The ground trembled beneath our boots as the tower doors pounded louder—each second a countdown to war. Ryker cocked his pistol. Lucian unsheathed his blade with a slow, bone-chilling scrape.
"Plan?" Lucian asked.
"Survive," I replied, tightening the strap on my chest holster. "Then find the Labyrinth."
Ryker grinned. "I like it when she takes charge."
Lucian: "Shut up and move."
We slipped out through the hidden lift Cyrus left behind. It was sleek and metallic, lowering us beneath the tower into a place none of us had ever seen before.
---
The lift opened into silence.
No gunfire. No voices.
Only an eerie hum—like the walls were alive.
We were underground. Far below the campus, maybe even under the city itself. Pipes ran along the curved ceiling. The air was thick with moisture and secrets.
And at the center of the room: a door with no handle.
Just a scanner.
Lucian stepped forward and froze.
There, etched above it in silver script:
"Only the Created may enter."
I touched the scanner. It buzzed. Whirred.
And then—
Click.
The door slid open.
Ryker blinked. "That's... not supposed to happen."
---
The room beyond was a maze of corridors, sharp turns, and glass walls. Some rooms held old weapons, others had screens with files... and some had cells.
Empty cells.
But what disturbed me most were the photos on the walls—children. Lined up. Tagged like lab rats. Some had names. Others had numbers.
And one—
One had my face.
My breath caught.
Hair longer. Cheeks younger. Eyes scared.
Beneath it: Subject 13-A.
---
Lucian stared. "They've been watching you since before you could fight."
I nodded slowly. "They created me. Or remade me."
Ryker grabbed a dusty file. "These are records of elite training programs. Hybrid agents. Mind-control resistance. Injections. Enhancements..."
He looked at me with a rare seriousness. "You're not just a spy. You're the blueprint."
---
Suddenly, lights flickered. A door behind us creaked open with a hiss.
Another figure stepped out.
Shorter. Lean. Lab coat. Bald.
And trembling.
"I knew you'd come," he whispered. "Subject 13-A always returns to the source."
Lucian grabbed him in a flash, blade at his throat. "Talk."
The man swallowed. "I'm Dr. Eshan. I was the lead scientist here. They called this place 'The Labyrinth'—a mental maze to push children beyond human limits."
Ryker: "Children? You mean her?"
Eshan nodded. "Her. Cyrus. Others. But she... she survived the final stage. The others either went rogue or died."
---
I stepped forward. "What did you do to us?"
Dr. Eshan flinched. "I can't say."
I pressed my gun to his temple. "Say it. Or I shoot."
He panicked. "We erased memories! Implanted false missions! Created loyalty triggers! But it didn't work on you!"
Lucian's blade moved slightly. "Because she was never loyal to you."
"Exactly!" Eshan shouted. "She had anomalies. Resistance. Empathy! The King wanted her destroyed!"
Ryker growled. "Then why is she still alive?"
"Because Vale refused the order."
---
Everything spun.
Vale—the one man I distrusted the most—saved me?
My fists clenched. "Where is Vale now?"
Eshan stammered. "Gone underground. But he left one message—'If she finds the Labyrinth, tell her the fifth door leads to the truth.'"
---
Ryker looked at the five sealed doors ahead, each marked with a Roman numeral.
Lucian: "It's a trap."
Me: "It's always a trap."
But I walked to V anyway and pressed my palm against the cold steel.
The door creaked open slowly.
Inside—
A room filled with files. Monitors. And a single chair facing a screen.
I stepped forward.
The screen flickered to life.
And Vale's face appeared—recorded. Calm. Calculated.
---
"If you're seeing this, 13-A, then they've forced your memory back. And you're ready to know what I couldn't tell you."
I didn't breathe.
Vale continued:
"You were designed to infiltrate the academy and kill the King. But your compassion made you... human. You fell for people. Made friends. Broke code. And that saved you."
His voice deepened.
"But they will keep coming. Because they fear what you are—free. The only one who can bring the system down."
Lucian's jaw tightened. Ryker's smile faded.
Vale ended with five words that chilled me:
"Find the last teacher. Survive."
---
The screen went black.
The room fell silent again.
Ryker muttered, "Last teacher?"
Lucian's eyes flicked to mine. "The one we haven't met yet."
And in that moment, I knew—
The final male lead. The shadow watching me in training. The cold presence in the faculty tower. He wasn't just anyone.
He was the one they called The Ghost Professor.
And he was coming.
---
End of Chapter 24