The final platform crumbled beneath me as I lunged for the obsidian archway. My blade screeched against eldritch stonework before snapping like a twig. For one vertigo-inducing moment, gravity reclaimed me - until Lucky''s talons pierced the abyss.


    "Since when do dragons do aerial rescues?" I panted, clinging to his neck spikes.


    Since you became my walking disaster magnet, his rumbling telepathy replied.


    The "reward" for surviving the platforming nightmare? A cyclopean chamber with 333 identical archways. My scream echoed off the rune-carved walls. "What eldritch architect designed this?!"


    A familiar clanking interrupted my meltdown. Dreadspire Warden Dominique materialized in a swirl of necrotic energy, his hellsteed nibbling my hair. "Took you long enough, little brother."


    Quest Mechanics Revelation


    Dominique''s gauntlet traced glowing sigils above 27 central arches. "The Labyrinth of Shattered Memories. Each path shifts hourly. Bring these -" He tossed three keystone shards glowing with primordial magic. "- and survive the Guardians."


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I eyed the pulsating archways. "What guardians?"


    His laughter shook stalactites loose. "Oh, just some... enthusiastic former colleagues."


    The trade window blinked insistently:


    [Temporal Loan: Voidrend Claws (Artifact Gauntlets)]


    Attack: 150-150 (Scaling) | Defense: 500


    Effects: Life Steal (50%) | Chain Lightning | Permafrost Edge


    Warning: Repo upon quest failure


    The gauntlets fused to my arms, their bladed protrusions humming with void energy. Dominique''s parting gift? A brotherly shove into the leftmost arch.


    Labyrinth Gameplay


    The shifting corridors became a bloodsoaked ballet:


    Frostbound Colossus (Lv180) - Parried its glacial maul, claws shredding icy weakpoints


    Stormcaller Cabal - Used their lightning against chain-linked armor


    The Mirror Phantom - Nearly fatal until Lucky belched hellfire through its dimensional rift


    Each vanquished guardian left keystone shard resonances. By the seventh archway, my HUD flickered with ominous warnings:


    [Corruption Level: 37%]


    Voidrend Claws muttering in Elder Tongue


    Phantom''s consciousness fracturing


    Dominique''s hologram materialized at a crossroads. "Turn back now, brother. What comes next..."


    I activated the final keystone. "Since when do we play safe?"


    The labyrinth walls dissolved into starlight.