Chapter 26: The Labyrinth
The wind was as dry as ancient parchment, and everything around seemed forgotten. Twisted, leafless trees rose like petrified bones against the murky sky, and the ground—cracked, brittle—seemed to crackle with every step.
The rock before them was shaped like a skull lying on its side, with deep cracks forming something that resembled hollow eyes and a shattered jaw. At the base, covered in gray moss and accumulated dust, there was a stone formation that, at first glance, seemed just a natural heap. But Eren was not there to see with his eyes.
He extended his right hand, closed his eyes for a moment, and felt.
The magic pulses... like a dormant heartbeat. A living door, locked by shame.
Kaela, right behind, sniffed the air with a furrowed brow, her body tense as if the ground beneath her feet was about to split.
"There’s something wrong with this place. Not just strange... wrong."
Nyssa trembled slightly. Even with her form contained under the cloak, she seemed smaller than usual. Translucent fragments detached from her edge and reconnected on their own, as if her body was trying to avoid... falling apart.
"I... don’t like it here. Nothing is quiet. Not even inside me."
Eren knelt, brushed the dust from the stones with the back of his hand, and saw what he expected: ancient runic marks, broken, as if someone had tried to erase the words without the courage to finish it. Circular sealing symbols, intertwined in deformed geometries. A familiar residual magical signature.
He placed his palm in the center.
[Link Detected: Host with Carnal Contract]
[Bond with Beastly Entities: Active]