The crowd of adventurers all cheered all collectively began to leave the place. The ground shook under their heavy steps. Yasuline attempted to follow them all with the plate in hand but was stopped by the waitress tending to them.

"Hold on there, miss. You can't be taking my dishes out there."

Yasuline would run in place as she tries to keep her momentum up while still trying to finish up her tasty meal. The White Reaper had already finished his and handed the waitress payment for the meals and her service. 3 gold coins. Her face lit up.

"Oh!" Why thank you darling!"

With some incredible skill, she quickly takes the plate from Yasuline's hands and wraps it in some form of paper. The material was glistening with the candlelight. The entire room was left empty. Say for some non-adventurers who hid themselves in the dark corners drinking something with a strong scent and murmuring to themselves.

She next placed it in a bag and the White Reaper finally took back the food. A signal that Yasuline could now finally chase the parade of adventurers, but it was too late.

When she stepped outside. She could see a single armored warrior outside.

"Oh no, we lost them." She cried out. Ignoring hoe her faithful partner was busy carrying both her leftovers and her bag full of goods from her shopping spree. With Yasu only keeping the journal in her hands. She taps her fingers on the leather cover. The beating of her nails against her helped her mind flow as she thought about what to do next.

"..." The White Reaper was about to suggest something when it hit her.

"Oh! Since I got this book from her. We could go ask that merchant friend of ours!"

The White Reaper nods in agreement. The two followed their traces back to the market street from where they were earlier that day.

The street was jam-packed with people. All or most of the adventurers must have all gathered about around the merchants, demanding information about the labyrinth. The merchants were confused but did their best to answer as best as they could while trying to sell off merch for the gold.

With the White Reaper's help and guidance, both of them were able to slip past the pressed crowd and reached the one merchant they both and likely everyone else was looking for.

The red-haired girl was just beginning to put back things on the booth she had for herself. She looked to be in a hurry as she noticed the sudden burst of customers.

"Oh good, you're still here."

"Huh? Oh! It's you two again. Welcome back. Our shop has reopened thanks to this sudden burst. Can't say no to extra gold in my pocket, after all."

"Yeah, some adventurer went and bought a map that leads to some great treasure of some kind."

"Oh really? Well, what a lucky chap. So then why does everyone suddenly want to talk to all the merchants?"

"Oh, that's because they say the treasure is in the Lumines Labyrinth."

"Wait, really!?" She says in a shocking tone. "If I had known the treasure is down there, I would have kept my mouth shut instead of trying to sell that information how I found it."

"So you DID find it. Where is it?" Yasuline would beg, taking her hands into hers, She could see the twinkle in her eyes.

"I can't tell you that. I want the treasure all to myself. I could use the gold and such for my family."

"Oh? what do you need all that stuff for?"

"Well, my family is all merchants. The Caravan kind. But my grandparents are getting too old and we only been able to make enough to sustain that kind of life. So here I am making extra money to save up and buy a home for them."

"Aw, that's sweet of you. You must really love your grandparents."

"Course I do. they raised me themselves along with my actual parents. And what about you? What do you need all that treasure for?"

"Nothing really. I just want to find it and be the adventurer that I always dreamed of becoming." Yasuline would state so proudly.

The merchant girl would look at her, waiting for when she would announce that she was simply fibbing and she naturally wants the treasure. When she didn't she would have to reassure her once more. "Really? That's all? You don't want the gold and make yourself rich and famous? Like being the adventurer who discovered the Adventure King's hoard?"

"That would be nice. But I don't think money is an issue with me, and I could get in trouble if my parents knew that I was out without permission. Things are a bit hectic back home." Yasuline asks, looking nervous as she thought about what would happen if they found out she escaped the castle during such a critical moment for them all.

"Well then. If you just want to reach the place for the sake of it. Then maybe we can forge some form of agreement. Like all merchants, agreements are something I have studied upon." She would begin to once again, start putting all of her items back into her bag. It looked worn and old from the looks of its various parts of the bag that were patched up with unfitting colored pieces of fabric. Pushing her table to the side from where she found it, she extends her hand out to Yasuline.

