In a world where sweetness conceals shadows, the fabled Chocolate City is unreachable, its metropolis constructed on sweet treats, industry, and secrecy. No outsider has ever entered—until six children, each hailing from a far-flung part of the world, are chosen by mystical, chocolate-grown invitations.
They include Nia Calvert, a resourceful and careful girl from a poor district; Felix Moreau, a privileged and arrogant boy; Aya Kimura, a quiet artist with the rare gift of seeing flavors as colors; Tomas Vega, a mechanically gifted scavenger; and mischievous twins Lina and Leo Bell. Curiosity, ambition, or hunger lures each to the city, unaware that their selection carries far more than prestige.
Under the tutelage of the inscrutable chocolatier Ambrose Vellum, the children embark upon an urban odyssey through the dazzling districts: chocolate rivers, caramel fountains, sugar forests, and factories that appear to hum with a life of their own. Each sweet delight, each glimmering street, speaks to a fully imagined world-beautiful, yet subtly unsettling.
Beneath its surface, the city hides secrets. The children feel a pulse beneath the streets, a soft heartbeat that's getting louder with every step. Where there should be no shadow, something moves. Whispers emanate from corners of darkness, and even the citizens seem strangely alive: watching, waiting.
Most dangerous of all is the Bitter District: a forbidden quarter walled off from the rest of the city, pulsing with dark energy that hints at the true cost of Vellum's perfection. The children, tugged by curiosity and courage toward its gates, begin to realize that the Chocolate City is a labyrinth-not just one of sweets and wonder, but one of secrets, traps, and desires that can devour those who step too close.
Velum's Labyrinth is a dark, magical tale of wonder and dread where innocence meets obsession, and the line between sweetness and danger blurs. The children are to learn that in this city built of chocolate, every delight carries a shadow, and every choice may have a bitter price.

The silence after the roar felt heavier than the chaos itself.


Broken drones sparked on the floor. The cracked concrete steamed where the root had vanished, the air thick with burnt sugar and something darker.


Felix lay half-conscious against Nia's shoulder, his breath shallow, skin cold.


Aya crouched beside them, wiping sweat from her forehead.


"I thought the city was about to eat us. Again."


"We don't have long. Security's coming."


Her sketchbook lay open on the floor beside her, pages fluttering slightly in the heat.


They weren't twisting randomly anymore.


The word sent a chill through the room.


"The roots remember everything," Lina continued softly.


"Every child. Every flavor. Every promise Ambrose broke."


"Maintenance rail. Old worker tunnels. If Ambrose sealed them, Lina can probably draw us through."


"You just told us the city talks to you. Congratulations. You're the map."


She knelt and sketched quickly, lines confident now, sure. The map that emerged wasn't just tunnels—it was permission. Doors appeared where none should exist.


A panel slid open in the wall beside them.


"…I officially believe in nothing anymore."


"Ambrose is right about one thing," Felix said quietly.


Felix looked at the sealed floor beneath their feet.


"This city will fall if we leave the roots like this."


Leo whispered, "That was not the answer I was hoping for."


They slipped into the hidden passage as security footsteps thundered past, unaware of the door that had sealed itself behind them.


Chapter 32 - part 4