Chapter 18: Labyrinth of Lies and the Truth That Hurts
Volume 3: System Error – Love.exe Has Corrupted the Gods
Arc 1: Rebooted Desires – The Glitch in Divinity
> [System Alert: Labyrinth Protocol Activated]
[Entity Target: Zothen, God of Secrets and Lost Names]
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1. Into the Heart of Silence
The entrance appeared only to those who dared to lie to themselves.
A mirror of obsidian light stood between two paradoxes: one side reflected our truths, the other... our regrets.
Kalysta walked in first. Elyria followed. Lilix hesitated.
I didn't move.
Valtheria stood beside me. "He's not just my brother, Kairo. He was my other half. The part of me that forgot how to love."
"I'm not here to destroy him," I said. "Just remind him what he lost."
And I stepped into the lie.
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2. The Path of Forgotten Names
The labyrinth wasn't built of stone. It was made of memories, shattered and reassembled into corridors.
Each hallway whispered old lovers' names. Women I'd forgotten. Lusts I'd buried. Failures I never atoned for.
One wall bled Nyxira's voice:
> "You promised me the stars… and disappeared."
Another showed Kalysta, crying:
> "I would have killed the world for you. You didn't even say goodbye."
It was a test—not of loyalty, but of memory.
To reach Zothen, I had to remember every woman I'd ever failed.
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3. The Goddess Who Forgot Herself
Deep inside, we found her.
A girl cloaked in gray light, sitting beside a pool of reflection. Her eyes were empty. Her voice monotone.
"I was once Eleriya. Your first kiss."
I blinked. The name sliced through time.
I had kissed her. On a cliff of starlight. She'd vanished after the war.
"I died," she whispered. "You forgot. So I faded."
Kalysta reached out.
"We don't forget our ghosts. We carry them."
Eleriya faded—but left behind a silver key.
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4. Confronting Zothen
At the labyrinth's core stood a door of unspoken truths.
I placed the silver key into its center. It hissed.
Zothen emerged from shadow, wrapped in a cloak of whispers. His face was masked in blank marble.
"You corrupted the gods with love," he said. "Now you've come to corrupt me."
"No," I answered. "I've come to forgive you."
He laughed, cruel and hollow. "Forgiveness is a lie. Love is manipulation in a prettier dress."
"I believe in both," I said. "Because they saved me."
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5. The Battle of Untruths
Zothen conjured illusions. Lovers turned enemies. Demons in the shapes of my harem. Guilt forged into weapons.
"Can your love survive your truths, Kairo?" he roared.
Lilix kissed me.
"Only if we scream louder than your lies."
We fought side by side—Elyria slicing through regrets. Kalysta smashing through shame. Valtheria facing her brother.
Each time Zothen struck, we answered not with rage—but with memories.
We showed him love. Over and over.
Until his mask cracked.
And he whispered, "I... remember her. Valtheria. My sister."
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6. Redemption of Secrets
Zothen fell to his knees.
"I guarded the truth so tightly... I forgot why I protected it."
Valtheria touched his cheek. "Because once, you loved a mortal. And when she died... you broke."
Zothen wept.
System Update:
> [Zothen Stabilized. Emotional Subroutine Restored.] [Title Earned: The Keeper of Honest Lies] [Bond Formed: The Shadow Brother – Secrets Shared]
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7. Beyond the Labyrinth
The maze dissolved behind us. Zothen, newly reborn, joined our growing coalition.
But the system pulsed again—erratic.
Rhyssara looked up.
"It's spreading faster. The gods are waking. Not all of them want to be saved."
Valtheria grimaced.
"The next is the Dream-Eater. A god who devours emotion."
Nyxira: "If he consumes love... we all die."
I nodded. "Then we give him something indigestible."
Lilix: "What's that?"
I grinned.
"Unconditional desire."
> [End of Chapter 18]
[Next: Chapter 19 – Feast of the Dream-Eater]