The bell's echo hadn't even faded before the earth began to move.
The ground split open in jagged lines, trembling beneath fifty pairs of feet. Stone walls burst upward like jaws, dust swirling into the crimson air.
A labyrinth rose—vast and suffocating—its walls carved with glowing sigils that pulsed to the rhythm of the Blood Moon.
The crowd gasped as the battlefield rearranged itself into chaos.
Ten gates stood somewhere within the maze—massive, metallic, and ancient—each leading to the next stage.
"Ten exits," the announcer's voice thundered, trembling with awe.
"Ten survivors."
"Let the trial begin."
Without missing a beat, the Apexes started moving.
Some bolted straight into the nearest corridor, chasing the promise of an exit.
Some stayed behind, fists and instincts already colliding in violent bursts of light.
Others stood still for a moment—thinking, calculating, memorizing the maze before it shifted again.
But they all had a plan.
And among them, one moved faster than the rest.
Duma didn't hesitate. The instant the trial began, he sprinted through the labyrinth—his feet a blur, wind crackling behind him as if the air itself couldn't keep up.
Every turn he took left dust and echoes in his wake.
"Tch… fifty runners, ten exits," he muttered between breaths.
His grin sharpened.
"Guess I'll just have to be first."
———
A few corridors away, a voice echoed through the maze.
"This trial's easy for flying hybrids like me!"
Heads turned as a female Dove Hybrid spread her bright wings, feathers glinting beneath the crimson glow.
"See you on the other side," she said—and launched herself upward.
For a heartbeat, she was beautiful in flight. The air shimmered around her wings as she rose above the shifting stone, finally seeing the labyrinth's vast design—a maze pulsing with red veins and ten glowing gates in the distance.
But the labyrinth was watching.
With a sudden mechanical hiss, vents opened across the dome. A low hum built, rising to a piercing, electric scream.
BZZZZT!
A web of crimson lightning exploded from the walls—controlled and precise. The bolts struck her wings mid-glide.
She gasped—no time to react—before the shock sent her spiraling downward.
She hit the ground hard, smoke rising from her feathers.
The stone beneath her glowed faintly where the current dissipated, as if the maze had marked her failure.
The announcer's voice cut through the static.
"Rule number one," he said evenly. "No cheating. The labyrinth maintains equal ground."
Above, the crowd murmured—half in pity, half in awe.
Somewhere deeper in the maze, Duma kept running.
He didn't slow down.
"Guess the sky's off-limits," he muttered with a grin.
———
Falko watched the smoke rise from the distance, his feathers twitching as the static faded.
"What an NPC," he muttered under his breath. "It was kind of obvious."
His wings extended slightly—enough to catch the air, but never fully spread.
Instead of rising, he glided through the labyrinth, weaving beneath the towering walls.
His movements were precise, efficient. Every flap was silent. Every shadow used.
"Flying's not about height," he whispered to himself, voice calm and sharp. "It's about control."
The red light above caught in his eyes for a moment—cold, reflective. Then he vanished into the corridors, a hawk hunting through stone.
———
On the other side of the maze, Zame stood still, surrounded by half a dozen fighters from different factions.
"Ten exits…" he murmured, his tone low, predatory.
A nervous Drifter nearby edged back. "T-Ten, yeah—if we split up, maybe—"
Zame's lips curled into a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
"No need to split."
His muscles rippled as his hybrid form took shape—a Great White Shark in human skin.
In the next second, the nearest fighter's body hit the wall before he could scream. Another followed, head crushed by a ruthless bite.
Zame exhaled slowly, calm amid the chaos, blood dripping from his mouth.
"If I kill everyone…" he said quietly, almost to himself, "then I'm the only one left to pass."
His grin widened, sharklike.
"Simple math."
The crimson haze glimmered across his skin, giving him a faint, predatory glow as he stepped forward into the mist of blood and steam.
Another fighter stumbled back, eyes wide—but he didn't run.
"Come on then," the man spat, forcing courage into his voice. "I'm an A-rank too."
Zame stopped a few paces away, head tilting slightly. His grin was faint—almost pitying.
"You know the thing about A-ranks?" he said quietly.
He took one slow step closer, shadows stretching across the cracked floor.
"It doesn't mean strength."
The fighter's jaw tightened.
"It just means you're completely connected with your animal," Zame continued, his tone low—sharp as a blade. "But me?"
His eyes darkened, predatory and calm.
"I didn't just connect with mine."
He leaned forward, his words precise and cold.
"I hunt with it. Every day."
"And not only that…" Zame's grin widened, razor-thin.
"My animal's better than yours, little Rabbit."
The fighter lunged—fast.
Zame moved to sidestep, but the Rabbit was quicker than expected; a sharp kick caught Zame across the jaw, snapping his head to the side.
For a second, the maze seemed to hold its breath.
Zame wiped the blood from his lip, his grin returning—slow and chilling.
