After entering level one, Ophelia finds herself alone in a bright stone corridor with every sense stripped away except sight. Remembering Zel's clue and her mother's lessons about Hell, she realizes Phantasma has placed the contestants in a version of Limbo built around sensory deprivation. She fights rising panic and the worsening voice in her head, then forces herself to move forward through the maze despite her disorientation.

When the light begins to dim, Ophelia understands that even her last remaining sense may eventually be taken from her. To keep from wandering in circles, she uses the sparks of her Grimm magic to scorch marks into the walls and track which routes she has already tested. This method helps her progress, but the maze adds a second threat: moving walls that close off passages and can crush anyone who chooses wrong or moves too slowly.

As Ophelia pushes deeper toward the center, she repeatedly escapes narrowing gaps and notices the Shadow Voice has changed from issuing compulsions to actively taunting her fear. At last she reaches the heart of the labyrinth and discovers a sleeping Hellhound guarding a gilded trap door. Before she can act, Cade and his companion rush in, open the exit, and flee through it, waking the beast and leaving Ophelia behind as her senses return in a painful rush.

The Hellhound chases Ophelia back into the maze. During the escape, she collides with another young contestant and learns he is too exhausted to outrun the creature. Although she briefly considers abandoning him, the warming locket at her throat seems to rebuke that impulse, so she stops and blasts the Hellhound's face with blue sparks, buying them time. Ophelia drags the boy through the corridors, reaches the clearing again, and opens the door so he can escape first. As she follows him through the exit, she hears another contestant screaming and bones snapping behind her, confirming the beast has caught someone else.