CHAPTER 347: THE GATE OF THE LABYRINTH

The once-thriving badlands of the Orcs and Goblins now lay shrouded in ash and blood. Smoke coiled into the dusk-colored sky as the agonized screams of the fallen echoed across the razed settlements. Endless and the Dark Magi, Alen, marched through the territories with apocalyptic wrath, leaving destruction in their wake.

Towering structures made of ironwood and bone splintered and exploded as Alen’s blackened magic danced like a symphony of death. He wove through the battlefield like a wraith, incanting forgotten spells in tongues that chilled the air, consuming all in his path. Orcs, once fearsome in strength and pride, were reduced to mere dust in his wake. Goblins tried to flee, only to be incinerated by flames that leapt from the earth itself.

Endless strode silently beside him, his presence far more harrowing than any attack. The mist around him seemed to drink the light, and his pale, obsidian eyes watched the slaughter unfold with cold detachment. Every step he took caused the earth to groan as if in protest. Those unfortunate enough to meet his gaze with defiance found themselves crumbling into fragments, erased from existence by mere intent.

Aron and Selene followed behind, dragging their scythes and blades through the blood-soaked soil like conductors to an orchestra of screams. The Chaos Twins were grinning—feral, twisted expressions of delight as they watched races that once challenged the world now fall before their might. Selene snapped her fingers, and a tide of explosive chaos ruptured an entire goblin outpost, sending bodies and smoke spiraling into the air.

As word spread of the devastation, the orc and goblin clans scattered and retreated to their final bastion deep in the bloodcrag hills. Their last hope—Gor’Thakk, the High Warlord of the United Clans—stood upon the gates of the stronghold with his personal warband, desperate and trembling but determined.

When Endless finally arrived before the stronghold, accompanied by Alen, Aron, and Selene, silence swept the battlefield like a shroud. The remaining orcs and goblins cowered behind the walls, their morale shattered. Gor’Thakk stepped forward, broad-chested and bruised from earlier skirmishes. His war hammer trembled in his hand.

"Please," Gor’Thakk growled, his pride buried beneath a sea of dread. "No more... we surrender. Let my people live. We will not resist. Just spare them."

For a long moment, Endless simply stared at the orc leader. Then, he stepped forward with the silence of a reaper. Alen and the Twins said nothing. The world seemed to hold its breath.

Endless reached out his hand and pressed a single finger to Gor’Thakk’s forehead.

"Too late."

The orc’s body was instantaneously reduced to ash, scattered to the wind in a flash of silver mist. Gasps of horror and despair swept through the crowd. Mothers clutched their children. Warriors dropped their weapons. Endless turned to face the trembling mass of survivors.

"You will serve," he said, his voice cold and commanding, his eyes aglow with unnatural light. "Or you will vanish."

As if compelled by a power older than fear, the thousands of remaining orcs and goblins knelt—some willingly, most broken. The chaos twins stepped forward, smirking with satisfaction.

"Time to move," Aron said, flipping his black blade over his shoulder. "The Labyrinth awaits."

With the dark forces now bolstered by the enslaved might of the orcs and goblins, the landscape trembled under the weight of the dark army. Endless turned toward the horizon with hollow eyes, knowing that their next step—through the Gate of the Labyrinth—would bring him closer to his goal.

And this was only the beginning.

---

The journey through the Outlands had been long, painted in smoke, blood, and fear. What once roared with the guttural cries of orcs and goblins was now reduced to trembling silence behind Endless and the Dark Magi. Aron and Selene, the Chaos Twins, walked slightly behind, their cloaks fluttering in the foul wind that rolled over the jagged plains. Behind them trailed the orcs and goblins—those who had not perished in Endless’ rampage. Now they were little more than hollow-eyed prisoners of fate.

And then, at last, they arrived.

Before them stood the Gate of the Labyrinth—a monolith of blackened stone, stretching into the clouds and pulsing with ancient sigils that shimmered between violet and crimson hues. It wasn’t carved by hand or tool; it felt as if it was born from the world’s despair itself. The structure wasn’t just tall—it felt eternal, imposing, sentient.

