Chapter 38 — The Labyrinth of Penumbra of Lies

The walk is quiet, the only sounds punctuating the silence being the soft chirping of Lumina—who flies lazily between the two of them, almost as if she doesn't know whom to land on.

Edward occasionally steals a glance at Yasu, his expression still somewhat guarded—clearly unsure how to approach him now after the earlier scene. Lumina, on the other hand, seems completely unbothered, content to simply play the middleman between the two.

Edward stops as the labyrinth comes into view, the huge and imposing structure looking even more intimidating up close. He sucks in a sharp breath, his expression turning almost grim as he gazes up at the twisted and dark edifice—as if the sight of it alone stirred up bad memories.

"There it is," he mutters lowly, his voice dropping into a rough grumble. "The labyrinth of Penumbra of lies."

Edward turns to Yasu, his expression etched with grim concern. "May the gods pity you, Yasu," he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. "For nobody has survived those damnable passages before... and I highly doubt that luck will favor you now too."

He pauses for a moment, something almost like empathy flashing in his eyes too before he adds with a half-grim, half-hopeful note: "But I'll be rooting for you anyway…"

Yasu doesn’t respond at first—just stares ahead at the labyrinth, his expression unreadable. Then, with a slow exhale through his nose, something between amusement and resignation, he finally speaks:

"Prayers won't save me," he mutters flatly. "But if you really want to help?" He turns just enough to meet Edward's gaze sidelong—a ghost of something almost like dry humor in it. "Leave some food out for Lumina while I'm gone. She gets hungry."

Lumina chirps indignantly from where she’s perched on Yasu’s shoulder—as if offended by being called needy in front of the chief himself.

Edward can't help the low, choked sound that escapes his throat at that—partly a snort, partly a startled laugh. He shakes his head, his expression a mixture of amusement and disbelief. "Always with the priorities," he mutters dryly, but his eyes still flick to Lumina and her indignant chirping—almost as if he's actually considering the request.

"Fine then," he finally relents with a huff, a corner of his mouth twitching faintly upwards. "I'll see to it that Lumina doesn't go hungry in your absence."

Yasu glances down at Lumina too, his expression softening as he notices the look of longing in the bird's eyes. He hesitates for a moment before finally murmuring, "You want to come with me?" Lumina chirps again, her head bobbing enthusiastically—as if to say, "Yes, yes!"

Edward looks caught off guard at that, his brow furrowing as he gives the bird a hard look. "You can't be serious. It's too dangerous," he protests. "She'll just get you killed faster if she follows you down there."

Yasu's jaw tightens at Edward's words, his fingers twitching slightly as if he wants to reach out and stop Lumina himself. "He’s right," he admits gruffly—though the way his voice cracks on those last two syllables betrays how much it costs him to say it aloud.

Lumina lets out a high-pitched, distressed noise in response, her wings flapping wildly as she hovers between Yasu and Edward like an irate specter of guilt.

Edward sighs sharply through gritted teeth before muttering under his breath: "For fuck’s sake, just let the bird stay with me."

Yasu exhales through his nose, his fingers twitching where they rest at his sides—like he's physically fighting the urge to just give in and let Lumina follow him anyway.

"Alright," he finally relents after a tense beat of silence between them all... though not without one last warning glance thrown toward Edward: "Don't let her out of your sight. If anything happens to her while I'm gone—" His voice trails off into something dangerously unspoken, a threat that doesn’t need finishing.

Lumina chirps indignantly again before flitting over towards Edward’s shoulder instead—as if personally offended by being left behind here.

Edward flinches at the sheer, unspoken weight of Yasu's word and clears his throat roughly before nodding once sharp and firm. "Rest assured," he mutters, an exasperated edge to his tone. "I'll keep a close watch on her. I'm not exactly incapable of taking care of one bird, you know… even if she is annoyingly spoiled."

Yasu's usual stoic expression softens ever so slightly as he glances over at Lumina, almost as if he finds her antics endearing despite himself. "I'll be fine," he mutters gruffly, the corner of his mouth twitching in something similar to a smile. He tentatively reaches up to stroke the bird's head gently with a finger. "Be good for Edward, won't you?"

Lumina chirps again—this time a little softer, as if somehow sensing Yasu's inner uncertainty.

Edward watches this silent exchange in silence—his expression carefully, carefully neutral. But as Yasu lowers his hand from Lumina and turns to face the mouth of the labyrinth once again, he can't help the subtle flicker of… something that passes in his gaze. Concern, maybe. Or perhaps just a hint of begrudging respect.

"Good luck," Edward murmurs, his voice low. "Try to stay in one piece."

