I kept walking until the sun bled into the horizon, casting red shadows over the rocky land. Every step felt heavier, like I was moving farther from salvation and closer to my grave. The more I walked, the more certain I became that those creatures had sent me out here to die, giving me just enough food and water to stretch out my suffering.

Day turned to night again, and I kept on in the direction they’d pointed, though it felt like I was moving in circles. With one leg more worn than the other, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I was. But I had no choice—there was nothing else but forward. And then, just when my strength was about to give out, I saw it: a faint purple glow on the horizon, a doorway like the ones from the labyrinth.

I thought I was imagining it, but as I got closer, it didn’t disappear. It was real—and the symbol on it matched the one on the parchment those beasts had given me. I stepped through, and that’s when I found myself in a cave unlike any I’d ever seen.

Gems—rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and others I couldn’t even name—glittered from every wall, every surface. At first, it seemed like I’d stumbled onto a treasure, but it didn’t take long for the beauty to turn sour. There were more doorways in that cave, all glowing faintly like beacons, but not a single one of them had the symbol. I couldn’t risk stepping through without it—not after what happened in the maze.

The walls shimmered with their dazzling gems, but the longer I stayed, the more it felt like a trap. Every time I looked at one of those doorways, fear crept up my spine. I knew that if I took the wrong step, I might end up back in that cursed maze, wandering in circles until my body gave out. The gemstones lost their charm, turning into mocking lights, leading me nowhere but deeper into my own despair.

I searched every corner, every crack in the cave, hoping to find the symbol, but it wasn’t there. Or so I thought. By the time exhaustion forced me to sit down, ready to accept that this might be where I met my end, I finally saw it—right in front of me. The symbol, clear as day, and a doorway I hadn’t seen before.

How had I missed it all this time? Maybe the cave was playing tricks on me, or maybe I was too far gone to think straight. Either way, I wasn’t about to waste another moment.