First Steps in the Labyrinth

Qiris had barely taken three steps into the labyrinth when a thick fog enveloped him, making him lose sight of Bolin and Ralls.

"Bolin? Ralls?" he called, his voice echoing strangely in the humid air.

Only silence answered him. Well, almost only silence.

"Ribbit!" Little Idiot cheerfully exclaimed, perched on his shoulder.

Qiris sighed. "At least I'm not completely alone."

The labyrinth was a maze of corridors with blue stone walls, veined with gently pulsing luminous lines. The floor, made of smooth marble, reflected the diffuse glow that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves.

"Well, which way do we go?" Qiris muttered, scrutinizing the three paths before him.

Before he could decide, Little Idiot leaped from his shoulder and darted towards the left corridor.

"Hey! Come back here!" Qiris cried, launching into pursuit.

He caught up with the frog just before it hit the back wall. Little Idiot stared at him sullenly, clearly disappointed at being deprived of his collision.

"Listen, we need to stick together," Qiris explained, bringing the frog back to his shoulder. "This labyrinth is dangerous."

"Ribbit" Little Idiot replied, looking unconvinced.

Qiris chose the right corridor, hoping his instinct would guide him. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a T-intersection.

"Left or right?" Qiris asked aloud.

Little Idiot immediately jumped towards the left, but Qiris caught him just in time.

"No, no, we're going right" he decided.

The frog puffed up its cheeks, displeased.

They continued like this for what seemed like hours, Qiris constantly struggling against Little Idiot's suicidal impulses. At each new corridor, the frog tried to throw itself either against a wall or in a random direction.

"Are you trying to get us lost or what?" Qiris grumbled after preventing Little Idiot from diving into a suspicious water hole.

"Ribbit!" the frog replied, looking almost proud.

Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the labyrinth. Qiris froze.

"What was that?"

Little Idiot, for once, remained still, his big eyes scanning the darkness.

The rumble was heard again, closer this time. The walls began to vibrate, their luminous veins pulsing faster and faster.

"I think we'd better..." Qiris began, but he stopped short seeing Little Idiot leap towards the source of the noise. "No! Come back here, you suicidal frog!"

He launched into the pursuit of his companion, heart pounding. The labyrinth seemed to come alive around them. The walls were undulated like stone waves, changing shape and direction.

"You've got to be kidding me" Qiris muttered, dodging a section of the wall that suddenly sprang up in front of him. "A moving labyrinth.... Because a normal labyrinth was too easy, huh?"

"Ribbit!" Little Idiot cheerfully agreed, bouncing from one moving wall to another as if it was the most fun game in the world.

"You're having fun, aren't you?" Qiris growled, trying to keep his balance on the undulating floor beneath his feet. "And here I thought frogs liked stability. You must be a defective model."

Little Idiot gave him a look that seemed to say "You're the defective one" before diving into a hole that had just appeared in the wall.

"No, wait!" Qiris shouted, rushing towards the hole. But just as he reached it, the wall closed up, leaving a smooth surface. "Great. How am I going to explain this to the guild? Sorry, I lost my summon in a wall'?"

The rumbling intensified, making the entire labyrinth shake. The mist, until then static, began to animate. It swirled around Qiris, forming ghostly silhouettes that seemed to mock his situation.

"Oh, you want to join in too?" he called out to the misty forms. "Go ahead, laugh. It's not like I need help or anything."

As if in response to his words, the mist suddenly condensed into a massive wave. Before Qiris could react, it engulfed him, wrapping him in a cold, damp cocoon.

He closed his eyes, feeling his body being lifted and carried away. The sensation was strange as if he were floating in an ocean of clouds. When finally the movement stopped and he dared to reopen his eyes, he found himself... exactly where he had started.

The entrance to the labyrinth stood before him, as imposing and mysterious as the first time. And there, sitting quietly next to the door, Little Idiot stared at him with a look that seemed to say "What took you so long?"

Qiris stared at the frog, then at the labyrinth entrance, then back at the frog. He opened his mouth, closed it, then finally let out a long, exasperated sigh.

"You know what?" he said to Little Idiot, who was tilting his head innocently. "Next time, we go left. Or right. Or up, down, whatever. As long as we don't end up at the starting point again."

"Ribbit!" Little Idiot cheerfully approved, jumping onto Qiris's shoulder.

"At least one of us is having fun," Qiris muttered, mentally preparing himself to face the labyrinth again. "Alright, round two. This time, try not to get swallowed by a wall, okay?"

Little Idiot puffed up his cheeks, as if offended by the suggestion that getting swallowed by a wall wasn't a viable strategy.

And so, the unlikely duo plunged once more into the changing depths of the labyrinth, ready (or not) to face all the challenges that this strange Astral Tower had in store for them.