The 27th Rio — At the End of the Death-Return Labyrinth, Whose Dream Do You See? - The name of the memory that peeled away

The wound burned. Pressing his right flank, he braced a hand against the wall. Crawling out from a hollow in the third layer's stone wall, Rio advanced one step, then another. The damp air seeped into the wound. His vision swayed faintly. "Rio-san, don't push yourself." Shion's voice. She walked beside him, supporting him. Her blue-gray eyes were tinged deeply with gray. "No choice but to move." His words were short. Just opening his mouth made his flank seize. The previous generation's diary held nothing more. Midway through the third layer, the entries had ceased entirely. Passing through the underground waterway where only the sound of water echoed endlessly, the two found the descending stairs to the fourth layer. The fourth layer—a hall of mirrors. The air changed. Cold. Heavy. Stagnant. The ceiling was high, invisible. Footsteps echoed unnaturally. The stones in the walls glowed faintly blue-white. Rio stopped. Beyond the stairs lay a small, abandoned room. A collapsed desk. Rotted shelves. Shards of pottery scattered across the floor. A space once used as a guardroom. "Here... just for a bit." He leaned his back against the wall and slumped down. His knees trembled. Shion swiftly checked their surroundings, keeping her dagger drawn and watching the entrance. Rio took out the diary. The leather cover was tattered and frayed. The edges of the pages were discolored with sweat and blood. He opened it. The first layer, the second layer—the handwriting of the predecessors densely recorded trap locations and the positions of ghoul cores. Thin, nervous script. Carefully chosen words. He turned the page. The page where the third layer's records ended and the fourth layer's information should begin. Rio's hand stopped. The handwriting had changed. It was no longer the thin, trembling script from before. Thick strokes. Pressed hard. The ink color had shifted from black to deep green. The slant of the letters, the spacing—clearly someone else's. "...Someone else." His voice shook. Shion turned around. Rio flipped the pages back and forth, comparing the handwriting. No mistake. Midway through the twenty-sixth generation's records, the handwriting had completely switched. "The handwriting... is different?" "Yeah. From here on... it's not the predecessor. Someone else has been continuing this diary." His fingertips went cold. Deeper than the wound in his side, this fact stabbed into Rio. The traps change. The ghouls learn. And now even the diary can't be trusted. The legacy of twenty-six generations of predecessors. The sole compass. Its very foundation was now crumbling audibly. Had the labyrinth known? That we would rely on the diary. "...Is this a trap?" Had the diary itself been part of the labyrinth? No. The handwriting of the predecessors was genuine. Those parts of the record were, without doubt, truth written in blood and flesh. But midway through—something, someone, had tampered with this diary. The labyrinth hadn't just changed the traps. It had contaminated the information itself. "Rio-san." Shion knelt before him. Her blue-gray eyes were wet. That was when it happened. Her mouth slowly opened. "I... there's something I must tell you." Her voice trembled. "From the moment I awoke, something has been flowing into me. Fragments of memories... from someone I don't know. Like waves. Endlessly." Rio looked up. "They are all memories of people named Rio. How to walk. How to grip a sword. How to memorize the labyrinth's passages. Dying countless times, reviving countless times—all of it is inside me." Shion's hands clenched tightly before her chest. "That's why I knew how you grip your weapon, Rio-san. When we first met, I thought it was strange. But now... I understand." Her blue-gray eyes shone with a painful brilliance. "I am the remnants of the memories that you and the other Rios shed each time you returned from death. Merged with the labyrinth's magic... I gained a personality. I wasn't born human. This labyrinth gave form to the past you all lost. That... is what I am." Her words pierced Rio's chest. Shed memories. What I, what the predecessors, lost. That is her. He searched for a reply. Tried to open his mouth. But no words came. His throat refused to move, as if glued shut. "So... I am not human." Her voice twisted, like a tearful smile. "Someday, I must disappear. The closer you get to the truth, Rio-san... the more my existence will surely..." Mid-sentence, Shion lowered her face. He had to respond. He had to say something. Rio clenched his fist. But— In that instant. The sound of water stopped. The flowing sound of underground water that had filled the corridor ceased abruptly. Silence. An eerie soundlessness, as if the world held its breath. Shion raised her face. Rio also stood, pressing