Chương 148: The Forgotten

As Joe ran beside Corel, he felt an ominous pressure bearing down on his very being. The air in this section of the maze was thick, almost suffocating, and it seemed to moan in protest at their presence. Trevaldo led from the front, guiding them along a single, unbroken path. There were no blobs here, no physical obstacles slowing their charge. Yet all of them felt it. Or rather, they felt them. Two massive auras loomed behind them, steadily closing the distance. Even Trevaldo had fallen silent.

The usual nonchalant chatter was gone, replaced by complete focus on the path ahead. After only a few minutes, the corridor opened into a junction with five branching pathways. Trevaldo barely slowed, veering toward the second path on the right. Joe hesitated. There was an overwhelming sense of wrongness that flowed through him. He could almost see a vision of them all running straight to their doom.

He didn't know whether it was fate whispering in his ear or his luck rebelling, but he had learned long ago to trust his feelings.

"Stop!" Joe shouted. Trevaldo skidded to a halt, half turned in irritation.

"What?" There was no time to explain. Joe pivoted, guiding Corel toward the far left path.

"This way!" he yelled, accelerating forward. He didn't look back to see who followed. In that moment, there was only one urge driving him forward. Survival. The need to outrun whatever hunted them. As he burst down the chosen corridor, sweat broke across his skin, and unwanted memories surged to the surface. Pitch black shapes. Flashing teeth. Snapping jaws.

"Not again… not again," he muttered under his breath. Corel glanced over her shoulder and saw the others following, Trevaldo included. Relief washed through her, but it faded the moment she looked at Joe. The fear in his eyes was unmistakable. Something was very wrong. Joe saw none of Corel's growing turmoil. He only ran. In his mind, teeth closed around his leg once more. Pain pulsed, imagined yet vivid enough to draw a growl from his throat as he lunged forward.

He burst into another open chamber filled with five more branching paths. Without slowing, he chose the centre route and kept running. Corel's voice reached him faintly, distorted and distant, but his mind refused to latch onto it. They were coming for him again. He was being hunted again. So he ran. And he ignored everything else. __ Corel ran as fast as she could, but Joe was slowly pulling ahead of her. He did not react to her shouts, did not even seem to hear them.

He ran in blind panic, faster and faster, until it became clear she could not keep up. He was simply too strong, too fast. Soon, Trevaldo and Garvo were at her side.

"Something amiss?" Trevaldo asked. In one smooth motion, he produced a chair, secured it to Garvo's back, and gestured for Corel to climb on. She nodded her thanks and bounced into the seat. As soon as she was settled, Garvo and Trevaldo accelerated, and within a minute they were once again just behind Joe, easily keeping pace with him. Joe still didn't acknowledge them. He only ran.

Twice more, they entered open chambers with five branching paths, and each time Joe chose one without slowing, instinctively leading them onward. As Corel sat there, feeling helpless despite their speed, she noticed the glances the others exchanged.

"What? Is something happening?" she asked, gripping the chair as Garvo took tight corners at a full dash.

"It's the path," Zeth said as he moved up beside her.

"Your bond always chooses the correct path. We've noticed that as we advance, the other four paths either end abruptly or loop back on themselves. None of us can see how he does it. None of us could choose with such accuracy." Corel looked at Trevaldo, who gave a small confirming nod. She shifted in the chair so she could see Joe's back as he ran.

'Joe. What happened? What's wrong?' she sent through their bond. It took far longer than she liked before his response finally came.

'Sorry. I just have bad memories about being hunted. I'm okay now," he pulsed back. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her shoulders loosening, but as was so often the case when she travelled with her bond, her relief did not last long. The maze shuddered violently around them once more.

"They're speeding up!" Zerrepperty shouted.

"Got it!" Joe replied, his voice steady again.

"Follow me!" He surged forward, their desperate run turning into a full sprint. Then, without warning, Joe slowed and dropped back until he was beside Corel.

