Koliasis
I returned to the labyrinth that night with the compass and the scroll. I closed my eyes, thought about Doya, and silently hoped he would appear, and then he did. Thank God.
"Dana…" he said my name softly, almost welcoming.
"Hey, Doya. I'm really glad to see you."
I waited for him to say something else, anything really, but of course, nothing. As usual, he stood there like some emotionless guardian robot.
"There's something I need your help with," I finally said. "The compass led me to this scroll, but I can't understand the language written on it."
I reached into my backpack and handed it to him.
Doya examined the scroll with an expression I had never seen on him before. Confusion? Alarm? Whatever it was, he definitely recognized something.
"What's wrong?" I asked, squinting at him, trying to read his face.
"This scroll… where did you get it?" he asked carefully.
"Inside the Orialis coven. It was hidden behind a wall in one of the chambers. A spiritual entity led me to it."
"It's written in the old language of the labyrinth," Doya said slowly, "from before this place was lost."
"Lost?" My confusion doubled. "I thought the cranium created this place sixteen years ago, the day I was born."
"The cranium created the labyrinth eons ago. But years later, it disappeared… nowhere to be found. Everyone inside it was trapped in a loop. The disappearance was caused by an evil curse the god of destruction cast through the cranium's power."
He paused, like he was remembering something painful.
"When the previous guardian reclaimed the cranium, he reversed the destruction that was meant to happen. He fought hard to break the curse, but he failed. The power of the cranium was too much for one being to control, it began to consume him. So he hid it, weaving a spell that made it impossible for anyone to find except the next guardian chosen by the cranium."
He looked at me deeply.
"When you were born, the cranium awakened. Then the labyrinth finally reappeared. The loop ended. And from that moment, we've been awaiting your return. Koliasis."
He bowed slightly.
"What?" I blinked. "What's… Koliasis?"
"Koliasis was the first guardian."
"So why are you calling me that?"
"Because he has returned through you. And when you accept it, he will manifest."
"Okay well… I accept"
"It doesn't work like that," Doya said flatly. "But you'll understand soon."
I sighed, frustrated but also… strangely calmer. "Fine. But what about the scroll? What does it actually say?"
"Look at it again," he instructed. "You can read it now."
I opened the scroll and to my shock, I suddenly could understand it. The words weren't foreign anymore; they came alive.
"When you see this, we are probably lost or forgotten…
The forsaken have come after us again, and we still have no luck finding a guardian.
Many of us have been killed, and I write this fearing no one will ever understand.
They escaped the labyrinth before the disappearance.
The servants of the god of destruction have slaughtered so many.
They have the compass and intend to use it to find the cranium.
The guardian must be ready for war.
Koliasis must reclaim the compass and find the cranium.
War is coming."
Suddenly, images flooded my mind. Screams. Flames. Cries for help. I didn't just see the destruction, I felt it. The pain. The desperation. The terror.
The people of the labyrinth fighting for their lives.
The forsaken slaughtering them.
Some escaping to Earth before the labyrinth vanished.
Living among humans for centuries.
Immortal, but killable.
Some good.
Many evil.
My chest tightened. Tears rolled down my face.
"Dana! Dana, hey!"
Doya's voice snapped me back. He held my shoulders gently. "Wake up!"
I gasped for air, realizing I had been crying.
"I'm okay," I whispered, wiping my face. "But… I need to find the cranium."
Something inside me had shifted, like the old Dana had cracked open and something stronger stepped out.
---
I woke up the next morning still shaken. Last night in the labyrinth changed everything.
Now that the labyrinth exists again, most forsaken can't get in. It doesn't appear to them. It rejects them.
But one thing from the scroll echoed in my mind:
"They have the compass…"
If the forsaken once had the compass…
Is Giselle one of them?
Something about her was definitely off. She was hiding something and I would find out.