Chapter 112: The Sacrifice

Pain radiated through my body as I stumbled out of the ancient trap, my legs barely able to hold me upright.

Every step felt like a thousand pounds of weight pressing down on me, each breath more labored than the last.

I could hear Gareth and the others panting behind me, their faces drawn with exhaustion and grief.

We had lost Matthias. The realization hit me again, like a punch to the gut. My mind replayed the last moments over and over—the look in his eyes, the finality of the doors slamming shut. I had promised to lead them, to protect them, and yet…

“We…we need to keep moving,” I said, my voice cracking. “We’re not safe yet.”

Gareth nodded, his eyes red and glassy. “Right. Let’s go.”

The path ahead was narrow and winding, the walls of the labyrinth pressing in on us from all sides. Each turn felt like a cruel twist of fate, a reminder of how close we had come to death.

As we moved, the walls seemed to shift, the floor beneath us rumbling like a living creature.

The air was t