Escaping from the giant eagle and the towering treetop maze.

Ronald and Carter reached the ground, but the trial prepared by "Maze Picture Book" did not give them much time to rest.

After a short rest, the two set off again.

A brand new obstacle suddenly blocked their path.

—It was darkness.

In the world of "Maze Picture Book," activities are rarely affected by the time of day.

But the situation ahead was different.

The dense canopy cast an impenetrable darkness to the ground.

Occasionally, beams of light passed through the gaps in the shade, forming soft columns that slanted down. But apart from revealing a small part of the scenery, everything else was still engulfed in darkness.

Catherine immediately shared her thoughts on the maze before them:

"Is this a game of 'walk through the maze blindfolded'?"

"Pardon my bluntness, but if there's something man-eating in this darkness again, we might not have a chance to escape."

Ronald was more optimistic:

"Catherine, don't be too pessimistic."

"Just like how we managed to escape at the last second earlier, the maze surely won't be an impossible trial. Even if there's danger lurking here, there must be a solution."

Catherine shrugged, her mechanical expression showing no emotion:

"Shall we start moving then?"

Ronald naturally nodded:

"Time is tight, let's go."

[The adventurer and his assistant boldly stepped into the forest shrouded in darkness!]

[In this darkness inhabited by terrifying entities, will they lose their way and be completely consumed?]

The narrator's voice rang out appropriately.

Announcing the danger Ronald and Catherine chose to face.

To navigate this maze, the key was to not lose direction in the darkness. In the worst case... as they discussed earlier, there might be dangerous entities hidden here.

Moving forward in a dark, reference-less space, it's easy to lose one's way.

But Ronald and his team had a slightly better situation.

The light beams through the forest displayed a Tyndall effect, serving as their navigation reference.

Thus groping forward, they maintained a good pace.

However, after advancing deeper into the forest for a while, the number of light beams began to dwindle.

Initially, beams were nearby within ten meters.

But now the distance began lengthening, sometimes so far that they had to stop and confirm.

In this environment, Ronald quickly reminded:

"Catherine, the key to this maze is not losing our direction."

The girl's voice immediately responded from behind:

"I'm not stupid, okay?"

Ronald nodded in the dark, but Catherine was more proactive.

Their conversation had just ended when Catherine suddenly quickened her pace.

When they bump into each other in the dark, Ronald was about to ask her reason.

Catherine fumbled for Ronald's body, then gripped his hand firmly.

"Alright, from now on, we're not letting go of each other."

"Understood?"

Feeling the warmth of her hand, Ronald was stunned for a few seconds before replying:

"Uh... yes, not letting go."

Holding hands, they continued to feel their way forward in the darkness.

The situation continued as previously shown, with the reference light beams becoming more spaced out. To ensure they didn't lose direction in the dark, Ronald's team had to slow down.

The texture of the ground, the movement of the surrounding air, and the faint sounds in the forest.

These elements, usually on the edge of perception, became more pronounced as their sight sank into darkness.

After approximately 400 or 500 meters, Ronald felt a tickle on the back of his neck.

Holding hands, Catherine was probably bored, joking around in this tense atmosphere.

"Catherine, could you stop? I'm getting ticklish."

Catherine retorted:

"Your palm's itchy? Should I scratch it for you?"

Ronald felt helpless:

"No, I mean my neck, stop blowing up there."

"..."

"Let's guess a riddle." Catherine remained silent for a while, then spoke again, "A man is riding and herding sheep on the prairie. Then he jumps down, holding the reins with his left hand and the staff with his right. Does he have a spare hand to pick up stones to circle the sheep?"

"..."

Ronald remained silent.

Catherine's question wasn't much of a riddle.

The core issue was that – she didn't have an extra hand to do anything else.

"Hmm?!"

Suddenly, Catherine squeezed his hand tightly.

This was a signal formed by a mutual understanding.

Without another word, they didn't hesitate to continue slowing down, instead sprinting in the dark.

Crash—

As Ronald and Catherine bolted, a commotion arose where they had been standing.

Something else had slipped by them, lurking nearby without their knowledge!

In response, Ronald and Catherine sprinted desperately forward, with the dark stalker naturally chasing after them.

Catherine cursed in frustration:

"When did this thing get so close? I didn't perceive it at all!"

"Even if there are dangers in the maze, it shouldn't be doing such inexplicable things, right?"

Ronald was more straightforward than Catherine:

"Save your breath and run faster!"

Bang—!

The chaotic run predictably caused them to crash into a tree.

Unfortunately, they had no time to blame the forest now.

Still holding hands, they quickly got back up from the ground, choosing a direction based on intuition and continuing their mad dash to escape.

Fortunately, their speed was sufficient.

Or perhaps the maze's trial wasn't designed as a race against time.

Otherwise, with complete darkness in the maze and ever-present threats, escape would seem hopeless.

Their run continued in the dark.

The noise of their pursuer gradually faded during the chase.

Finally, once they heard no more sounds, Ronald and Catherine slowed their pace slightly.

But when they looked around at the darkness again—

The reference light beams were still there.

But without the sense of direction built up earlier, the solitary light beam no longer helped in determining their path!

The brutal and helpless reality loomed in front of them.

Without the ability to use their original skills, neither Ronald nor Catherine could locate where they previously started!

Facing such a situation, Catherine spoke frankly:

"Ronald, what should we do?"

"It seems we're already lost."