“Why did they stop chasing us…?” Sam breathed, his eyes glued to the silent horde hovering at the top of the stairs.
“Not too sure,” Alice said, her voice tight.
“But I think it’s best if we keep moving.”
She stood up, dusting the debris off her suit before marching forward.
Sam scrambled to his feet and hurried after her, taking in their new surroundings.
The polished stone of the upper floor was gone, replaced by walls of rough, ancient sandstone.
Deep carvings covered the sandstone walls, forming symbols from a language completely foreign to Sam.
Alice was moving at a grueling pace—one that Sam was completely unable to match in his condition.
He could feel his body starting to give out, every single step draining the absolute last of his stamina.
She glanced over her shoulder and took notice of his heavy breathing.
Stopping in her tracks, she sighed.
“Maybe we should take a short break here. I think we’re safe for now.”
Flooded with relief, Sam offered a weak smile and promptly collapsed onto the sandy floor.
Alice sat down beside him, leaning against the sandstone wall.
“How the hell… do you have so much stamina?” Sam wheezed, his chest heaving as he finally caught his breath.
Alice shrugged, pulling her knees to her chest.
“Well, I did physical training back home for several hours every single day. I guess you never had to deal with anything like this where you’re from?”
“Not even close,” Sam said, resting his head back against the rock.
“My home world is way more peaceful than this nightmare.”
Alice let out a soft laugh.
“Well, back in my world, we actually have something similar to this labyrinth. We call it the Dungeon. It has multiple floors, each with its own monsters, but you’re allowed to come and go whenever you please.”
Sam blinked, looking at her in disbelief.
“And why would anyone want to go down there in the first place?”
“To make a living,” she explained, tracing a finger along the sand on the floor.
“Monster corpses can be processed into medicines. There are even rare, valuable ores you can mine on the deeper floors. If you’re strong enough, it’s a goldmine.”
“Well, back in my world, people make a living by doing normal, safe things,” Sam said with a wistful sigh.
“I, for one, am studying computer science at a university. I was hoping to get a comfy job sitting at a desk all day.”
Alice tilted her head.
“Oh, you’re still a student? How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“Looks like I’m the older one, then,” she said, offering a small, playful smirk.
“I’m twenty-two.”
Sam blinked.
Somehow, he hadn’t expected her to be older than him.
“Oh. Would you like me to address you more respectfully, then?”
“No, no, don’t be silly!” Alice burst into a soft laugh, waving her hand dismissively.
“We’re trying not to die in a magic labyrinth, we don’t need to worry about formalities.”
All of a sudden, a tiny gray blur darted out from the shadows and scrambled directly across both of their shoes.
It was a rat.
“Oh my god, yuck! Get it away! Get it away from me!” Alice squealed, completely losing her cool as she scrambled backward against the wall, kicking her legs out.
Sam blinked in utter disbelief.
“Hold on a minute. You can handle mutant wolves and demonic mannequins with ease, but you’re afraid of a single rat?”
“So what?! They’re disgusting!” she shrieked, her face flushed.
Startled by her panicked shouting, the rodent darted into a nest of scavenged debris where dozens of other rats lay huddled together.
“Oh, that is so gross!” Alice groaned, shielding her eyes.
Looking at the unstoppable, flame-wielding warrior reduced to a shuddering mess by a common pest, Sam couldn’t help himself.
He burst out laughing.
Alice glared at him, pouting, but as his laughter echoed through the corridor, the tension in her shoulders finally melted away.
A warm, brief moment of comfortable silence settled between them.
“Just out of curiosity,” Sam asked, looking at her resting hands, “does everyone from your world have powers like you?”
“Most people do, but some don’t,” she replied softly.
“It’s unfortunate, honestly. Trying to get by in a world like mine without any powers is really tough.”
She shook her head, turning the question back on him.
“What about you? Is everyone in your world powerless?”
“Yep! Zero powers, zero monsters, nothing to fear,” Sam said, a proud smile crossing his face.
“No powers or monsters, huh?” Alice murmured.
She looked down at her hands.
“I wish I could have grown up in a world like that…”
For a fleeting second, a deep sadness surfaced in her eyes.
“Alright!” Alice suddenly blurted out, slapping her knees as she stood up.
“I think that’s enough rest. Let’s keep moving. We don’t want to risk those mannequins up there changing their minds.”
Sam opened his mouth, wanting to ask if she was truly alright, but he could tell she wasn’t interested in discussing it any further.
Nodding silently, he pushed himself up from the sandy floor.
Together, they turned their attention back to the unknown path and continued deeper into the sandstone depths.
