The labyrinth had been silent for almost three hours.
Not truly silent.
Screams still echoed through the endless corridors. Metal clashed against claws. Heavy footsteps ran through tunnels slick with blood.
But the panic of the beginning had faded.
Now only the strongest were still alive.
---
High above the maze, Queen Nythera Valerys watched everything.
She sat on her black throne of obsidian and starlight, one arm resting lazily on the armrest. Her long silver-black hair flowed over her shoulders like liquid shadow.
Her crimson eyes glowed softly in the dim hall.
Around her, thousands of floating projections displayed the corridors of the maze.
Millions had entered.
Now only a fraction remained.
Vaelis studied the numbers appearing across the imperial displays.
"Casualties continue to rise," he reported.
Nythera didn't look concerned.
"Good."
Another corridor filled the central projection.
Kael Varyn roared as he smashed a creature into the wall with brutal force. Blood covered his armor now, but his grin had only grown wider.
Nythera watched him for a moment.
"He will survive," she said.
"He enjoys it too much not to."
---
Another projection shifted.
Soren Vale slipped through a narrow passage just as three monsters rushed past him in pursuit of someone else.
He exhaled slowly.
Still alive.
Nythera raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Still hiding, I see."
Vaelis nodded.
"Efficient strategy."
"Cowardly strategy."
But she didn't look away.
---
Darius Sol appeared next.
The prince's golden armor was now scratched and stained with dark blood.
Yet he still moved with the confidence of someone who believed destiny belonged to him.
He cut down another creature and stepped forward calmly.
Nythera smirked faintly.
"He truly believes he deserves my throne."
Vaelis said carefully,
"Confidence is often mistaken for destiny."
Nythera chuckled softly.
"Yes."
---
Another screen revealed Rowan Thorne.
He had barely fought at all.
Instead he had watched, studied, and chosen the safest paths through the maze. Now he stood before a massive steel door.
One of the exits.
Rowan pushed it open slowly.
Light spilled into the corridor.
He stepped through without saying a word.
Nythera nodded slightly.
"A hunter."
---
Then the final projection appeared.
The ancient vampire.
Still walking calmly.
Still untouched.
The labyrinth around him looked like a graveyard of creatures.
Broken bodies littered the floor behind him.
He had not rushed.
He had not struggled.
He had simply… walked.
As if the maze had been designed for someone like him.
Nythera leaned forward slightly.
"Fascinating."
The vampire approached a massive exit gate.
He paused for a moment.
Then slowly looked upward again.
Directly at the projection.
At her.
That faint smile returned.
Nythera felt the same strange spark of interest again.
"Arrogant," she murmured.
But her tone carried something else.
Amusement.
---
Suddenly the floor of the throne chamber trembled.
Vaelis looked at the central display.
"The first exits are activating."
Across the labyrinth, massive gates began opening.
Survivors rushed toward them.
Some collapsed the moment they reached safety.
Others simply stared in disbelief.
They had survived.
The numbers on the imperial display began counting rapidly.
3,400,000 survivors.
2,800,000.
2,100,000.
More contestants died even as the exits opened.
Creatures still hunted those too slow to escape.
Eventually—
The final gate closed.
The labyrinth fell silent.
Vaelis studied the final count.
Then looked at the Queen.
"It is finished."
Nythera tilted her head slightly.
"And?"
Vaelis spoke the number clearly.
"Out of the millions who arrived at the Citadel…"
He paused.
"Exactly one million contestants remain."
The survivors now stood inside a massive chamber beyond the maze.
An ocean of warriors, assassins, princes, hunters, monsters and adventurers.
All breathing heavily.
All staring upward.
Above them, the enormous throne platform descended slowly from the ceiling.
And once again—
Queen Nythera appeared.
The chamber fell silent instantly.
Her presence filled the entire hall.
She stood now instead of sitting.
Tall.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
And impossibly beautiful.
Even covered in the cold light of the chamber, she looked unreal — like something carved from moonlight and shadow.
Her crimson eyes scanned the enormous crowd.
One million survivors.
Her gaze moved across the sea of faces.
Kael.
Soren.
Darius.
Rowan.
And finally—
The ancient vampire.
Still calm.
Still watching her with that faint, confident smile.
Nythera smiled back slightly.
Then she addressed the survivors.
"Congratulations."
Her voice echoed through the colossal chamber.
"You survived the First Trial."
Some contestants straightened proudly.
Others simply looked exhausted.
Nythera slowly walked across the platform above them.
"Millions came."
She paused.
"Only one million remain."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Unfortunately for you," she continued smoothly,
"The next trial will remove most of you."
The murmurs stopped immediately.
Nythera's eyes glowed brighter.
"The Second Trial… begins tomorrow."
She smiled.
"And it will be far more entertaining."
Then she raised one elegant hand.
Massive doors opened around the chamber.
"Rest."
"Eat."
"Prepare."
Her smile sharpened slightly.
"Because by the end of the next trial…"
Her crimson eyes flicked briefly back toward the ancient vampire.
"…only ten thousand of you will still be alive."
Gasps spread through the chamber.
Nythera turned away.
Satisfied.
For the first time in centuries—
She was no longer bored.
And somewhere in the crowd below…
The ancient vampire finally spoke softly to himself.
"Well," he said with a small smile,
"This might actually be fun."