Chapter 185: The Trial (42)
Verena didn’t hesitate. The moment the massive gate creaked open, revealing the swirling, spiraling descent deeper into the Labyrinth, her eyes stayed fixed on the fractured floor where Vivienne had vanished. Isolde, ever the composed one, had already stepped toward the path forward, but paused when she noticed Verena standing still.
"Verena," Isolde called, voice low with warning. "Don’t be stupid."
Verena didn’t answer right away. Her fingers twitched at her sides, threads of her Zodiacal Mimicry humming faintly beneath her skin as frustration and worry tangled inside her like a knot of coiled wires.
Isolde’s gaze sharpened. "I know what you’re thinking, and no—getting separated is exactly what this labyrinth wants. You can’t chase after every lost duckling."
"She’s not a duckling," Verena muttered. "She’s... Vivienne."
"Exactly my point."
Despite Isolde’s words, the tight clench of unease in Verena’s chest only worsened. Vivienne may have been frustrating, clumsy, and scatterbrained beyond belief—but nobody deserved to be left stranded in this maze alone. Especially not her, not with how easily fear and self-doubt devoured people in this place. The labyrinth wasn’t just a puzzle. It was designed to break you apart from the inside.
Verena exhaled sharply, her jaw tightening. "I’ll be quick."
Without waiting for approval, she darted to the fractured floor, the constellation-lit stone still humming faintly where Vivienne had fallen. Her eyes flicked across the surface, analyzing it for hidden mechanisms. The faint shimmer of astral residue marked a teleportation fault—likely a trap designed to displace participants, a classic labyrinth trick.
Good. That meant Vivienne wasn’t gone-gone. Just misplaced.
Verena’s mimicry threads pulsed as she synced to the residual energy. A moment later, a secondary path flickered into existence—a hidden alcove tucked along the arena’s far edge, nearly invisible under normal sight. Typical labyrinth cruelty. Out of sight, out of mind. But not for Verena.