Lanistia leads Vis beneath the villa to a vast, torchlit training hall dominated by a stone Labyrinth—a replica of an Academy device where movable wall panels create shifting passages. She demonstrates a bracer studded with onyx control stones that remotely reconfigure specific panels and stresses the Labyrinth’s central role in measuring a student’s capability with Will.

Lanistia explains that, at the Academy, one runner uses the bracer to traverse the maze while others pursue or spot, testing memory, logic, speed, precision, strength, and split focus. Despite her warning, Vis impulsively tries a control stone, shattering it and slicing his finger. Lanistia dresses the wound with practiced competence, and, as she stitches, she reveals how her Will-based vision can focus perfectly on a detail while rendering the rest of the world in disjointed flashes.

Crossing the villa, they encounter Dispensator Kadmos; Lanistia covers with a mundane sparring story and later confides that the Labyrinth’s existence is secret—obtained through broken Silencium and unknown to the staff. Back below, Lanistia replaces the shattered onyx and lets the bracer re-engrave the correct symbol, deferring detailed mechanics until Vis masters the system.

They train for hours. Vis repeatedly misjudges micro-movements, causing panels to grind or fail and control stones to drop, revealing how precise and unforgiving the interface is. After mounting frustration, he executes one correct move, a small but real success. Lanistia concludes he is not a prodigy but is progressing, emphasizing that the Labyrinth—introduced after Ulciscor’s time—is essential if Vis is to catch up with Academy students.