The Labyrinth of the Blood Angels tightened its grip on him. The walls vibrated, every crack could birth a new monster, every step could trigger an illusion capable of shattering the mind. Hallucinations filled the hall: blood-stained figures with wings, the distorted faces of those he knew, the twisted screams of those he had lost, all mingled with the girl's eerie whisper, her voice following his every move.
"Look who's come," a voice echoed, as if from different corners of the labyrinth simultaneously. "What awaits you… is yourself."
Sai froze. In the faint light piercing the darkness, a figure appeared—an exact copy of himself, but with eyes burning not with his calm resolve, but with rage and contempt. A shadow of his own essence, twisted by malice, radiated threat and fury.
"What a pitiful, wretched essence…" the copy's voice rang out. "Do you think you can pass through here? You thought you could control power, but you're just a shell. Nothing."
Sai tightened his grip on the revolvers. Each hallucination intensified the pressure, weighing on his mind, trying to wrest control. He felt the labyrinth walls constricting, the air thickening, the wings of the Blood Angels flapping in time with his heart—though he had no heart, the sensation remained.
"Enough…" he exhaled to himself. "Enough of this theater."
The copy stepped closer, mirroring Sai's every movement with terrifying precision. Each of its lunges was predictable, yet no less dangerous. The labyrinth walls seemed to adapt to its strength, amplifying the hallucinations, amplifying the fear.
"You are weak!" the copy pressed on. "You believed you could rise above this world, above pain, above chaos? You are nothing!"
Sai felt his mind beginning to waver, the hallucinations intertwining with reality. It felt like he was trapped in an endless loop: every second stretched into eternity, every step was agonizingly difficult. Shadows and angelic figures swirled around him, disrupting his concentration.
But something clicked inside him. The shadow core, his new essence, the energy sustaining his body and mind—it all came into focus.
"I am not weak," Sai said quietly but firmly, "and I will not let you break me."
He fired the first shot. The bullet pierced the copy, but it merely scattered into mist, immediately reforming. Sai understood that simple attacks wouldn't end this: he needed to take risks, use precision, speed, and strength simultaneously.
A second shot—this time accurate, straight to the heart. The copy staggered but didn't collapse. A third—and again, mist, again, illusion. The labyrinth responded, creating new figures, new reflections.
"You fear your own power," the girl whispered, as if observing from a platform above. "And that's beautiful. See who you truly are…"
Sai took a deep breath, focusing. Every movement, every thought—a single goal: survive and pass the labyrinth. He saw a pattern in the reflections: each copy only repeated the weaknesses of his consciousness, every movement could be predicted and circumvented.
He made a sharp lunge, dodged another blow, and fired both revolvers simultaneously. The bullets struck the copy's chest—the energy of his shadow core exploded within him, giving the final strength to shatter the reflection.
"No…" the copy rasped, froze, and then dissolved into a cloud of black mist, leaving only the silence of the labyrinth.
Sai leaned against the walls, his body trembling, though physical fatigue was merely a shadow; the psychological pressure was at its limit. He looked around: the labyrinth seemed to freeze, pausing for a moment. The hallucinations vanished, the Blood Angels dissolved into shadows, leaving him alone in the gloom.
He fell to his knees, gripping the revolvers. Four months, perhaps more, had passed since he entered the labyrinth. He didn't know the time, didn't know how long he had been fighting. Everything around him was distortion, a trap, a test.
"I did it…" he whispered, not raising his eyes. "I defeated… myself."
Strength remained, his mind was still intact, but the cost was clear: only by passing through his own fears and hallucinations could one survive the Labyrinth of the Blood Angels.
In the distance, on the platform, the girl appeared again. She clapped her hands, a light laugh echoing through the labyrinth.
"Excellent," she said, her red eyes burning with excitement, "but remember, this is only the beginning. Go on through, Sai… and we will meet again."
He rose to his feet, gripping the revolvers, and moved deeper into the labyrinth.
---
Sai emerged from the Labyrinth of the Blood Angels, feeling the cold wind strike his face. The light breaking through the fortress's narrow windows seemed almost blinding after long months of darkness, hallucinations, and trials. He took his first deep breath, filling his lungs with clean air, though breathing was no longer vital. He simply felt it as a reminder of reality.
"Finally…" he muttered, squatting on one of the fragments of a destroyed column. "The last trial… is over."
The girl appeared beside him. Her red eyes, slightly veiled by heavy cigarette smoke, watched him intently.
"And how long were you in the labyrinth, stranger?" she asked, lazily tilting her head.
"I… don't know," Sai replied, leaning on his knees. "Six months? A year? Two?" He waved a hand as if unable to count. "I lost track of time."
The girl smirked, slowly raising her gaze to him.
"Just two days," she said calmly. "For your brain, it was… well, too much. You experienced every moment, every hallucination as an eternity. But in reality—two days of real time."
