The Babylon Maze - Riptos Cards of Rage
The neon hum of the horizon cut through the ancient, overgrown canopy, casting long, jagged shadows across the dirt road.
"I'm impressed that we made it. This place marks the end of the Beltline; it's also the entrance to Babylon City," Kyogi Kagami told the group, his cold blue eyes scanning the massive, looming gates ahead. His battered trench coat was caked in grime, a testament to the brutal trek they had just survived through the corrupted woods.
Ban Mido spat onto the ground, gripping the hilt of his weapon tightly. "Do these jerks do anything besides manipulate people and watch what happens?" he interjected, his voice dripping with venom as he stared past the gate toward the shimmering, unreachable peaks of the upper sectors. "No matter. Someday soon, we're going to yank them out of there. I don't care about the Limitless Fortress power, or Druaga—I just want to take down the gods of the Limitless Fortress, aka the Brain Trust."
"Thread Master," Kazuki interrupted, his voice dropping to a sharp whisper as he adjusted his wide-brimmed black hat. He raised a gloved hand, gesturing to the trees around them. The path behind them had vanished, replaced by an unsettling, repetitive loop of thorned briars and bleeding bark. "Look around. The architecture of this forest... it's shifting."
"I think we're inside a maze," Sakura Avalon added, holding her sealing wand close to her chest. The pink of her battle attire was stained with ash, but her eyes were wide with sudden realization as she felt the pulse of familiar magic radiating from the soil. "It's a Clow Card."
"Then let's destroy it and get some amulets!" Ban exclaimed, stepping forward with his fist clenched, ready to shatter whatever illusion held them captive.
"It's not that easy, Ban. This is deep magic," Keroberos, the Guardian of the Seal, warned. The small, winged lion hovered near Sakura's shoulder, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a stern, watchful glare as the sky above turned the color of bruised iron under a bleeding eclipse.
Beside them, Jill gripped her silver sword, her armor bearing the deep scorch marks of their last encounter with Gnasty Gnorc’s vanguard. The towering Gnorc brute growled in the shadows behind her, a reluctant ally chained to their cause by a mutual hatred for the higher powers ruling this twisted realm.
"Dragon Shores... that's where we'll find the legendary purple dragon to help us take down the Brain Trust," Masaki Kurusu added, his sharp features illuminated by the eerie, ambient glow of the shifting labyrinth. He leaned against his heavy mace, looking down at the small, defiant creature standing at the vanguard of their bizarre alliance.
"Speaking of Spyro," Masaki murmured, nodding toward the front.
Spyro the Dragon took a step forward, his purple scales glistening in the dark fantasy twilight. A small wisp of flame escaped his nostrils, crackling with an intense, magical heat that defied the oppressive dampness of the maze. He looked up at the looming shadow of Babylon City, then back into the twisting darkness of the Clow Card's trap.
"They can build whatever walls they want," Spyro growled, his golden horns lowering as he glared into the shifting trees. "But we're burning this maze down."
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