Verena didn't hesitate. The moment the massive gate creaked open, revealing the swirling, spiraling descent deeper into the Labyrinth, her eyes stayed fixed on the fractured floor where Vivienne had vanished. Isolde, ever the composed one, had already stepped toward the path forward, but paused when she noticed Verena standing still.

"Verena," Isolde called, voice low with warning. "Don't be stupid."

Verena didn't answer right away. Her fingers twitched at her sides, threads of her Zodiacal Mimicry humming faintly beneath her skin as frustration and worry tangled inside her like a knot of coiled wires.

Isolde's gaze sharpened. "I know what you're thinking, and no—getting separated is exactly what this labyrinth wants. You can't chase after every lost duckling."

"She's not a duckling," Verena muttered. "She's… Vivienne."

"Exactly my point."

Despite Isolde's words, the tight clench of unease in Verena's chest only worsened. Vivienne may have been frustrating, clumsy, and scatterbrained beyond belief—but nobody deserved to be left stranded in this maze alone. Especially not her, not with how easily fear and self-doubt devoured people in this place. The labyrinth wasn't just a puzzle. It was designed to break you apart from the inside.

Verena exhaled sharply, her jaw tightening. "I'll be quick."

Without waiting for approval, she darted to the fractured floor, the constellation-lit stone still humming faintly where Vivienne had fallen. Her eyes flicked across the surface, analyzing it for hidden mechanisms. The faint shimmer of astral residue marked a teleportation fault—likely a trap designed to displace participants, a classic labyrinth trick.

Good. That meant Vivienne wasn't gone-gone. Just misplaced.

Verena's mimicry threads pulsed as she synced to the residual energy. A moment later, a secondary path flickered into existence—a hidden alcove tucked along the arena's far edge, nearly invisible under normal sight. Typical labyrinth cruelty. Out of sight, out of mind. But not for Verena.

"I'll drag her back myself," Verena muttered, already moving.

Isolde sighed heavily behind her. "I'm giving you five minutes before I follow, understand?"

Verena flashed a grin over her shoulder. "You do care."

Isolde didn't respond, but her unimpressed glare was answer enough.

The alcove's entrance yawned open like the mouth of some celestial beast, swallowing Verena into its shadowed interior. The walls pulsed faintly with the same shifting constellation patterns as the rest of the labyrinth, but this passage was narrower, claustrophobic. Her footsteps echoed against the polished stone as she pressed forward.

It didn't take long to find her.

Vivienne was curled up at the far end of the narrow corridor, sitting on the floor with her knees tucked to her chest. The moment Verena appeared, the girl's eyes lit up, glassy with unshed tears.

"Verena!" Vivienne scrambled upright, tripping over her own feet in the process. "Y-You found me!"

"Obviously." Verena knelt down, grabbing the girl by the wrist to steady her. "You're hard to miss when you panic loud enough to echo across dimensions."

Vivienne sniffled, attempting a weak smile. "I wasn't that loud…"

"You were."

A breath of relief slipped from Vivienne's lips as she clung to Verena's sleeve like a lost child. It stirred something uncomfortable in Verena's chest—a dangerous mixture of responsibility and reluctant fondness. The worst cocktail.

"Come on, we're behind," Verena said, urging her toward the exit. "Isolde's probably judging us both for wasting time."

They retraced their steps, the labyrinth subtly reshaping around them as they walked, like a living entity displeased with their reunion. But Verena paid it no mind. She kept her grip firm on Vivienne's wrist, dragging the girl through shifting shadows and under floating fragments of stone, determined not to lose her again.

When they finally reached the arena's center, Isolde was waiting, arms crossed, foot tapping with pointed impatience.

"Took you long enough," Isolde remarked coolly, though her eyes flicked briefly to Vivienne, scanning for injury.

"She's fine," Verena assured, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "We're all fine. Let's just finish this before the maze decides to get creative again."

Together, they approached the spiraling descent, their footsteps syncing as they advanced. The path twisted downward, bathed in shifting constellations and cosmic mist, like a staircase leading into the heart of the stars themselves.

The air grew heavier with each step, magic thickening like fog, the pressure of the labyrinth's sentience pressing in around them. It was watching. Testing. Waiting.

But this time, Verena's team was whole.

And for once, despite the nerves coiled tight in her stomach, she allowed herself a small smirk of defiance. Let the labyrinth try its worst. She was ready.

The moment they stepped beyond the spiral descent, the temperature plummeted. A thin mist curled along the ground like creeping fingers, obscuring the floor beneath their boots. Overhead, the constellations fractured into jagged shards of light, like the sky itself had been shattered and pieced back together with careless hands.

Trial Two had officially begun.

