For thirty minutes, the group heard no screams, no footsteps, no monsters or humans grinding against the wall; there was none of that. Nothing interrupted their march towards finding the safe zone.

Nova led, his daggers clenched in his hands, his leg wound stiff but feasible enough to walk. The yellow mana crystal he had absorbed soothed the pain slightly, just enough, but not good enough for him to ease through his walking.

Elesch walked beside him, her rapier clenched in her hands as well, though not in a steady position. Her ribs still ached with every twitch of muscle and every inhale and exhale she took.

Adam still cracked weak jokes to break through the tension, while Zane and Michael scanned the rear, with the other trio, who had just noticed on guard as well, holding tightly onto their weapons.

The deafening silence was too unnerving for the lot, to which Zane muttered, his chest wound dried but still slightly tender. "It's too calm. I feel like the labyrinth's playing with us. We should have at least heard something, anything."

"Or maybe it's just giving us a break," Elesch turned her neck back every so slightly, and added more. "We deserve this much, after all the Shadow Drakes drama and the French fucking thieves. Fucking French."

Nova stayed silent, not having enough energy to walk and talk; instead, he thought to himself, his head wheels turning and twisting. I shouldn't have let those thieves steal the core. They appointed me as the task of being their leader; I should have been paying more attention."

He glanced back at his team, noticing their bruises and bandages, with all the dried blood sticking to their skin, he felt as if it was his fault, then he turned back.

"Stay sharp, guys," he said softly. "This place isn't very kind, just remember that."

The corridors widened, the air growing warmer, less stale. A faint golden glow appeared ahead, different from the cold blue hues of the walls. Galileo's eyes narrowed, his scholar's mind piecing it together.

"That's gotta be the safe zone. Lore says it's always at the labyrinth's heart, a sanctuary for those who make it."

"Sanctuary sounds good," Adam grunted, wincing as he adjusted his nearly broken arm. "My arm's screaming for a break."

They pressed on, the glow intensifying until the tunnel opened into a vast circular chamber, the labyrinth's heart. The ceiling soared, embedded with glowing crystals that shimmered across the space in golden color, as a sharp contrast to the labyrinth's coldness.

At the center stood a portal, its edges shimmering with golden light, promising the "safety" that they had been promised before.

"Finally," Col breathed, his axe lowering slightly. "We made it."

Elesch exhaled, her shoulders relaxing. "Let's not get cocky. Check for traps."

Nova nodded, scanning the chamber. His instincts told him that there might be something wrong with the floor. The floor had these ruins, which were barely visible under the golden light.

"Hold up," he said, raising a hand. "Something's off. Those runes-"

But Adam, distracted by the portal's inviting glow, didn't hear. "Man, I need to sit," he mumbled, stepping forward without looking down. His boot crossed the chamber's center, landing squarely on a central rune that pulsed red.

"Adam, no!" Nova shouted, lunging to pull him back.

But it was too late. The rune woke, a crimson shockwave erupting outward, and then inward. The ground trembled, and the chamber's walls groaned as hidden mechanisms activated. From the floor, pillars of dark stone shot upward. The Shadow Drake's dark energy resonated with the pillars.

They formed a cage around the portal, sealing it off temporarily. From above, stalactites detached, revealing themselves as mechanical constructs, spinning blades coming to life, descending in a deadly spiral.

"Trap!" Michael yelled, ice forming in his hands as he dodged a blade that sliced through the air inches from his face.

Adam stumbled back, eyes wide, his fractured arm useless as he ducked a pillar's spike. "Shit, my bad!" He said to Nova.

Nova grabbed him, pulling him behind a fallen boulder as a blade thrust just past, grazing his shoulder and drawing blood. "Stay down!" he barked, his leg wound throbbing from the sudden move. "Everyone, group up!"

The team scrambled together, backs to the boulder, as the trap's full fury unleashed. Blades spun faster, their edges glinting with dark energy that corroded stone on contact.

Pillars shifted, trying to herd them toward the center, where a pulsing red glyph promised an ever-worse fortune. Clouds formed above, thickening by the second, stinging their eyes and skin, reopening scabs, Nova's leg bled a new blood, Elesch coughed through bruised ribs, Zane clutched his chest.

"We gotta disable it!" Galileo shouted, his staff flaring to deflect a blade, the impact jarring his arms. "The central rune, it's the trigger!"

Elesch nodded, rapier trembling as she tried to focus. "I can rift us closer, but this cloud is messing with my aim."

"Do it," Nova said, daggers ready. "Zane, Michael, clear a path. Emma, Col, cover us. Adam, Galileo, stay tight, no more screw-ups. We cannot afford that anymore."

Adam winced, guilt flashing across his face. "Got it. Won't happen again."

Zane blurred forward with his ability, weaving through blades, his speed faltering as the ether launched from the clouds burned his wounds. He slashed a pillar, cracking it, but a blade nicked his arm, blood spraying.

Michael sent ice tendrils to jam the spinning constructs, slowing them momentarily, though the corrosive air melted his frost fast. Emma's arrows pinned a blade to the wall, while Col's axe smashed another pillar.

Elesch opened a shaky void rift, warping the team closer to the central rune, but the effort made her gasp, her ribs aching even more stridently than before.

Nova led the charge, diving through the rift to reach the rune. A blade grazed his back, tearing cloth and flesh; he gritted his teeth, ignoring the burn. The rune pulsed faster, summoning more pillars that nearly impaled Galileo.

Nova slashed at the rune, his daggers sparking against its energy. It resisted, the dark power pushing back like a living thing. "It's fighting me!" he growled.

"Together!" Elesch called, joining him despite her pain.

Her rapier stabbed the rune, her void energy destabilizing it. Adam, one-armed, clawed at its edges, while Zane and Michael flanked, fending off blades. Emma and Col guarded the rear, Galileo reinforcing with spells.

The rune cracked, its glow dimming, but the trap didn't stop. Blades spun wilder, the ether thickened, and a low rumble signaled something worse waking beneath.

"It's not enough!" Nova shouted, blood dripping from his back. "We need more power! But how...?"

The team exchanged desperate looks, their wounds slowing them, the safe zone so close, yet so far. Adam's mistake had cost them dearly, and Nova's resolve hardened; he wouldn't let this be their end.

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