The 27th Rio — At the End of the Death-Return Labyrinth, Whose Dream Do You See? - Under the Sky of First Meetings

The silver-white void crumbled in silence. Pale blue particles of light danced. The walls cracked. Tiny stone fragments rained from the ceiling. Cold. The very air announced the end. Rio looked at Shion in his arms. Her outline was fading. Translucent arms. Fingertips vanishing. The core's release had let the memories of the predecessors that composed her flow outward. "...Twenty-seventh." The voice resonated directly inside his skull. Shodai Rio's residual thought. The long, clouded-white hair. The blue light leaking from crushed eyelids. The countless threads extending from the hole in his chest—all of it wavered like mist. "Something was sealed in the deepest part of the labyrinth's core. Not the Calamita collapse technique. The memory... of the first human I drew into this labyrinth's experiment and let die." The words crawled along the walls. Shook the air. Rio gazed into Shion's blue-gray eyes. Her body grew more transparent by the moment. "That person's name was Shion. The symbol of my deepest regret—her memory pulled in the twenty-six generations of detached fragments, forming the core." Shion's eyelids stirred faintly. The first generation's voice settled into one for the first time. The voice that begged for an end and the voice that refused to end fell silent together. "...This is the final truth." The outline began to melt. The white hair unraveled into blue particles. The light from the crushed eyelids dimmed. Shodai Rio—for the first time—wore a quiet expression. Rio nodded. He said nothing. He simply accepted that confession and nodded. Deeply. Once. The first generation's form vanished completely. Eight hundred years of regret fell into the space as words, then scattered like mist, purified. Rio watched it happen. His severance from his own origin lay within this silence. —In his arms. "...Shion." Her fingertips trembled at Rio's voice. She was still conscious. "Can you hear me? I'm converging the core's release pathway into you. Gather the predecessors' memories inside yourself, just once. If you do—you can become the pathway that pushes the gate open from within." Rio wrapped both hands around hers. The vanishing sensation barely remained. Shion's eyes glowed blue. "...Can I really do it?" "You can." An instant answer. Shion gripped his hand back. Her trembling fingers moved as if confirming Rio's hand was real. In that moment— Her body began to absorb the light. The predecessors' memories surged in like a raging torrent. Fear. Loneliness. Despair. The will to press on regardless. All of twenty-six generations of death and resurrection pierced through her. "...Ngh, ahh...!" Shion's face twisted in agony. Still, she did not let go of Rio's hand. "But... I'll go. If that's what you've decided, Rio-san—" Shion stood. The torrent of memories raced through her entire body. Her pale golden hair stood on end. Her blue-gray eyes had now shifted to a deep azure. She faced the gate. A massive stone gate. Countless blue letters pulsed across its surface. Shion pressed both hands against it. "...Open—!!" DOGOOOOOOON—!!! The gate exploded from within. A torrent of pale blue light burst forth. The glowing letters on the walls peeled away all at once. Countless ancient characters danced through the space. Light that pierced every layer of the labyrinth shattered the ceiling. Pulverized stone pillars. Shion's outline nearly vanished completely—in that instant. The flow of light stopped. With the memory outflow complete, the magical restraints binding her dissolved. Paradoxically, Shion's body began to regain substance. A being born from the remnants of the predecessors' memories—after all those memories were released outward, the final core that remained was her own identity. "...Me." Shion looked at her own hands. Rio pulled her hand. "We're running." The collapse accelerated. The ceiling fell. The floor split. Blue light swallowed everything. Run. The stone beneath their feet vanished into the void one step behind. They sprinted up the stairs to the first layer. The X mark on the left wall—a warning carved by a predecessor just before death. They did not follow that arrow now. A new trap was set. Rio jumped right. Correct. The left floor gave way, revealing sharp iron stakes. Run further. A single corpse-ghoul crawled out from a gap in the collapsed wall. Rio drew his dagger. Severed its core without slowing. Blue fluid scattered. The ghoul turned to particles. At the edge of his vision, the glowing letters on the walls peeled away and were swallowed by the torrent of light. *For whom do you advance?* That question was gone now. Because Rio had answered it. They passed through the second layer's great hall. The safe zone the predecessors had risked their lives to record—the Chamber of Silence—vanished beneath the collapsing ceiling. The diaries. The arrows. All returned to rubble. But—they were no longer needed. The gray corridor of the first layer. The exit. Rio tightened his grip on Shion's hand. "We jump." The two sprinted upward together— And burst out onto the surface with the torrent of light. Mildora Forest. It was dawn. Soft orange light filtered through the gaps in the trees. The smell of damp earth. The sound of wind rustling leaves. Cold, clear air filled their lungs. Rio dropped to his knees on the ground. He could not move. *(The sky exists.)