Roots of Deception

They reached a junction where three paths stretched into the shifting labyrinth, each glowing faintly with the eerie green light of the roots.

From the first path came Maeryn's voice, faint but desperate:

"Gorran… Gorran!"

From the second, the twins cried in unison:

"Big brother Kazuki!"

And from the third, Alvis's voice called out, strained and familiar:

"Little princess!"

The party froze, eyes darting between one another, hearts pounding.

"You… heard that too, right?" Zephyr whispered.

"Yes," Caliondur replied grimly. "He is trying to separate what remains of us."

Behind them, the path twisted and sealed shut, writhing roots knitting together into a solid wall. Their way back was gone.

Kazuki clenched his fists. "He's forcing us to choose."

Gorran's jaw tightened. "Then we have no choice. We must split up."

Ardent's voice cut through, sharp. "No! That's exactly what he wants. Divide us, weaken us—don't fall for it."

But Gorran's reply was steady, firm in a way none of them had ever heard before. "And if we don't? Tell me, Ardent—which one of them should we abandon? Maeryn? The twins? Alvis? I won't gamble their lives on the chance this is a trick. Ashen vow never leaves anyone behind."

Caliondur's eyes narrowed. "That is rash and unwise."

Gorran turned to him, eyes burning. "Maybe so. But wisdom means nothing if it leaves our friends in the dark."

Kazuki asked quietly, "How do we separate?"

Gorran exhaled. "I'll take the right path—Maeryn is calling me. Kazuki, you go with Ardent. Zephyr, you stay with Caliondur."

Zephyr stepped forward, frowning. "Why should you go alone?"

"Because Kazuki isn't an experienced fighter, let alone in a place like this. He needs Ardent watching his back. And you…" his gaze softened, "…you need someone calm and sharp to keep you safe. That's Caliondur."

Ardent rubbed his neck, sighing. "Fine, Gorran. We'll do it your way. Once we find the others, we regroup; If we get lost—don't wander. Stay put. We'll use Kazuki's Path Finder to track you."

They all looked at one another, reluctant but resolved, and nodded.

"Take care of yourselves," Gorran rumbled. He hefted Zam's hammer. With steady steps, he entered his path.

Zephyr's throat tightened. "You better come back, Gorran…"

Kazuki turned to her, and for a moment the labyrinth faded away. "Look after yourself."

"You too."

They leaned close, lips brushing in a brief, trembling kiss.

A heartbeat later, Ardent and Caliondur exchanged a firm nod, and without another word, each pair stepped into their chosen path.

Gorran walked with his guard up. Then he heard Maeryn's voice whisper, "You promised me, remember?"

His chest tightened, and his thoughts drifted back to the past.

I was born of a dwarf father and a giant mother. Too big to belong among the dwarves, too small to live among my mother's kin. One day, my father took my hand, and together we left for the human lands. He said he knew someone in the guild who could help.

When we arrived, I was still just a child, though I stood as tall as any grown man. My father spoke with the guild master, and the man promised to look after me. That was the last time I ever saw my father.

At school, no one would come near me. The other children avoided me, and even the teachers sometimes forgot I was just a boy, not some hulking adult.

Then one day, she appeared. A red-haired girl, fiery in every sense. She walked up and shouted, "Get up. This is my seat from now on." We argued, but in the end, I gave in. She was stubborn like that.

Like me, no one wanted to deal with her. Whispers followed her—how she'd lost control of her fire, how her home had burned with her parents still inside. She carried that burden alone.

At first, we fought constantly. Over seats, over words, over anything. But slowly, the fights became play, and the play became conversations. She'd sit beside me, and we'd talk like normal children, even if the world refused to see us as such.

One afternoon, as we sat watching the other students laughing together, she said, "They're friends now, but when school ends, each one goes their own way."

I told her, "That is how life is. People drift apart."

But she shook her head, her voice firm. "I don't like that. I don't want that. Gorran… you're the only one I've got. I don't want to lose you."

I looked at her as she gripped my hand, and I realized the truth.

"You too are the only one I've got," I told her.

She smiled through the fire in her eyes. "Then let's promise. We'll never go anywhere without each other. Never separate."

I looked her in the eyes and swore it. A promise I have carried with me ever since. A promise I intend to keep.

Then she appeared before him, smiling at first.

"Maeryn…" Gorran breathed, his weapon pulsing with a faint glow. But as quickly as the smile came, it vanished—and she lunged at him.

Elsewhere in the labyrinth…

The voices echoed from all sides—one behind, one ahead.

"Our parents forced us to use our powers to sneak into houses and steal from others. When we refused, they sold us to slavers. Are you going to do the same, big brother Kazuki?"

The twins emerged from the shadows, striking at them. Forced on the defensive, Ardent raised his blade—and noticed the white glow pulsing stronger. The attacking twin flinched, shielding her eyes.

"Kazuki!" Ardent shouted. "My sword—it's reacting to them! It wards them off!"

"What's wrong, Maeryn? Why are you attacking me? Say something!" Gorran's voice broke as he lifted his hammer. The glow flared, forcing the false Maeryn to recoil, her skin shifting into sickly green.

Fury burned through him. "Where is the real Maeryn?" he roared.

The creature only laughed. "Soon… I'll be the closest thing you'll ever have to her."

Gorran's rage exploded. With a guttural roar, he brought the hammer down, crushing it.

At the same moment, in another twisting path…

"Come on, little princess… let me read you a new story."

Caliondur's eyes narrowed. "Why is he saying that?"

Zephyr's voice wavered. "After my mother's death, and with my father ruling the kingdom… Alvis was the one who read me bedtime stories."

Alvis appeared; arms open for an embrace. "Come, little princess. Let me give you a big hug."

But before Zephyr could move, Caliondur loosed an arrow straight through his head. The figure hissed, skin turning green as it collapsed.

Zephyr stared in shock. "How did you know it wasn't him?"

"The lightbringer and my bow both pulsed with light. They were warning us. And think—doesn't it strike you as strange that he'd break free so easily, only to rush straight to you for hugs and stories?"

Zephyr lowered her eyes. "You're right. I was just… caught up in the moment."

Suddenly, an explosion thundered in the distance.

All of them felt it—Gorran after smashing the creature, Ardent and Kazuki as the false twins fell before his sovereign form, Zephyr and Caliondur as the echoes rolled through the labyrinth.

Flames and smoke rose, the stench of burning leaves growing stronger with every step. One by one, they pressed forward until the winding paths converged, reuniting them in a vast clearing. In its center loomed a grotesque sight: a colossal heart, half-plant, half-flesh, suspended in a web of roots that pulsed with a sickly green glow.

From the roots hung dozens of cocoons, translucent as glass, each with a faint silhouette trapped inside. All suspended in unnatural slumber, their bodies drained by the steady beat of the heart.

But one cocoon had burst open, and beneath it, a defiant blaze flickered. Maeryn.

She stood alone before the gardener, her red hair wild, flames coiling around her arms. Fire lashed out with every strike, forcing the writhing roots to recoil. Yet for every vine she burned, another surged from the ground to strike at her.

They now stood together again—united before the heart, before the gardener, and before the fate of their captured companions.