Yasu pauses for just a moment at that—his back still facing them as if he's bracing himself at the very threshold of the labyrinth now. "I plan on it," he mutters back over his shoulder, the words somehow both nonchalant and gravely serious all at once.

He stands there for a moment longer, his shoulders squared like some kind of lone warrior about to march to battle; then, without another word, he disappears into the labyrinth's darkness in one smooth movement.

The silence that follows Yasu’s disappearance is heavy—broken only by Lumina’s soft, distressed chirping as she watches the spot where he vanished. Edward exhales sharply through his nose and turns away abruptly, refusing to let himself linger on that thought for too long.

"Come on," he mutters gruffly to the bird before starting back towards town with purposeful strides, as if physically leaving behind any trace of hesitation. "We've got food to prepare... and you're not getting a single crumb unless you behave."

Lumina lets out an indignant squawk but obediently flutters after him anyway.

Mean while in the labyrinth, it is cold.

Not just in temperature—but in the suffocating, oppressive silence that clings to every step Yasu takes. The walls with torches attached to them twist unnaturally around him, their jagged edges seeming to lean closer with each passing second as if trying to swallow him whole.

His breath fogs slightly in front of his face now—too sharp against his skin for comfort too... and somewhere deep within these cursed corridors? Something stirs… something that wasn’t there before…

Yasu’s boots scrape against the ancient stone floor, each step echoing unnaturally loud in the suffocating silence. The labyrinth breathes around him—walls pulsing like living flesh as shadows stretch too long and twist at impossible angles.

A low, wet sound drips from somewhere above—something between a growl and a whimper. His hand drifts to his weapon instinctively... when suddenly:

Snap.

The noise comes from behind him—a branch breaking underfoot that shouldn't exist here. Yasu freezes mid-step… then slowly turns his head to stare into the blackness of what should've been an empty corridor now instead.

The ground lurches beneath Yasu’s feet—stone warping unnaturally as if the labyrinth itself is laughing at his caution.

WHOOSH.

In an instant, he’s gone—teleported mid-step into some other part of the maze without warning or mercy. The sudden shift leaves him momentarily disoriented; when he finally regains balance, after stumbling a few steps, his voice comes out sharp with irritation: "Teleportation", he spat, the word tasting like ash in his mouth. "Classic. A staple of dungeons designed to wear down a party’s mental fortitude. Separate them, disorient them, make them waste energy and resources"

He scanned the identical, suffocating stonework, the air thick and silent. "Talk about cheap tricks," Yasu mutters under his breath before glaring around warily.

He then raised his voice, not shouting, but letting it carry with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. "The labyrinth's gonna have to try harder than that."

The words echoed slightly in the new corridor, a clear challenge to the unseen force that had tossed him like a child's toy.

Then?

A flash of silver. The sudden glint of something slicing through the air... and then a searing, white-hot pain as Yasu barely avoids being skewered on the blade.

"What the hell?" he blurts out, his hand clapping against his cheek as he glares at the offending object now sticking crudely from the maze's wall.

"That was damn close, perhaps I spoke too soon." He grumbles, fingers tracing the shallow cut still dripping from his cheek... when suddenly, somewhere in the labyrinth's twisted passages? Footsteps begin approaching.

The sound is faint at first—so faint that Yasu wonders if he'd just imagined it altogether as he immediately unsheathes his sword.

But then, slowly, steadily, it grows clearer. Something, or someone is moving through the labyrinth's corridors now, drawing closer...

His heart pounds in his chest—a ragged, frantic thing as Yasu's fingers clench instinctively against the hilt of his sword. "Since you could hear me, why don't you show yourself instead of hiding like a coward?" He demands, his voice ringing out in the stillness like a challenge... but only silence answers back. The footsteps go unnaturally quiet too, as if their source knows he's listening...

The figure steps out into the dim light—and Yasu recoils despite himself. The sight is like something from a nightmare: A human-shaped thing is now standing before him, rotting flesh peeling back to expose yellowed bone. Flesh hangs in ragged strips from its face, a dark-looking aura surrounds its body, and the stench of rotting meat hangs heavy in the air as it stumbles toward Yasu.

Its eyes gleam unnaturally red—like a predator zeroing in on its prey—as it takes another slow, shuffling step forward.

Yasu's breath hitches in his throat, a wave of revulsion and fear rippling through him at the horrific sight before him. This thing can't be alive—it's impossible.

But there's no mistaking the way the creature moves, stumbling with a purpose that shouldn't be possible. It keeps coming, step by shuffling step, and the smell of rotten meat is so overpowering, it makes his stomach clench...

Something is wrong here.

So horribly, horribly, wrong.

"What are you?" Yasu hears himself murmur, a chill running down his spine as he tries to make some sense of the creature in front of him

Its face twists into a crooked mockery of a smile.