In the early morning, under the scorching sunlight, Toki and Sophie gathered in the old attic of Ray and Anna's house.
The place was filled with dust, yet the warmth of old memories softened its weight.
They brought with them a box containing books, scrolls, and old games — like a worn-out wooden chessboard.
Luna descended through the window, wearing different clothes this time, and said as she examined the place:
"Seems larger than I expected."
Toki lifted a large book with a pine tree engraved on its cover and replied without raising his head,
"It's enough for what we need."
Sophie knelt and began rummaging through the items.
"My friend Anna was the one who convinced her father to let us use it… and Ray helped us carry the boxes."
Luna didn't respond. She lowered her brows and placed a finger near her lips, recalling what she had seen earlier that morning.
— About an hour earlier —
Luna had been walking through one of the neighborhoods when she saw Shon standing with a strange man and a sheep with soft wool — its wrist tied with a ribbon shaped like a butterfly. It could have been Roni.
In front of them stood three knights discussing a scroll seriously, while a fourth held their horses.
Luna hid behind the wall of a crumbling house and began to listen in.
One of the knights handed the scroll to the man beside Shon. Its content mentioned "a final opportunity to make the village a vassal of the Kingdom of Dawn."
The stern-looking man replied firmly,
"We told you before — we don't want that. We're fine on our own."
The knight responded coldly,
"Then that is your answer. I'm only a messenger."
But Luna wasn't convinced — she felt something was being concealed.
The knight then pulled out a second scroll from his bag and handed it to Shon.
"This one's for you — by order of the king himself, and by the recommendation of Prince Angie."
Shon opened the scroll and read quietly,
"To Shon, we hope you reconsider joining us. Seats remain open, and you are still among the top twelve elite candidates in the world — Nomination Committee, Tower of Neval."
When he finished reading, he tossed the scroll into the air and burned it with a spark of lightning from his palm.
"Tell them to find someone else," he said with a boyish smile as the ashes scattered, waving lazily into the wind.
He then looked back at the knights sharply.
One of them adjusted his helmet and crossed his arms.
Amid the tension, another knight spoke,
"Didn't Raizel decide to serve again as a knight? His skills as a vanguard were exceptional."
Shon replied calmly,
"He already has something to handle."
The knights exchanged silent looks before finally leaving.
— Present time —
Luna finished recounting what she saw.
Toki shook his head as he brushed dust off the book.
"I didn't know Raizel was that important."
Luna stepped closer.
"What puzzled me more was Shon's letter… and how it connects to those knights."
"Exactly!" Sophie said as she arranged the old chess pieces.
But before Luna could reply, Toki opened a random page in the book — and froze.
The page was about Labyrinths.
The Five-Year Labyrinth… The Ten-Year Labyrinth…
It also mentioned a theory describing how their geometric structures shifted due to tectonic movements of the earth in an ancient civilization.
What struck them most was the difference in time between the surface and the underground depths…
"Forty years!" Toki and Luna's faces turned pale with shock. "How did we not feel that?!"
Sophie placed a hand on her cheek, confused by their reaction. What's with them? she thought. It's the first time I've seen them so shocked.
Toki muttered, tracing the lines of an ancient script with his finger,
"Only eight months have passed outside…"
Luna continued,
"But inside the labyrinth — we lived forty years?!"
Toki's hands trembled slightly. He remembered the shackles, the endless nights in the darkness.
"No wonder we didn't feel time. We were just fighting to survive… sleeplessness, tension, pressure."
Luna smiled faintly, her expression calm.
"Yes… all that pain, the endless planning day and night to escape."
Toki placed a hand on his forehead. His eyes gleamed green with a tinge of yellow.
"Our bodies didn't age despite the years… Looks like Servaris was right in his hint — the world outside the labyrinth is the true flow of time."
They realized that time inside the labyrinth flowed differently — the deeper they went, the more time accelerated or warped.
They both said at once,
"Fifty-three years… That's really strange."
"What's strange about that?" Sophie commented while organizing the white and black chess pieces carved from wood.
Toki reread a few lines. "Don't mind us. What we've found is enough."
"Really…" Sophie replied as she examined some strange tools. "…Good luck, then."
Toki and Luna shook hands in perfect sync, without even looking at each other.
After discovering something crucial, they began speaking in parallel — as if their minds shared the same rhythm.
"The Five-Year Labyrinth differs from…" — Luna.
"…the Ten-Year Labyrinth, which contains…" — Toki.
"…multiple layers, with a guardian after every hundred floors." — Luna.
A heavy silence lingered. Both faces looked pale from the weight of what they'd read — and that was after only a single page.
Toki shut the book and met Luna's gaze.
"I suspect Ilona has some connection to the labyrinths — especially the one we came from. It was within her territory."
Luna replied with the same calm tone,
"The reason for our summoning wasn't trivial."
"This is complicated—"
Toki covered his mouth with his left hand, signaling toward the objects behind him.
"I'm dying of curiosity." He grinned widely — a grin that promised trouble — and whispered,
"Damn it, this isn't the time for resting or thinking."
He muttered inwardly,
"I need to find that person… and settle this."
His spiritual heart pulsed with the hunger of something primal — like sand slipping through an hourglass.
Luna's curiosity turned to the board and pieces Sophie kept moving and rearranging.
She walked toward Sophie, who stood near the box behind Toki.
As she passed him, he said softly without turning,
"You're my mirror… more than just a reflection or shadow beside me."
Luna smiled brightly as she walked past him.
"Yes — I've known that for a long time."
Toki pulled a small pouch of coins from his gray trousers — a gift from Shon.
He took out two gold pieces, left the pouch on a rusty table, and walked toward the window instead of using the stairs leading down.
Holding the window frame, he said,
"Alright, I'll be gone for a while," then jumped out.
Meanwhile, Luna was learning the rules of the board game from Sophie, who was cheerful and skilled.
Sophie explained the chess rules, and they began their five-round match.
Sophie won three games quickly, but the remaining two were tougher — Luna had improved fast, analyzing her opponent's every move.
Sophie looked at the queen piece and said quietly,
"You know, Luna…"
"..." Luna raised her gaze toward her face.
"Checkmate," Sophie said as she trapped the white queen. "I love these kinds of themes… aristocracy… the nature of the Kingdom of Dawn."
Sophie recalled her lonely days in the palace.
With a hopeful smile, she asked,
"Another round?"
Luna replied,
"Why not? I'm enjoying this."
Hours passed in calm and laughter.
— Midday —
Toki, Luna, and Sophie met again unexpectedly — in a humble shop selling accessories.