Athan and Balwin walked through the city. Due to recent developments, many alley paths had become dead ends. Eventually, they entered a narrow alleyway, and Balwin used his shadow. Both of them synced into the darkness, disappearing as Balwin activated his Shadow Travel skill, beginning their journey to the labyrinth.
It was quick. A few moments later, they emerged near a tree, the labyrinth just a few steps away. Still hidden in the shadow, they observed the area—it was heavily guarded by UPS and Ranch soldiers. Some patrolled the nearby forest, while others scanned the grassy terrain.
"So, what's the plan?" Athan asked.
"Plan? What plan?" Balwin replied.
"What? How are you going to enter?" Athan pressed.
Balwin sighed. "Man, you've become dumber than before."
Without another word, Balwin teleported his shadow to the labyrinth wall's shadow.
"Huh? Whoa—teleportation?! What's this skill called?" Athan asked, eyes wide.
"Ah… I actually don't know, but I can do it for a while," Balwin admitted.
"Okay, time for a professional ability user! I mean, I am an expert at handling this kind of situation. I call it… Shadow Step!" Athan declared confidently.
"Expert? You? You must be kidding me," Balwin scoffed.
"Why?" Athan asked.
"Because Shadow Step already exists," Balwin deadpanned.
"Hmm… Shadow Step, whatever," Athan muttered.
"Yeah, let's head inside," Balwin said.
After crossing the wall, they emerged in an icy place—silent and vast, as if it were an entirely different realm.
Athan blinked. "Wait. You never mentioned anything about ice or snow. What is this place?"
"Athan… I couldn't cross the wall like before. We're inside the wall," Balwin said, scanning his surroundings.
"What do you mean, inside the wall?" Athan questioned.
"There should have been a small staircase, and the place was supposed to be dark. But this… this is completely different. There's no sign of a wall anywhere. It's like we're somewhere else," Balwin explained.
"So the labyrinth deceived you!" Athan exclaimed.
"I can't say for sure… but I have a bad feeling about this," Balwin muttered.
They were still in the shadows, but something was off. There were no trees, no caves—nothing that could cast a shadow. It was just an endless, open snowfield.
The weather was worsening. A storm was brewing.
Their journey had changed.
Now, it was about getting out.
After traveling for a long while, both of them started feeling bored inside the Shadow Travel. So, they decided to come out.
The moment they stepped out, an intense cold hit them.
"Oh my god! Why is it so cold?!" Athan exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, someone wanted to come out, and now that same someone is complaining about the cold," Balwin said with a smirk.
"Dude! How was I supposed to know it'd be this cold?! It's affecting me—a vampire at my level!" Athan retorted.
"Well, here—take this." Balwin reached into his shadow and pulled out a robe.
"Thanks… So, any plans now? I can see a forest far away over there," Athan said, pointing ahead.
"Yes, I can see it too! Let's use Shadow Travel," Balwin suggested.
"Not now! The enemy could be alerted and prepare for an attack! You can feel it, right? Our heightened senses aren't working properly!" Athan said.
"But it's so windy—it's hard to hear your voice. Maybe that's why," Balwin replied.
"I hope so!" Athan shouted back.
As they walked further, they spotted a river—completely frozen, as if it hadn't flowed for centuries.
"Athan! Can you feel it?" Balwin asked.
"What?! I can't hear you! Say it louder!" Athan shouted over the wind.
"I said, can you feel the cold?! It's affecting our breathing! The air is heavy!" Balwin repeated.
"Yeah! I can't smell anything except ice!" Athan responded.
Then, Athan suddenly pointed ahead. "Balwin, look here!"
"What?" Balwin asked.
"Are you hearing less now?! I said look here—the frozen horse!" Athan exclaimed.
"Frozen horse?! And… wait, is that a human? No… what is that?" Balwin said, narrowing his eyes.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out! It's clearly dead and frozen, but what is it? It doesn't look like any demi-human, demi-demon, or sprite demon I've seen before," Athan said.
"First of all, this body is almost completely damaged from long-term freezing. Most of it is already destroyed—like the legs and fingers," Balwin noted.
"Look, it has two horns… but they're not like demi-demons or demons," Athan pointed out.
"Yeah, and the body structure—look at the wings. I don't recall seeing small, bat-like wings like these before," Balwin said.
"Yeah… they resemble the subclass vampires have. Some of them have these tiny wings," Athan added.
"The horse looks different too," Balwin observed.
"Balwin… I have a feeling that we're not in the labyrinth—or the wall you spoke of. Wherever we are… it's a completely different land. This body is humanoid, so we can assume—"
Before Athan could finish his sentence, Balwin cut in.
"They had intelligence like us… maybe, right?" Balwin said.
"Yeah… for now, let's not use our powers. If possible, let's change our appearance to match theirs," Athan suggested.
"Hmm… I don't think that's necessary," Balwin said. "We'll use our powers—but in a more limited way."
With that, the two continued their journey through the raging ice storm, heading toward the distant forest. It was far, but maybe… just maybe, it held the key to returning.
After hours of walking, they finally entered the forest.
"How long have we been walking?" Athan asked.
"We move faster than humans, so think about how far we've traveled with these new, smaller legs," Balwin replied.
"Balwin! I think we should rest!" Athan said.
"The cold is making us weak. Let's head inside," Balwin said.
Without hesitation, they synced into the shadows. The moment they entered, warmth surrounded them, and breathing became easier.
"The first time you came here, were you able to enter just by using Shadow Travel?" Athan asked.
"Yeah, I entered just like that," Balwin confirmed.
"These gods are more powerful than we thought, creating something like this," Athan said.
"Oh, come on. Gods are good at making things, not fighting. They have power, so they think of themselves as gods," Balwin scoffed.
"Yeah… so the Overflow made the labyrinth stronger before," Athan muttered.
"Exactly. Let's keep traveling like this—it's a forested area, and the storm isn't reaching us here," Balwin said.
With that, the group resumed their journey—not by walking, but by using Shadow Travel once again.
While Balwin and Athan were traveling, searching for an escape, far away in the Neutral City, a group of men entered. They wore light robes, each marked with a single eye and a weighing scale symbol. Among them was Asmodeus.
"So, this is the fruit of the peace treaty's labor?" Asmodeus muttered, observing the city.
"Lord Asmodeus, remember our mission," a young elf, reminded him.
"Yes, I know, Abbas," Asmodeus replied. His gaze shifted to a nearby building. "We need a room... and that one looks perfect."
Without another word, he started walking—heading straight for the same hotel where Athan had stayed.