Will they survive!
The deeper they moved into the facility, the colder it became.
Steel corridors whispered with distant machinery. Overhead lights flickered occasionally, like something old was waking up in the walls.
Akira checked the map projection from his wristband.
> "We're two levels above the core room. Once we cross the security atrium, we'll—"
BOOM!
The ground lurched violently. Red emergency lights snapped on, and a wall of smoke burst from the ceiling vents.
> "What the hell—!?" Yuki spun, blades ready.
A sudden tremor shot through the corridor again, and thick steel doors slammed down between them—CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Akira turned back, eyes wide.
> "YUKI!"
She was on the other side.
So was Reika.
Akira and Shin were trapped behind the bulkhead, alarms now screeching around them.
> "No—! No, no, no!" Yuki banged the door, her eyes filled with rising panic.
Akira stepped close to the sealed barrier.
> "Yuki, listen to me. Stay calm. Find a way around. We'll meet at the extraction node near the core vault. Got it?"
Her hand pressed flat to the steel.
> "Got it. You better be there."
> "I will," Akira replied, firm.
"I promise."
Then the comm line scrambled—static fizzled—and went dead.
---
Yuki & Reika – West Wing
> "This place is changing," Reika muttered, pulling Yuki into cover.
"Look—those walls weren't there before."
Hallways were shifting. Floors humming.
Yuki gritted her teeth.
> "It's like the whole facility's alive."
A sudden motion in the shadows—a synthetic hound-like creature leapt out, silent and fast.
Yuki's blades flashed.
CLANG—SHHHK—SPARK
It fell, twitching.
Reika wiped her brow.
> "That was not your average guard dog…"
> "Something's protecting the core," Yuki muttered.
"And it's not just machines."
They pressed on, deeper into the now-unknown map of the west wing.
---
Akira & Shin – East Wing
Akira had his blade drawn now, eyes scanning constantly.
> "This route is wrong. It's taking us into an unlisted level."
Shin adjusted the frequency of his scanner.
> "I think we triggered a failsafe. We're in some kind of decoy wing now."
Suddenly—lights off.
Pitch black.
Then one by one, glowing red eyes ignited along the walls.
> "Akira," Shin whispered,
"We're not alone."
---
Meanwhile – Observation Deck (Unknown)
Behind a thick glass panel, someone watched all four of them from a control room—smiling.
> "So… these are the intruders. Let's see what they're really made of when they're apart."
The lights in the entire facility turned blood red.
The real game had begun.