Final, beginning.

The same corridors. The same viscous shadows, hiding not fears, but fatigue. The slimy smell of stone and time dug into his skin, and Alrik walked as if he himself had become part of the labyrinth - someone else's body in someone else's body.
"I'm so sick of all this," he muttered, running his hand across his forehead in irritation. "My head is spinning..."
He wasn't looking for a way out - he was almost angry at it. Straightforwardly, stubbornly, with some kind of childish challenge, Alrik moved forward. Even if it wasn't a way out, but a dead end - he would reach it and hit the wall, to at least feel resistance. Sometimes the illusion of choice is worse than its absence.
"Whatever..." he exhaled heavily. "Maybe I'll get lucky.
Somewhere ahead, the darkness began to part. A slight glow, as if space itself had admitted defeat. Alrik squinted:
"A way out?.. Or a new trap?"
He walked, not looking away. Approaching. Each step was filled with doubt, but also confidence. A strange mixture - like his whole life.
Step. Light.
> The second stage is over.
He took a deep breath, held it for a second and - went out. And as if he threw off some kind of burden.
But he was not alone.
From the opposite end, quietly and almost imperceptibly, Marcus appeared. He walked slowly, as if someone else was following him - or someone remained in the past. There was no pain in his gaze, but there was emptiness. Frighteningly familiar.
On the other side - Illia. From behind the wall. The wall was destroyed, broken through as if from the inside. Alrik froze.
- What? - he was surprised. - She... broke the wall? Even I couldn't. Or... is there something else?
He looked at her, at her light, almost joyful gait, and could not help but admit: she had done the impossible. Slender, noble - and yet she walked, as the warriors could not.
- Hey! Alric, you came out too! - Illia shouted, approaching.
- Yes, finally, - he exhaled, as if only now he realized how tired he was. - It was not easy.
- And as you can see, I am fine, - she smiled.
- Listen... How did you break the wall? I tried - did not even leave a scratch.
- Oh, you mean... It was not me. It is an illusion. Perhaps you had one too? Only they can disrupt the structure in the labyrinth.
Alric thought about it.
- Honestly? I did not even think about it. - He grinned. - An illusion, you say... Sometimes they are more alive than we are.
They began to speak more quietly. Marcus remained aside. He was... like a stranger. But not because he turned away — because his world had already changed.
“Yo, Marcus, you here too?” Illia called out, turning to him.
“Yeah, hi,” he nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Alric and Illia exchanged glances. Something about Marcus had changed. Like part of him was still in the labyrinth.
“You don’t look so good,” Alric said, frowning slightly.
“Yeah, like you’ve been through something we didn’t see,” Illia added.
“I’m fine. I feel like a monkey with a banana,” Marcus smiled weakly. “Strange, sticky, but kind of tasty.”
He was trying to joke. But there was a sadness behind his words. They understood that. But they didn’t insist.
The others began to appear from other corridors. Two girls and one guy — now six. The finalists. But everyone's face was different: some were confident, some were exhausted, some looked like they had gone through their own fears.
The Crystal of Unity hovered in the center of the hall, protected by a barrier. It seemed to look at them like a challenge. A silent question.
> The final test: find the truth of the balance between magic and the sword.
> Whoever touches the crystal, destroys the barrier and holds out for three minutes will be the winner.
Six. One chance. Sword versus magic. Logic versus instinct. Illusion versus truth.
Marcus clenched his fist.
"It looks like now we will find out who of us is truly worthy."
But he himself knew: the question is not who will win. But who will preserve himself to the end.