Chapter 166 - 165. The Rising Labyrinth
"Astrid!" Tyler shouted. He rushed towards her, only to be stopped by Lutz, who stood between him and the princess.
"Don’t worry, she’s not dead... yet," Lutz said, his tone eerily calm. The crystal-clear knife protruding from Astrid’s chest shimmered faintly, its unnatural glow confirming Lutz’s words. There was no blood, but she lay there as if frozen in time, her body motionless, her eyes shut.
Lutz gently laid her down on the ground, turning to face Tyler with an unreadable expression. "How did you figure out it was me?" he asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.
Tyler didn’t answer. His gaze remained locked on Astrid’s still form. To confirm whether she was really alive or dead.
Seeing Tyler’s silence, Lutz sighed. "Very well, then. A trade for information." He smirked, his eyes gleaming with malice. "The only way to save her is to find her... inside the Labyrinth."
Before Tyler could react, Lutz paused and tilted his head, as if listening to something distant. "Looks like my time is up," he murmured, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "I’ll be waiting for your answer... inside."
Suddenly, the ground beneath them rumbled violently. The entire castle shook, followed by the unmistakable roar of stone grinding against stone. Tyler’s eyes widened as the quake intensified, sending people running in panic. The shaking wasn’t limited to the castle; it spread across the entire island, growing in intensity.
Outside, the world began to shift. The once calm sea churned violently, massive waves rising higher and higher, crashing against the shores. Buildings crumbled, warriors and mages alike scrambling to protect each other amidst the chaos. The ground splintered, and from deep within the earth, something ancient stirred.
Towering walls, colossal in size, began to rise from the earth, encircling the entire capital. The labyrinth wasn’t just surfacing—it was enveloping everything, from the castle to the surrounding seas.
"The Labyrinth is surfacing!" Captain Silver Eye shouted, standing on the deck of his ship, his eyes wide with excitement. His crew, along with other pirate ships scattered across the water, could only watch in disbelief as the massive structure, bigger than any they had ever seen, rose from the depths.
The labyrinth was unlike anything they had imagined. Its walls, the size of mountains, stretched upwards, casting dark shadows over the entire capital. The very sky seemed to be swallowed by its emergence. It was a maze of ancient stone, with paths and corridors winding up and down, trapping the kingdom within its grasp.