y/n couldn't believe that rihito just left her here, stranded, and on her own. she couldn't help but frown as she stood there, chewing on the bottom of her lip. as much as she wanted to throw a tantrum about the sorry state of affairs that she's found herself in, she was worried that the goblin king might be spying on her. she should always assume that he is and, well, if that truly is the case, she'd hate to embarrass herself in front of the man who is supposed to be her soon-to-be husband, even if she does loathe him.

peering down, y/n glanced down at the echostone in her palm and sighed. she might as well save this thing for later. after all, she's not in the best of moods now and she doesn't want that to affect diminish the stone's usage and try to find rihito's labyrinth. with that, she opened one of her pant's pockets, dropped it inside, and set off to find the entrance of the labyrinth.

as she descended from the small mountain where she and the goblin king were previously talking, y/n was surprised to find that she found what she was looking for at the bottom of it—the entrance to the labyrinth. "well...that was easy," y/n muttered to herself, a faint glimmer of satisfaction coloring her tone. but just as she reached out to creak open one of the labyrinth's doors, something caught her eye. with furrowed brows, she turned her attention to the array of posters— no, propaganda— plastered on one of the walls of the maze.

"what the...?" y/n blinked in confusion, her footsteps faltering as she stepped away from the entrance and toward the array of papers. the posters were filled with bold, colorful images and slogans, each one more jarring than the last. 'rrr: reject rihito's rule! we refuse to be slaves to his whims any longer. join the duskshades and fight for a better tomorrow,' one read.

'down the goblin king!'

'destroy the mad brute upon the throne, he is our world's greatest enemy.'

she found these flyers incredibly odd since those creatures rihito warned her about earlier— duskshades— put these things here and yet, he keeps them? for what reason? did he find their silly attempts for his subjects to turn on him amusing? that must be a reason...after all, he is one smug bastard. y/n knows that much, other than he is willing to do anything to get his way of things. he's so childish. alas, the h/c-haired girl knew she couldn't waste her time chasing the goblin king.

just as y/n was going to turn away, she stopped once more when she stopped a few posters contradicting the ones that she had just seen.

'obey rihito, the benevolent king! his word is law, and his will is absolute.
resistance is futile.'

'join the ranks of the loyal! serve the goblin king and be rewarded with prosperity and protection. loyalty is rewarded, disobedience is punished.'

'trust in rihito's leadership to guide us to a brighter future."

'beware the duskshades! only rihito's rule can protect us from their darkness. stand with the goblin king and defend our kingdom.'

"huh..." y/n stood there for a moment, her stomach tying itself into knots. "are these guys trying to start a civil war here?" she commented, it's pointless on trying to cover up the duskshades' work with promotional art for the goblin kingdom, all it'll achieve is making rihito an enemy to his people. not like that's really a problem for y/n. he is trying to force her into marrying him, so why should she care?

finally shaking her head, y/n snapped out of it and once again made her way toward the entrance of the labyrinth. as she reached the towering walls, she gulped, feeling a sense of unease wash over her. she had never been good at mazes, so who was to say that she would be able to solve a labyrinth of this magnitude? it seemed impossible like this was some sort of set-up and rihito had just been toying with her.

"can't i just go around...?" she muttered to herself, groaning since she knew that she'd have to be walking for god knows how long. what if this thing is even larger than y/n is expecting and she will have to walk for days before she gets to the castle? just...ew. as she glanced around, it became apparent that the walls stretched for miles in every direction. there was no way she was going to walk that far.

"no..." came an unfamiliar voice, interrupting y/n's thoughts. yelping in surprise, she tensed up and looked around wildly, her eyes searching for the source of the voice.

"who said that?!" she shrieked. all she heard in response was the eerie silence around her, broken only by the faint sound of her breathing. with a furrowed brow, y/n continued to scan her surroundings, on high alert for any signs of danger. but try as she might, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

"above you."

startled, y/n looked up to see a creature perched atop the wall of the labyrinth. it was a female figure with long black hair cascading down, her locks covering her face but y/n was still able to see her grey skin and matching eyes underneath. unique appearance aside, the creature still looked ethereal. there was a striking familiarity about her as if y/n had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't place where.

as the creature leaped gracefully from the wall and landed before her, y/n couldn't help but take a step back, her eyes wide with astonishment. "...must go through if you want to reach the castle." the creature said, regarding y/n with piercing eyes, her gaze penetrating and intense. in many ways, she reminded her so much of taeko...

for a moment, y/n felt as though she was trapped in a dream, caught between reality and illusion. but she knew that she was real and she shouldn't dilly dally. "who are you?" the h/c-haired girl finally asked.

"arya." the creature simply replied before walking away, prompting y/n to stumble forward, following her but she halted in her tracks when arya outstretched an arm, signaling for her to stop. with bated breath, y/n watched in awe as arya pointed at the doors ahead, and to her amazement, they swung open of their own accord.

stepping back from arya, y/n cautiously approached the open doors, her heart pounding in her chest, and then poked her head into the labyrinth, peering down the corridors that stretched out before her. the air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and musty stone, and the only sound was the faint echo of her footsteps against the cold, hard floor as she stepped inside. y/n glanced both ways, not knowing which direction she should choose.

"you, uh, really going in there are you?" arya suddenly asked. y/n looked over her shoulder to answer her question, expecting to see the creature there but was shocked to find that she was sitting atop one of the walls again, staring down at her with wide eyes.

"yes, i'm afraid i have to," y/n sighed. "i have a wedding to stop," she added before returning her attention to the corridors before her. should she go left or right? they both looked the same...

"your own, i take it?" arya inquired, tilting her head to the side.

this caused y/n to pause and glance back up at the creature. "how did you know?" she interrogated.

"let's just say you're not the first person the goblin king has tried to woo." arya said matter-of-factly. "now, are you going left or right?"

"i don't know..." y/n admitted.

"well, you're not going to get very far." the creature sassed.

y/n scoffed at this and not liking the little commentary, she whipped back around, crossing her arms over her chest. "which way would you go?"

"me?" arya laughed. "i wouldn't go either way," she answered.

"if that's all the help you're going to be, you can just leave."

"you know your problem?" arya asked, theoretically as she positioned herself perfectly, so she could hang upside down from the wall using no contact points other than her calves. "you take too many things for granted. take this labyrinth, even if you get to the center, you'll never get out again." she stated.

"that's your opinion." y/n retorted.

"well, it's a lot better than yours..." arya replied, rolling her eyes. "—and don't say that i didn't warn you." as she rose gracefully from her seated position atop one of the labyrinth's walls, y/n couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the creature's poise and elegance. but before she could dwell on arya's departure, the guardian turned to look back at her, her gaze penetrating and intense. "a little grace never hurt anyone," she remarked cryptically, her words hanging in the air like a whisper of the wind. with that enigmatic statement, she turned back around and jumped off the wall, disappearing on the other side.

looks like y/n is on her own from here on out.