Sai froze, staring at her. His mind could barely process this information. The entire sensation of lost time, agony, and pressure—it was all just an illusion. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and slowly digested it.
"So all of that… all of that was just your fortress's game…" he muttered, opening his eyes. "Two days…" he added, shaking his head. "And I thought it was an eternity."
She serenely shook her head, inhaling cigarette smoke.
"And yet you managed. Rarely does anyone endure such a thing," she said. "You've proven that your strength… is truly different. I've never seen anything like it… well, almost never. I've seen the Shadow King, and you are not him, but you… are something of your own."
Sai glanced at the space before him. On a marble pedestal lay a sword—heavy, with a black hilt and a crimson blade, as if forged from darkness itself. Strange symbols were carved into the blade, and the metal's gleam was so cold it seemed it could slice through reality.
"Devil's Spawn…" he muttered, carefully lifting the weapon. "The labyrinth's reward…"
He crouched, holding the sword in his hands, feeling its weight and power. The energy emanating from the blade resonated with his own dark essence, and he understood that this weapon would be a new instrument of his authority.
He glanced at the System, which always remained nearby, like a quiet advisor.
Error: You cannot set attributes. You are currently not an academy student.
Sai froze, holding the sword. It took him a moment to digest the message.
"Wait… how is that possible?" he muttered, looking at the screen. "I'm… not an academy student? So that means… my new attributes…?"
He slowly lowered his gaze to the Devil's Spawn in his hands, feeling the weapon's full power and a simultaneous sense of absurdity. He had passed through the labyrinth, endured mind-crushing hallucinations, slain his own reflections and Blood Angels, and now the System was telling him he couldn't officially use his new capabilities.
"…Hah," he laughed quietly, shaking his head slightly. "Screw it, then. I passed the labyrinth. No more trials."
He rose to his feet, holding the sword. Inside, there was a strange mix of fatigue and euphoria, a feeling that he had finally reached his goal, though the full scale of his power hadn't yet dawned on him.
The girl sat on the windowsill, overlooking the fortress, the cigarette smoke slowly dissolving in the air. She watched the horizon without a word, but her gaze suggested that the trials would continue, simply in a different form now.
Sai looked at her. In that moment, he understood that the labyrinth was only the beginning. He had passed it, but the path was just starting. His strength had grown, his mind had been purified, but ahead lay new trials, new encounters, new decisions.
He gripped the Devil's Spawn, felt the darkness within him respond. The world was vast, full of threats and opportunities, and now he was ready to move forward.
"Let it be…" he said quietly, "what will be."
The girl inhaled smoke again, smiled faintly, and said:
"Let's move on."
---
Sai took a step but abruptly stopped. He turned to the girl, who was walking slightly ahead, swinging her cigarette hand casually. She seemed calm, even relaxed, as if everything that had happened was merely a warm-up before the real fun.
"Wait," he said quietly but firmly. "Why are you even helping me?"
She stopped. A light breeze touched her white hair, casting red glints in her eyes. She slowly turned, looking directly into his face—studiously, without a hint of embarrassment.
"Helping?" she smirked. "Is that what you call it? I'd say… I'm just amusing myself."
Sai frowned, but she raised a finger, as if warning him not to interrupt.
"Understand, stranger," she continued, moving aside and sitting on a cold stone by the wall, "I've been here for a very, very long time. Two thousand years, to be precise. I've seen kings, monsters, gods, fools…" she took a drag, releasing a thin stream of smoke. "And they're all the same. Bland. Predictable. Boring."
She leaned slightly forward, staring intently at him.
"But you… are not. You're different. Not even human. And not even like any being I've met before."
Her voice grew lower, more serious.
"I don't want to know who you are. I don't want to know what you are. Those answers are boring. But watching you break the rules, ignore fear, and pass through things others can't even comprehend…" she laughed quietly. "That's what makes life interesting again."
Sai listened in silence, but something pricked in his chest—a strange feeling, close to acknowledgment: she was speaking frankly.
She stood up, brushed the ash from her fingers, and approached him almost closely. Her red eyes flickered with curiosity, like a predator that had found new, amusing prey.
"So…" she poked a finger into his chest, lightly, almost playfully, "I want to see what becomes of you next. Whether beings like you fall. Whether they break. Or… whether they grow."
She stepped back, turning towards the further corridor.
"And let's skip the stupid questions about trust, help, or friendship. I'm not a savior, not a mentor, and certainly not a good fairy. I'm just bored. And you—are the only one in two thousand years who has managed to amuse me."
She waved a hand, as if inviting:
"Alright. Enough talk. You passed the labyrinth—that means you can now see the real part of the fortress."
Sai silently watched her back, and a new feeling ignited within him—a mix of distrust, interest, and almost respect.