Secrets of the Labyrinth

The sun is shining down, leaves rustling, wind blowing and birds chirping. Feeling the relaxing atmosphere, the boy got up.

He looked around the familiar setting, and all the people around him.

"One, two, three, four, ..., twenty."

He counted til he stopped and a look of satisfaction was seen on his face.

Gray hair, heterochromatic eyes, tall stature, slightly thin body and elegant movements. Perfect in all angles possible.

Nose that is pointy but not exaggerated, thin alluring lips, amiable eyes, a jawline, widow's peak and a bit curly at the ends but shiny and clean hair.

He stepped forward and did it silently as to not wake up those people around him, picked up a pail, and walked towards the river.

While he was filling up water, he looked at his reflection in the water, then he saw it.

Green menacing eyes, a body made up of wood, a guandao, and the body of twenty people skewered in it.

He raged and shouted and when he looked back...

He woke up.

"Aye!" A bloody person is in front of him.

He jumped back, scared, but when he looked at the person, he realized who it was. He then looked around and saw that it is a pure white place. Streaks of white passes from time to time.

"Avalon?" He asked.

"Yes." The figure then moved, and stood up from his sitting position.

Filled with slashes and thrusts, his body is at its brink of death.

Vin ran forward and supported him, but Avalon just stopped time.

"Are we dead?" Vin asked.

"Not yet. Not you." Avalon summarized.

He then noticed that the streaks of white now completely stopped.

"Don't worry, we are but in a split second, and the outside world is completely stopped." Avalon explained.

"What? Are you telling me you stopped all?" Vin was surprised.

"No, you idiot. I just used my manifestation to get inside a split second and maintain it, until I get what I want to do." Avalon answered Vin's inquiry.

"Heal." Vin pushed his hand to Avalon, bu to his surprise, the wound on his body did not heal.

"I am but a wasted body. We Vassels do not have regeneration capabilities, for we are empty. Healing me won't do any good." Avalon said.

"For now, let us focus on you." Avalon said, and then, he pulled out books after books out of thin air.

A few moments later, the place was filled with mountains of books. Piles and piles continued to go out and it was filled.

After that, a circular place was made for him. It was wide that he can fire a Supernova in it.

Avalon then snapped his hand, and the books all flew, and shelves came to be. All books were arranged.

There are also scrolls, maps, dictionaries and all. What surprised Vin is that the whole place is too high and the top can't be seen anymore.

"All books are here for you. All knowledge you need to know are here. They even have secrets in them and do have some rewards inside. You can always call me if you need something. Do not waste time, make haste." After saying that, Avalon made a door and left.

Vin then looked at all the books and materials for him. He was about to start when a door opened again.

"I forgot." Avalon said. He then flicked his wrist, and too many things appeared.

Cauldrons for medicine making.

A farm of plants, herbs, trees and grasses. Even rootcrops are there, placed in a magic cylinder.

Lab sets such as test tubes, beakers, tongs, centrifuge and even a microscope.

Forging hammers of different sizes and shapes.

Ores of different colors, luster and size, placed in a magic box.

Carving knives of different sizes, shapes and designs placed in a magic bag.

Brushes of different lengths and brush width, placed in a magic case.

Wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, even cutters, bolts, nuts, screws and nails placed in a magic box.

Scrolls of different lengths, colors and sizes.

There are also books without prints and anything else, used to make grimoires, placed in a magic box.

There are even scissors, blades, pins, buttons and a penny.

The magic storages lets him withdraw things by using magic and write the name of the thing he wanted to get.

Then, he pulled his belt, and then he tapped it with mana.

He then tapped a portion again with aether, and he also did a thing with hex. After that, he passed it onto Vin and then he caught it.

Vin looked at th belt with amazement. Minimalist design, comfort and the one that caught his attention is that he can store things inside : a spatial belt.

"You may start. If there's anything you do not know, ask me." Avalon said, opening a door, and going as fast as he came.

"How about that Centaur?" Vin asked. A moment later, Avalon opened another door and showed up before Vin.

"That labyrinth was built by someone I know. There are four of them. It is good to know it by yourself, so after this, you can observe the whole place. That Centaur has a dragon blood in it, so it is tougher than usual. The dragon blood in it is a Nature Dragon."

"That dungeon is filled with dragons at first. Powerful, mighty and wise. They amalgamate their energies, and became humans in reward. They lived the human's way of life, but found it bland for humans are all weak."

"They then started to be bored, and they wanted something new. With that, they went back to this labyrinth. Due to their strength, the Labyrinth Master and the Dungoen Master decided to let them propagate the lands."

