In a Civilized Manner

"Roos, over here!"

Roos.

The name rang in Edris’s ears like a gong, his pulse spiking instantly. He snapped his head up, eyes widening.

There, walking toward the table with long green hair flowing behind her and a lollipop in her mouth, was the person from his memories. The same person he’d spent half a year with, the same person who had trained him, infuriated him, and then disappeared.

Roos.

She was really there.

The woman with green hair slid her tray of food onto the table and took a seat next to Fresia. Immediately, she noticed Edris staring at her, her brow arching in curiosity. She yanked the lollipop out of her mouth with a clear pop and leaned forward, meeting his gaze with a defiant stare of her own.

“Fresia?” she asked, her eyes still locked on Edris. “Who’s this guy, and why is he staring at me like that?”

A strange silence settled over the table.

Fresia looked just as puzzled. “Beats me. I thought you two knew each other.”

Edris narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge Roos’s expression. He swallowed, lips pursing into a thin line.

“You don’t know who I am?”

“Should I know who you are?”

Her tone was sharp but devoid of recognition. Edris searched her green eyes, gauging the verity of her statement. The woman before him was definitely Roos. Maybe a bit younger than he'd remembered, but the features were undeniable.

Her child?

After a beat, he exhaled, retracting his gaze.

“No, I guess not.”

The possibility ran through his mind, but left as quickly as it came. No matter how crazy the woman was back then, Edris didn't think she'd be narcissistic enough to name her child after herself.

Owein glanced between them through his long lashes, while Ace watched silently. Edris didn't even need to look over to know that the man was no doubt connecting this woman to the one he'd mentioned yesterday.

Retreating to his seat, Edris promptly sent Roos an invite through his [PROFILE]. The invitation delivered through, which confirmed Roos as a [PLAYER]. While at it, he followed suit with the couple—same result. They were all players.

The next second, large, bold letters that spelt out [DECLINE] popped on his page. Edris glanced up, only to see Roos leaning back in her seat with arms crossed over her chest and legs stacked on top of each other.

“What do you want from me?” She raised an eyebrow. “Even if you were trying to flirt, this isn’t the way to go about it.”

"I— pardon me?" Edris nearly choked on air.

At that moment, he'd almost instantly ascertained that the woman before him wasn't the Roos he knew. Either she was an unspoken child of hers, or his crazy mentor had lost her memories. Otherwise, there was no way the Roos he knew could say something so outlandish with such genuity, no matter how good of an actor she was.

Beatrise caught on quickly and gasped. “Wait, Edris! You were trying to flirt? That’s… immoral! You shouldn’t pressure her in front of everyone. At least do it in private. Don’t you remember what happened with your unrequited love in our first year?”

This time, it was Owein’s turn to choke, though he managed to maintain a calm demeanour as he wiped his lips and sipped on his vegetable porridge.

Edria felt like he was ageing exponentially. He stood up from his seat.

“I’m going to get some water.”

Without waiting for a response, he left the table, his face a mixture of frustration and disbelief. Behind him, Ace shook his head in silence.

Just as Edris disappeared around the corner, a fifth person approached the table—none other than Yukioe.

The table fell into a second wave of silence. Roos immediately waved him over. “Yukioe, over here!”

The curly-haired man froze as he recognised Ace almost immediately. His eyes widened in surprise. “You… you’ve been pulled in too?”

Before anyone could answer, Edris reappeared with a glass of water, only to stop dead in his tracks upon seeing his past coworker. Without a word, he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction.

“Hey!” Yukioe shouted, slamming his tray on the table and lunging past.

Before Edris could make a second step, he had grabbed by the collar and spun around.

“I knew you weren’t right in the head, but I didn’t think you’d be crazy enough to volunteer for the Labyrinth like that.” Yukioe scowled. “Is it so hard for you to follow the plan just once?”

While Ace usually dealt with Edris’s antics with stoic indifference, Yukioe had no problem actively calling him out. He dragged the dark-haired man back to the table, pressing his cheek into the cold metal surface.

Edris, barely managing to breathe, muttered, “I thought you teleported with the rest.”

Yukioe huffed, loosening his grip. “I got off that damn circle to chase after you.”

Roos watched the exchange with amusement, finally speaking up. “You know this guy in real life?”

“Oh, more than just ‘know,’” Yukioe replied dryly, releasing Edris and glaring at him.

Fresia, sensing something juicy between the two, perked up, her eyes gleaming with intrigue.

Edris groaned inwardly, briefly shooting a pleading look at Ace and Owein, who had already moved to the other end of the table, eating their meals in peace.

Amidst the chaos, something dawned on Edris. He looked up at Yukioe.

“So… you’ve been in the Labyrinth before?”

From the information they knew so far, Labyrinths only pulled those who had previously entered or were related to someone who had. And as far as he was concerned, Yukioe was an only child, with no family left.

