The spinning blades whirred faster, going beyond Mach 10, their edges now dripping with the ether that was sprayed by the clouds. The pillars shifted unpredictably, herding the eight toward the deadly central glyph.

Now, even more threats had emerged: tendrils of the same shadow energy erupted from the floor, acting like serpents, while platforms collapsed beneath their feet, revealing pits that glowed with an ominous red.

Nova clung to the cracked boulder, blood dripping from the fresh gash on his back, his leg wound aching with every move. "We're not dying here!" he shouted, voice raw but filled with resolve.

His eyes flicked to the team: Elesch, gasping through bruised ribs; Adam, cradling his fractured arm; Zane, chest bleeding; Michael, limping on his torn thigh; Emma, bow trembling in her grip; Col, axe chipped from smashing pillars; Galileo, staff flickering as his energy waned. They were battered, but their faces held the spark of fire that Nova unleashed upon them.

"It's the rune!" Galileo yelled, dodging a shadow tendril that grazed his cheek, leaving a burning mark. "Break it completely, or this trap escalates!"

Nova nodded, his instincts kicking in, helping him out, despite the overwhelming pain. "Elesch, please use your rift to get the blades away! Zane, Michael, keep those tendrils off us! Emma, Col, hit the pillars! Adam, Galileo, focus with me on the rune!"

Elesch gritted her teeth, rapier slashing the air to open a shaky void rift. A spinning blade hurtled toward her, but she warped it into a wall, where it lodged with a screech.

The effort made her stumble, ribs screaming, blood trickling from a reopened cut on her arm. "Can't... hold it long," she gasped.

Zane used his ability, weaving through tendrils, increasing his speed, going faster and faster. He slashed at a shadow serpent, severing it, but another coiled around his leg, burning through his pants.

He cursed, kicking free, and drew the tendrils' focus, giving the others room. Michael summoned ice tendrils, freezing two shadow serpents solid, though the corrosive ether melted his frost fast, a shard slicing his shoulder as he recoiled.

Emma's arrows flew, each one glowing with precision enchantments, striking pillar joints to weaken them. One misfired, grazing her hand, but she kept shooting, blood smearing her bow.

Col gave a war cry, his axe slicing a pillar in half, though a tendril lashed his back, tearing his flesh and drawing a grunt of pain. Galileo's arcane barrier came to life, deflecting a blade aimed at Nova, but the strain made him stagger, nose bleeding from overuse.

Nova, Adam, and Galileo converged on the rune. Nova's daggers slashed at its edges, burning his palms. Adam clawed with his good arm, tearing at the glyph's surface, each strike sending jolts through his fractured bones.

"This thing's tough!" he growled, blood seeping from cracked scabs. Galileo chanted, light pouring from his staff into the rune, destabilizing its structure but draining him pale.

The trap fought back. A platform tilted, nearly dropping Emma into a pit; Col yanked her back, taking a tendril burn to his arm. Blades spun closer, one slicing Michael's calf, making him limp worse.

A shadow serpent grazed Elesch's side, her void rift flickering as she screamed. Nova took a direct hit from a tendril, the dark energy scorching his chest, his shirt smoldering as he stumbled but kept slashing.

"We're close!" Nova yelled, feeling the rune weaken. "One last push!"

Elesch, fighting through pain, opened a wider rift, redirecting three blades into each other, their collision shattering them into nothingness. Zane's speed surged, severing tendrils to clear a path, though his vision blurred from blood loss.

Michael froze a pillar in place, stopping it from crushing Galileo. Emma and Col teamed up, her arrows guiding his axe to demolish another pillar, opening a narrow lane to the rune. Galileo poured every ounce of his power into a final spell, cracking the rune's core.

"Now!" Nova screamed, his mouth wide open, his eyes wide, his voice sharp and cold.

He and Adam struck together, plunging into the rune's heart. The glyph pulsed violently, then shattered in a burst of red light. The blades froze mid-spin, tendrils dissolved, pillars sank back into the floor, and the ether clouds dissipated. The labyrinth halted, the safe zone's golden portal glowing unobstructed.

The team staggered, bloodied and gasping. Nova's chest burned, his leg barely holding him up. Elesch leaned on her rapier, ribs aching.

Adam's arm hung limp, Zane clutched his chest, Michael limped heavily, Emma's hand bled, Col's back oozed, and Galileo swayed, nearly collapsing. But they'd done it. The final hurdle for them for the first stage of the tournament was now officially over, or was it?

"Go!" Nova urged, pointing to the portal. "Safe zone, now!"

One by one, they stumbled through, Elesch first, her form vanishing into the golden light, then Adam, grimacing but relieved. Zane followed, swaying, then Michael, dragging his leg.

Emma and Col went together, supporting each other, and Galileo staggered in last, staff clattering as he crossed. The portal's warmth enveloped them, healing mists already working to mend their wounds.

Nova stood alone outside, staring at the portal. His team was safe, but his mind churned. The stolen core, taken by the French Guild, burned in his thoughts.

That core could've healed them fully, maybe even pushed his own power closer to evolution, or maybe even beyond the first evolution.

He'd failed to protect it, just as he'd failed to keep his team out of harm's way against the Irish and the Shadow Drakes. I have to bring it back, he told himself, clenching his fists. I'm not weak, not anymore. Or, well, not as weak as I was originally coming to this place.

He turned to the portal, where Elesch lingered just beyond, watching him. His gaze softened, guilt and resolve mixing in his chest. "I'm sorry," he said, voice low but steady, meant for her alone. "I'll make this right."

Before she could respond, Nova spun and sprinted back into the labyrinth's depths, away from the safe zone. The walls rumbled, grinding shut behind him, sealing the path forever.

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