CHAPTER 62: ANTICLIMACTIC END

Indeed, this was certain death.

Yet Xenos, unlike the rest, didn’t snap his head down.

He looked straight at it, the towering mass of muscle and eyes.

Every one of its eyes blinked in tandem, almost hypnotizing him.

The sound alone was wrong.

And then... nothing.

It didn’t move.

The two stared at each other.

Behind him, he could practically hear Arc grinding his teeth. Gaia’s breathing hard, quick, and tiny, nearing complete panic. While Aspen’s hand hadn’t left his sword, Deianira’s tail stood perfectly still, which for her was a miracle, and Ariadne looked ready to snap her whip in half from how tightly she was gripping it.

Xenos simply stood there, however, staring at the thing, waiting.

Seconds stretched, reaching minutes, until finally, he smiled.

And it wasn’t because he reveled in the feeling it gave him.

His eyes never left their many ones, and yet...

Thankfully, it left his.

He flicked his wrist once, signaling for them to stick to the wall.

Though wanting to scream at him for being so damned insane, they moved.

Slowly, one step, then another, before hugging the wall like he did.

Again, no one dared to breathe, not even Deianira.

The Minotaur thing passed them.

THUMP!

As it went by, they could only hear its steps.

THUMP!THUMP!

Or was it their hearts beating out of their chests?

THUMP!THUMP!THUMP!

They didn’t know, because again, Xenos was the only one that could see it thanks to his Beholding Eyes.

That was an extra feature that he didn’t expect, but one that made complete sense to him.

He wasn’t thinking about that now, though; it was only the exit that mattered.

Step by step, heartbeat by heartbeat, they walked until the corridor curved and ’certain death’ vanished from sight.

There was no chase.

It was just gone, simple as that.

From there, the walk continued, though silent this time.

All five behind Xenos were extremely terrified, trembling from fear.

The maze stretched onward, long, uneven, and blacker than before.

Though creepier, that felt like progress—finally some in a place that had none.

Their soft footsteps became the only noise.

Tap... tap... tap...

The sound of walking, breathing, and sometimes, nothing at all.

Minutes passed, then more, and of course, even more.

It became impossible to tell how far they’d gone.

The turns had stopped; everything moved in a single direction now.

This was a path that didn’t twist or lie no longer; it was just long.

Way, way too long.

Gaia stumbled once, her boots scraping the black floor.

Ariadne caught her arm, steadying her, and no one heard a thank you.

There wasn’t enough energy for that anymore; Gaia was barely functioning.

Nobles, unused to walking so much, had their legs start to ache.

Their throats turned dry, thirsty for a lick of water.

And that, somehow, was worse than fighting.

The silence built and built until it felt like pressure in their skulls.

It made them start hearing things that weren’t there.

Mostly footsteps from the walls.

Were they getting closer? Farther?

Did the light dim? Did it brighten? Did it dim again?

They didn’t know, they didn’t know, they didn’t damn know!

This silence was truly killing them.

Tension for too long broke the mind.

Xenos knew that full well, and so...

"How are you feeling?"

He finally broke it.

Everyone behind him instinctively stiffened.

They’d almost imagine that thing coming back.

And yet it didn’t, leaving them only in a state of shock.

Arc, feeling like pulling his fluff out, looked at Xenos.

"A-Are you—"

"Yes."

Xenos cut him off, making him glare.

"You... you didn’t even let me finish."

"Still yes."

Aspen gave a small huff of a laugh.

"He’s probably right."

That helped a little, and they went on.

The path sloped downward now, barely noticeable, but there.

Meanwhile, the walls glistened like something wet had touched them recently.

Gaining her courage from Xenos, Deianira muttered under her breath:

"How far does this go?"

"Till the end."

Or so Xenos hoped.

"And where’s that?"

He chuckled.

"Hopefully not back where we started."

Though he sounded far from sure, he didn’t slow down.

After a while, their fear dulled into numbness, and they didn’t know if that was any better.

But hey, at least Gaia wasn’t shaking so much anymore, her breath slowing down.

Xenos touched the wall every hundred or so steps, only to mutter:

"Same texture."

At this point, he didn’t know if they were looping or not.

"Comforting."

Arc scoffed while Xenos dusted his hands.

"Didn’t say that it was."

Nothing changed.

Steps, breathing, and the whisper of thought that maybe this was how they’d die.

Forever walking until death finally claimed them in its cold embrace.

But, after what felt like an eternity, something finally changed.

"Ah..."

They felt a draft.

It was faint, but...

THE AIR HAD MOVED!

They had all felt it.

"T-The W-Wind!"

Arc lifted his head.

"There’s... an end?"

Gaia’s voice cracked after his.

Deianira’s tail regained form, and Aspen’s face returned to life.

Only Ariadne looked somewhat similar to earlier, now just with an added glint in her eyes.

"It sure looks like it."

Xenos gestured for them to move.

They picked up speed, not running, but a little faster.

The corridor widened, and the walls pulled apart.

Before they even realized it, they stepped out.

Just like that.

The exit was there, and they had walked through it.

Once out, they stopped and stared into the space beyond it.

A vast open field of red mist and distant lights.

For those few seconds, no one said a word.

It was an otherworldly moment.

"Haaaaa..."

Only for Deianira to ruin it by exhaling a long, shaky breath.

"That... sucked."

Xenos’s smirk faced her.

"It could’ve been worse."

Arc looked at him.

"How?"

He shrugged.

"Could’ve been longer."

The wolf-boy groaned.

"Ugh, don’t jinx it."

But even he couldn’t help it; a laugh escaped him.

Because somehow, impossibly, they’d reached the end.

A very slow and anticlimactic one.