The table fell silent. Yukioe blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question. He didn’t expect to flip onto the interrogated side so quickly. “I... don’t know what you’re talking about."

Realising that he was now at a disadvantage, Yukioe quickly turned away, his grip on Edris loosening.

"I don’t have to answer that.”

He averted his eyes, ignoring the man’s questioning stare.

Thomas and Fresia exchanged glances, their food suspended halfway to their mouths. The two sighed and set down their forks simultaneously.

Despite having not eaten anything, they were already feeling quite full.

***

Night had fallen once more, and the eerie stillness that came with it settled over the academy like a suffocating veil.

The day had passed without incident, the cohort lingering in the cafeteria, doing their best to avoid the ever-watchful mirrors that lined the walls. Whenever someone’s gaze drifted towards their reflection, they quickly looked away, conscious of the invisible threat that came with their lowered [AFFINITY].

But now, as the curfew approached, the group disbanded to their own rooms once more.

Edris found himself walking alone down the shadowed hallway. After the preliminary exchange with Roos earlier in the cafeteria, he had avoided speaking to her for the rest of the day. He had nothing left to say.

There was no point.

Edris felt the weight of the unanswered questions pressing down on him: why had Roos disappeared without so much as a word? Why did the villagers of Alderwynn seem to forget her existence entirely?

If the current Roos had lost her memories, could she even answer these questions? Could she even be considered the same person?

Without her memories, was Roos still Roos?

He moved through the dimly lit hallway, the row of mirrors along the pillars reflecting distorted versions of the students as they passed by. Edris kept his eyes firmly ahead, avoiding the reflections.

He was almost certain that these mirrors hadn’t been there the night before, yet now they seemed to be multiplying with every step he took.

His room wasn’t far now. The sound of his own footsteps was the only noise in the silence of the corridor. He rounded a corner, his breath slightly quicker than usual, and finally reached his door.

Letting out a small sigh, he opened it and slipped inside.

Unlike the hallways, the student rooms had no mirrors, and he took a moment to appreciate the lack of reflective surfaces, almost a sanctuary in comparison. He scanned the room briefly, making sure there were no surprises hiding in the shadows.

He'd confirmed with Owein and Ace before parting, that they would each attempt to fight off the urge to sleep tonight. Whatever might be looming around in the Labyrinth, its best chance at actually getting to them would be during night time.

That said, all he had to do was to make sure he stayed awake.

After ascertaining that he was the only one in the room, Edris decided to put on his earplugs early, testing them out against the hallucinations that haunted him the previous night. Now that he knew the real Roos was a player and not some illusion, he doubted the same tactics would work twice.

He reached for the drawer where the earplugs were stored, pulling it open with a creak.

The next second, his heart stopped.

Instead of the earplugs, what greeted him was something else entirely—a handheld mirror. Its surface glinted under the dim light, reflecting his wide-eyed expression back at him.

Edris couldn’t move. The air around him seemed to thicken as his pulse thundered in his ears. The reflection in the mirror stared back, his own face contorted with surprise.

Time stretched impossibly long as he stared at the small object, unwilling to reach for it but unable to look away.

…Dammit.

Then, in an instant, the scene cut to black.

An oppressive silence had befallen the room once more.

The eerie stillness of the room remained unchanged, the faint hum of energy in the walls the only reminder that life had once filled the space. Yet now, the air felt emptier than it had before, despite everything remaining as it was.

Everything, except Edris.

***

Owein leaned against the cold stone wall of the academic building. His masked face tilted towards the cloudy sky, but under that mask was an expression as grimmer than ink.

For the second time in a row, he'd fallen asleep.

A deep exhale left his lips, which were downturned to the utmost extreme. This shouldn't have been the case. He had over a decade of Labyrinth experience, yet this was his first time feeling so out of control with himself.

The morning air was crisp, and the group had gathered once again. Their figures, obscured by identical maroon uniforms and masks, blended into the dull atmosphere.

Owein's eyes shifted to the fresh gash on his arm, the result of his cautious nightly practice to keep himself grounded from the hallucinations.

It worked well against the voices, sure, but not his inclination to sleep.

But aside from the sleep problem, which was unsettling but not threatening, all else remained the usual. No additional events had happened overnight.

That wasn’t normal, especially with a Labyrinth meant to last no more than three days.

Owein, with his years of experience, was wary of the calm.

He didn’t like the Labyrinth’s structured dangers but was nonetheless accustomed to it. Instinctively, he could only assume that the dreaded threats of the Labyrinth were lurking beneath the surface and had yet to manifest.

As he stood in his spot, his gaze wandered toward Edris, who was engaged in a conversation with Yukioe.

Different from the day before, the players woke up this morning to find that their old cohort had been divided in half. This time, Owein, Edris, Yukioe, and Roos fell into the same group, while the others ended up on their own.

The two men appeared to be debating something, though he wouldn’t be surprised if it were a one-sided condemnation from Yukioe to Edris.

