Outside the dark labyrinth, three figures sat inside a carriage surrounding a dark orb that seemed to emit an aura of mystery. From its surface, projections emerged into the air like flashes of light, illuminating the interior of the carriage. These projections clearly showed all the children in the labyrinth as if they were living portraits. However, as time passed, some of the children's images began to fade away. The dark orb displayed each child's final fate before their image disappeared.
"Let's see how many of them survive this time; last time, none managed to get out. Although, well, it doesn't really matter since even if they die, they will be useful. Hahaha," said Aldric, ending with a sinister laugh.
"So, Adam, have you chosen your five candidates for the bet?" Larina asked.
"Yes, they were carefully selected. Also, I made sure you didn't cheat," Adam said with continuous clicks and a tone that provided reassurance, pointing to the respective children in the projections.
"Mm, you're very confident, but that won't help here," Lanira said with a hint of disdain. 'This fool thinks he can win. It's a delight that he doesn't know that divination magic is used; before each child entered the labyrinth, I used it to know their fate. Too bad it's very limited due to its many restrictions and consequences, but it reduced the search considerably. Hahaha, that reward is going to be mine,' Lanira thought with a hint of happiness on her face, pointing to the children among whom was Blair.
"What are you planning to do?" a puzzled Aldric asked.
"Oh, we're just having a bet, Lord Aldric. We'll each choose five children; the one whose chosen child goes the farthest will win the part of the rewards from the other's mission," Lanira said with a charming smile.
"By chance, would Lord Aldric like to participate in this bet? Obviously, the part we'll win in this mission is smaller than yours due to your great contribution in the battle, but by combining Adam's and my parts, it would almost equal your share. Obviously, since the game has already started, it would be a bit unfair for you to select five, as both Adam and I have lost some candidates. So, you'll only choose one. What do you think?" Lanira said with a tempting voice, while Adam turned to look at Lanira, unsure, as this wasn't part of the agreement. He wasn't sure what she was relying on to make such a proposal to Lord Aldric and make such a restriction. 'Is this stupid woman bored with living?' Adam wondered.
"Mm, thinking from that perspective, it wouldn't hurt to have the entire reward from this mission; in that case, I'll choose the child," Aldric responded with a serene voice, while both Lanira and Adam felt a sudden magical pulse emanating from Aldric. Both were unsure of what it was when a black mist emerged from his body and went into the labyrinth.
Minutes later, the light emanating from the dark orb showed the projection of a figure: Eric, who was lying on the cavern floor resting and suddenly opened his eyes as if something was disturbing him.
"I've made my choice; I look forward to your part," Aldric responded with a deep voice.
Upon hearing those words, both Lanira and Adam were confused and worried about what the old man had just done with that strange magic that summoned a black mist. But, when they turned to look at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes, it was clear that neither had an answer. So they could only watch how this unfolds and see if Lord Aldric would be right in his prediction.
As time passed, more and more light projections disappeared. In the vision of the three, the children died in various ways: drowned in the black liquid, poisoned by drinking it, killed by pale creatures, and, surprisingly, crushed when the corridor they were in collapsed on their heads, until only 57 projections remained.
"Interesting. I didn't expect so many of them to make it this far. Even more so that child, despite his young age among the participants, is truly cautious and intelligent," said Adam with continuous clicks in his voice.
"I agree. Lord Aldric made a good choice; let's see if he manages to get out," said Lanira. As for the old man, Aldric limited himself to watching the projections and took out a round blue stone from his robe. The stone was covered in inscriptions and strange patterns that interlocked like a strange puzzle.
Seeing the stone the old man took out, both Adam and Lanira were surprised; it was a bidirectional communication stone, and they weren't sure who Aldric was going to communicate with.
"Communicate to Meredith that this time there will be a change in the selection. Tell her it would be a shame to lose such good apprentices. If necessary, sacrifice some of the incoming batches to take their place," Aldric instructed through the stone with a serene voice.
"Although this is not the first time such an event has occurred, you know that participants who do not exit through the breach must be punished as an example, since the Tower of the Eternal Night was merciful enough to spare their pathetic lives," came a mechanical voice through the blue stone.
"Understood. I'll make sure to do that," Aldric replied in a calm tone and put the stone back into his robe.
Upon hearing the conversation, Adam and Lanira trembled a bit, as it was a rare event. They both knew firsthand what those words referred to because they had both been selected that way.
This left them in a heavy silence, but they quickly recovered and focused on the projections. In them, the three saw Eric's figure, who was planning how to cross the bridge. In the others, they saw some groups of children who had joined forces to try to escape.
In one of these projections, they saw how a small group of children arrived at a somewhat dark area, which was a large cavern with black liquid dripping from the ceiling and forming some puddles. Additionally, this room was filled with many large balls of flesh that pulsated and had a sickly green color. The children, perhaps due to ignorance or curiosity, ventured into this room; at first, nothing happened, but when one of them pushed a mass of flesh blocking their way, they saw that it started to contract and expand several times as it rolled on the ground, until it finally exploded. The child who was near it, when some of those residues touched his body, began to melt.
Before those children could do anything to help him, the various puddles in the cave began to move. From them emerged many pale creatures, which began to emit horrible shrieks: "GGGGRRRRRR" for a few minutes. Finally, they stood up growling angrily and, with rage, headed to attack the children who were fleeing upon seeing what was happening.
"Fools! They entered the nest of those creatures. And worse, they destroyed one of their eggs. Now they'll go into a frenzy and kill everything that moves in that place," Adam commented with disdain, as a result, only one participant was left.
"Go to the breach and wait, let the Ourotí kill the children at their pleasure. Only five must survive. Remember that they must be punished for granting them the chance to survive," Aldric said with a deep voice.
"Understood, Lord Aldric," Adam and Lanira said in unison. They then left the carriage to enter the labyrinth.
YOU ARE READING
warlock way
FantasyEric was a young man whom life had not treated well. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. One day, while riding his motorbike, he suffered a sudden epileptic seizure. Fate decided to take his life. For Eric, it was as if he was asleep. The...
