Solomon opened his eyes, fully expecting to see the endless white canvas. Instead, the dim, flickering glow of luminescent moss greeted him.

The scent of damp stone and stale dust filled his lungs, and he quickly realized he was lying on the hard ground of a narrow, secluded cavern.

He slowly turned his head. Lune rested against the opposite cavern wall with her eyes closed in deep exhaustion.

She had completely discarded her armor, tossing the ruined, melted plates of steel into a careless pile near the entrance. She wore only a simple, dark undershirt and trousers, exposing a few minor cuts and shallow bruises along her arms that were already closing up through natural healing.

Solomon found himself entirely unable to look away. He had always recognized her striking appearance, but the Paladin’s final history lesson cast her features in a completely new light. All the royals and nobles possessed an otherworldly allure because literal divine ichor flowed through their veins.

He once again looked at her. Stripped of her intimidating armor and resting in a temporarily defenseless state, she looked genuinely ethereal.

A soft rustling sound broke his trance. He shifted his gaze to see the mechanical owl perched on a stalagmite, its eyes glowing faintly as it silently recorded them.

Solomon braced his hands against the stone floor and pushed himself into a sitting position. The slight scraping noise instantly woke Lune. Her eyes snapped open, and she scrambled to her feet, rushing across the cavern to drop to her knees beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice tight with lingering panic as she frantically inspected his face and shoulders. "Does anything feel broken?"

"I am fine," Solomon groaned, rolling his shoulders to shake off the phantom sensation of a thousand brutal duels. "What exactly happened back there?"

Lune let out a heavy sigh and sat back on her heels. "I completely underestimated the Paladin. I had absolutely no idea a corrupted undead could still cast holy magic. I have never heard of anything like that happening in any labyrinth."

She glanced toward the dark tunnel entrance. "When the Paladin unleashed that golden magic, the resulting blast completely destroyed the boss chamber. I barely managed to grab you and escape into the outer tunnels before the ceiling collapsed."

Solomon rubbed his temples, processing the sheer gap between his physical body and his mind. "How much time has passed since the explosion?"

"Not long," Lune replied softly. "It must have been twenty minutes or so."

Solomon froze. He had just spent exactly five thousand four hundred and seventy-three days trapped inside the ancient knight’s mental domain. He had bled, starved, and fought for nearly fifteen years to master the Eden Imperial Sword Arts.

Yet, in the physical world, barely enough time had passed to boil a pot of water. He clamped his jaw shut, knowing he could absolutely never explain the truth to her without sounding completely insane.

He shifted his gaze to the floating stream interface hovering near the owl. The chat was moving at blinding speeds, having completely lost its mind over the sudden catastrophe.

[LazyCat: HE IS FINALLY AWAKE!]

[GamerGuy: bro I thought you were crossing the river for a second there.]

[LoreMaster: an undead guardian casting a high-tier holy spell literally breaks every established rule of the labyrinth. the corruption should have eaten his mana.]

[BloodKnight: that explosion was absolute peak cinema.]

[User12: Lune dragging him out of the rubble was heroic and hilarious ngl.]

[NewbHunter: glad you survived man, that was way too close.]

Lune leaned away from the cavern wall and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "It is completely impossible to defeat him if he can casually cast magic of that magnitude. Now that you are awake, we should explore the outer labyrinth and search for a normal exit. We cannot use the fixed gate as long as the Paladin guards that chamber."

Solomon shook his head. "Wandering blindly for a random exit will only waste our time and drain our stamina. You are injured, and I do not even have a weapon."

He looked down at his right hand to emphasize his point, only to realize he was tightly gripping a useless piece of scrap metal. The entire heavy blade of his rusted greatsword had completely vanished, vaporized into nothingness when he instinctively raised it to block the Paladin’s golden blast.

A cold realization settled in his stomach. If that magic attack had actually hit his physical body directly, he would have instantly turned into a pile of ash. He only survived the devastation because Lune had forcefully shoved him aside and taken the brunt of the explosion, sacrificing her armor in the process.

Solomon deepened his scowl and glared at her. "Why did you jump in front of me?"

"I underestimated the boss," Lune replied, crossing her arms defensively. "It was my miscalculation, and I completely refused to let someone else die because of my own mistake."

Solomon’s frown hardened into pure disbelief. He pushed himself onto his feet and shouted, "Are you actually stupid? Do you not care about your royal status at all?"

Lune flinched slightly at the sudden outburst but quickly recovered her footing.

