Eru, formerly Rey, was now wearing the identity of a dead Searcher.
He walked beside his two new companions as they left the Dungeon of Malice behind, his expression carefully arranged into one of pleasant relief.
Inside, his mind operated with the cold precision that had kept him alive through three years in the Labyrinth's depths.
'Success,' he assessed clinically. 'The integration proceeds according to plan. I've confirmed that there aren't any complications or suspicions. Just gratitude and opportunity… as expected.'
He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction while maintaining his external mask of humble competence.
The past week had been intensive preparation for this exact outcome.
***
[One Week Earlier]
Rey had emerged from the passage connecting the Labyrinth of Darkness to the Dungeon of Malice with caution bordering on paranoia.
