Spoilers: A Summary of the Ruthless Route (Ending: Shackled)
In the Shackled ending, the Master pushes Asterion into the pit, and is given the Elixir by Argos. Argos pads both of their egos and the Master takes one final gaze into Argos' eye to check for any deception. Finding none, he leaves amicably, telling Argos to reach out next time he has something to show, as "this might be the start of a long and fruitful partnership." In turn, Argos smirks and bids the master farewell. On the way back to the Hotel, as the Master ponders what he will do about Luke and Kota, he finds he simply cannot waste any more time without the power of extended life. The Master drinks the elixir, poison and all, which quickly starts shutting his body down. The Narrator appears in the Master's last moments to speak about hubris and what the Master threw away, as the poison sets in and the Master takes his last breath.
The scene shifts to a final flashback: Nikos breathing on a stage, pulling himself out of his role of Oedipus at the auditions to join the trials to become the next Argos Panoptes. The godly Overseer applauds, clearly impressed with Nikos' talent. When the Overseer questions Nikos for his motivation to be Argos, Nikos reveals that he is the grandson of the previous one, raised on its stories. After confirming with the Overseer that the Argos may take on a sort of 'mandate's mission' (the Overseer is too busy to check up on the Argos after their time as the Foreman starts, he says, so he likes the idea of them having a mission communicated up front), Nikos declares that his will not allow Clement's actions to happen again, and that he even looks up to the minotaur for doing all he can to help others who are lost, despite being damned himself.
This, in turn, makes the godly Overseer laugh. He claims this is a very hopeful interpretation of what an Argos is supposed to do, which Argos counters is the natural trajectory of their role: "Humanity changed, and so did we too change from torturers to, shall we say, teachers. [...] I wish to reveal the new master's character, and instruct him to become the shining example humanity deserves."
Intriegued, the Overseer challenges Nikos with a possibility, what would he do if the new Master is not a good person, and turns to the old ways of running the labyrinth? Nikos, however, refuses to believe such a thing will happen: "He shall not. Humanity is great, and time has made its heart boundless and kind. This new master... I'm sure he'll be good." The Overseer calls him overly optimistic, but that he does not disapprove. Impressed with all that he has said, the Overseer grants Nikos his blessing to participate in the Trials. Nikos is overjoyed and takes a deep breath in...
And Argos breathes out, the flashback over. After cursing out the now dead Master, he tries to strike up conversation with the Narrator, only to be met with silence - their pact is done, and now it is up to Argos to finish his work. He descends to the pit, skirting around the Effigy which pays him little mind. That changes when Argos swipes the extremely injured Asterion out from under its nose, but the secret tunnel is too narrow for it, and it is left behind to rage without its prisoner.
Once pulled to safety, an exhausted Argos pulls out his last bottle of healing wine and begins using it to tend to Asterion. During this, he finally lets go of the role of Argos, and goes back to thinking of himself as Dominikos. As he muses, the wine heals Asterion back up into consciousness, and Nikos lamely asks if he is alright. Asterion is extremely confused, and asks why Argos saved him, watching him wearily for the slightest reason to flee - after all, he knows nothing but the role of Argos the Foreman. In turn, Nikos bids him to finish the wine and listen to what he has to say, as he is so weak that Asterion could overpower him if needed. Asterion agrees to this, and Nikos tells his tale, starting with the past week and growing into explaining things like the Gift, the lineage of Argoi as the Foreman, and what was supposed to happen if the master was a good person. These truths are little comfort for Asterion with all he's been through. Feeling ashamed for the way his role, too, has brough suffering to Asterion, Nikos cannot think of anything else to say or comfort Asterion, and so he says nothing at all, leaving Asterion to rage and grieve alone.
We cut to the nighttime, Asterion worn out and silently processing all that he has learned. Nikos asks what he plans to do next, if Asterion will take the freedom the Gift offers, but Asterion is torn; He doesn't want to leave the guests behind. Nikos, in turn, points out that the mirror will soon revert to his possession and the guests will be forced out anyway. Unkindly, he asks "So will you keep tying your happiness to theirs? Will you stay here, shackled to your Hotel, while their lives continue on?" Asterion snaps at him for his words, but they hit home. After processing the situation and despite the pain it causes, Asterion finally choses to be selfish and to accept the Gift and take his freedom. Still, he is frustrated with the snake and quips "Alright, you win. At the very last, you win. And may you be damned for it. Good riddance to this Labyrinth. Good riddance to the Hotel, to {player name}... And to you, False Foreman."
Chastised, Nikos presents the gift to Asterion, who reaches forward to accept it. However, he pauses at the last moment to ask one final question of Nikos: Asterion bids him speak of their homeland, Crete, which Nikos waxes poetically on. It is as beautiful as ever, and that their "homeland's legacy is humanity's". It brings Asterion some peace, but then in a flash of light, he touches the Gift and is gone, the light inside it taken as well.