The room was massive — an open arena shaped like a celestial amphitheater, with towering walls carved from dark stone veined in glowing, silver threads. Floating platforms hovered at impossible angles, some twisting in slow, lazy rotations, others vanishing entirely only to flicker back into existence seconds later. The entire arena looked like someone had torn apart space and stitched it back together with reckless abandon.

"Oh, this looks perfectly safe," Verena muttered under her breath, eyes narrowing at the flickering platforms.

"It's an Air-aligned trial," Isolde remarked, scanning their surroundings with practiced sharpness. "Expect puzzles. Spatial distortions. Probably traps."

"Yay… riddles," Verena groaned.

Vivienne, meanwhile, clung to Verena's side like a particularly anxious barnacle, eyes wide as saucers. "I don't like puzzles…" she whispered.

"You don't like thinking," Verena corrected.

Before Vivienne could protest, a thunderous voice echoed through the arena, booming from nowhere and everywhere at once:

"Trial of Air: The Path of Wits. Only those with sharp minds and steady steps shall proceed."

With that, a shimmering bridge of translucent energy unfurled ahead — thin, twisting, and vanishing into the fog beyond.

Verena exhaled through her nose. "Of course. Floating platforms and invisible death traps."

Isolde was already stepping forward, utterly unfazed. "Keep up," she ordered, glancing back. "And for the love of the constellations, don't fall."

They followed in cautious procession, each footstep deliberate. The energy bridge pulsed faintly beneath their steps, and every so often, a segment flickered — warning of instability.

Halfway across, the first challenge revealed itself.

A series of glowing sigils materialized in the air before them, each etched with ancient runes and symbols. A voice spoke again, this time weaving into their minds rather than the air:

"Name the constellation that governs the tides."

Easy enough. Verena's mind immediately jumped to the answer. "Pisces," she stated.

The sigils pulsed approvingly, and the bridge ahead stabilized.

"See? Not so bad," Verena said smugly.

Another set of symbols flared to life.

"Name the constellation associated with deception."

Vivienne visibly flinched. "Uh… Gemini?"

The sigils pulsed again, granting passage.

One by one, the puzzles came — riddles, logic tests, constellation trivia. The trio pressed onward, their pace steady, though the platform's instability made every step nerve-wracking.

But, as expected, the labyrinth wasn't going to let them off easy.

Halfway across a particularly narrow platform, the fog thickened, and a deep growl rumbled from the shadows. From above, a creature descended — sleek, winged, and covered in shifting, translucent scales that reflected the starlight like liquid crystal.

"Zodiabeast," Isolde hissed, drawing her threads of Bind Magic, faint silver lines dancing between her fingers.

Verena's eyes widened as recognition clicked. "Aquarius manifestation. An air-aligned guardian."

The creature dove, wings slicing through the mist with a shriek of displaced air. Isolde reacted first, casting threads that wove into a shimmering web between floating platforms, forcing the beast to veer off-course. But it wasn't enough.

"Vivienne, stay back!" Verena barked, summoning her mimicry threads.

But Vivienne, eyes wide and shimmering with faint Dreamtide energy, held her ground.

"I-I can help!" she protested.

Before Verena could argue, the Zodiabeast turned its attention to Vivienne, sensing her fear — or her power.

The air warped around them, the platform tilting precariously. The beast lunged again.

Verena didn't hesitate.

She darted forward, mimicry threads flaring as she mirrored Isolde's Bind Magic, casting an improvised net of energy to intercept the attack. The threads strained, threatening to snap, but held long enough for Isolde to reinforce them.

The Zodiabeast snarled, entangled briefly, buying them precious seconds.

"Vivienne, now!" Verena shouted.

Vivienne, trembling but determined, closed her eyes. Her Dreamtide magic unfurled like soft ripples on water, illusions weaving into the air — not to deceive the beast, but to distort its perception. The arena shimmered, and for a moment, it couldn't tell up from down, left from right.

It thrashed wildly, crashing into a floating platform and sending shards of crystal scattering.

"Nice work," Verena muttered, yanking Vivienne backward as the beast reeled.

Together, they pressed the advantage. Isolde's threads sliced, Verena's mimicry stabilized, and Vivienne's Dreamtide dulled the beast's instincts. In mere moments, it collapsed, dazed and tangled, before dissolving into starlight.

The path ahead solidified once more.

Breathing hard, Verena turned to Vivienne, still holding her arm protectively.

"Next time I say stay back," Verena warned, voice tight but not unkind, "try listening."

Vivienne beamed, despite her fear. "But… I did help, didn't I?"

Verena rolled her eyes, already stepping forward. "Yeah, yeah… let's go."

The Trial wasn't over.

But at least now, they had momentum.

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