"My name is Ann, named after my mother, grandmother, and so on."

Yasuline would smile and takes her hand and firmly shakes it as she had seen her father do when greeting the noble families in professional meetings.

"Oh, my name is Yasu-"

"That's her!" Someone yelled out behind them. Yasuline would turn to see that whoever yelled got everyone to look straight at the three.

"Look! a thief is with her, he's trying to take the treasure for himself!"

"Bet he has those two girls as hostages to help him carry all the loot!"

"No good thief! Get them and then we can go get the treasure!"

The ground began to shake as they all in unison began marching toward them.

Ann tried to run with all the goods in her oversized bag. Yasuline attempted to help but didn't get a good grip on it and nearly caused it to open and let the items fall out. It wasn't until the White Reaper would snatch it from them both and lead them down the path. Yasuline could see that even he was struggling with the weight of the bag.

They could hear the roars and cries of the adventurers chasing after them. Trying to stop the White Reaper from supposedly kidnapping them. But he seemed to be steps ahead of them.

"This just went from good to bad!" Ann would shout as she stayed with Yasuline and the White Reaper as they began to fight against some crowds just to continue to draw distance between them and the adventurers.

The White Reaper would be in the lead, seeming to be familiar with how the streets worked and knew where to turn. Ann would follow right behind him, just as capable of knowing where to go, but lacked the stamina and strength that the White Reaper does. Yasuline was the last one, and when she began to lose her breath and slow down, the White Reaper would reach behind to take her hand.

"Wait, I know this street." Ann would say as she looks around the buildings at each side. After turning back and forth multiple streets to lose the adventurers, they were finally given the moment to know where they were within the capital.

Yasuline, after a minute of catching her breath and feeling the stinging pain from her lungs to be gone, she starts to look around where they were.

The area was much different from where she was before the whole day. It was much cleaner and overall newer looking than previously. It was fairly quiet too, not many people around them. But that didn't keep the White Reaper from lowering his guard. He seemed to be more on guard with his appearance as he tightens his cloak around his neck to close the opening of his hood around his face.

"I doubt the adventurers would try to come here for us. Which makes it the perfect place to rest a bit before we start to go to the spot."

"The spot?" Yasuline would ask.

"Yes, the spot where I stumbled into the labyrinth. It was around here in the high-class district."

"Oh, I see. Well, you can lead the way then, we'll be right behind you."

"Sounds good to me so far."

The trio would casually walk down the street, passing by various people who looked to be going on a stroll. Their clothes looked to fit the typical noble clothing that she has seen at parties that were done at the castle. And although that they would often get looked at by the people who seemed to simply be enjoying the day, there wasn't much commotion over them being there at all.

"How come the adventurers don't come to this side of the capital?" Yasuline would ask as the quietness of the area was beginning to make her mind wander about the castle and what could be occurring there.

"Well, they really have no business being in this area, to begin with. Unless you actually live here. or are visiting family. It is a rare thing."

"Oh really?"

"Man, don't you live in this place yourself? You should know that more than either me or your quiet bodyguard."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I sure do." Yasu says, not even looking like she was focused on trying to be convincing.

Ann would give her a suspicious look but would say nothing more. As they continued to walk through the district, the sounds of some rough murmurs caused them to be alerted and hid between buildings.

"I thought adventurers don't usually come here!" Yssuline yells in a whisper.

"They don't. But they probably aren't taking any chances when it comes to knowing how I got into the Labyrinth." Ann tried to explain.

They could see some of them have split as only a handful would pass them by from where they hid.

"How close are we to the entrance?"

"Close, I think. It's been a while."

Yasuline wasn't able to hear that last portion as she focused her senses on the street by them as she hears the familiar sound of armor clanking.

When the coast was clear, they made a break for it and dashed to some small yard between large decorative buildings.

