Chapter 9: Traps 2

The next section of the labyrinth loomed ahead, a foreboding incline bathed in a dim crimson glow. The jagged walls seemed to close in, their surfaces adorned with ancient etchings that tells tales of forgotten torment. Kael hollow eye sockets scanning for danger, stepped forward cautiously. Each step echoed faintly in the cavernous space, a sharp contrast to the oppressive silence around him. 

As he descended, the ground beneath him shifted, a faint crunch underfoot drawing his attention. Too late. The floor crumbled away, revealing a yawning pit of shifting blood sand. Kael's bony form plunged downward, his limbs flailing instinctively. 

"Damnit!" he rasped, his voice a brittle echo swallowed by the labyrinth. 

The blood sand surged around him like a living thing, pulling him deeper with every second. His skeletal hands clawed at the air before he reached for his scythe, the familiar weight materializing in his grasp. With a forceful swing, he drove the blade into the wall, the sharp metallic screech mingling with the faint hum of the vibrating sand. The scythe lodged firmly into the rock, momentarily halting his descent.

Kael's ribcage heaved in imitation of breath as he struggled to stabilize himself, his skeletal frame trembling under the relentless pull. The grains of sand writhed below, swirling in hypnotic patterns as if savoring their prey. Sweatless but tense, Kael's mind raced, his empty sockets flicking to and fro as he sought a way out.

'The blood sand reacts to vibrations,' he recalled from the game. The memory sparked a flicker of hope.

Adjusting his grip on the scythe, Kael swung it against the wall with calculated force. The sharp clang reverberated through the chamber, sending faint tremors across the sand below. The movement was subtle at first, but soon the sand shifted, its flow redirecting away from him. Kael struck again, his skeletal arm jerking with each swing, his other hand clutching the wall for balance.

The ground shuddered in response, the sand parting to reveal a narrow pathway. It wouldn't last long. Kael adjusted his stance, his bones clicking softly as he shifted his weight. 

"Just a little more," he muttered under his nonexistent breath, his jaw clenching as though bracing for impact.

With a final strike, he released his grip on the scythe and leapt forward. The world blurred for a heart-stopping moment as he soared through the air, his body twisting mid-flight. He landed with a jarring thud, his bones rattling against the cold stone floor. The scythe clattered behind him, dislodged by the tremors. Kael's skull rolled slightly to one side before he righted himself, pressing skeletal palms against the ground.

A faint red mist hung in the air, its metallic tang filling the cavern. Kael remained motionless for a moment, his sockets staring blankly at the stone beneath him. Slowly, he lifted himself to his feet, his joints creaking with protest. The distant shifting of sand echoed ominously, a reminder of his narrow escape.

"Well," he muttered, his voice dry and humorless, "that could've gone better."

The labyrinth offered no reply, not that it can, its oppressive silence returning to smother him. He retrieved his scythe, the blade gleaming faintly in the dim light, and scanned his surroundings. The incline ahead beckoned once more, its mysteries hidden. Kael tightened his grip on his weapon and moved forward, the faint echo of his footfalls swallowed by the endless void of the labyrinth.

The final section of the labyrinth is a vast chamber, its oppressive silence broken only by faint, disembodied voices. The room is dimly lit, the eerie glow of pulsating glyphs on the walls casting shifting shadows across the floor. At the far end, a towering archway looms, its intricate carvings resembling twisting vines and monstrous faces, as though it guards the secrets beyond.

The voices grow louder as he steps into the room, his boots echoing against the smooth, cold stone. At first, the voices are indistinct murmurs, but they soon twist into mocking laughter and tortured screams that seem to seep into his very bones.

He winces, his hands instinctively tightening around the scythe in his grasp. "Shut up!" he snaps, his voice echoing futilely against the cacophony. His shoulders tense, and his sharp gaze darts around the room, searching for the source of the haunting sounds.

At the center of the chamber, his breath catches. A skeletal figure steps forward from the darkness, Its face blurred, but what makes his heart race isn't its appearance it's the scythe in its hand. The weapon is an exact mirror of his own, its dark blade shimmering with malevolent energy. The figure tilts its head, its hollow gaze locked onto him, mimicking his stance but not his movements.

"What the hell is that thing?" he mutters, gripping his weapon tighter. Beads of sweat form on his brow as the voices intensify, coiling around him like a vice.

The glyphs on the walls pulse erratically, their light brightening and dimming in quick succession. Before he can react, the figure lunges forward, its scythe slicing through the air with a sinister hiss. He barely blocks the strike in time, the collision of their weapons sending sparks of dark energy cascading around them. 

The force of the blow pushes him back, his heels scraping against the ground as he steadies himself. The skeletal reflection moves unnervingly fast, its attacks precise and relentless. Each swing of its scythe forces him to retreat, his arms aching under the strain of deflecting its strikes. 

"It's like it knows what I'm going to do before I do it," he mutters through gritted teeth, his chest heaving. His reflection's movements are eerily fluid, its attacks almost playful as if mocking his attempts to fight back.

Realizing brute force won't work, he grits his teeth and changes tactics. Faking a stumble, he feints an attack toward the figure's torso. As it moves to counter, he pivots sharply, his scythe slicing through the air to strike one of the glowing glyphs on the wall. The glyph shatters in a burst of light, and the voices falter for a brief moment.

The skeletal figure recoils, its movements becoming less precise, more erratic. A flicker of determination ignites in his eyes as he darts toward another glyph, his scythe arcing downward to smash it. Each shattered glyph seems to drain strength from his adversary, its attacks slowing as though weighed down by an invisible force.

The chamber quakes as the last glyph crumbles beneath his blade. The skeletal reflection lets out a silent scream, its form dissolving into a cloud of ash and dust that scatters into the air. The voices fade, leaving an almost deafening silence in their wake.

Panting, he stands in the center of the now-quiet chamber, his hands trembling as he lowers his scythe. He glances at the archway, which groans open with a low rumble, revealing a narrow path leading downward to the base of the pyramid.

A chime rings in his mind, and glowing text appears before him: 

(You Defeated A Guardian of The Chamber, The Mirror Whisperer)

(You Received An Item)

His shoulders sag as he lets out a shaky sigh. "I want to go home," he mutters, his voice tinged with exhaustion and despair. "I hate this place." 

His gaze lingers on the archway for a moment longer before he begins to walk forward, his steps heavy as though each one carries the weight of his ordeal. Behind him, the shattered remains of the glyphs flicker one last time before fading into darkness.