"They also said that if the dragons want to go out, they must offer a kin to the Masters. They are prideful bunch, but they thank the Masters for giving them a life that is not boring and a place to rule."

"One day, the Masters vanished and there are mo communications with them. They did not care at first, but they saw that they are gradually weakening."

"There is a ruler in the center of the labyrinth, whom they all revered. He managed to find a way for them to go outside and see what was going on."

"As a lifeline, they left their kins inside and let them propagate. After that, the rulers then went out to seek the Masters."

"When they went out, they just received a news that a raid will be done, and the ones that made that dungeon is dead, and the protection of them uplifted."

"The others went back with haste, but the wisest did not came back at first. He sought a human boy, and then he imprisoned the boy inside a split-second."

"They are trapped inside that split-second, and the outside world is stopped. No, they are travelling through time, but the outside world is not. But that's not it too, its just their thoughts, minds and perceptions."

"The wise dragon saw potential in that young boy, and he created something for the boy, a skill. It was meant to take something away from others : Plunder."

"After that, the dragon flew back to the dungeon, just in time that the first batch was going in."

"Angels, demons, spirits, ents, treants, giants, ghouls, vampires, goblins and many more, but there were no humans among them."

"Despite the adversary, the dragon is still and mighty. He then went inside the dungeon and made preparations."

"The adversaries made it inside, and all  went in. At that time, massacre and blood filled the labyrinth, until the last blood was dropped, nobody stopped."

"And only one was standing at the end; the dragon. He looked at the pile of bodies, and sat at them. The mountain was too high and all."

"At that time, the labyrinth became dull, and so, he used the labyrinth to make experiments on the dead bodies of everyone."

"The Gods, Demon Lords, Monarchs and Sovereigns decided to purge him and his research."

"As he became indulged in it, he did not know what was happening outside. The opposition then took advantage, but they did not manage to find what is inside the dungeon."

"Nothing was there. Only an egg in the middle of the room, with the size of a human head, and a dull gray color."

"I was the one who picked up the egg, and it is still with me. After that, I stayed inside the dungeon, and then I saw him. The dragon."

"He is a serene being, prideful yet confident, honest, courageous, but what made him different is his wisdom."

"I saw a thing in his hands. It is his reverse scale. Not one, but almost over thirty of them."

"I hid myself and watched him. He was so busy that he did not even notice the stone I threw."

"He forged them, one by one, until he made two similar arcs. First, he forged eight scales, but not exactly forge."

"He made them on top of each other halfway through. It looked like layers, and each one of the scales is seen."

"He made four of those. First, I thought it was for his claws, but I was wrong. He took the last two scales, made each layered scale look away from each other, and made bound them with one scale."

Author's Note : So I am a bit challenged to describe what he did, but you saw dragons in animes or films, right? Their scales are layered, like the lower half of it is covered by the upper half of the scale before him. It is like stacked coins, but each coin is covering just half of the coin below it. It will fall down, right? When it falls down, you can see that the coins are still layered. That is how the scales looked like.

"It was a bit surprising for me, to see him have his reverse scales forged. What allured me is that the reverse scales of dragons are soft. Too soft."

"After he forged it, it looked like two bows, and I thought he will makes arrows next."

"But I was wrong. He took out cores from the ones who attacked the place. It all were in the size of a fist."

"He pulled out a brush, drew a formation, and put the cores in the places he wants. I must say it is a super complex formation, that until now, I do not know where to learn it."

"After that, the cores began trembling. It became one and the color of it was dull gray."

"After that, he got a carving knife, then he got the bow-shaped scales, and made them face away from each other, and then he forged it, to form a circle."

"He forged it under the conenction of the two layered scales, but still had some space in it."

"After forging, he then started to carve and carve, until I saw it. The beasts, the weapons, and the elements. All carved."

"But what's surprising, is the two symbols I do not know, but they are dragons too."

After that, he put the core inside, and then all of a sudden, the scales had colors, representing the color of each element. The east and west connections are white, the north and south connections are black."

"After that, he poured a drop of blood onto the core, and all of a sudden, it glowed and then it became all gray again."

"After that, there were four copies of him."

"One held the thing he forged, one is in human form, one is a gray body of mist, and the last one is a human body that has dragon scales, wings, claws, feet ,tail and head."

"He shouted "Take that egg outside" and he looked at where I am. I hot scared and ran out, only to find four labyrinths were made."

"After that, they vanished on the spot, and no one know where to find them."

"That egg, is the System."

Avalon said and he looked at Vin. The boy is now a bit more serious, and courageous.