It did not open like any traditional gate. It was a vertical rift in space, a crack between worlds filled with shadows that swirled like a liquid void. The very air warped around it, as if reality itself was recoiling from its presence.

Endless came to a stop, his dark robes settling as he turned to take in the vast monument. He stared at the gate in silence for a few moments, the eerie glow of the Labyrinth reflecting in his soulless eyes.

Then, in a voice that carried across the still air like the whisper of death, he spoke.

"This is where it all began... or perhaps, where it all unraveled."

The Chaos Twins looked at each other but said nothing. Alen, the Dark Magi, stood still, arms crossed, as Endless began to speak further—his tone more philosophical than usual, yet laced with venom.

"The Labyrinth was not built. It was birthed... long before the kingdoms of man, elf, or beast. The Celestials, in their desperation to contain what they feared but could not understand, tore through the veil between realms and stitched this prison into existence. It was not meant to hold people, no... it was meant to contain truth—the kind of truth that could destroy entire civilizations if it ever got out. And they named it the Labyrinth. A realm that shifts, twists, and breathes... feeding on those foolish enough to enter."

A gust of unnatural wind swept past them, as though reacting to the very utterance of its name.

Endless turned to face the goblins and orcs—his voice now a sharpened blade.

"Now go. Prove your worth... or feed the Labyrinth."

The orcish leader, still trembling from witnessing his war chief slain earlier, took a step back.

"My lord—"

Endless didn’t wait. With a mere flick of his fingers, the massive orc was lifted into the air, suspended by invisible tendrils of dark energy. He screamed, clawing at his own throat, before he was hurled through the gate with bone-shattering speed. His body vanished into the abyss, followed by an echoing silence.

The rest of the orcs and goblins stared wide-eyed. The ground beneath them rumbled as the gate pulsed ominously. Their hesitation didn’t last long. The compulsion of fear is stronger than chains.

Driven by terror, they marched forward, one by one disappearing into the gate. For a moment, all was still.

And then... came the screams.

It wasn’t just death. It was obliteration. A wailing choir of pain and madness exploded from within the Labyrinth. A heartbeat later, flashes of black and white lightning surged from the crack. The orcs and goblins who had just stepped through were met with unspeakable horrors.

From within the void, entities emerged. Not physically—no, their presence was felt through the barrier like a claw pressing against one’s mind. Twisted silhouettes danced through the shadows, beings whose very existence mocked the rules of nature.

The few goblins who stumbled back out of the gate were not the same. Their eyes were gone—replaced by hollow sockets that leaked mist. Their mouths were torn in silent screams. And within seconds, their bodies imploded, leaving only ash.

Selene took a small step backward, her lips curled in disgust.

Aron let out a low whistle.

"And they say we’re monsters."

The wind howled louder now, as the gate throbbed with life.

Endless... smiled.

"Perfect. The Labyrinth is still hungry."

He raised a hand, palm outward toward the gate. Strange glyphs flared to life in front of him, rotating in complex layers. He was communicating. No—negotiating. The whispers from the other side began to crescendo, and for the first time, even Alen the Dark Magi narrowed his eyes in caution.

"It remembers me," Endless said softly, to no one in particular. "Even after all this time..."

Selene’s eyes narrowed.

"So, are we going in now?"

Endless didn’t respond immediately. He stared at the swirling void, his face unreadable. Then, after a moment, he turned slightly.

"Not yet. The Labyrinth is a trial, even for me. We need a guide. Someone with the blood of Dragonyx... Someone whose fate is entangled with this realm."

His cold eyes glinted in dark amusement as he muttered while looking at Aron and Selene.

"We would need Dragonyx blood"

Aron Selene instantly broke out in cold sweat as their instincts was screaming at them to flee. But before they could do that...

"Don’t worry, I got that covered" Alen suddenly spoke up as he stretched out his hand. And in the next moment, a couple of bottles with blood in them appeared on his palm.

"Right before you wiped out Valoria Kingdom, I made sure to get a few Dragonyx blood just in case we might need it. And it seems like my hunch was quite accurate" Alen said with a light smile on his face.