Chapter 38: Moving in Circles

Inside a wide control room, guards moved back and forth with quiet urgency. Some held thick folders under their arms, others sat at long desks, eyes fixed on glowing screens. Fingers tapped on keyboards. Orders were whispered, then carried out.

Everything here existed for one purpose—to watch the Maze.

At the center of the room stood a large glass table. Above it floated a hollow, three-dimensional projection of the Maze, glowing faintly. Pathways shifted slowly within it. Around the table, dozens of screens lined the walls, each showing live footage of the children scattered across different sections of the Maze. The images switched every few seconds, never lingering too long.

Freya stood with her arms crossed. Beside her were Kyle and three chief guards, all of Adept Rank except Freya, a Meister Rank Alchemist. None of them spoke for a while. They only watched.

"Who would have expected the first stage to take this long?" an elderly guard with black hair, black eyes, and a thick beard muttered. His gaze stayed on the floating projection.

"Young Master Felix and his team finished first," another old man added, stroking his chin. "It took them two and a half days." He smirked faintly. "As expected of the Lord Mistress’s son."

"Young Miss Vera and Priscilla also cleared it," Kyle said, focused on one of the screens. "But, they took three days."

A guard approached Freya quietly, bowed to her and the others, then handed her a stack of papers. Without a word, he stepped back and left.

"What’s that?" the female chief guard asked, leaning closer.

Freya scanned the pages. One hand rested on her waist, the other holding the report. Her expression hardened.

"These are the names of the children who died in the first stage."

The female guard glanced over her shoulder.

"...That many already," she said calmly, without a trace of pity.

"It’s to be expected," Kyle replied with a tired sigh.

"If they want to survive this Trial," the bearded chief guard said coldly, "they must be ready to crawl forward with their teeth." His eyes were sharp. "That’s the kind of determination this family needs."

***

Bobby opened his eyes slowly, the first thing he felt being the warmth of fire brushing against his skin. The crackling sound reached his ears, grounding him.

"Guys! Bobby’s awake!" Lime said loudly. Excitement filled his voice as he rushed over, grabbing Bobby by the arm and helping him sit up properly.

"What... happened?" Bobby asked, rubbing his head. A dull ache pulsed behind his eyes.

"You almost exhausted your Cognis," Ezra replied flatly. He knelt beside the fire, adjusting the burning wood, his face lit by the flickering flames.

Aliya lay half-covered in her sleeping bag nearby. When she heard Bobby’s voice, she lifted her head and looked over. "How are you feeling?" she asked, concern clear in her tone.

"I feel tired," Bobby said honestly, breathing heavier than usual.

"Don’t worry, you’ll be fine," Lime said quickly, still holding Bobby’s shoulder like he might fall over again.

"After we all recover, we move immediately," Ezra said. His eyes stayed on the fire, unfocused, as if he were searching for something inside the flames rather than watching them burn.

The other three nodded without arguing.

Time passed in an odd blur. It might have been minutes, or it might have been hours—none of them could really tell. Lime and Bobby talked quietly about their families and life back home, their voices low. Aliya tried to sleep again, turning from side to side, but sleep refused to come. Ezra remained silent, staring into the fire, unmoving.

"Ah!" Aliya suddenly jolted upright. "I’m bored." She stretched her arms above her head, then sighed. Since she couldn’t sleep anymore, she shuffled over and sat beside Ezra. "Why are you staring at the fire like that?" she asked, studying his face.

"No reason," Ezra replied without looking at her. "Just bored like you."

"...Ehhh, hmmm." Aliya glanced toward Lime and Bobby, who were still talking among themselves. She scratched her leg awkwardly, hesitating. "I don’t think I thanked you for saving me," she said softly.

"No, you didn’t," Ezra replied immediately.

That only made her feel more awkward. "...Well, thank you," she said. The tips of her ears slowly turned pink.

"You’re welcome," Ezra replied, then turned his eyes toward her. "Just be more careful next time."

Their gazes met.

Aliya froze.

She stared at his face, eyes wide, her thoughts spiraling out of control. Heat rushed to her cheeks as her imagination ran wild, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

"Yes," she said quickly. She turned away at once, hugging her blanket tightly and facing the ground. "I will," she added in a much quieter voice.

Ezra looked at her with a dry expression.

What’s wrong with her?

Not far away, Lime and Bobby had stopped talking. They exchanged glances, grinning openly.

Interesting.

That thought passed through both of their minds at the same time.

After another stretch of time—again, impossible to measure—Ezra clapped his hands once, breaking the quiet.

"Let’s start preparing to move."

He turned toward Bobby. "How are you feeling?"

"I haven’t fully recovered yet," Bobby admitted, flexing his arm carefully, "but after taking some medicine and circulating my Cognis, I can move."

"Good." Ezra looked at the other two. "What about you two?"

"Yes! We’re ready, Boss!" Lime and Aliya answered at the same time dramatically.

Ezra nodded. "Then pack up, and let’s go."

The fire crackled softly behind them as they prepared to move forward once more. They packed up their things, carefully putting everything back into their bags. Ezra walked over and kicked sand over the fire, then crushed the remaining embers with his boot until nothing but smoke remained.

After that, they moved out.

The stone tunnel stretched forward in a straight line. Their footsteps echoed softly, the sound bouncing off the cold walls. Water dripped somewhere in the distance, slow and steady, making it hard to tell how far they had walked.

Eventually, the path opened up.

They stopped.

Two passages lay ahead.

"Two roads," Ezra said, studying the split. His eyes moved from left to right. "Looks like the maze actually starts here." A small smirk appeared on his face.

