Chapter 29: Echoaes in the flame
The Mazeheart was nothing like Thalen expected.
He had pictured a chamber carved from ancient stone, maybe filled with relics and guarded by some monstrous sentinel. But what awaited him was something far stranger something older.
The moment Thalen stepped through the golden gate, the world shifted. The heavy pressure of the maze dissolved, replaced by silence pure and absolute. Dain followed closely behind, wincing with each step, his aura still shaky from the battle with the rogue Tyrant-wielder.
The chamber beyond stretched endlessly in every direction. The floor beneath them was a perfect mirror, reflecting the sky above a sky of swirling orange and red flame, dancing slowly like a living canvas. There were no walls, no ceiling only fire and reflection, as though they stood between two burning heavens.
"What... is this place?" Dain whispered, spinning slowly, his reflection warping beneath his boots.
"The Mazeheart," Thalen said softly. "But this feels more like a memory than a place."
A sudden voice interrupted them. It echoed not with volume, but with weight, like thunder hidden in silk.
"So you are the ones who made it to the center."
Thalen instinctively raised his sword. A figure walked toward them seemingly from nowhere emerging out of the fire’s glow. She was cloaked in white and gold, with long braids woven with metal threads. Her eyes were strange: one was gold, the other pale blue.
Dain reached for his own weapon. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled slightly. "I am Keeper Vaen. Long ago, I was an SSS Hero. I’ve waited here since the Maze’s creation."