"Alright, this is the spot." Ann would announce after taking a second or so to familiarize the area.

"Really?" Yasuline would ask excitedly.

Instead of answering, Ann would begin moving some branches of a few bushes that were planted to the sides of the building to expose an opening between the ground and the wall.

"Is that it?" Yasuline would ask again. Peeking her head in to see what was inside.

"Of course it is! You think I wouldn't remember the hole I fell in?"

"Wait, fell in? I thought it was an entrance?"

"Who mentioned that? I would have been in and out all day if it was a door with some stairs to walk up and down in."

"I can't even see the floor. How'd you even survive?"

"Well at the time, my bag was mostly full of fabrics and other things made of cloth. it cushioned my fall."

"Well, we might need something to get down. Like some rope or a long ladder."

As Ann stood by Yasuline to peek down the hole as well, they would all feel rumbling under their feet.

"Woah, you feel that? Was that the adventurers?"

"I do hear something. I don't like it though."

Just then, the floor would break under their feet and they begin to slide down a make-shift slide from the dirt and into the dark hole they were staring at a moment ago.

Yasuline's ears were being attacked by Ann's screams. The three of them were still sliding down some makeshift pathway down some unknown underground. Eventually. They would suddenly roll across a flat surface and their momentum would diminish and finally stop.

The girls would groan and slowly picked themselves up.

"I forgot...about that part. So that's why I haven't used it since I discovered it." Ann would struggle to say, almost having trouble gathering enough air in her lungs to speak up.

"Well, Remember it for me, because I want to forget this part. By a lot." She states as she could still feel the burning sensation on her back and rear as she tries sitting upright. She felt a bit annoyed to see that the White Reaper seemed to have been left unscathed as he was already on his feet and looking about where they were.

'Sometimes his perfectness makes me wish something bad happened to him. Least just once.'

Yasuline would look around trying to get her bearings. Nothing was around her that would hint her anything. Looking up, he would see that the hole they fell in was barely a twinkle high in the sky, or in actuality, the ceiling.

"How far did we fall?"

"Really far." Ann would answer. "I tried calling for help, but no one was able to hear me. So don't even bother. We'll just have to find our way back out."

"But not before we find the treasure!" Yasuline would remind her. Ann would sigh, looking annoyed and hesitates to answer.

"I know, but what's the point of finding it if we don't even have a way to leave."

But you left this place before. Don't tell me you fell and that's how you escaped too."

"Well, I didn't fall per se, but I found some stairs that lead me to an exit to the streets above. But I have no idea where that is."

"What!? So you mean we're stuck down here!?" The seriousness of the situation begins to sink in for Yasuline.

"Oh, come on miss Adventurer, this is the kind of stuff you should be living for."

"I...well, I guess that is true." She thought bout it for a moment and then walks over to the White Reaper and whispers. "Hey, if things get really bad, you'll be able to get us out of here, right?"

He responds with a nod. Knowing that she could feel the tension being free from her back and she felt more capable of being playful. "Great! Then, with that, we can start exploring!"

The area they were in was a long hallway. The stone was cold to the touch as well as the air they were breathing. Their steps would be the only thing they could hear. That, and the endless echo of them. Minutes passed with seemingly no progression being made.

"Wow, this is boring." Yasuline would say, ending the silence between them all.

"What were you expecting? Swordfights and explosions from fire spells?"

"How about Swords on fire that go swoosh! Or maybe Someone points at one of the bad guys and goes..." She imitates the move by holding two fingers together like aiming an arrow on a bow and pretends to fire it at the White Reaper.

"Pow!"

The White Reaper plays along with her act by jumping onto his back as if knocked back by her invincible arrow of justice. With a soft thud to indicate that the fake fall didn't leave a painful impact on his body. Seeing the two being so playful with one another. Ann couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, seems like the two of you are close to being like that with one another."

"Oh, not really. I mean, I don't think so. We only just met a few days ago."