"Which way should we go?" Bobby asked, glancing between the two tunnels.

"Let’s just choose randomly," Ezra replied. "All yes goes left; all no goes right." He turned slightly toward them. "You guys should decide."

He pulled a dagger from behind his back and walked to the stone wall, carving shallow marks into it while the others stared at the passages.

The tunnel grew quiet.

"Should we... split up?" Lime asked hesitantly.

"That’s a stupid idea!" Aliya snapped right away. "We stick together." She pointed sharply at the right passage. "We go right. Most of us are right-handed anyway."

"...I’m left-handed," Bobby said quietly.

"Huh?" Aliya looked at him. "You are?" She scoffed. "Whatever. The majority vote still wins."

"I didn’t say I agree with right," Lime muttered.

"You...!" Aliya glared at him.

"Calm down," Bobby said quickly. "Ezra said we choose together. Either way, we’re all going down one path." He hesitated, then added, "From how I see it, any path either takes us forward... or makes us lost."

That shut them up.

Aliya and Lime looked back at the tunnels, tension creeping into their expressions.

Ezra returned, wiping the dagger on his coat.

"So," he said calmly, "ready to choose?"

They nodded.

"Alright. I vote no." Aliya pointed to the right.

"No," Bobby followed.

"...No," Lime said after a pause.

Ezra nodded. "Then let’s move."

They entered the right passage.

The tunnel stretched on longer than expected. The lights flickered at intervals, shadows sliding along the walls. Water drops echoed, mixing with the sound of their footsteps.

Minutes passed.

Then they reached another split.

"Left," Ezra said immediately.

No one argued.

They walked again. And again.

Another split.

"Right."

They followed.

Time blurred. It might have been an hour. It might have been more. Even Aliya started to frown, glancing behind her as if expecting something to change.

Then they reached yet another split.

Ezra raised his hand.

"Stop."

They froze.

"We’ve been walking in a circle," he said.

"What?!" Bobby, Lime, and Aliya reacted at once.

"A circle?" Aliya looked around, confused. "How? We kept choosing different paths."

Ezra walked to the wall and pointed. "I marked this spot before. Those cuts?" He traced them with his finger. "They’re mine."

The three stared.

"But we chose different turns after that," Lime said slowly. "That shouldn’t happen."

"That’s what I thought too," Ezra replied. His gaze hardened. "But now, I’m sure."

"Sure, of what?" Lime asked.

"The maze switches passages after we walk through them," Ezra said. "The layout changes."

Silence fell.

"So, what do we do now?" Bobby asked.

"Simple." Ezra smiled faintly. "We go right."

"But what if we loop again?" Aliya asked, uneasy.

"Then I’ll know," Ezra said. "I already marked the false route. If it happens again, I’ll calculate better."

Without waiting, he stepped into the right passage.

The others followed closely.

As they walked, all three scanned the walls carefully.

No marks.

They let out quiet sighs of relief.

Not long after, the tunnel opened into another junction—this time with

three

passages.

"What now?" Lime snapped, frustration breaking through.

Aliya dropped onto the ground with a groan. "This is ridiculous."

Ezra ignored the complaints.

He reached into his space bag and pulled out a bow and three arrows. Calmly, he nocked one and aimed it into the first passage.

"What are you doing?" Bobby asked, stunned.

Ezra didn’t answer immediately.

His eyes were focused, steady, calculating.

"Just watch," Ezra said at last.

He raised the bow and released.

One arrow shot into the left passage.

Another flew straight into the center.

The third disappeared into the right.

The strings stopped vibrating.

Everyone went quiet.

They didn’t ask questions. They didn’t move. They just waited, standing where Ezra stood, listening to the tunnel breathe around them. Water dripped. The light flickered once.

Time passed.

Then Ezra’s ear twitched.

"Everyone," he said sharply, "move to the side."

The three reacted at once, backs pressing against the stone walls.

A heartbeat later...

Two arrows came flying back.

They sliced through the air and struck the exact spot Ezra had been standing in just moments ago.

Ezra stepped forward and caught both arrows midair, one in each hand. His arms jerked back slightly from the force, boots scraping against the floor as he absorbed the impact.

"Nice," he said, a small smile forming.

"The arrows came back!" Bobby rushed over, staring at them. "That means we

did

go in a circle...but how?"

Aliya stared at the passages, her brow slowly tightening. "No," she said, shaking her head. "Not us."

She looked at the walls, then at the ground.

"The passages themselves are switching," she said slowly. "That’s why we didn’t notice anything changing. The space moved, not us."

Her eyes snapped to Ezra. "So... that means the paths already switched when you fired those arrows?"

Ezra nodded. "Exactly."

He lifted the arrows. Faint traces of Cognis still clung to them, barely visible, like thin mist.

"I left part of my Cognis on each arrow," he said. "I tracked where they returned from and the one that didn’t return."

"...That’s cool," Lime said, staring at the arrows like they were magic.

Ezra turned and pointed. "We go left."

No one argued.

They followed.

This time, the tunnel didn’t twist or loop. The air changed as they moved forward—lighter, almost still. After a short walk, a door appeared at the end of the passage.

Ezra placed his hand on it and pushed.

They entered a white room.

The walls were smooth and clean, almost too clean. A single door stood directly in front of them. To the right, three chairs were lined up neatly against the wall.

Above the door, words were carved deep and bold:

** Choose a Representative **.

The four stopped.

No one spoke.

They all stared at the words, the meaning sinking in slowly.