A MIX OF TWO WORLDS

The chamber shuddered violently as stone ground against stone, the sound a roar in their ears as walls twisted and passages folded in on themselves.

Dust rained from the ceiling, and the floor trembled underfoot. Claws scraped stone as people tried to find stability in the shaking chamber, spells lit the dark, and every faction drew tight in formation.

"The maze is shifting again," Selene said in a calm voice but Alex could see that she was just as shaken as he was.

"No kidding," Marcus muttered, bracing against the wall as another tremor rocked the ground as the passages changed and interlocked all around them.

Then the floor split suddenly beneath them, jagged cracks racing outward.

Then, with a sickening groan, the entire center of the chamber collapsed. Stone crumbled away, plunging into darkness that seemed endless. The pit yawned wide, swallowing the chamber's heart.

"What the hell now?" Ethan barked, fists clenching.

From the abyss, slabs of stone began to rise. They hovered in the air, floating into a jagged line across the chasm. The stones pulsed faintly, runes glowing along their cracked surfaces but not all were steady. Some flickered, crumbled to dust and fell whistling into the void below.

"Another test," Tanaka said grimly. "And I think we're supposed to cross."

"Simple enough," Damian said with a sharp grin, stepping forward. "We go first, leave the rest of you to fall."

"Try it," Nyssa hissed, her claws sliding free. "See how far you get before I push you into the chasm myself."

"Enough," Viera snapped "Damien I'm getting really tired of you. Now we need to know what needs to be done. It can be as simple as just crossing, something else kust be at play that we haven't noticed"

Selene's eyes shifted back to the bridge. "You might be right, look at the slabs of stone"

Alex did, he squinted at the stones, heart hammering as the faint runes pulsed. The symbols weren't random, they seemed to glow with meaning, though what they meant he had no idea.

Orin leaned forward, his voice low. "They're marked. I believe some are safe and some aren't."

"Which means what exactly?" Maya asked.

"Step on the wrong one," Marcus. "And down you go"

A low growl came from Malric, his feline eyes narrowed. "So how do we tell which is which?"

"That," Selene said, glancing at Orin, "is the point of the trial."

Orin stepped to the pit's edge. His fingers traced patterns in the air, eyes glowing faintly as he muttered under his breath.

"They' aren't as stable as I'd like," he said "The runes keep shifting as I watch them. Some I can read while others…, well not long enough to be sure."

"So we're supposed to figure this out while standing over death," Nathan said, his voice dry.

"I believe so" Selene answered "And it's not like we have any other choice. That's the only way foward"

"Or we make someone else test it first." Damien said a his eyes cut toward the wolves, a glint of malice in them.

Vuera just looked at him, sighed and shook her head. "There's no getting through to this boy" she said under her breath.

But before anyone could respond to his remark the air shifted.

The pit itself spoke, a voice that boomed from nowhere and everywhere at once. It shook the stones, resonating in their chests.

"To move forward, you must be one. Step in time, or fall apart. Betrayal leads to death. Unity leads to life."

The words sent a chill down every spine.

"Unity," Nyssa muttered. "Now it makes sense why we are all here. The previous trial was like a test run to get us working together. But now it seems it wants all of us to do so. It's anither test, to see if we can put aside our differences yet again"

"All of us working together, that's impossible," Damian spat.

"Not impossible," Tanaka said " You're the only one making things difficult by creating tension and agitating everyone. Perhaps now would be a wise time for you to shut up given that your life is literally in someone else's hands."

Damien putt his hands in his pockets and muttered something un audible under his breath but kept quite all in all.

Selene folded her arms. "The voice said step in time, that means together. So every step synchronized."

"Like a march," Marcus said, his brow furrowing.

"Yes," Selene nodded. "But if one of us hesitates, or doesn't move in sync"

"We all die," Rina finished.

The weight of those words hung heavy.