"That looks uncomfortable," he said, offering her a hand. She smiled, her heart lifting as she leapt onto his back. His warm, familiar barding wrapped around her waist, securing her in place as he returned to the front of the group. Corel wrapped her arms around him and breathed in his scent, fear easing its grip. He felt solid beneath her, a rock of confidence, and she sent that feeling back through their bond. Joe accelerated once more, carrying them onward.

__ Rose ducked a flailing, cloudy limb as she dashed between four hulking forms. They had backtracked so many times that one of the other pairs had caught up to them. Now Clavascious and Por ran alongside her and Maestro, which meant four hunters were on their heels instead of two. It only made everything worse. She sprinted after Maestro and Por as they charged down the third path at yet another branching point. Two mistakes in a row. Two dead ends and two near brushes with death.

Even with her vast reserves, Rose could feel the strain creeping in. Maestro was slowing too, just slightly, but Por and Clavascious were barely keeping pace now. Their exhaustion dragged the whole group down. More than once, Rose considered leaving them behind. She even sent a flashing message to Maestro, suggesting they abandon the dead weight. He only shook his head and maintained his pace. She did not understand that. He had never shown concern for others before.

Everything she knew about Maestro painted him as ruthless. He even owned slaves, a practice outlawed in Eludia, though common throughout some of the Empires. That alone was reason enough for her dislike. One of many. They pushed on, doing everything they could to keep distance between themselves and the looming forms behind them. The cloudy visages of death forced them into an all-out run, but the pace was set by the slowest among them.

Por was visibly fading, his movements growing sloppy as the relentless sprint took its toll. Rose felt the next opening approaching and knew that if they chose wrong again, they might not all escape this time. So it came as a shock when the four of them burst into a massive open arena instead. Rose skidded to a halt, her eyes widening as she took it in. Jagged rocks and shattered fragments littered the ground.

Above them, a vast smoky dome sealed the space, and just beyond that barrier hovered an uncountable number of cloudy forms, all gazing down into the arena. Her heart skipped a beat as recognition hit her. A death bowl. They had not existed for thousands of years. What was it doing here, hidden inside the maze? And what cruel twist of fate had led them straight into it? __ Joe surged forward as he felt a pulse from Rose.

'Hurry!' That single word lit a fire in his chest. Rose would not ask for help unless she was in real danger. Corel felt the sudden increase in speed and leaned close to his ear.

"What? Is it Rose?" Joe nodded.

'She's in trouble. Are you okay with me speeding up?' he pulsed. Corel didn't answer immediately. Then her response came, calm and resolute. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

'Can you go any faster?' Joe smiled as he turned his head slightly toward Trevaldo.

"Trouble ahead. I'm going to speed up. If we lose you, I'll mark the way!"

"We won't have trouble following," Trevaldo shouted back as he accelerated as well. Joe barely heard him. His form began to blur as his movement shifted. There was a secret Joe had never shared with anyone, not even Corel. More than two years ago, in a hidden gate he had stumbled upon, he had received a strange skill. It was useless in combat due to its uncontrollable nature, so he never activated it. Until now. He triggered Farmer's Demolition. His legs exploded into motion as his speed quadrupled in an instant.

One moment, he was ahead of Trevaldo and Garvo, and the next, he left them far behind. His feet struck the ground so fast that the stone shattered beneath every step, carving a clear trail through the maze. He stopped holding back entirely. Three seconds later, his speed quadrupled again. The boost was random and relentless. Every few seconds, it increased on its own, stacking faster and faster until the skill was deactivated.

Joe's Mana Stream wrapped tightly around both him and Corel as he ceased to feel like a runner and became something closer to a living projectile. He blasted into the next branching chamber and barely managed to grab the hedge with one hand, wrenching his trajectory sideways to force himself into the correct path. The ground detonated beneath him as he tore forward. Corel's laughter echoed faintly in his ears, mixed with a scream of pure exhilaration.

