed towards the center. A dozen of crimson eyes were focusing simultaneously on each of the party members at once. The back of the head had a multitude of snakes, slithering back and forth in every direction, acting as though they were watching his back and sides.
Maximus quickly formed a razor-sharp disk and threw it forward. The beast was able to deflect the attack and when it refocused on where the party were, it saw they were gone. The creature began to roar a screeching, ear piercing sound.
After looking around as though waiting, it molded into the wall once more and instantly left the area.
The next moment the party appeared back where they were as the invisible bubble evaporated. Maximus had his hand stretched out and the others were staying silent. After a few moments more had passed, he turned around and went to the opening within the floor.
"We should press on and not worry about battling that thing just yet. Because seeing how it moved about almost instantaneously, we would have been at a disadvantage. We need to get to a place where there is more room and then set traps for it." He whispered and they nodded. "I underestimated that creature's reaction time; it will not happen next time." He said to himself.
He used his magic to get them across the pit and began to traverse further into the labyrinth.