his wound. Footsteps from deep in the corridor. Not one. Two, three, five—the number grew. Heavy, dull, the footsteps of ghouls. At the same time, a pale blue light began seeping from the three entrances to the abandoned room. They were surrounded. "Damn it..." He tried to draw his dagger. But his right side wouldn't move. His fingers lacked strength. The hilt trembled. Just taking a stance made blood seep from the wound. The number of the horde far exceeded any previous encounter. Not five or ten. The presence of dozens pressed in through the walls. The labyrinth had accurately assessed our current state and sent them. Shion judged the situation in an instant. She grabbed Rio's left arm. With surprisingly strong force. "Rio-san. There's a passage in the back. Go." "What are—" Before he could resist, Shion dragged him to the entrance of a narrow passage at the back of the abandoned room and pushed him hard inside. The passage was barely wide enough for one person. "Hey, Shion!" Rio reached out his hand. She looked at his hand. And then, she smiled. "It's all right. I will protect you." The end of her words trembled. The same words as when they first met. In that moment, ghouls surged from the entrance behind Shion. Claws tore through the air. The light of blue cores disturbed the darkness. She turned and faced the horde of ghouls. She readied her daggers in both hands. Her pale golden hair swayed. Her back looked terribly small. "Stop—!!" Shion did not turn around again. She stepped in. Cut into the center of the ghouls herself. Her daggers howled. One flash. A ghoul's arm was severed, pale blue fluids scattering in the air. Two flashes. A core was cut, and the ghoul dissolved into particles. But immediately, the next ghouls swarmed. She spun like a dance, slashing, clashing, thrusting, dodging. From the passage entrance, Rio screamed. "Shion—!!" Her daggers pushed back the horde. But there were too many. From behind, another ghoul swung its claws down. The claws bit deep into her back. Blood sprayed. Still, she did not fall. "Rio... san..." Her voice reached him faintly. And then— A roar. The horde of ghouls filling the corridor emitted a blindingly bright blue light. The labyrinth's magic burst. The walls shook. Stone fragments rained from the ceiling. Along with a deafening explosion, the entire corridor was swallowed by light. Rio reached out his hand. But. Collapsed stone and the piled corpses of ghouls blocked the narrow passage entrance. He couldn't pass. Couldn't turn back. The light faded. The roar ceased. Silence. The sound of clashing blades that had echoed from deep in the corridor stopped. The groans of ghouls. The sound of water. Everything. Shion's presence vanished. "..." Rio leaned his back against the collapsed wall and crumbled to his knees. His fist struck the stone floor. Once. Twice. The skin of his fingers tore. Blood seeped into the gaps between stones. He felt no pain. Blood overflowed from his wound, spreading a red stain at his feet. He couldn't say anything. To her, who had confessed she was not human. To her, who had confessed her existence was born from the loss of the Rios. He hadn't been able to reply with a single word. He should have known. The strangeness of the memories flowing into her. The true nature of that déjà vu. The reason she knew how to grip a weapon. All of it—she was a part of me. The very past we had lost. And yet. "...Shion." His hoarse voice was swallowed by the darkness. I couldn't protect her. Worse, I was protected by her and ran. Without answering anything. Loss and regret gouged his chest deeper than the wound. His breathing became ragged. His throat constricted. Drops fell onto the cold stone, one after another. How long had he been like that? Suddenly, at the edge of his vision, a pale blue light flickered. Luminous letters floated up on the wall. 'For whom do you advance?' The letters pulsed slowly, illuminating Rio. Were they words carved by Shodai Rio? Or was the labyrinth itself posing the question? Rio raised his face. His vision was blurred. His eyes wouldn't focus. But he stared. At those letters. He drew a deep, deep breath. His wound screamed. Even so, he placed his hands down and raised his body. His trembling knees somehow supported his weight. For whom? He had no answer. But— Rio fixed his gaze on the dark passage leading deeper. The luminous letters flickered faintly, as if showing the way. "...No choice but to move." The same words, once more. This time, alone. Turning his back on the collapsed wall, Rio took a step forward. At his feet, pale blue particles—whether Shion's or the ghouls', he couldn't tell—rose faintly into the air.

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Episode 5

Name: The 27th Rio — At the End of the Death-Return Labyrinth, Whose Dream Do You See?
Author: Novelia

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