At least she was enjoying herself, he thought, just as his speed doubled again and his legs began to lose meaningful contact with the ground. Now he shot down the tunnel so fast that he was pressed against one wall, rolling and rebounding more than running. He sailed into another branching chamber as his speed doubled yet again. This time, he did not even see which path he took. He only knew instantly that it was wrong.

Acting on his gut feeling, he twisted his body and unleashed a concentrated blast of mana, tearing a hole straight through the hedge beside him. He crashed through into the adjacent tunnel, correcting his course as the boost surged once more and he was hurled forward at impossible speed. __ Rose paused as the maze shook violently. Something was approaching at an unimaginable speed. She had no idea what it was, or whether it was friend or foe. She only knew it would be here in seconds.

The hedge surrounding the entrance path exploded inward as something tore into the arena. Almost simultaneously, the opposite wall detonated as the intruder came to a brutal, crashing halt. Rose blinked and stared at the giant ball of purple vines embedded in the wall. What in the world was that, and where had it come from? She wondered. She ducked as a massive smoky tendril lashed out toward her from the nearest mammoth form. Flowing away from the strike, she widened the gap between herself and the creature.

Her eyes flicked back to the strange purple mass just as it cracked loudly, spilling its contents free. Corel and Joe shot out like sparks from a firework. Corel laughed in pure delight while Joe clutched his head, looking dangerously close to vomiting. Rose simply shook her head. She should have known it was them. But how had they navigated the branching paths so fast? In a flash, Joe and Corel were suddenly at her side, both bent over and gasping for breath.

"Holy shit… I am… never using that skill ever again," Joe exclaimed between deep breaths.

"It wasn't so bad," Corel replied, winking at Rose.

"We have arrived, sister. Looks like you might be stuck like a fish in a bowl."

"Okay, where the hell did you learn that?" Joe asked in exasperation.

"Who has been teaching you all these human sayings?"

"I have friends," Corel shrugged.

"You should get out more and spend less time practicing your skills."

"Hey! If I didn't practice so much, we'd be truly fucked about now."

"Language! Your tongue has been getting worse lately. Do I need to cut it off?" Rose couldn't understand what she was witnessing. Why were they arguing in the middle of a fight for survival? Who were these two? She did not wait to voice her question. Three of the four colossal figures closed in, forcing her to throw out as much water as she could to disrupt their movement.

"Enough, you two. We have bigger problems. Do not let those things touch you," Rose warned as her hands flashed, shaping the water beneath her into a slick current that swept up the bickering pair and carried them to relative safety. Corel sputtered as she inhaled a mouthful of water, while Joe simply vanished. Rose's eye twitched at his escape. What skill was that? she wondered. She could feel him nearby, but she could not pinpoint his exact location.

'I have a plan,' he pulsed.

'It better be good.'

'It is, just distract them for like a minute while I prepare.' Rose glanced at Corel, who nodded, her focus sharpening as the mood shifted.

"Did he share the plan with you?" Rose asked as she hurled surging waves of water across the arena, sending crashing tides toward the cloudy figures. The attacks mostly disappeared on contact, but they did slow the advance and limit visibility.

"I think it has to do with the connecting threads," Corel said as she fired blasts of mana that fared no better than Rose's attacks.

"Threads?" Rose repeated, straining to see what Corel meant. Her sight skill revealed nothing.

'What threads?' she asked through the bond.

'These guys, just like the smaller blobs, have threads of something connecting them to the maze, and the walls here,' Joe replied. Rose tried to focus harder, shifting angles and positions, but nothing revealed itself to her senses.

'Describe them,' she asked, as she and Corel were forced to relocate again. The arena was too confined and offered almost no cover. Her eyes flicked to Maestro, who crouched on the far side, guarding the injured Zeth and Clavascious, while avoiding the last of the forms hunting them.

'They look like they are made of shadow; they sparkle and are tinged grey. I can faintly see impressions among the threads streaming into the figures,' Joe explained. Rose nodded, impressed by how clearly he communicated through the bond. That impression shattered as his description stirred a buried memory from her childhood. Her eyes widened in horror.

'Those are threads of Malevolence!' She turned to Corel, understanding alighting in her all at once.

