Click.
The faint sound echoed through the narrow corridor, followed by the sharp whirring of unseen mechanisms. A trap had been triggered.
Kael's instincts screamed—arrows.
Reacting in an Instant
Kael lunged, grabbing Orin's collar and yanking him backward.
An instant later—a hail of arrows shot past, barely missing them.
Mira spun, pressing herself against the wall, her breath steady despite the near-death moment.
Silence.
Then—the sound of gears turning again.
Kael's sharp eyes scanned the corridor. The trap hadn't reset. It was still active. One more step, and the next wave would fire.
They were boxed in.
A Mechanism of Death
Orin exhaled sharply. "Great. Remind me why we didn't just fight?"
Kael ignored him. His mind was already racing.
He crouched, studying the floor. The pressure plates were barely visible—thin seams between the stones, leading toward a set of gears embedded in the wall.
It wasn't just a simple trap. It was an ancient mechanism—carefully designed, perfectly timed.
Kael reached into his belt and pulled out a small blade. He had seconds to figure this out.
Mira knelt beside him. "Can you disable it?"
Kael didn't answer. He was already moving.
Disarming the Trap
With practiced precision, Kael wedged his blade into the gears, stopping them mid-turn.
The mechanism groaned, metal grinding against metal—but it held.
Mira watched as he reached for a loose wire beneath the panel, tracing it to the wall. A hidden lever.
Kael's fingers wrapped around it. One pull—and the entire system could shut down.
But there was a problem.
The wire was rigged. A single wrong move, and the trap would fully activate.
A Risky Move
Kael exhaled. He had to get this right.
He reached into his sleeve, pulling out a thin, curved dagger.
Mira and Orin watched in tense silence.
One cut.
One chance.
Kael pressed the blade against the wire and—
Snip.
Silence.
Then—a soft click.
The gears stopped. The pressure plates reset.
The trap was disarmed.
A Hidden Clue
Orin let out a low whistle. "Remind me never to play cards with you."
Kael ignored him, stepping forward toward the now-exposed panel. Behind it, something was hidden.
A map.
Mira's eyes narrowed. "That's not just any blueprint."
Kael's fingers traced the faded ink. It was a layout of the Syndicate's stronghold.
More importantly—it showed a hidden path leading straight to the heart of the fortress.
Kael's jaw tightened. This wasn't just a trap.
It was a test.
And someone had left this clue behind—for him.
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