The stone was cold beneath his cheek. Lucas blinked awake, tasting dust in his mouth, the dim scent of limestone clogging his nose. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, so he got up and checked himself over. No injuries, just some scratches and a dull ache that pressed from behind his eyes from disorientation. He cleaned himself up and looked around for Elizabeth; she wasn't there.
"Elizabeth?" he called, his voice seemed to be swallowed by the stone, for there was no echo. And no response.
Lucas looked over where he was. The ceiling was high, lost in shadow, but the ground beneath him stretched out in all directions; the place was silent and empty.
Lucas steadied his breathing. The panic that curled at the edges of his thoughts never made it to the surface. Not yet. He reached for the Mist, tried to trace her magical signature, but the Labyrinth answered with stillness. No trail, no threads. He couldn't find a trace of her.
Knowing it was pointless to remain here, Lucas took out a drachma and flipped it to determine which direction to go, but the answer confused him; it told him nowhere. Suddenly, mist began flowing down each corridor and reaching Lucas. Before he could react, he quickly raised his guard, activating his veil sight to guard against enemies, but then the mist promptly faded.
Before him, the plain stone had been changed; now dozens, hundreds, almost thousands of identical doors stretched outward like a great web. All were blank, forged from dull stone, the kind you might find in a temple. No handles. No markings. Nothing to differentiate them from one another, just doors and a choice. At least to the naked eye, that was.
Lucas didn't touch any door; instead, he chose a random passage and started walking. Ten minutes later, Lucas stopped. Before him was a crossroads, similar to the one he originally woke to; all the walls still contained doors waiting to be opened. Lucas guessed it would be pointless to continue. Whatever was happening, whoever was behind it, they wanted him to open a door.
Lucas still had his veil sight activated, so he noticed how the Mist shifted around certain doors, faint pulses of magic indicating a difference from the other plain doors. Lucas approached the nearest. It shimmered faintly, almost inviting him to open it.
He placed his hand against it and pushed, but didn't enter; there was nothing, just a veil of blackness. Lucas held out his hand and tested it. The darkness was a veil at the entrance, blocking him from seeing inside. To continue and know what was happening, he must enter the rooms.
Taking a breath, Lucas entered.
He stepped on cold stone, surrounded by stone doors. He was back in the hall of doors, back at where he had fallen, judging from the marks on the ground. One step taken, and nothing gained, at least there was nothing dangerous behind that door, but looking at all the doors he had to choose from, he didn't think he would be able to escape without some suffering.
With veil sight still on, he located another door that was different, this one with a ward for safe carved on the door using magic, invisible to the naked eye. Lucas sighed; he guessed this door would also be pointless, but he opened it nonetheless. Again, a veil blocked his sight, so he stepped in.
He was back in the hall of doors, back at where he had fallen, judging from the marks on the ground. One step taken, and nothing gained, at least there was nothing dangerous behind that door, but looking at all the doors he had to choose from, he didn't think he would be able to escape without some suffering.
Veil sight allowed him to notice how the Mist shifted around certain doors, faint pulses of magic indicating a difference from the other plain doors. Lucas approached the nearest. It shimmered faintly, almost encouraging him to open it.
He placed his hand against it and pushed, but didn't enter; there was nothing, just a veil of blackness. Lucas held out his hand and tested it. The darkness was a veil at the entrance, blocking him from seeing inside. To continue and know what was happening, he must enter the rooms.
Lucas entered.
Once more, he stepped on cold stone, surrounded by stone doors. He was back in the hall of doors. One step taken, and nothing gained; maybe he should try another door.
The demigod paused, sensing something was amiss. He tried thinking what was wrong but his mind felt off, like his thoughts were made of sand, too difficult to grasp, so he stopped thinking of what was wrong, whatever it was, it mustn't be important, he just needed to get out of here, maybe one of these doors would help him meet back up with....someone.
He walked up to a random plain stone door and pushed, entering it.
He stepped on cold stone, surrounded by stone doors, which felt familiar to him, almost as if it were déjà vu. Maybe he should try a door and see what's behind it. He wandered the corridors, alone in the stone hall filled with doors. He didn't walk fast; he just took a casual stroll, admiring the doors and deciding which one to enter. He reached into his pockets, a casual act, but in his right pocket, he felt something. Taking it out, he found it was a note from someone called Lucas.
Why did he have this? He shrugged; it didn't matter. He read what was on it.
The Labyrinth doesn't just read intent, it devours your mind.
Remember.
That was all he could read; the rest was incoherent, more crossed out.
The air grew heavier. Each thought was heavy, like concrete was poured into his mind. His memories dimmed at the edges, and he couldn't understand what was happening.
He was breathing fast. He didn't realize it until then. Cold sweat clung to his neck. His hands trembled as he lowered the note.
He clutched his mind in pain, like someone was hammering his mind, forcing himself to remember while bearing it all. He remembered he was Lucas...he was....what was he doing?
But something changed; the note suddenly lit up, and the word 'remember' was filled with magic, striking him at the center of his mind - a temporary memory spell, one that helped him recall it all. How he came here, who he was, and what he has been doing.
Lucas stood and rushed back to where he had originally entered the network of doors. He didn't have time to waste; the spell could cancel, and his mind would become clouded again, becoming trapped here forever.
He reached it and stopped, staring at the space where he kept returning. If the place kept returning him here, then, in the logic of this place, there must be a door here, except it must be invisible, or maybe it disappears. But to Lucas, it didn't matter; he simply had to use that logic to fool the place like it did him.
Lucas exhaled slowly. He closed his eyes. Raised his hand. He built an illusionary door, one that looked like all the others, but he built the illusionary door to be an exit, willing it to be an exit. It took shape, but it wasn't physical; still, an illusion. However, that was enough. Lucas stepped forward and willed the illusionary door to open, stepping through into the black veil he had created.
He stepped out onto the cold stone, but this time he wasn't in the network of doors, just a single corridor leading him onward.
Lucas let out a slow breath. Leaning against the wall and sliding to the ground, he caught his breath and settled his mind, allowing him to remember all the time he had spent in that place, slowly losing his memories and ability to think with each door he entered. He remembered how he felt something was wrong so he created a fail-safe, a note that would help him recover his previous memories each time while restoring the functionality of his mind, allowing him to have some time in a perfect state to figure an escape plan using the growing understanding of the logic of the place; using its own powers to escape it's grasp.
He had entered twenty-two doors altogether; one or two more, and he might never have been able to escape. He didn't know what awaited him ahead, so he stayed there, recovering both physically and mentally.