Small, stumbling steps faltered in the void.
A child was running, panting, chasing after a colossal shadow. A shadow overflowing with power, with absolute, invincible freedom.
The shadow stopped abruptly.
The child's head collided with the solid back of the entity, hard as a wall of ice.
The shadow turned slowly, looking down with a gaze entirely devoid of warmth.
"Do not follow me like a dog."
The shadow turned back and resumed its path, moving away with strides that swallowed distances.
The child froze. He stared at that embodiment of freedom and power, which expanded until it devoured the horizon.
The child looked down at his own frail body. He wished he could melt, to completely dissolve until he became nothing more than a dark smudge on the fringes of that magnificent shadow.
His eyes snapped open violently.
A gasp tore through his throat like a second birth.
His hands thrashed in the snow, then shot up with frantic speed toward his neck.
A viscous fluid coated his naked body—warm for a mere few seconds before transforming into a frozen, gelatinous layer clinging to his pores.
The freezing gale of the mountain struck his bones like hammers.
He pulled his knees tightly to his chest, his teeth chattering violently. Hot tears escaped his eyes, freezing instantly upon his pale cheeks.
"Mama... where are you?"
The words emerged shaky, cracked from between his blue lips.
"Mama... I want a hug."
His hand trembled as he rubbed his ring—which was also a resource storage ring. A faint glow emanated from it, and a pile of heavy winter garments dropped onto the snow.
He put them on with rigid fingers that could barely bend.
Awooooo...
Wolves. Very close.
His body flinched. He wiped his frozen tears aggressively with the back of his rough hand. No time to cry now.
He stood up and ran.
The snow swallowed his feet with every step. His lungs were burning.
Where am I? A cursed, snowy forest. Did the mechanism throw me into a different spot from where my head fell?
He raised his hand. The ring flashed.
He plunged his hand into the glowing void and pulled out a withered animal finger, gripping it tightly in his fist.
The finger disintegrated in his palm, turning to ash, and in its place materialized the card [Eclipse].
The card burned. The light refracted, erasing his presence from the fabric of the forest.
He tripped over a snow-covered log, falling heavily.
He spun around instantly, his blade pointed toward the darkness.
No wolves. The forest was dead silent.
He stood up, panting, and resumed his walk with cautious steps.
He stopped.
He looked to his left. A dark fissure in the mountain. A cave.
The first law of these mountains... never enter an unknown cave.
He averted his gaze and kept running.
The sound of snow crunching beneath his boots.
How long have I been running? The forest is sickeningly quiet. No wind. No sign of any monster.
He stopped again.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then looked to his left.
A dark fissure in the mountain.
The exact same cave.
He raised his hand, pulling a map and a compass from the ring.
The compass needle was spinning like a manic wheel, darting left and right. He struck its brass casing hard. It didn't stop.
He looked up at the sky. There was no visible sun.
"A Spatial Maze."
He approached a massive tree beside him, using his blade to score a deep "X" into its bark.
He stepped backward slowly. One step. Two steps.
A sharp, phantom pain stabbed his neck where it had been severed moments ago. He placed his hand over it involuntarily.
The last death was quick. A clean cut. I need to pull myself together. The journey is one, and if it ends, I will never have to face another monster for the rest of my life.
He stopped.
He looked ahead.
The tree bore the "X" mark. And right beside it... the dark cave.
There was no escape. The forest was an empty loop.
He shifted his gaze back toward the cave. It is inside.
He raised his left hand. The ring flashed with a dim light. Slipping his fingers into the spatial void, he pulled out a golden dagger and a roll of coarse cloth bandages. Gripping the hilt of the dagger, and without a shred of hesitation, he drove the blade deep into his forearm, pulling it cruelly to slice a deep gash. The flesh split open, and blood gushed out copiously—hot and viscous, completely coating his palm and dripping rhythmically onto the snow.
From the midst of the bleeding weld, the alchemy absorbed the heat of the fluid to pay the toll, and a heavy, cold metallic card materialized: [Orbis Ferro].
He tossed the dagger, letting it dissolve back into the ring, and caught the bandage with his teeth and his uninjured hand. He wrapped the cloth around the bleeding wound, tightening the knot brutally until the flow of blood ceased, ignoring the burning pulse in his veins. Keeping the card tightly gripped in his blood-stained hand, he summoned his remaining courage and walked with silent steps into the darkness.
The cave was small, narrow, and dead-ended.
He struck the stone walls with his fist, inspecting every crevice.
A dead end.
"Where is the Abominatio?!"
His voice echoed off the barren walls.
He backed up until he leaned against the cold stone, sliding down slowly until he sat on the ground.
It has to appear at any moment.
I will wait for it.
Tick.
Tick.
An hour passed.
Two hours.
Three... four hours.
The cold crept from the stone straight into his spinal cord. His limbs began to lose sensation. Drowsiness weighed heavily on his eyelids like lead.
He raised his trembling hand toward his mouth.
His teeth buried into his fingernails.
He bit down.
A metallic, salty taste.
He bit harder.
When will the cockroaches show up?
Will they crawl out of the walls?
Drip.
The sound of liquid hitting the damp stone.
His body jolted. His eyes widened in the pitch-black darkness.
"Where... where are you?!"
He looked down, tracing the source of the sound.
Droplets of blood were falling from the fingertips he had mangled between his teeth, striking the icy floor.
It's my own blood.
Silence.
A faint sound slipped from his sore throat.
"Heh..."
A laugh.
"Hahaha!"
A fragmented laugh echoed through the empty cave.
Demanding that I achieve an impossible mission...
"I am special..."
He cackled, staring at his bloody fingers in the gloom.
"I am just... the worst kind of child."
[Excerpt from: Encyclopedia of Structural Alchemy - Chapter 8: Closed Systems]
Subject: Abominatio - The Core of Spatial Distortion
"The maze is not merely a disrupted geography; it is a living organism that breathes through its own monster."
1. Definition of the Entity (Abominatio)
The [Abominatio] is defined as the physical manifestation of "distorted alchemical energy" within a maze. It is not a naturally born monster, but rather the "core" that crystallizes from scattered energy to serve as the engine for spatial instability.
2. Mechanics of Singularity and Respawning
The Principle of Singularity: Every maze possesses a unique Abominatio. Its appearance and capabilities take shape based on the type of "energetic contamination" prevalent in its respective region. Therefore, two identical monsters can never be encountered in two different mazes.
Respawning: Upon the eradication of an Abominatio, the maze collapses and temporarily loses its distortive properties. However, the maze will reconstitute itself and generate a new Abominatio after a specific period, unless the maze belongs to the "High-Energy Class." Once the core of a High-Energy maze is shattered, it is permanently destroyed and cannot be reborn.
3. Scale of Ferocity
The strength and brutality of an Abominatio are directly proportional to the density of energy within the maze. The higher the energy, the more difficult it becomes to "close" the maze, as the monster grows more intelligent and capable of manipulating spatial reality.