After finishing everything he needed to do within the opposition group's workplace, Kael made his way toward the exit.
Just as his hand reached for the doorknob, he paused.
Kael lowered his gaze toward his palm.
A thin layer of sweat coated the surface of his skin.
An irritated sigh escaped him.
Without hesitation, he slipped a hand into his pocket and retrieved a small pill. At first glance, it looked no different from any ordinary medication. In reality, however, the substance had long since been banned from daily use except during extreme medical circumstances due to its severe side effects.
It was a pain suppressor.
Its most infamous side effect was simple.
The user lost the ability to sweat.
For days.
Under normal conditions, prolonged use often resulted in overheating, collapse, or worse. The human body was not designed to function without temperature regulation. Fortunately for Kael, he possessed additional medications capable of offsetting the more lethal consequences afterward.
But right now?
The side effect was exactly what he wanted.
No sweat meant fewer biological traces.
No fingerprints.
No residue.
No accidental evidence left behind on visible surfaces.
Two days.
That was how long the effects would likely last.
More than enough time to complete the mission he had been assigned.
Kael would later come to regret this impulsive decision.
At this moment, however, he simply swallowed the pill.
Afterward, he removed a rag from his pouch and carefully wiped away the remaining moisture exposed along his skin before placing it back inside. A pair of gloves soon followed.
Once the gloves were secured tightly around his hands, Kael leaned against the nearby wall and waited for the medicine to take effect.
Several moments later, his vision darkened.
His body collapsed.
A normal person would have remained unconscious for at least several hours after ingesting such a dosage.
Kael regained consciousness in five minutes.
Experience had its benefits.
Slowly pushing himself upright, he performed a brief inspection over his condition before giving a small nod of satisfaction.
The medicine had worked.
Kael opened the door and stepped out of the opposition group's sector.
Looking toward the left corridor, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Marcus.
The anomaly involving him still remained unresolved.
Kael briefly considered heading in the direction the voices had faded earlier, toward where the group had moved. The thought didn't fully settle before he dismissed it with a faint shake of his head.
If Marcus had truly seen him, even by coincidence, then further interaction would only confirm suspicions neither of them could currently afford.
No.
It was better to return to the meeting hall and request assistance later.
That would be the smarter decision.
Reaching into his belongings once more, Kael removed a pair of specialized glasses and slid them onto his face.
Immediately, the surrounding world shifted.
Faint blue particles illuminated the floor beneath him.
While being guided through the maze earlier, Kael had discreetly scattered nearly invisible dust along the path. Without the glasses, the particles could not be seen by the naked eye.
Now, however, the trail glowed clearly.
Satisfied, Kael began retracing his route through the maze.
At first, everything appeared normal.
Then he noticed something strange.
The trail ahead seemed... interrupted.
Blocked.
Kael slowed his steps.
After several turns, the pattern only became worse. Certain sections of the glowing path appeared partially obstructed while others disappeared entirely behind solid walls.
His frown deepened.
Lowering his gaze toward the floor beneath him, Kael carefully inspected the area.
Nothing.
No seams.
No shifting mechanisms.
No evidence that the maze itself had moved.
If not for the glasses, even Kael would have assumed he had simply failed to memorize the route correctly despite his exceptional memory.
His expression darkened.
Reaching into his pouch, Kael searched for a magnification tool.
He needed proof.
Something.
Anything that could confirm he was not imagining this.
Then he heard it.
Rumble.
Kael froze.
Directly ahead, the passageway slowly sealed itself shut.
Stone moved across stone.
A wall was forming.
Kael stared in disbelief.
For several seconds, he simply watched the opening disappear before him.
Then, almost unconsciously, he stepped closer.
Closer.
His attention fixated entirely on the moving structure.
So focused was he on the wall ahead that he failed to notice the corridor behind him gradually closing as well.
By the time he reached the newly formed barrier, the passage behind him had nearly vanished.
Kael placed a gloved hand against the surface, attempting to inspect the mechanism.
Then the wall changed.
Sharp spikes slowly emerged outward.
Kael's eyes widened.
He jerked his hand back.
Too late.
The spikes sliced cleanly through the glove.
A thin cut stretched across his thumb.
Blood surfaced immediately.
Danger surged through his instincts.
Without hesitation, Kael threw himself sideways and rolled across the floor.
BANG!
The two spiked walls slammed violently into one another.
Had he remained there even a second longer, his body would have been crushed between them instantly.
Kael pushed himself backward rapidly.
Then he smelled it.
Burning.
A sharp sizzling noise reached his ears.
Marcus emerged from deeper within the corridor, staggering slightly, one sleeve already scorched and partially melted. His expression tightened as he looked at the wall ahead.
Without warning, he pressed his hand against it.
He recoiled instantly.
A sharp burn spread across his palm through the glove. The smell of singed fabric filled the air.
"Laser contact," Marcus muttered under his breath.
He hesitated for a moment, then turned his injured finger toward the surface. The same finger already damaged earlier.
If it was already compromised, it would confirm the pattern with minimal additional risk.
He touched it.
The burn reaction intensified immediately.
His eyes narrowed.
"Confirmed. Laser grid."
The moment he spoke, the environment shifted.
The corridor responded.
THUMP.
Kael turned sharply.
The walls that had previously collided were retracting.
Meanwhile, from the opposite corridor, another structure emerged.
This one was worse.
A massive wall lined entirely with spikes rolled toward him at frightening speed.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Marcus stepped forward, scanning rapidly. The grid lines became clearer under the reaction feedback, revealing a denser pattern than expected.
Faster activation.
Adaptive response.
THUMP. THUMP.
Kael immediately dug through his pouch with both hands.
Faster.
Faster.
The spikes were getting closer.
THUMP, THUMP.
THUMP, THUMP.
He found the powder.
Without wasting time, Kael threw it across the corridor.
Thin lines instantly illuminated throughout the air.
Lasers.
Everywhere.
He did not even attempt to fully analyze the pattern.
There was no time.
Instead, Kael chose the quickest visible opening and sprinted forward.
Several beams grazed his body as he passed.
Heat tore across his skin.
Burns spread along his arm and shoulder.
But he kept moving.
He only needed enough distance.
Enough space to survive.
Then his foot stopped.
Kael's eyes widened.
The corridor ahead was fake.
Painted.
An illusion designed to resemble a continuation of the hallway.
In reality, it was nothing more than a solid wall.
A trap.
Kael spun around instantly and slammed both hands against the surface behind him, pressing himself flat against it as the spiked structure thundered closer.
A numb pressure spread through his injured thumb where the cut had opened earlier. Blood still smeared against the wall beneath his grip, but the pain never fully registered, dulled under the suppressor's effect.
Burns across his body from the earlier laser contact flickered in the same muted way, present but distant, like signals cut off halfway to the brain.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
Kael shut his eyes tightly.
For the first time in a long while, death felt genuinely close.
The spikes drew nearer.
Nearer.
Then...
Silence.