"These things are sadness and regret given form. They are what bind the Forgotten here. What keeps them from passing on. We cannot fight them. We have to leave," Rose said urgently as she turned to warn Maestro and the others. She paused. The air was thick with mana, heavy and unmistakable. She knew that signature and her head snapped around.

'Wait! What are you doing???'

'The same thing I did with the small ones. I'm going to sever the threads,' Joe replied. Oh no.

'No! You fool! If you do that…' A sharp crack echoed through the arena as the first thread snapped.

'Wait, why? Shit. It's too late, the last threads…' Snap! Rose swore as the remaining threads broke in rapid succession. The towering masses of regret froze in place.

'Because if you sever the threads, the regret has nothing to anchor it to. They will explode,' Rose finished desperately. As her words landed, all four figures began to swell, fire blooming within their cloudy forms. A heartbeat later, the untethered manifestations detonated in a deafening chain of explosions, and the entire arena was consumed in fire. __ Joe felt Rose's words flow into his mind, but there was no time to react or form a plan. The entire arena detonated in a single violent instant.

Superheated air slammed into him and hurled him toward a wall of fire. Fuck. He shut his eyes just as a surge of water crashed over him, wrapping him in a cold, unyielding cocoon. Rose's exasperation pressed into his chest as her skill expanded, enclosing everyone in the arena. He did not see what she did, only felt the result as the bubble around him was swallowed by flame. None of the fire reached him. From within the watery shield, he stared in stunned silence at the black and grey flames raging outside.

Nothing could survive that, he thought, even as he spotted other bubbles drifting through the inferno. He saw Zerrepperty's snail-shelled bond sealed inside a blue coffin of water. Maestro floated past next, seated calmly in meditation. Minutes passed before the flames began to fade. As the heat ebbed, Joe finally caught sight of Rose and Corel together inside a massive bubble at the centre of the arena.

Suspended in water, Rose's hair fanned out around her as if she floated in zero gravity, pale gold strands spreading like a living veil. Corel crouched beside her, her long braided ponytail trailing behind her, swaying gently with the current. Joe could not look away. For a brief, foolish moment, he thought he might be the luckiest person in the entire Multiverse to be bonded to such beauty. Rose noticed him staring and pointed in his direction.

'Next time, explain your plan before you make a mess of everything.' Her mouth curled, softening her words.

'Well done,' Corel pulsed, the moons in her eyes gleaming through the water.

'Yes, ma'am,' Joe pulsed to Rose.

'Thanks,' he sent to Corel. Only when the last traces of black flames vanished did Rose release them. The water dissolved into nothing, lowering them gently back onto solid ground as the arena finally fell silent.

"Thank you, Princess," Maestro said as he approached with a slight nod. Rose returned it, then promptly ignored him.

"Are you both okay?" she asked, fussing over Corel as she pressed a healing pill into her hand. Corel swallowed it with a nod. She seemed fine. Joe, on the other hand, collapsed where he stood. He had burned through a massive amount of enriched mana, severing the thicker threads, and that was after using a skill he barely understood. His condition was far from ideal, and he could already feel the backlash looming, ready to compound his misery. They didn't get the chance to rest.

The ground rumbled beneath them as two more massive clouds of malevolence drew near.

"Fuck," Joe grumbled as he forced himself upright, just as Trevaldo and the others burst into the arena.

"They are right behind us!" The warning was unnecessary. Everyone could hear the approach clearly, the pressure in the air thickening with every second. Less than ten seconds later, the final two cloud forms slid into the arena. They hit a slick of lingering water and faltered just long enough. Joe acted. His aura flared, igniting the mana he had prepared. The connecting threads snapped as Rose wrapped both entities in a prison of water. A heartbeat later, they detonated.

Water erupted upward like a geyser, soaking the arena, but the flames did not spread. The malevolence vanished, torn free and dispersed.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," Trevaldo complained as he wiped water from his bald head. Everyone rolled their eyes at him. Even Garvo.