Tanaka stepped forward. "It doesn't lookk like have any other choice. We'll have to move as one if we all want to beat this test otherwise we can just sit yere and wait for extraction"

"You expect us to trust you?" Damien said

"And us to trust you?" Orin fired back.

Damien didn't have time to reply because he was already choking feet dangling in the air as Viera held him up by the throat her eyes already blood red with anger.

"What did I say about shutting up" she said in a low menacing voice but Damien couldn't answer. All he could donwas claw at her iron grip hand around his throat as he flaied like a fish.

"" Next time you speak out of turn I'll break your neck and all your limbs and leave you in this maze, do you understand?"

Damien tried his best to nodsince speaking was out of the question.

" Good " she said as she let him down and Damien immediately started wheezing like a driwned cat.

He gave Viera a look but she stared back with a killer intent in her eyes and Damien lowered his gaze in surrender.

No one said a thing as these event's transpored and once done putting Damien is his ppace Viera addressed the crowd as if nothing had happened.

"So, all we have to do is work together. Should be easy enough given that we all want to make it out of here alive"

"Indeed we do. The witches can decipher it but ofcourse passing requires all of us working together in synchronization as parts in a cog"

Alex's chest tightened, he felt the truth of it deep in his bones. "We can do this," he said firmly. "We have to."

Tanaka's eyes found his, gave a short nod then looked to the others. "On my signal."

The factions moved warily to the edge. Wolves, cats, witches and vampires, enemies forced shoulder to shoulder.

The floating slabs stretched ahead, runes glowing faintly, flickering like unstable hearts. The abyss yawned below, silent and endless.

"First step," Tanaka called. "Now."

Together, they stepped. The slabs shook, runes blazing bright. For a breathless moment, it felt like they might collapse. Then the glow steadied.

"Second step," Tanaka called.

They moved again, boots and claws hitting stone in unison. One slab flared red beneath Orin, trembling violently. His eyes flashed as he chanted, steadying it just before it crumbled away. The rune dimmed, safe again.

"Keep moving," Selene urged, her eyes darting across the runes.

Step by step, they advanced. Sweat trickled down brows, breaths came sharp and shallow.

The pit below seemed to pull at them, eager for one mistake.

Damian faltered on purpose once, his lips curling in a cruel smirk, ready to throw the rhythm. But Viera's hand clamped on his arm, grip like iron.

Her glare burned into him, a warning sharper than any blade. She was going to kill him that was for sure.

The slabs grew more unstable as they went. One flickered beneath Maya, vanishing under her foot. She gasped, stumbling toward the edge.

Rina's arm shot out, yanking her back just in time. Maya steadied, eyes locking with Rina's. A short nod passed between them.

The bridge roared beneath their feet, stones trembling, runes flashing from safe to deadly in seconds. The final stretch was chaos. Each step demanded absolute focus, each breath felt like it might be the last.

But somehow, against every odd, they reached the far side.

The instant the last foot hit solid ground, the slabs shattered. One by one, the stones crumbled and fell, vanishing into the abyss. The bridge was gone.

They stood in a new chamber, their breaths ragged, hearts pounding. Then torches along the walls flared to life, bathing the space in warm, flickering light.

On the wall opposite them stretched a mural, carved deep into the stone. It showed the Minotaur, massive and imposing, chains coiled around its body like serpents. Its eyes were hollow, carved with despair rather than rage.

The sight struck Alex hardest. He stepped closer, his voice low. "Its the minotaur, it's just as we thought "

Selene's gaze traced the chains, the detail of the carving. "So it's not just a mindless beast but a prisoner."

"What does that mean?" Nyssa asked. Her tone was sharp but unsettled.

Tanaka's eyes hardened as the truth clicked. "It means the trials aren't only about us surviving. They're about breaking this curse."

The chamber rumbled again, walls grinding as new tunnels opened, dark and waiting.

Every faction turned to the mural one last time, unease heavy in their eyes. The maze wasn't done. Not even close. And the truth of what it demanded was only just beginning to show.