"Entire empires have literally burned to the ground just because a prince or princess suffered a minor injury!" Solomon yelled, his frustration boiling over as the Paladin’s secret history lesson fueled his anger. "Your bloodline is too important! How could you be reckless enough to act as a human shield for a random commoner?"

Lune instantly matched his intense energy, stepping directly into his personal space with her eyes flashing in defiance. "My royal status has absolutely nothing to do with surviving a labyrinth! It was my assigned window to attack, and you had already done your part to create the opening. If I had been fighting the Paladin instead of you, I would have taken that magic blast regardless!"

She pointed a finger at the melted pile of metal resting near the cave entrance. "My armor was forged from pure Star-steel, and I knew the plating would hold against the magical impact. In the end, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. We are both alive. You do not have to thank me, but you are entirely welcome!"

Solomon gritted his teeth and stared her down, completely unable to argue against her stubborn logic.

The floating stream interface practically vibrated as the chat completely lost its mind over the heated argument.

[LazyCat: why is he yelling at her?! she literally just saved his life!]

[GamerGuy: bro woke up and chose hostility.]

[User12: Solomon is acting super weird. he is usually so calm.]

[LoreMaster: technically his point about empires falling over royal injuries is historically accurate, but his timing is terrible.]

[NewbHunter: the princess is 100% right here. she tanked the hit like a boss.] 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

[GoonLord: IF YOU YELL AT MY PRINCESS WIFE ONE MORE TIME I WILL FIND YOUR EXACT COORDINATES AND FIGHT YOU MYSELF! APOLOGIZE TO HER RIGHT NOW!]

"I can actually defeat him," Solomon stated, dropping the useless metal hilt onto the cavern floor.

Lune stared at him as if he had completely lost his mind. "That is entirely impossible. We already tried fighting him when we were at our peak condition. I no longer have my armor, you completely lost your weapon, and you are not even wearing a shirt right now."

Solomon pointed a finger toward the dark tunnel leading back to the arena. "That is exactly why we have to return to the boss chamber. I left my academy uniform sitting on the ground in there, and I still have not paid off the debt for those clothes."

Lune let her jaw drop slightly, entirely unable to process his ridiculous reasoning.

The chat interface rapidly scrolled with a mixture of disbelief and panic.

[LazyCat: risking your life over unpaid school clothes is the most relatable thing I have ever seen.]

[BloodKnight: I know I literally challenged you to solo the boss earlier, but even I think this is pure suicide. do not go back there.]

[GamerGuy: bro is officially broken.]

[NewbHunter: please listen to the princess for once.]

Lune shook her head in firm refusal. "I am completely against this plan. We are leaving."

"I can defeat him because I memorized his exact attack patterns during our first clash," Solomon lied smoothly, masking fifteen years of brutal mental duels behind a simple tactical excuse. "I have a solid strategy to dismantle his guard. You just have to trust me."

Lune pressed her lips into a thin line and weighed their grim reality. Wandering blindly through a volatile labyrinth with malfunctioning portals while injured and unarmed practically guaranteed their deaths. Returning to the fixed gate located directly behind the Paladin remained their only viable escape route.

She let out a deeply frustrated breath and reluctantly nodded.

"I need your sword," Solomon requested.

Lune stiffened instantly. Asking a warrior to surrender their personal weapon bordered on a severe insult, especially for someone of her royal standing. A knight’s blade was an extension of their very soul.

"Trust me," Solomon added softly, holding his hand out.

She stared into his eyes, desperately searching for any trace of hesitation or madness. Finding only a terrifying, rock-solid confidence, she unbuckled her silver scabbard and handed the pristine weapon over with a heavy sigh.

Solomon drew the blade from its sheath. The silver steel gleamed faintly in the dim cavern light. It felt slightly different from the painted longsword he had used inside the void, but the underlying balance remained excellent.

He gave it a quick practice swing to test the weight before turning toward the dark tunnel.

’It’s light. This sword is made for agility, while that was for strength. I won’t be able to perform heavy attacks with this, but... Nah, I’d win.’

They began the slow walk back down the corridor toward the ruined boss chamber.

"If we actually die over a cheap academy shirt, my ghost will personally haunt you for the rest of eternity," Lune muttered, walking closely behind his shoulder to avoid the rocks.

Solomon let out a low chuckle, keeping his eyes locked on the distant archway.

[User12: he just convinced royalty to hand over her weapon.]

[LazyCat: Guys... here me out.]

[GoonLord: IF YOU PUT A SINGLE SCRATCH ON THAT SILVER BLADE I WILL END YOU!]

[LoreMaster: going back into the boss room with zero armor and a borrowed sword. this is going to be a disaster.]