CELESTIA - CHAPTER 49 : THE INFINITE MIROR
The labyrinth had changed its face.
The corridors of black stone had widened, as if the earth itself had opened its arms to swallow them. The torches had grown sparser, replaced by a bluish glow that seemed to emanate from the walls. A sickly light. A light that did not warm.
Zayn walked with a limp.
His clothes were in tatters, his breathing wheezing. The transformation into Water Pulse had left him with aches throughout his body, as if his bones had forgotten their human shape. Beside him, Rodrigue rolled his ball with one hand, looking detached, but his eyes scanned the shadows.
"You really took a beating," said Rodrigue.
"Thanks, I know."
"Just saying. Me, I'm fine."
Zayn shot him a dark look. Rodrigue flashed a wide smile.
"That's what it means to be moral support."
They walked on for a while. The silence of the labyrinth weighed heavily, laden with that tension that precedes disasters. Sometimes Zayn thought he heard a whisper. Sometimes, a scratching sound. He tried not to pay attention.
Then the screams tore through the silence.
A cry of pain. High-pitched. Feminine.
Zayn stopped dead.
"You heard that?"
"Yeah."
"That's…" He recognized that voice. His heart skipped a beat. "Cynthia."
He started running.
His legs burned. His lungs begged him to slow down. But he ran. Rodrigue followed, ball under his arm, his face suddenly serious.
They turned a corner. The scene that greeted them was a silent horror.
Cynthia was on her knees.
Her uniform was torn, stained with dust and blood. A deep gash cut across her shoulder, and her right arm hung limp at her side. She breathed in gasps, teeth clenched, her gaze fixed on a point before her.
Before her stood a boy, hands in his pockets.
Akamaru.
Class Zenith. The same class as Cynthia, the same as Zayn. A comrade. But his smile was anything but brotherly.
"You should have given up your badge earlier," he said, his voice calm, almost gentle. "Now you're going to lose it. And suffer. Not in the right order."
Cynthia tried to get up. Her leg gave way. She fell back to her knees.
"Go to hell…," she breathed.
Akamaru shrugged. Between his fingers, a card appeared – thin, gleaming, sharp as a blade. He slid it across his palm, then threw it.
The card whistled through the air.
Cynthia closed her eyes, bracing for impact.
It never came.
A hand caught it mid-flight.
Zayn stood before her, fingers clenched around Akamaru's card. His hand was bleeding – the card had cut through his palm – but he did not let go.
"You touch a single hair on her head, Akamaru, and I'll turn you into confetti."
Rodrigue planted himself beside him, ball on his hip, arms crossed.
"I mostly just hit. Less classy, but it works."
Akamaru smiled. No fear. Just mild, amused surprise.
"Zayn. Rodrigue. I was expecting you a little later."
"Sorry for messing up your schedule."
Zayn bent down, helped Cynthia to her feet. She swayed, leaning against his shoulder. Her hand was cold.
"He took my badge," she murmured. "Number four."
"I'll get it back."
"He's strong. His cards… they ignore defenses."
Zayn nodded. He looked at Akamaru, who was spinning a deck of cards between his fingers with unsettling dexterity.
"You're from Class Zenith. Like us. We're supposed to be a team."
"This exam isn't a carnival, Zayn. Here, you're alone. You know that."
"I know you're an asshole."
Akamaru burst out laughing.
"Maybe. But at least I'll have your badge in the end."
He threw three cards in a single motion.
Zayn dove to the side, pulling Cynthia with him. Rodrigue deflected one card with his ball – it ricocheted, embedding itself in the stone wall with a sharp crack. The second whistled past Zayn's ear. The third…
The third never reached him.
A black sword sliced it in two.
Yojuro.
He emerged from the shadows, his face marked by fatigue, but his gaze still cold. Behind him, the blue torches of the statue room flickered out, slowly, like a closing scene.
He stopped beside Zayn, the Void sword in hand.
"Sorry I'm late."
"You beat Alexandra?"
"She's fine. A little annoyed."
Akamaru stepped back. For the first time, his smile faltered.
"Three against one? That's a little unfair."
"We don't care," said Zayn. "Give back her badge."
"Or what?"
Zayn raised his wrist. Borealis began to glow. The air around him grew heavy with energy.
"Or I'll show you a taste of what's waiting for you in the next rounds."
Akamaru looked at him. He looked at Yojuro. He looked at Rodrigue, then at the wounded Cynthia.
He put away his deck.
"See you later, Zayn. When your friends aren't around anymore."
He turned on his heel. A card exploded behind him, releasing a thick smoke. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
Silence fell again.
Zayn turned to Cynthia.
"You okay?"
She tried to smile. Her face was pale.
"I've been better. But I'll survive. Thanks."
"You shouldn't have fought alone."
"He set a trap for me. He knew I was tired."
Yojuro stepped closer, examining her wound with a clinical eye.
"It's still bleeding. We need to get her out of the labyrinth."
"We can't," said Zayn. "We're not done."
"Then we protect her."
Rodrigue set his ball down on the ground.
"I can stay with her. You two go get the badges. We'll meet at the exit."
Cynthia shook her head.
"I'm not a burden."
"You're a friend," Zayn corrected. "Not the same thing."
He stood up, helped her lean against a wall.
"We're not moving until you're fit to walk."
Cynthia started to protest. Then she fell silent. Her eyes grew moist, but she did not cry.
"Akamaru will pay for this," she said simply.
"He'll pay. Promise."
Zayn looked at Yojuro. Yojuro nodded.
The two boys disappeared into the corridor. Behind them, Rodrigue sat down beside Cynthia, his ball on his knees, ready to defend their position against anyone who approached.
In the shadows, further away, Akamaru was putting away his cards, a smile on his lips.
He had lost that battle. But he still had tricks up his sleeve.
And in the labyrinth, the game had only just begun.
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