Left behind in the valley, Nikos hides the empty shell of the Gift at the roots of a nearby tree, mentally preparing himself for his trek to his home from the labrynth. He will get to see his parents once more, but he must also face the retribution that awaits from his Overseer, once they learn of this treason. However, his musings are interrupted by a terrible howling. The pelt, thought gone and sacrificed, has taken to life of its own, and it pounces on Nikos before he can react, smothering him beneath its bulk. The Narrator finally speaks once more, "Now, redeemer, the shackles of the prisoner drag you to the depths. [...] count no man happy until he dies, free from pain at last." The chapter ends.
In the epilogue chapter for this route, P and Storm finally enter the hotel, but it's run down and appears empty. They start looking for clues and find scribbled notes and crossed out poetry that are closer to ravings than understanable prose. Suddenly, Storm hears movement down the hall, and they set out to investigate. It's coming from inside the cold room in the lounge, and when they step in to communicate with what's there, they pull back in surprise. Inside is an emaciated half-snake, half-bull creature: Nikos, having been fused with the pelt that attacked him in the valley and turned into this. After overcoming the shock of seeing each other, Nikos lets out a dusty laugh and answers P's initial questions: There is no one else, and no longer a minotaur that can make diamonds appear from his hands. There is only him, all the guests having fled at his presence. "And now here I am, a wretched monster, shackled forevermore within this realm of damnation. Crowned, as you can see, as proud reward for my love of justice." P advances with more questions and has a hearty laugh of his own when the pitiful creature introduces itself as Argos and promises to share his story. We fade to black with P saying, "Alright then Argos... Tell me everything."
END "Shackled", Argos is drawn in the background of the credits, playing a trumpet.
Spoilers: Dust and Silence alternate ending of Shackled
This ending is mostly the same up until Argos feeds Asterion the healing wine - the only real difference being what the Narrator taunts the Master on during their death. In this Dust and Silence alternate, Asterion's spirit is so broken that he barely responds or reacts to Argos' presence instead of fearing and being soothed into hearing the truths Nikos has to share. Nikos is unable to get any reaction out of him, and knows it is his fault: the trick to get the Master separated from Asterion was too harsh, too cruel on top of this ending's harsher Master, and it is his fault that Asterion's mind has left. Nikos knows he must provide justice by caring for the minotaur until he returns to himself, and to join him through the mysterious light of the Gift to Asterion's freedom. At first, he thinks of this as taking on the shackle of the prisoner... but then steels himself and determines that this is no shackle at all. "This is no mere role. It is responsibility, chosen instead of granted." He joins hands with Asterion and embraces the gift, both disappearing in a flash of light. The Hotel's hearth flickers out: everyone is gone, and the Labyrinth, the Narrator quips, "is well and truly forsaken. Now at last, the curtain falls upon our role in this matter as well. There is no more of this tale to tell. End the trouble here, please, just where they left it." End of chapter 3.
The epilogue for all 3 Dust and Silence endings is the same (hence the ending's name despite the 3 routes to arrive): Storm and P enter the abandoned Hotel and begin investigating. This time, after finding and reading the same abandoned note of poetry, they hear a voice drifting down the hall. The two prepare themselves and advance into the lounge, where a man drink alone at the bar: It is the godly Overseer, here to clean things up and shut the whole realm down now that it is abandoned. But first, he sulks: the minotaur may be free and he may have finally gotten a redeemer, but the Overseer's original plots and plans lie in ruins, and he's going to be bitched out by "the brat" for who knows how long for the realm ending up like this on his watch as Overseer. It takes a moment of P calling out to the man to be noticed, and at first the man seems extremely angered to see P specifically. Still, P pushes on to ask some questions, which calms the Overseer down and he answers them derisively: Sure, this was the Minotaur's Hotel, but everyone's gone and it's time for this place to go too. The Overseer stands up to leave and P tries to push back and demand answers for the new questions the Overseer's flippant words are creating. This angers the Overseer and they have an intense staredown until the Overseer shakes off his anger instead of acting on it. Sighing, the Overseer walks past the two and tells them to just forget about all of this, they're too late and anything they wanted here is gone. With one last taunting exchange, the Hotel suddenly blinks out of existence around P and Storm, leaving the pair standing outside of P's car in the middle of the desert road. The Hotel is gone, the valley is gone, his inheritance... it's all gone. Sure enough, P flares his tailfeathers and confirms that the visions he used to see 'in his dreams' are gone too, and he cries out in anger and frustration.
After letting him rage for a while, Storm asks 'what now?', to which P responds that he just doesn't know. Storm fidgets and then asks about their deal, because they did find that hotel, right? P stares him down a little bit then shrugs. "I guess we'll have to figure that out, too, kid." The two load back up into the car and start driving, minds whirling over what to do next. We fade to black, and end with P's narration: "There is no 'Minotaur's Hotel'. There is no inheritance. There is no satisfaction of an answer to the questions which still linger in his mind and burn like vinegar on his tongue. There is only the peacock, the bull, and the vast emptiness of the wasteland surrounding them."
END Dust and Silence alternate version of Shackled, Argos and Asterion are drawn in the background of the credits, playing their instruments.