"…Not bad," he said softly. "You actually hit me."
He straightened, rolling his shoulders once.
"But now it's my turn."
Zame blurred forward. He grabbed the Rabbit by his ears and slammed him into the wall. The impact cracked the stone. Before the man could react, Zame's knee drove into his ribs, and a brutal tail-swipe sent him collapsing to the floor.
Zame exhaled slowly, bloodied but calm.
"A-rank," he muttered. "Just a title."
He turned toward the next corridor, his shadow stretching beneath the red glow.
"Now—who's next?"
———
A deep rumble shook the maze.
BOOM.
Dust fell from the walls. The air trembled.
From the far corridor, a golden light surged—steady, deliberate, cutting through the haze.
And then he appeared.
Gaja.
Towering in the scarlet mist, his presence alone seemed to push back the chaos. Golden energy rippled off his skin, grounding the shattered floor beneath his feet.
"That's enough," he said, his tone calm but absolute.
Zame turned slowly, his grin faint but dangerous.
"Still playing hero, huh?"
Gaja stepped closer, his heavy footsteps echoing through the cracked ground. His eyes didn't hold anger—just quiet, steady disappointment.
"When we were kids," Gaja said, his voice low, almost weary, "you never knew when to stop, Zame."
He exhaled, shoulders rising with slow control.
"If you don't stop now…"
His aura pulsed once, golden light cutting through the haze.
"…then I'll have to put an end to this myself."
Zame's grin sharpened, teeth flashing in the red light.
"You can try," he said softly. "But you'll drown before you touch me."
The air between them thickened—gold against crimson, control against chaos.
And then, the labyrinth itself began to shift again.
The ground split, walls groaned, and a deep mechanical hum rose beneath their feet, swallowing their words in thunder.
Massive stone barriers surged upward between them—tearing the ground apart and cutting their gazes short.
Neither had time to move.
The maze moved because someone had made it.
The system had registered it.
Then, through every speaker and screen in the world, a single voice echoed:
"Duma — first participant to reach an exit."
———
"Didn't take him long," a calm voice murmured.
Varga stood several corridors away, hands in his pockets, silver eyes faintly glowing under the red haze above.
He glanced toward the distant sound of grinding stone, the faint tremor running through the floor.
And started walking again—slow and deliberate, every sense tuned to the maze's rhythm.
———
Somewhere else, laughter echoed.
"KEKEKEKEKE—what's this?!"
Waraabe blinked as the labyrinth shifted around him—walls twisting, dust rising, scarlet light slicing through the cracks.
When the tremor stopped, he looked up.
Right in front of him, not ten meters away, a massive stone gate had appeared—its surface glowing faintly, symbols pulsing like a heartbeat.
Waraabe's grin stretched wide.
"Well, well, well…" he said, clicking his tongue. "Seems luck's finally on my side today,"
He cracked his neck, hands in his hoodie pockets, and strutted toward the door.
"Thank you, Duma," he laughed, stepping through the gate. "Guess I'm number two."
The gate sealed shut behind him with a thunderous boom, and the labyrinth began to move once more.
And then—
another voice cut through the storm.
Calm, firm, echoing through every speaker and every arena feed across the world:
"Waraabe — second participant to reach an exit."
The crowd erupted again—half laughing, half shouting in disbelief.
"The Hyena did it?!"
"That maniac just lucked his way through!"
And then, one after another, the announcements came like gunfire.
———
"Third participant — Arbokh."
The world fell silent for a second. Even the commentators stopped breathing.
Somewhere deep within the labyrinth, a colossal shadow passed through a glowing gate.
The Mythic had moved.
———
"Fourth participant — Varga."
A silver streak cut through the maze, calm and precise.
———
"Fifth participant — Orien."
A mighty presence—no one expected him to be eliminated. And why would they? He's a King.
———
"Sixth participant — Falko."
A feather drifted through red light, falling where he once stood.
"Tch… he finished before me."
———
"Seventh participant — Kongu."
The Enforcer emblem flared across the screens.
He stepped through his gate slowly, jaw tight, the light behind him flickering like restrained fire.
———
"Eighth participant — Lume."
For a moment, Gate Eight was silent — then light burst from its center, scattering like embers in the wind.
When it dimmed, she was already standing there, calm and radiant.
———
"Ninth participant — Vail."
No one saw him approach the gate.
One moment, it stood empty — the next, he was simply there.
"Tenth participant — Byte."
She didn't look for the gate — she heard it.
A soft click left her lips, echoing through the air until the world answered back.
When the vibrations settled, she stepped forward and opened the gate.
The final gate sealed with a roaring tremor that shook the entire colosseum.
The labyrinth stilled. The crimson light steadied.
Ten gates closed. Ten survived.
© 2025 Moku. All rights reserved. INSTINCTBOUND is an original work by Moku. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.