Chapter 4: The Skyborne Labyrinth
The Floating Gardens were not what Lira expected.
She had imagined lush meadows woven between the clouds, perhaps golden walkways lined with celestial blooms. But instead, she stood before something much stranger—an endless maze of twisting vines, towering trees that shimmered like crystal, and staircases that spiraled into the sky without any visible end. The gardens weren’t a place. They were a test.
Nova landed lightly on her shoulder, his tail curling as he surveyed the maze. “Well,” he said, “this is going to be fun.”
Lira arched a brow. “That’s one word for it.”
The moment she stepped forward, the ground beneath her shifted. The path she had taken disappeared, swallowed by rolling mist, and ahead, three new paths stretched in different directions. One was lined with silver ivy, glowing faintly. Another pulsed with golden light, its cobblestones smooth and familiar. The third was barely visible, its outline flickering in and out, as if it wasn’t entirely real.
Lira hesitated. “Which way do we go?”
Nova leapt from her shoulder, his eyes gleaming with quiet amusement. “That’s the thing about this place,” he said, pacing in a slow circle. “It doesn’t lead you where you want to go. It leads you where you need to go.”
Lira exhaled, pressing a hand to her ribs. The pull inside her had only grown stronger. She had spent years following scripts, letting others decide her path. But here, in this strange skyborne labyrinth, there was no director to guide her, no audience to impress. The choice was hers alone.
She studied the paths again. The golden road called to her—it felt safe, familiar, like stepping onto a stage she had walked a hundred times before. But the flickering path—the one that barely seemed to exist—made her pulse quicken.
She took a step toward it.
The moment her foot touched the ground, the world trembled. The vines rustled, shifting like they were whispering to one another. A cool wind curled through the air, and the path solidified beneath her, stretching deeper into the unknown.
Nova let out a low whistle. “Bold choice.”
Lira glanced at him. “You wouldn’t have let me take the easy one, would you?”
His grin was all the answer she needed.
And so, with the wind at her back and the stars above watching, Lira stepped fully into the labyrinth, ready to face whatever waited for her in the heart of the Floating Gardens.
