Episode 39 – The Rogue's Shadow

The Labyrinth shifted again.

Stone corridors that had once been narrow now yawned wider, carved by unseen hands. Torches flared to life on the walls, burning with pale-blue fire, their glow trembling as if afraid of the darkness they lit.

Kuro's boots echoed against the floor, each step measured. His emberblade rested loose at his side, yet his eyes—those emberlight flames—never strayed from the shadows stretching too far ahead.

Akira walked slightly behind him, katana half-drawn. His calm mask hid a tension he couldn't shake. "This part of the labyrinth…" he muttered, glancing at the walls. "…doesn't feel like the rest. It's too quiet."

Elira's violet gaze swept across the corridor, frost gathering faintly at her fingertips as a precaution. Her voice was low, almost uneasy. "Not quiet. Listening."

The air itself felt alive, humming with whispers so faint they could barely catch them. Names. Hundreds of names. None their own.

[System Alert: Zone Shift Detected]

[Hazard Rating: Rising – Tier IV]

Kuro exhaled slowly. "Stay sharp. The labyrinth's changing its game."

---

They moved forward, the silence pressing heavier with every step.

The corridors twisted, curved, split—yet always led them forward, never back. The labyrinth guided them deeper, and for once, even Akira's steady composure faltered.

He frowned, brushing dust from the wall with his fingers. "…Fresh."

Kuro glanced at him. "What?"

"These carvings." Akira tapped a series of marks etched faintly into the stone—slashes, small but deliberate. "Not old. Someone made these recently."

Elira stiffened. "You mean… someone else is here?"

Akira's lips tightened into a grim line. "Not just someone. A warrior. These are path markers. Whoever made them knew the labyrinth well enough not to get lost."

Kuro's emberlight eyes narrowed. "…Then we're not the only ones walking this road."

---

The atmosphere grew colder.

From the darkness ahead came a faint sound—soft, rhythmic. Metal scraping stone. Footsteps that weren't theirs.

Akira shifted instantly into a battle stance. "We're being followed."

Elira's frostfire flickered into her palm, her voice taut. "No. Not followed. Hunted."

The sound stopped.

Silence crashed over them.

Then—wind. A sudden gust that carried no source, brushing past their necks like a blade. The torches sputtered, shadows lengthening unnaturally across the walls.

Kuro's grip tightened around his blade. His instincts screamed. Someone—something—was here.

---

[System Alert: Unknown Presence Detected]

[Warning: Concealment Ability – Active]

Kuro's gaze snapped upward. The shadows above the corridor ceiling writhed. For a heartbeat, he saw it—movement. A figure. Perched, watching.

Akira reacted instantly, katana flashing upward. Steel cleaved the air, sparking against empty stone. Nothing there.

But Kuro's heart was hammering. He had seen it. A silhouette—slender, poised, cloaked in darkness. Eyes that gleamed faintly green.

Elira's frostfire ignited brighter, her voice sharp. "What did you see?"

Kuro's answer was quiet, but heavy. "…A hunter."

---

The labyrinth trembled suddenly, the walls groaning as cracks spread across the stone. The ground beneath them shifted, separating into narrow bridges suspended over a chasm of shadows.

Dozens of echo-wraiths rose from the depths, shrieking, their hollow forms crawling up the sides of the chasm.

Akira cursed, cutting down the first that lunged for him. "Perfect timing!"

Kuro's blade roared alive, cleaving through another. Elira's frostfire erupted into wings of blue flame, sweeping enemies off the bridges.

But even as they fought, the presence didn't vanish.

A pair of emerald eyes gleamed faintly in the distance, watching. Studying.

Not enemy. Not ally. Not yet.

---

The battle raged across the bridges, each step dangerous, each strike threatening to throw them into the abyss.

Akira fought with precise, deadly arcs, his blade carving paths through the wraiths. "This bridge won't hold long!" he shouted.

Elira's frostfire exploded outward, freezing half the horde before shattering them with a sweep of her arm. But sweat lined her brow—her power was steady, but the labyrinth's whispers gnawed at her focus.

Kuro cut down another wraith, his mind divided. The echoes were dangerous, yes—but the true danger was still watching them from the shadows.

And for the first time, the labyrinth itself didn't feel like their greatest enemy.

---

The last wraith screeched as Kuro's emberblade tore through it, dissolving into dust. The bridge groaned, then steadied. For the moment, silence.

Akira sheathed his blade with a hiss of frustration. "This place is relentless."

Elira steadied her breath, her frostfire fading. "…But that wasn't the true trial. Something else is here."

Her gaze drifted toward the shadows where those emerald eyes had gleamed. But now—only darkness remained.

Kuro's eyes burned faintly as he muttered under his breath. "She's still here."

Akira frowned sharply. "She?"

Kuro didn't answer. He only glanced at the faint markings carved into the next path—slashes in the stone, deliberate and sharp. The same as before.

Whoever left them wasn't just surviving. They were leading.

And they were ahead.

---

The three continued onward, the labyrinth growing more twisted, more alive. Whispers rose louder, like a thousand forgotten names crying out, trying to drown their thoughts.

Elira faltered once, clutching her temple. Kuro steadied her, his emberlight anchoring her frostfire. She exhaled, eyes softening slightly. "…Thank you."

He only nodded, but his gaze was already sharp again, scanning the shadows.

Because he felt it. The same presence. Moving. Always a step ahead.

Until the very end of the corridor.

---

The path split into a wide hall, lit by torches that flared one by one as they entered. The floor was littered with broken weapons, rusted armor, and shattered helmets—remnants of adventurers who had come before.

At the far end stood a gate of obsidian, sealed with chains of light.

But that wasn't what froze them.

Perched casually atop the broken remains of a statue was a figure. Cloaked. Lean. A pair of curved daggers glinting faintly at her sides.

Her auburn hair caught the torchlight, streaked with silver. And her eyes—those sharp emerald-green eyes—watched them with a predator's calm.

She said nothing.

She only smirked faintly, before vanishing into the shadows again.

---

Akira's grip tightened on his katana. "…Who the hell was that?"

Elira's frostfire pulsed faintly, unsettled. "Not an echo. Not a wraith. Something real."

Kuro's emberlight gaze lingered on the shadows where she had disappeared. His voice was low, certain.

"…A rogue."

The labyrinth groaned, chains rattling against the sealed gate. The whispers grew violent, echoing louder than before.

But their minds weren't on the whispers anymore.

Because now—they weren't alone.

---

[To Be Continued…]

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