Tess exhaled slowly, a low sigh escaping her lips as her feet tapped against the side of the angled maze wall. Her eyes stayed trained on the ground below.. on the blackened skin of the Maze Crawler… and the crater on its back still steaming faintly from the explosion.
So… it really didn't work.
She had suspected it, but seeing it confirmed made something settle cold in her chest.
A moment ago, she'd placed a grenade she collected from Berk, on the maze crawler's back, testing its response. The explosion had been loud… blinding, even…
But not effective.
Tess's gaze narrowed as she leapt off the wall and twisted mid-air, landing beside Lizz who leaned lazily against a fractured maze wall at the southern end of the maze. Her gum popped again, echoing softly in the narrow passage.
"The grenade didn't do anything?" Lizz asked, not even needing to look.
Tess nodded, rolling her shoulders once as she caught her breath. "Yeah. I figured it might've adapted. Someone before us probably already used one." Her voice held no anger, just that same dry acceptance. "That thing's smart. As always... It's learning fast."
"Bummer." Lizz smirked as she tilted her head, red eyes glinting like fresh blood under the white-blue maze lights. "Guess we stick with our boring plan, huh?"
Tess flicked a glance sideways, then nodded again, this time firmer. "Yeah. We go with the normal plan."
Lizz stretched her arms behind her back, her body bending like a gymnast. She gave a loud whistle.. one sharp note that echoed up into the higher levels of the maze.
A signal.
For Berk.
High above, silent and still, Berk crouched atop a high curved top of the maze wall, her sniper rifle resting across her knees. She didn't move. Not yet. Her dull green eyes just watched the thing below, watched its massive, heaving frame begin to shift.
And then... Ding!
A clear bell tone rang inside all their heads, artificial and emotionless.
[New Recruits Left --> 8]
Ding!
[Difficulty Increase +5]
Ding! Ding!
[Difficulty Increase +3]
[Difficulty Increase +6]
Tess's eyes widened instantly, breath catching. Even Lizz blinked twice, her gum slowing mid-chew.
"What the hell…" Tess muttered, her voice tight. "That's not supposed to….. Unless.."
But she cut herself off.
She knew better. Knew what this training was.
Nothing but hell difficulty. That's what they called it. And that's exactly what it delivered.
She steadied herself again.
Less than a heartbeat later
..FZZZZZT!!!
A thin white beam of melting energy tore through the spot where Tess and Lizz had just stood, incinerating the maze wall behind them in an instant. The shot left behind nothing but warped glitch and melted stone, the heat still rippling in the air.
They had already moved.
Tess rolled to her left, shoulder hitting the floor. Lizz somersaulted into a crouch, her twin buns bouncing with the motion, landing perfectly behind cover.
Screech!!
Another roar.
But this time… different.
Both girls peered over the edges of their broken cover, eyes narrowing.
The Maze Crawler's body began shifting.. not swelling with muscle or growing additional limbs like before. No… this time, it was shrinking.
Its bulky frame collapsed inward, bones snapping as they reformed, its proportions molding… becoming leaner, smaller, more human.
The texture of its skin didn't change.. it remained dark, like a creature birthed from oil and shadow, but the shape... the shape was wrong. The face began aligning. Fingers stretched with unsettling elegance. The entire frame molded into a human silhouette.
Tess's lips parted slightly. Lizz's grin faltered.
From far above, Berk's eyes sharpened.
"It's evolving," she whispered under her breath.
She didn't blink. She didn't hesitate. Her fingers curled around the handle of her sniper rifle. The weapon hummed quietly, the barrel glowing blue with destructive energy. Berk moved like clockwork... methodical, clean. Her pale face remained unreadable as she leaned forward, aiming directly at the half-formed skull of the thing.
She adjusted for wind. Angle. Speed. And the moment the creature steadied, still mid-transformation.. she braced her finger against the trigger.
Then...
"Berk, don't... RUN!!!"
Tess's voice tore through the wind, echoing up into the hollowness of the maze.
Berk reacted instantly.
She didn't ask why.
She didn't wait.
Her body twisted violently as she launched herself from the perch, falling like a meteor. Her hair streamed behind her, black like ink, her pale coat fluttering like wings torn from a raven. She landed hard on the cracked stone floor below..
BOOM!!!
The section of the maze wall she'd been crouched on… ceased to exist.
Gone.
Not broken. Not cracked. Just.. gone. Erased like chalk off a board, disintegrated into white glitching particles that scattered upward into the air like dust in reverse.
Berk's skidded against the ground as she steadied her landing, knees bent low, the sniper rifle still cradled against her body.
But the moment her feet touched the floor..
She froze.
Her breathing slowed.
Because she felt it.
A strange chill.. not cold, not wind. But a sensation crawling up her spine like invisible hands wrapping around her bones. It wasn't fear.
It was horror.
Something was wrong.
Something that shouldn't be.
And it was standing just ahead of her… halfway human… halfway unknown.
Still evolving...