Chapter 55 – How Do You Plan to Get Out of This?
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The ground suddenly gave way beneath their feet. Alma and Noël had no time to understand what was happening; the stone split open like a gaping mouth, and they were swallowed by the void.
A scream tore from their throats. Their bodies spun, sucked into an endless fall. Around them, the labyrinth revealed its cruelty: shifting walls bristling with rocky spikes closed in, as if to impale them. Lower down, Alma spotted jagged spikes of solidified lava, gleaming like black blades.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
— Damn it!!... Noël, watch out! If we fall down there, we're dead!
The boy screamed, paralyzed by fear. His fingers desperately searched for something to grab onto, but there was nothing, nothing but the abyss.
Alma reached out toward him.
— Noël! Listen to me! Try to change into a dragon… It's our only chance… Noël!!!!...
He shook his head, eyes wide, tears glistening at the corners.
— I… I can't fully control my transformations! I only manage it on rare occasions… but now, I just know I won't…
The ground rushed up at terrifying speed. Alma gripped his hand tighter, her eyes blazing with fierce determination.
— You can do it, go on… I… I believe in you!
Those words echoed in Noël's mind. "I believe in you." It wasn't just Alma. He remembered another voice, deep and powerful: Vulcan's.
"You don't need anyone else. You only need yourself. And your courage. I believe in you, Noël."
A burning breath burst in his chest. His blood ignited.
Just as the spikes were about to pierce them, a roar split the air.
Alma felt his fingers slip from hers… then a gigantic grip caught her. It was no longer a human hand. It was a scaled, powerful claw that held her with unexpected gentleness.
Her eyes widened.
— Noël…
A massive dragon had spread its wings in the abyss. Its scales shimmered a deep navy blue, like an ocean lit by a summer sun. His eyes, usually shy and evasive, now shone with a near-majestic intensity.
With a powerful beat of his wings, he whipped up a scorching wind. The deadly spikes vanished into shadow. In one swift movement, the dragon ascended and found a stone platform, solid and stable, where he gently set Alma down.
Breathless, her heart pounding out of her chest, she placed a hand on the scaled claw.
— You… you did it…
The dragon curled in on itself, its silhouette blurred, and Noël reappeared—trembling, panting, his eyes red with emotion.
— I should have… I… I should have done it earlier… I'm sorry… we almost died because of me...
Alma burst into nervous laughter, her cheeks flushed. She stepped closer and, without thinking, pressed a light kiss to his forehead.
— Don't apologize, idiot. You just saved my life. See? You're far braver than you think.
Noël froze, unable to respond. His deep-ocean eyes were wet. Alma slowly stood.
— We have to get out of this labyrinth at all costs.
She took a step, but felt her hand held back. Noël fumbled in his pocket, nervous, then pulled out his card—the one that still gave him a chance to win. He held it out to Alma.
— Take it. You can leave me here, I'll wait for the game to end. You'll probably need it more than I do… and besides, we're enemies from the start.
She shook her head, her eyes shining.
— I can't… We entered this trap together. We'll get out together. I don't care about Vulcan's rules. My only goal is that we survive.
Her fingers tightened around Noël's.
— And that, we can only do as two.
Noël blinked, and suddenly his tears spilled over. He didn't know why, but in Alma's eyes, he saw a light that finally pierced his loneliness.
Touched, Alma gently pulled him into her arms. His chest heaved with sobs. She stroked his hair.
— Don't cry, it hides your beautiful smile.
Suddenly, the ground trembled again, and the stone split open beneath them with a monstrous roar. Alma barely had time to scream:
— Not again!
They fell once more, their cries echoing through the labyrinth's corridors.
Not far away, Damian, motionless in a hallway, turned his head as the echoes reached him. His eyes narrowed. Then he moved forward, chose a path… and found himself facing a figure.
Kana.
She was staring at the card in her hand.
— Give it to me, she said in an icy voice.
Damian clenched his teeth, lifting his chin in defiance.
— Come and get it.
Damian advanced down the corridor where the stone twisted and cracked with every step. His single blade, reinforced with magic, glowed with a cold light, each movement carefully calculated. Kana, the figure before him, stared with an almost supernatural calm. Her eyes blazed, and around her, the air shimmered, heavy with heat.
— You know, said Damian, dodging a burst of flames as he slid behind a melting wall, I bet you're definitely single, the way you play with fire...
Kana answered only with a cold stare lit with red light, raising the ambient heat until it exceeded 600 degrees. The rock around them melted, the air grew unbreathable, but Damian kept advancing, a provocative smile on his face despite the hell around him.
— I'll skin you alive…, she muttered, her arms opening to unleash an explosion of flames.
Damian leapt back, rolling across the burning stone, but his hands never let go of his blade. Sweat dripped down his forehead, his muscles strained in the extreme heat, but his eyes gleamed with nervous amusement.
— Come on, I bet even with all this fire, you still can't touch me, he sneered.
Kana replied with an icy laugh, the temperature climbing higher, the stone walls glowing red, almost liquid. Damian dodged, counterattacked, each movement a dance with death. He laughed, but deep down he knew Kana was very dangerous.
Meanwhile, Seth sprinted at full speed through the labyrinth, panting, his body covered in dust and sweat. He had managed to snatch a sword, stolen from one of the traps that snapped shut behind him like jaws. But then a voice rang out—icy and commanding, shattering the silence:
— I wanted the Brain… but instead, I'll take you, filthy human!
Seth froze, his eyes darting to find the source of the voice. A yellow flash split the air. Reinard appeared, his electrifying presence making the ground and walls vibrate around them. Seth studied him for a moment, then lunged to strike—but a blinding light burst forth. He blinked, unable to react.
— Don't underestimate me, said Reinard, his voice booming like thunder. I am the dragon of lightning… poor fool.
Seth staggered back, stunned. He hadn't known that every dragon had an assigned element tied to their magic.
— Lightning…? But I thought all dragons only breathed fire like Vulcan… he stammered, disbelieving.
— You really are an idiot… There are many types of dragons… each bound to a special power they received from the goddess Selene.
He paused briefly, then continued without hesitation:
— In fact, I have a question: human, did you know that lightning's speed is nothing compared to the speed of light?
—What?! exclaimed Seth, confused.
Reinard gave a faint smile, then went on:
— Except me.... I can move at the same speed of light even before the lightning strikes the ground.
A new bolt struck Seth in the stomach, hurling him backward. His eyes widened in shock and pain.
— The speed of light? he murmured, unable to move before the next attack.
— Exactly, Reinard replied, with a cruel smile. And now… do you understand the gap between humans and dragons?
Seth looked at Reinard and noticed he was holding his card in his hand, confused and stunned. He attacked with all his strength, but Reinard dodged before the blade could connect, parrying every strike with terrifying ease. In the real world, Vulcan watched, his gaze stern, intrigued:
— Reinard has become unbelievably strong… Let's see how Seth manages to get out of this...
To be continued...