"Oh really? Seems like you trust each other a lot."

"Well, he did save my life," Yasuline explains.

"Oh is that it huh? Ann would lightly tap her chin as she looked at the two, going back and forth on each.

"Is what it?"

"Oh, nothing." Ann would reply, smirking as she walks on ahead. The confused Yasuline would turn to the White Reaper to see if he would elaborate, but he simply shrugs and continues to go on.

"Hmm? What's that?" Ann would say. Yasuline would see that she had stopped and looked at the wall. they had grown adjusted to the darkness that they were able to just barely make out things on the wall. Aside from the cracks and a few stones sticking out, making the walls uneven.

"Whatcha find?" Yasuline would ask. Getting between Ann and the White Reaper to see what they were investigating.

"Geez," Ann would complain as she felt her shoulder being bumped against hers, "It looks like three cracks going across the face of the stone here. It almost looks like claw marks."

"Oh, is it some kind of monster?" Yasuline would say excited, pressing her hand on the markings so she could feel it. The markings themselves were small and barely dented into the stone, but whatever scratched it made it brighter than the rest of the stone, as you would see when anything rubbed against the stone.

"It can't be a shadowbeast. No one has ever seen on in Lumines for decades."

"So what could it be?"

"Who knows. But I know that I so don't want to deal with that."

All of a sudden, something fell in front of Ann, it caused her to jump back and bumped into the White Reaper. his cloak would open up a bit, revealing his coat underneath. The blue flame pattern on it would give off a light source that lit the area around them. It would reveal that the single scratch mark they had uncovered was not alone. The entirety of the wall, floor, and other wall was covered in claw marks.

"That is normally not a good sign. Right?" Yasuline asks slowly.

They then heard something drip onto the floor. At first, it sounded like a single drop of liquid. But more and more started to happen. Nervously, they looked up.

The entire ceiling was covered in hairy beasts that were pressing against each other and their fur made it difficult to see just how big they were individually.

"Ah." Yasu would simply say.

The two opposing sides would have their eyes locked with one another.

The trio ran as fast as their bodies could let them move. Yasuline could hear the sounds of their claws tapping against the stone. She could feel her heart racing and pumping the blood that her body needs to keep going on.

They finally made their way out of the corridor that they slide into, but now we're surrounded by black air. She could feel the empty cold cooling down her body. The ground rumbled under her as the dire rats that they came across jumped down to the ground floor.

"Don't let a single one-touch you!" Ann shouted.

"What? Why!?" Yasuline would yell back.

"Those look, sound, and smell like Dire Rats!"

"What's a Dire Rat!? Rats that are Dire!?"

"No time for jokes! They are notorious for carrying many diseases with them. They are all doctor's mortal enemies!"

"Ehh!? I don't want to get sick! I hate lying in bed all day with a fever!"

"It's going to be way worse than that, just keep moving."

Their voices would disappear into the darkness as they no longer echoed and bounced off of the walls. As Yasuline was getting tired, she began to lose partial control over her mobility and was moving closer to the edge. Looking down, she could make out other pathways that crossed under or goes parallel with the path they were on.

"Why are there so many bridges under ours?"

"Not just under. There are some over us too. This is the Lumines Labyrinth."

Looking up, Yasuline would see that she was right. The bridges were also formed over them too. She could see some small circle glowing under them. She felt some kind of power from them, but couldn't exactly tell what.

At this point, Yasuline's breaths were getting more rapid. She was getting tired. From running, and from having to suck in air from her mouth just to fill her lungs. She began to slow. Ann was too.

"This is no good. I don't want to keep running anymore." Yasuline would struggle to even say.

The White Reaper would look back to see the two being left far behind with the Dire Rats closing in. He skids to a halt and runs back to them. The dire rats seem to be aware of their prey having lost all their strength and began to open up in the center to scoop them into the middle. He would hand each of them their bags but leaves the leftover food that they had purchased into his hands, unwrapping it slowly. The smell of the meat was still fresh and it filled the air. The rats abruptly stop and paused before him. His hand extended the outward to them, with his other hand right behind him, gesturing the two girls to keep going on.

