บท 9: Silent Observers
Atlas kept silent at the back of the group next to Iris. The group was methodically moving through the maze. Each time they encountered a creature, it was taken down. For any creature of the Sentinel rank, the group avoided it.
He didn't want to speak because these people were not fools; they were veterans who had previously conquered a Door. He may have gotten lucky and was able to act as Edmund for now, but one slip-up could mean exposing himself as someone else.
Atlas also felt that he could use this Edmund identity to try and learn more information—not only about the maze, but also about each of the powers the group possessed. He didn't know the extent of their strength, but since they were avoiding the Sentinel-ranked creatures, he assumed they couldn't take down a single one without suffering heavy losses or complete defeat.
The group had just finished fighting a creature that looked like a small goblin who was surprisingly good with a bow, making things a little harder than usual. Right after the fight, a change occurred in the maze. This time it wasn't just a shift in some of the walls, but the ground they were standing on shifted into the air.
Atlas was caught off guard, not only by the surprise but by the speed at which they were lifted into the sky. They ascended all the way to the top of the maze, almost going over the tops of the walls.
Unfortunately, they stopped twenty feet short of seeing the maze from a bird's-eye view. If they had been just a little higher, it would have made their lives much easier, being on top of the maze.
Atlas had an idea.
Could his warp ability raise him to the top of the walls?
He could blink at most two meters, and he felt that he could handle the Aether spent from his core if he used it three times. But this came with a cost. First, what if it was like the Door, and the top of the maze didn't really exist? Or what if there was some type of invisible ceiling? Even if he did make it through, where would he go? The objective he needed to fulfill was still a mystery to him. On top of all that, his cover would be blown.
These people didn't know that he had a technique, but he also didn't know if it was normal to have one. With the stone slab they were standing on still in the air, though temporarily stagnant, he wanted to find out more about techniques.
Atlas needed more information about everything.
The group looked around, waiting for the slab to move when something law-defying happened. Instead of the slab going up or down, it went straight through the maze. Each wall opened as if split by the hand of a giant and closed immediately after the slab crossed through. One after another, they flew through the maze at high speed.
Atlas peered over the edge and saw different environments pass by: icy walls, sand-covered areas, pure stone landscapes, green forests with trees that had eyes, and even areas that were pure white, reminding him of the room before he entered the Door.
At some point, the slab passed its final wall. After crossing it, the wall slammed shut, and the group hovered above a large area. Unfortunately, this large area was full of water. Atlas watched in horror as the slab kept moving downwards, closer and closer to the water's surface. After what seemed like forever, they finally landed softly, hovering just above the water.
The whole group looked around at their new surroundings. The area was only water, with no visible walls, as if they had never existed in the first place.
Sebastian was the first to break the silence.
"Something tells me we're not moving from this spot anytime soon. Let's get camp set up, but stay alert." he said nonchalantly, taking out the pack from around his back.
He began pulling out items to cook some food. Everyone in the group, except for Atlas, had a pack with tools useful for survival. Atlas didn't know how they had managed to bring these items from the normal world. When he went through his own Door, everything except his clothes had been taken from him—this was common knowledge. He decided not to ask for now.
He watched each member bring out supplies of food, with something that looked like a full deer leg coming out of a pouch that was only the size of a common backpack. The man who pulled it out looked like a magician pulling a woman from a small space that she clearly could not have fit in.
While pondering how this was possible, something else caught his attention.
In the distance, another floating slab was coming down. Atlas watched as it fell, predicting it would land within 100 meters of where they were. The dark blue ocean it hovered over reminded him of the potential dangers within it.
"There seems to be another platform coming this way," he announced to the group. Everyone turned their attention toward it. Six pairs of eyes studied the descending slab, each one trying its best to pierce through it and see what was on top.
Suddenly, another pair of eyes looked back at them.
Everyone was more than surprised to see another human on the slab, and their surprise deepened when five more pairs of eyes peeked over the edge, studying them in return. Atlas could feel the killing intent from at least half of them, as if they wanted to eat him alive. The group began muttering amongst themselves.
"Can you believe another group is here, and so close?"
"Sebastian, should we get ready to fight or continue making camp?"
"I'm a little nervous about this…"
The group grew more worried about the sudden arrival, but Sebastian took control of the situation.
"We can't assume they're going to attack us, and since it's getting late, we should sleep in shifts," he said loudly. Pausing briefly, he turned to Atlas. "Edmund and Iris will take the first shift. The rest of us will prepare food and sleep."
Atlas had been voluntold to take the first watch, earning his keep by staying up. It didn't make much sense to Atlas, considering they were putting a lot of trust in someone they had just met. Still, it was an opportunity if he needed to get rid of at least some of them. Although, killing them now didn't seem wise, and he probably wouldn't survive the onslaught of five people.
This also gave Atlas a chance to think about the new group now sitting a hundred meters away. Were they stronger than his current companions? He doubted he'd been lucky enough to stumble upon the most powerful group in the maze. If an opportunity arose, he would take it—switching sides to whichever group gave him the highest chance of survival.
After everyone settled down to sleep, Atlas sat against a pack, staring in the direction of the other slab. It was dark out, and the only thing illuminating the blue water was the reflection of the moons. Iris sat opposite him, ensuring they had 360-degree vision coverage.
The night was boring for the first hour or two. Atlas's eyes began to droop when another member of the group came to relieve him. Finally, Atlas was able to rest comfortably for the first time in a long while—or at least as comfortably as one can rest in a Door trial, surrounded by people they don't know, in the middle of an ocean, stuck in a maze full of creatures that could easily kill them.
Atlas finally fell asleep.
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Mr_Mysteries
Mr_Mysteries I want to apologize for the wait on new chapters. My Inkstone dashboard was down recently. In the meantime, I continued writing, so to make up for the delay, I'm posting three chapters today and three more tomorrow. Thank you for your patience and support!
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