Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine-Chapter 56: Looks like we’ve found our first prey

A vast, enclosed space stretched around them — silent and strange, filled with nothing but towering yellow-brown brick walls that seemed to have been laid centuries ago. The bricks were chipped in places, dry and dusty, each one carrying the wear of forgotten ages. The walls reached straight up into the air and vanished into darkness. There was no ceiling, no sky — only blackness above, like an abyss swallowing the height. [Imgincmt]

Oddly, the place was dimly lit, though no source of light was visible. The air carried a faint heat, as if the entire chamber was gently warmed by something unseen, enough for them to see their way without torches or magic.

The ground beneath their feet was stone-paved — smooth and slightly worn — and extended into a narrow path with sharp edges on both sides.

Leo, Valra, Pride, and Envy stood together at the centre of the path, their expressions a mix of caution and tension. Behind them, when they turned, was a solid wall that seemed to have risen up silently, sealing off their retreat.

There was no sign of the door they had entered from.

No hint of an opening. Just more brick.

"Where are the others?"

Leo finally broke the silence, his voice bouncing softly off the high walls.

He squinted, half-expecting the other two masters to come running around the corner with some sarcastic comment or wild excuse. But nothing. Only silence.

"Don’t worry about them,"

Envy muttered, waving his hand casually as he started walking ahead.

"They’re not important right now. We need to find the relic before they do — that’s all that matters."

Leo nodded with a serious expression.

Valra and Pride exchanged a look, then followed, each of them walking with silent steps, eyes scanning the surroundings.

They advanced cautiously. After a short walk, they reached a junction — two new paths branching left and right. The corridor remained the same — narrow, flanked by those same ancient walls that stretched up endlessly, but now, they had to decide.

Leo glanced down the right path. It was just as narrow, twisting slightly before fading into darkness. Valra stepped beside him, her eyes flicking to the left path which mirrored the right.

"This place feels like a maze,"

Valra murmured under her breath, eyeing the bricks warily. She turned to Leo who nodded his head.

"Splitting up is not an option," Pride said sharply, her eyes narrowing as she looked down the right path.

"We stick together. We go right."

Envy raised an eyebrow and gave a dry chuckle. "Oh? Just because your precious master looked that way first? That’s your grand reasoning?" He gestured dramatically toward the left path. "Then I’m going left. Out of sheer spite."

Pride’s expression twitched, lips curling, but before she could respond with a retort that likely would’ve led to blades being drawn, Valra sighed and stepped forward, placing herself between them.

"Seriously?" She said, clearly exasperated.

"Is now really the time for petty ego fights? Can we please not turn this into a toddler’s argument over who picks the road trip playlist?"

Envy shrugged again with a smirk. "Whatever."

Valra rolled her eyes and turned to Leo, her voice softening just a touch.

"Let’s just take the right path. Okay?"

She smiled slightly and began walking. Leo stared at her for a second, something flickering in his eyes. A little curiosity... a little something else. He stepped up closer behind her.

’She’s doing this for me... isn’t she?’ The thought crossed his mind as he followed, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Valra felt the subtle shift of air as he neared and flinched slightly. Then she smirked inwardly, her posture straightening with silent confidence.

/Thank you~/

Envy gave a quiet sigh and shook his head with a faint smile.

/I hope this will reduce my punishment./

/I’ll consider it — maybe./

Valra replied mentally, raising her chin in superiority as she glanced over at Leo.

"We stick together, Leo," she said with a firm but gentle tone.

"Until the war ends, we’ve got to watch each other’s backs..."

She added one more word quietly to herself.

’Forever.’

Leo blinked, smiled softly, then shook his head, amused. But then, as he took another step forward...

Thud.

His foot pressed down on something. The sound was small, but immediate.

Click.

Leo’s eyes widened just as a narrow slot opened in the wall ahead, and an arrow burst out — fast, whistling with deadly speed.

But it never reached him.

Envy darted forward and caught the arrow mid-air with two fingers, the wood bending slightly in his grasp from the force.

"Well, looks like we’ve got traps," Envy muttered, eyes flicking to the small square hole in the wall from which the arrow had launched.

"Pressure-plate triggered, primitive mechanism... classic stuff."

He glanced over at Pride with a smirk.

"Told you we should’ve gone the other way."

Pride didn’t respond. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Envy stretched his arms casually,

"Well, I am good at spotting traps. You all should just follow my lead from now on. Trust the instincts of a professional."

He stepped forward proudly, head held high.

Thud.

"..."

Everyone stopped.

Click.

Envy looked down slowly. His foot was pressing another stone tile. A very suspiciously loose one.

He raised his head and saw everyone staring at him — Valra with one raised eyebrow, Pride looking amused.

"...You have got to be kidding me."

TRRRRRRRR!

A deep grinding noise echoed through the corridor as sections of the wall behind them began to shift. Bricks moved, realigned, and then two panels started to swing inward from either side of the corridor, forming a ’V’ shape as they began closing rapidly toward them.

The sound of stone dragging against stone filled the air like thunder.

"RUN!!"

It was Leo’s shout — loud, sharp, and immediate.

He turned and bolted, not wasting a single second.

Valra, Pride, and Envy watched him sprint away like a scared rabbit.

"Well, at least he’s good at one thing,"

Envy muttered as he turned and followed, the others quickly sprinting behind him.

The narrowing gap behind them closed in fast, bricks grinding dangerously close to their backs. The walls were not slow. In fact, they were horrifyingly fast for such ancient mechanisms. Stone slammed into stone, only a few meters behind them.

They barely made it to the next junction before—

THUD!