Ann would put her bag on and grabs Yasuline's arm to pull her away. Nervously, she would go along with her but would very often look back at the White Reaper. He was still standing, even after the rats have circled him and blocking her sight to keep going. Her body stiffened up when they suddenly swarm over him into a frenzy. The sound of biting and mumbling from her made her assume the worst had happened.

"No!"

"There's nothing we can do. We have to keep going or he would have died for no reason!" Ann would try to reason with her as she desperately pulls Yasuline. Yasuline would be attempting to go back, but her endless running throughout the day has drained her of most of her energy.

Eventually, they would stop for a break, but far enough where they could no longer hear anything but their breath and heartbeats. Ann was sitting up, checking on the items she has had in her bag. Pulling out a canister with water and gulping down a good amount from it. She holds it out to Yasuline who was lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling, silent since.

"Come on, drink up. No good if you die from thirst." Ann would call to her. Yasuline would quietly take the canister and ends up drinking the whole thing empty. As she hands it back to her, she would sit up and look at the side of the bridge where they came from.

Ann took charge of the lead. Yasuline didn't have her enthusiasm to keep going, but Ann persisted to continue.

"Umm, I'm sorry about your friend."

She didn't reply. She was more thinking about him. He hardly said much, or at all. But she still felt empty to feel him suddenly gone and possibly severely hurt to protect her.

Just then, they began to hear a familiar noise.

"Hmm? Is that tapping?"

They both paused. And then turned to look behind them.

They ran. With the extra stuff that they were carrying, running away from the dire rats that were still chasing them.

"We have to lose this junk!" Ann would suggest, swinging her bag into her arms while running. Yasu does the same and both attempt to throw them behind them, but the weight of Ann's bag was too much for her and she clumsily loses her footing and leans over against Yasuline while mid-throw. The bump would cause Ann to let go of her bag and awkwardly slams it onto the ground with a soft thud and loud crack from inside. They tumble off their feet and land on the ground that felt even more uneven than before.

The sound of the dire rats clattering claws was now joined with the sounds of something rumbling. It even caught their attention and stopped them all. Yasuline nervously placed her hand on the ground near her thigh and felt vibrations occur.

Next, a familiar feeling overcame her. Freefall.

The path that they were just one would begin crumbling under them. Yasuline wasn't able to pay attention to the terrifying sounds of the dire rats screening and fighting with one other as they all climbed on each other to survive. They all fell together and just a few of the managed to land on other bridges under them. The rest would continue to fall until the sound of them was also swallowed by the abyss.

Ann and Yasuline fell with them, but thankfully a large chunk of the bridge was acting as a wall separating the two groups. Just then, Something flashed in the corner of Yasuline's eye. A split second later, she felt someone grab her arm and Ann's and pulled them to the side, catching their fall to the abyss with a bridge that was further along under the one they fell. Chunks of the bridge they were on would also cause gaps on the new bridge, but it remained in tack.

Yasuline would gasp as they sudden shift in momentum caused the air to escape from her lungs. Ann suffered the same and was on her hands and knees, partly hysteric as she was still screaming.

When Yasuline felt ready, she began to look around where they were. The blue flash from earlier was still among them. Standing at the center of the bridge and comforting them with a strong light source that helped illuminate the bridge and further down for them.

"You're back!" Yasuline would cry out, shamelessly running up to him and hugging him tightly. She didn't even mind if he didn't hug her back.

"Woah, you survived that swarm? And not only that, but you saved us?" Ann would say, completely perplexed by what she was seeing.

He would nod.

"But how?"

As an answer. The blue flames around him would suddenly burst brightly, forcing her to shield her eyes from such brightness. "Alright, I get it!" She shouts. His flames would dim down to a comfortable level for them.