As he observed the two absentmindedly, he caught the dark-haired man several times glancing over at Roos, who had joined their group along with the couple, as they were all in the same cohort.

It piqued Owein’s curiosity—the story between those two.

He recalled Edris’s request back in the real world—the man had asked Owein to include a certain name in the package to verify the information he sent.

Indeed, that name turned out to be no other than Roos.

Owein rubbed his hair between his fingers, thinking. He’d suspected then that the person must hold quite the significance in Edris’s heart, but something about how the man had phrased his words made Owein think that Roos had already died.

Yet here she was, alive and well, with them in this mess-of-a-Labyrinth.

Suddenly, Edris was peering behind him, only to get smacked in the head by Yukioe.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” The latter scolded.

Edris simply laughed it off, but Owein noticed his persistent gaze toward the patrol path of the Shadows.

Curious, Owein turned to look in the same direction. The Shadows—those silent, featureless figures that patrolled the campus—moved with their usual precision. For now, they were harmless, merely keeping the peace during the day. Yet Owein couldn’t shake the feeling that something about their presence had changed since their last time in the Labyrinth.

This sense of unsettlement—it seemed to be persistent ever since he got here.

They passed by the professors, and none of them seemed to recognise the group. It seemed that their memories had been wiped like those of the rest of the native students.

Owein found this quite outlandish. He couldn’t help but recall the vivid memory of Celio bombing the music tower and the academic building during the [FINAL EXAM]. Surely Moss, with his meticulous attention to detail, had been driven mad trying to repair the damage.

Yet when Moss passed by, he didn’t even spare them a glance. Owein studied the man’s pristine appearance—his green hair tied back into a sleek ponytail, his gold-rimmed glasses gleaming in the sunlight. It was as though nothing had happened.

But something did change in the Labyrinth, and Owein couldn’t put his finger on it.

Why did the Labyrinth stray from its original schedule? What caused the unprecedented waves of pulls?

Owein thought back to the meeting he partook back at the clan. He’d been trained to enter Labyrinths ever since he could remember, and almost twenty years had passed since his first pull.

Lucid Clan had its traditions—Labyrinths were usually not to be entered consecutively by a single member. This rule was implemented in place both to lower the risks of Splinter Syndrome and to distribute the tasks among the clan.

Despite the rule, Owein still found himself back here.

He had no choice. His clan leader had called for an exception, saying it was the best course of action.

The clan leader’s words were never questioned.

They moved forward, the Shadows casting looming figures in the sun. The group seemed split—half of them blended in the shade, while the other half strolled in the sunlight.

As they walked down the hallway of the academic building, they entered a second [GREEN ZONE]. Owein took off his mask, only to find the other group already there.

“Where’s Ace?” Edris asked.

“Probably the bathroom.” Thomas scratched his cheek. “He’s been distracted the entire way here.”

“Maybe he ate something bad this morning?” Fresia suggested. “Or still recovering from last night…”

At that, the conversations turned to the events that unfolded during their curfew.

“Did you experience anything other than the hallucinations last night?” Owein asked.

Thomas and Fresia exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads.

“It’s just mentally exhausting to go through this all the time,” the former shook his head, heaving out a sigh.

“Only one night left…” Fresia clung tightly to her partner’s arm, her voice shaking slightly.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Yukioe started. “What were your hallucinations about?”

His words seemed to instigate something within the couple as the girl fell silent in thought, only to let out an abrupt shudder.

"Thomas, I’m scared," she whispered, and Thomas, in an attempt to comfort her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Let’s not bring up bad memories and just focus on surviving for now," he said softly.

Owein took in their reactions with furrowed brows.

Edris grimaced. "Couples.”

Roos, who had been leaning by the wall, laid both hands out with a shrug.

"Let them be," she said, lollipop in her mouth. "They’re already sulking enough, being dragged back into this hell hole after being randomly pulled in years ago."

Thomas, catching her words, sighed heavily. "The moment I graduate from this place, I swear I’ll never step foot in here again."

Owein remained silent as the others voiced their complaints. As an experienced Labyrinth goer, something about the entire situation felt wrong. The structural changes were one thing, but the seeming freedom the Labyrinth had granted them this time didn’t sit right with him.

The couple moved on quickly, now discussing what to have for dinner. Shaking his head at their big-heartedness, Owein turned his attention to Yukioe.

"What do you think of all this?" he asked.

Yukioe blinked. “The Labyrinth?”

He nodded, and the man rubbed the nape of his neck. "Hard to say… I mean, except for the things outside our doors after curfew, nothing much had happened yet. Guess we just have to focus on avoiding them for now."

"Well, you heard him,” Edris chimed in. “Let’s not get too ominous like that…"

Owein raised an eyebrow. Despite the dark-haired man’s nonchalance, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was overlooking something.

“Too ominous, you say…”