Chapter 176: The Trial (33)
[Editing]
The shattered fragments of the Ouroboros’s realm still clung to the edges of Verena’s vision as she stumbled forward, her boots striking the cool, polished obsidian beneath her. For a moment, everything around her remained silent—eerily so—until the echo of her own footsteps reminded her that she was, in fact, back. Back in the Labyrinth. Back in the Trial. Back in the maddening, relentless world that refused to pause, even when she wanted to curl up and dissolve into the floor.
Her fingers twitched, the lingering sensation of stillness clinging to her bones like phantom chains. She exhaled sharply, shaking the last remnants of that looping, suffocating illusion from her head.
Saphira coiled around her shoulders, eyes narrowed, tongue flickering. "You alright? Or are you about to pass out dramatically again?"
"Shut up," Verena muttered under her breath, though her lips curled faintly with relief. "I broke the damn loop, didn’t I?"
"You did." The snake’s tone turned smug. "Eventually."
The path ahead pulsed with faint astral light, jagged shards of constellation patterns weaving across the floor like cracked glass. The Labyrinth was reacting, shifting once again in response to her presence—only this time, it recognized her. She could feel it. The air itself was different. Heavy with expectation. Alive with the hum of fate realigning.
She straightened her posture and took the first step forward.
A familiar voice called out behind her. "Verena?!"
She spun around, instincts still sharp from the encounter. Isolde emerged from a twisting corridor, her expression carved in relief and exasperation in equal measure.
"There you are." Isolde folded her arms, sleek and composed as ever, but Verena didn’t miss the flicker of worry hidden behind those sharp eyes. "You’ve been gone for—"