"The creation passage on the left corresponds perfectly to Leo's traits-leadership and the urge to create," Astria analyzed quickly. "The balance passage in the middle fits my Libra nature exactly. The order passage on the right caters to Lin Ye's current tendency toward self-doubt."
Her words stopped both men from arguing.
"This isn't a coincidence." Lin Ye realized the crux of the problem. "It's a trap deliberately designed by the Void Ark."
"It's using our inner weaknesses to divide us." Leo's anger began turning toward their true enemy. "Leo's pride, Libra's indecision, Sagittarius's self-doubt."
"A defense mechanism," Astria confirmed. "The Void Ark doesn't merely obstruct intruders physically. It divides them psychologically, too."
"It knows that once we turn against each other, we'll destroy ourselves without it having to act."
"Since this is a trap, we won't play by its rules," Lin Ye said. "We'll pass straight through this junction."
The three reactivated their fused consciousness, preparing to ignore all three passages and pass directly through the spatial barrier.
But their argument had already brought serious consequences.
Thunderous footsteps sounded from deep within the labyrinth, and the entire Concept Space began shaking violently. Powerful waves of negative concepts surged in from every direction, heralding the approach of something terrifying.
"We've been discovered." Astria's Libra Mark sensed a state of extreme imbalance. "A massive number of negative concepts are gathering."
No sooner had she spoken than the labyrinth's walls began to collapse. A terrifying legion emerged from the rubble.
The soldiers of the Despair Legion appeared first. They wore pitch-black armor, with hollow eye sockets beneath their masks, and every step carried the dead silence of surrendering everything. They held black spears whose tips shimmered with a light that devoured hope.
"The Despair Legion... They're formed from the accumulated despair of all