The collapsing V snapped shut right where they’d stood seconds earlier, sealing off the path completely.

Leo leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

"Ha... ha... Okay... okay... we are so... so screwed."

Valra let out a sharp breath, her hand pressed against her chest.

"This is getting worse by the minute," she muttered, her eyes scanning the new junction. "We need to stay alert. There could be more traps."

They stood before another three-way split.

Left... Straight... Right...

Again.

A familiar tension returned.

This time, Envy stepped forward with confidence — or at least something that looked like it.

"No problem. Follow me. Last time was just a misstep,"

Valra narrowed her eyes. "Oh? Is that so?"

Envy nodded firmly, hands on his hips.

"Last time, I was... momentarily unprepared. But now?" He grinned. "Now I’m fully ready for anything."

With that, he boldly stepped onto the left path.

Thud.

"..."

Click.

"KYAAAAAA!!!"

Envy’s eyes widened at the sudden scream. He turned his head sharply to the side — and saw it.

The ground was gone.

A massive hole had opened where the trio had been just moments ago. The floor had swallowed them, completely.

"...Oh, come on now," Envy muttered, blinking in disbelief. "My luck’s supposed to work best in these places!" He growled, his foot stamping the ground in frustration. "Shit!!"

Without thinking twice, he dove into the dark abyss after them.

Meanwhile, deep within the sliding darkness—

"Valra! Hold me!!"

Leo’s voice echoed as he twisted mid-air, being dragged down through a narrow, spiralling tunnel. He wasn’t falling — he was sliding. Fast. His back rubbed against smooth stone walls as he descended like a trapped marble through a pipe. Beside him, Pride clung to his arm, her eyes sharp and focused despite the chaos.

Leo’s eyes darted ahead and caught sight of Valra. She was slightly ahead, her long hair flowing wildly as she slid along the tunnel — but then, the slide forked.

Leo reached out instinctively, his fingers stretching toward her.

"Valra!!"

But the tunnel split.

His slide veered right.

Hers curved left.

"Noooo!!"

Leo shouted, his voice growing fainter as they separated.

Valra’s hand slipped away, eyes wide as she screamed his name.

From Leo’s side, he saw Envy dropping in from above, twisting in mid-air as the man landed perfectly in the slide heading toward Valra.

Leo exhaled a breath of relief, "He got her..." he whispered.

Then he turned his head to glance at Pride, who still held onto him tightly, her expression calm despite the violent speed.

"Brace for impact,"

She said evenly, her eyes narrowing as a distant white light appeared at the end of the tunnel, growing closer with every heartbeat.

"We’re exiting."

Leo nodded quickly, throwing an arm over his face to shield his eyes from the approaching glare. Pride adjusted her grip around him, arms tightening protectively.

Thud!

They shot out of the tunnel like bullets. Pride landed on her feet with graceful balance, skidding a little before stabilising herself with a crouch. Leo remained in her arms, blinking in disbelief.

Pride looked down at him, giving a faint smile.

"We’re fine."

Leo slowly stood, brushing his clothes as he looked around. The environment hadn’t changed much. Same walls. Same never-ending height. Still, that eerie yellow-brown brickwork reaching toward the sky — or rather, the black void above.

He glanced upward, frowning.

"Did we... fall from the sky?" he muttered. There was no hole above, no opening. Just darkness. He could have sworn he had been going down — yet somehow they had come from above.

"The space is built to confuse," Pride said sternly, crossing her arms.

"Stay sharp, Leo. Don’t lose your sense of direction. That’s how people die in places like this."

Leo sighed, biting his lower lip. "Tch... and now we’re separated," he muttered. "Just when I thought things were finally going smoothly. Well... whatever. Let’s keep moving. No point standing still."

Pride gave a short nod, following behind him as they resumed their path cautiously.

Meanwhile — on the opposite side of the split maze...

Valra stood, dusting herself off, her eyes narrowed with irritation. She turned to Envy, who stood nearby pretending to admire the brick wall.

Her glare could have cut through steel.

Envy tried to avoid her gaze, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Alright, alright... come on now. How was I supposed to know there was a trap there?"

Valra didn’t speak.

Just stared.

Her silence was loud.

Envy let out a long breath. "Sigh... sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to drop you into a pit."

Valra rubbed the space between her brows, clearly suppressing the urge to slap someone. "Let’s just focus. We need to find Leo before anything else happens to him."

"Huh? What about the relic? That was our whole reason for being here, remember?"

Valra slowly turned her head toward him. Her expression was sharp now — deadly serious.

"I said we find him first. Got it?"

Her tone brooked no argument. Her eyes stared through him.

Envy lifted both hands in surrender. "Fine, fine..." he muttered under his breath.

He glanced away, grumbling in his mind.

’Tsk... I really don’t get what these girls see in that guy. He’s got not one, but two of them hanging around him. There’s even another one I don’t know about yet... Seriously, that boy...’

A tinge of pity crossed his thoughts as he started walking.

"Envy?"

"I’m coming... I’m coming!"

Elsewhere, in another section of the massive maze...

Ophis stood there, her arms crossed, eyes gleaming with a predatory glint.

Camazotz floated beside her, wings curled around his tall, armoured form like a cloak.

Before them stood Kai... and Nergal.

"Well well," Ophis whispered as her tongue traced across her lips, her smile widening like a blade.

"Looks like we’ve found our first prey."

Kai’s face went pale. He leaned slightly toward Nergal, whispering quietly, "Shit... why do I always end up stuck with the craziest ones the moment I step into these things...?"

He swallowed, eyes locked on Ophis, who was now smiling far too much for comfort.

’...I’m so screwed,’ Kai groaned inwardly.

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