"You had me worried you know! What was I going to do if you were suddenly gone!" Yasuline would begin to complain at the White Reaper, feeling all the emotions building up inside her.

That was when he noticed. For a brief moment, his flames weren't the only things giving off light.

With the trio reunited, they would return to continuing trekking going forward on the bridge. Still weakened from the collapse, Yasuline shared some of the potions she, mainly the White Reaper, purchase earlier that day and each of them felt their wounds and bruises heal up.

"Hm..." Ann would omit a sound as she was deep in thought.

"What's wrong, Ann?"

"Oh, it's your friend. the blue flames. I feel like I heard about them before. But I can't remember where."

"Oh, is it from some cool adventurer story!?" Yasuline would throw out there. Eager to hear a tale that she never heard about.

"No no, something else. I wish I knew. It's bothering me. Like it is really important." As Ann would stare intensely into the flames, the White Reaper would try to tuck his cloak to hide most of the coat he wore. Ignoring how much it made his suspicions, things didn't perk up until an hour or so passed. They finally made it into a new area of the labyrinth. Instead of long bridges that went in various directions, it was now more of them but mixed with corridors that had convenient holes that resembled like house windows for them to almost look through from such distances.

"Oh! I think I see something. Looks like a big statue or something." Yasuline would call out as she points off in a distance where a scattered bridge leads to an opening with two statues of people holding swords straight forward. The statues looked to be modeled after someone young, with a crown on their other hand in a casual position.

"Well, that's nice. Hopefully, it is one of those exits that lead up to the surface. But how are we going to go all the way over there? Looks like the bridge to it is broken off from the others."

The White Reaper would cough, drawing both of the girls' attention immediately at him. He then would begin hopping up and down. Backing up to one side of the bridge and dashes to the other. With such grace and flow, he easily made it to one of the fractured parts of the bridge.

Yasuline would applaud at his accomplishment, while Ann stood there once again in disbelief.

"That's like a 20 feet long jump!" Ann would say. The White Reaper would shrug. Keeping his cloak on tightly with one hand grip, he jumps back just as easily, then holds his hand out, in a gesture for one of them to take it.

"Oh, he wants to take us with him. So we can all reach it." Yasuline would explain and the White Reaper would nod in approval.

the bags were the first to go as a test demanded by Ann to see if he was capable of taking one of them across. Once they were safely sitting on the bridge, Yasuline was the first to volunteer to go.

"Woohoo!" She would shout as she felt the airbrush against her face as she sat on his back.

"That was awesome. Alright, Ann, it's your turn!"

Ann would press her arms over her chest as she nervously crept to the edge to look down. Immediately regretting as now she felt the possibility of failing and falling skyrocketed.

"Are we sure there's no other way we can- Ah!"

She would be cut off when the White Reaper jumped back for her.

"Come on, you don't want to be stuck there when another group of dire rats comes up to you, do ya?" Yasuline would say with a smirk, enjoying how frightful Ann was becoming.

"No, but I sure don't want to see the ones that are down there either!" She retorts. pinching the White Reaper's shoulders as she got behind him. Letting out a small yelp when she felt his hand on her rear. Her body tensed and she could feel her stomach twisting inside her as he prepares and dashes forward. She would let out another high-pitch screen as they were in the air.

The thud of the landing was unexpected for Ann as she jerked a bit on his back and felt her balance shifted. She clutches on his shoulders tightly, while he tried to lean forward to keep her on him. But it was too late, and Ann falls onto the ground.

"Ow. That wasn't as smooth of a landing as Yasuline's I bet that was on purpose." She would complain while feeling the sting on the back of her head as it hit the stone flooring.

Her eyes would widen. Yasuline would cover her mouth in shock as it drew on her what just happened. As Ann fell, her grip on his shoulder slipped. But she was still holding onto his cloak. She fell back, pulling his cloak clean off him. He stood there between the two. The blue flames on his coat would give perfect lighting so that Ann couldn't confuse him for anyone or anything else. he was...

"The White Reaper."