They marched in tense silence until the narrow hallway finally opened up into a massive, circular chamber.
The scale of the room was staggering, but what immediately caught their attention were the statues.
Looming along the perimeter were towering figures, easily five meters tall, sculpted to look like monolithic stone golems.
They stood frozen against the walls like silent sentinels, casting long shadows over the floor.
Sam’s eyes scanned the rest of the colossal space.
There were no other doorways.
No hidden arches.
The room was a complete dead end.
And right in the dead center of the chamber lay a large, domed red button resting atop a stone pedestal.
“Well, well. This is a surprise. Two of you have already made it to the final challenge of this game.”
The familiar, mocking voice echoed directly inside both of their minds.
It was Nexis.
“Since you’ve both done such an amazing job entertaining me, I think I’ll give you a little hint! Do you see that thick red line drawn across the floor right in front of you?”
Sam looked down.
Sure enough, a faint, crimson border was etched into the sandstone a few metres ahead of them.
He hadn’t even noticed it when they first stepped into the room.
“Any living thing that crosses that boundary will cause my beautiful statues to activate, and they will try to stop you using absolute brute force. But don’t worry! As long as you stay behind that line, they won’t lay a finger on you. Good luck!”
And just like that, the mocking voice subsided.
Without a second thought, Alice began marching toward the red boundary.
“Wait!” Sam called out, catching her arm.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Why not just wait behind the line for someone else to come down and finish the game for us?”
“We have no idea how long that’ll take,” Alice argued, gently pulling out of his grip.
“And remember what I said earlier? We don’t know what the other contestants will do to us if we cross paths. This is our best bet to get out of here.”
She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, and stepped over the line.
Instantly, the empty sockets of every golem in the chamber flared with a cold, pale blue light.
The stone giants groaned to life.
Alice bolted toward the center pedestal, but a towering mass of sandstone instantly shifted, blocking her path.
The golem raised a massive, boulder-like arm and slammed it downward.
She threw herself sideways, narrowly evading the crushing blow, and thrust her hands forward to unleash a torrent of flame.
The fire engulfed the giant, but the stone didn’t even scorch.
It had no effect.
Before she could recover, the golem’s backhand caught her mid-stride.
The impact sent her flying through the air, crashing violently into the sandstone wall.
Immense pain flared across her back.
Gasping for air, she forced herself back to her feet, driven by pure will.
Two more golems were already charging her from both sides.
Left with no choice, she ignited both palms, using the raw explosive force of her flames as a makeshift booster to propel herself forward, rocketing right between them.
The pedestal was right there.
The button was within reach.
But as she closed the final gap, a rocky hand clamped around her waist.
Another golem intervened, lifting her effortlessly before hurling her high into the air.
Desperate, Alice pointed her palms toward the ground and fired, trying to cushion her descent, but the sheer velocity of the throw rendered her attempt meaningless.
She slammed into the hard stone floor with a sickening thud.
Battered and broken, she struggled to even lift her head.
Through her blurred vision, she saw them.
Several colossal giants stood over her, their glowing blue eyes locked onto her trembling form.
“So this is how it ends, huh?” she grumbled, a bitter laugh escaping her lips.
Exhausted, she closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow.
Suddenly, a strange scratching sensation brushed across her boots.
Her eyes snapped open.
It was a rat.
In fact, it was a literal tide of them, scurrying wildly across the open floor.
SMASH!
SMASH!
SMASH!
The deafening thunder of stone echoing through the room shocked her out of her stupor.
The golems had completely ignored her.
Their massive fists were raining down wildly on the floor, frantically trying to crush the chaotic swarm of rodents beneath their feet.
It was perfect.
The golems were distracted.
But Alice was too battered to move.
Whoosh!
A blur of movement zoomed past her.
Sam.
He was sprinting at full speed toward the pedestal.
A golem’s fist pulverized a rat right in front of him, embedding itself into the ground and completely blocking his path.
Acting on pure adrenaline, Sam veered hard, swerving around the massive stone forearm without losing an ounce of speed.
Sensing the intruder, another giant turned its glowing gaze toward him, heavy stone footsteps thundering right at his back.
The footsteps thundered closer.
Closer.
Closer.
But it was a split-second too late.
Sam threw himself forward, stretching his arm as far as it would go, and slammed his hand violently down onto the massive red button.
Instantly, the blue light drained from the golems’ eyes.
The giants froze mid-motion, turning back into lifeless statues.
The deafening noise died out, leaving nothing but the sound of Sam’s ragged breathing.
The first game had finally come to an end.