* Was it always this color? Was it always this vast? He had no memory of it. No—this was a sensation he was learning for the first time. Right beside him, Shion sat on the ground. She stared intently at her own hands. "...I have a body." Her voice was hoarse. Rio raised his head. Shion raised hers. Their eyes met. But—nothing came back. Everything they had shared in the labyrinth. The battles with the corpse-ghouls. The predecessors' diaries. The encirclement on the fourth layer and Shion's sacrifice. The gate's release. All of it had flowed outward with the pale blue light. Nothing remained within them. Even each other's names were blank. Rio spoke first. "...I'm Rio." He gave only his name. Short. Concise. Shion's eyes widened just slightly. "...I'm Shion." She returned only her name in the same way. *Nice to meet you*—those words were a matter-of-fact exchange. No shyness. No embellishment. Just words for two blank people to confirm each other. And yet. Rio felt a strange relief spreading deep in his chest. He didn't know why. He had no memory. But with this person—somehow, he felt it would be okay. Shion felt the same. Her blue-gray eyes faintly deepened in blue. The color she showed when happy. Even that, she herself was not aware of now. The two began walking through the forest. A sense of direction remained within Rio. Engraved memory—survival instinct soaked into his flesh pointed north. The direction where human presence lay. After walking for about thirty minutes— The forest's edge drew near. The trees thinned. Building shadows were visible in the distance. The town of Granat. Crumbling outer walls and chimneys trailing smoke emerged in the morning light. —Then. *Clack.* A rhythmic metallic sound approached from ahead. Rio stopped. A tall man appeared. Brown hair streaked with white. Sharp gray eyes. His right leg was a metal prosthetic from the knee down. Iron struck stone with every step. The man stopped too. His gray left eye widened. His right eye remained narrowed. His expression mixed clear agitation with—barely suppressed hunger. "...You two. Did you come out of Voltura?" Rio did not answer. Instead, he visually confirmed the man's prosthetic. On the ankle of the prosthetic—blue glowing letters were carved. Fragments of ancient magical script. The same as the labyrinth's walls. Faintly luminescent. *(This man is connected to Voltura.)* Rio's intuition told him. "Who are you?" The man let out a small breath. "Dario Hendrik. Branch chief of the Hexenring Exploration Guild in Granat. Former ruin-walker—retired now, though." He struck the ground with his prosthetic. *Clack.* The sound of iron. "I saw a torrent of pale blue light burst out from the direction of Voltura. Rushed to the scene. Didn't think there'd be survivors—didn't expect it at all." Dario's gaze observed Rio and Shion in turn. His gray eyes seemed to probe for something while simultaneously appraising them. "Do you two have your memories?" "No." An instant answer. Dario dragged his prosthetic and stepped half a pace closer. "I see. Then I'll tell you first. The Pernicia Trading Company—they deal in ruin artifacts—is already moving. They sensed the labyrinth's collapse. Scouts are heading for this forest. If they find you, they'll secure you as research material. To commodify the resurrection-by-return technique." Shion's shoulders tensed faintly. "I'll protect you. Hide you from the company." Rio looked into Dario's eyes. The gray left eye was wide open. But deep within it, something beyond pure goodwill flickered. The desire to monopolize the labyrinth's secrets.—That emotion seeped from the edges of his words. Rio dropped his gaze to the glowing letters on the prosthetic one more time. *(This man, too, is someone who lost something to the labyrinth.)* Then he raised his head. "...Understood. We'll be in your care." A protection contract mixed with calculation—that was the first relationship the two memory-less people forged with the outside world. Shion lightly tugged Rio's sleeve. "...Rio-san. Is this really okay?" "Yeah." A short answer. For now, this was all they had. Dario turned his back and began walking the path to Granat. His prosthetic struck the stone. *Clack. Clack.* "Follow me. The Sooted Lamp—an inn and tavern. The company's people can't touch you there. The landlady, Möwe, is an old acquaintance of mine." Rio and Shion followed his back. Behind them, the Voltura forest was quietly bathed in morning light. The labyrinth's blue glow was nowhere to be seen. No memories. No past. They knew nothing of the outside world. Nothing of who they themselves were. Only one thing—Rio knew. *(This man, too, is imprisoned by the labyrinth.)* The blue letters carved into Dario's prosthetic glowed faintly in the morning sun. The labyrinth had not ended—it had changed form. It was still continuing. Rio let out a small breath and faced forward.

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Episode 7

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

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