That morning, Narey and Arka once again planned to infiltrate the underground laboratory they had observed several times. They knew that the closer they got to the heart of the experiment, the greater the danger they would face. But Narey had no choice. Time was running out. On their way to the laboratory building, Arka suddenly stopped and looked at Narey seriously. "I want you to know something before we go in," he said. "I already know who's behind all of this. I... I lost my brother because of the project." Narey was shocked. "Your brother?" she asked, disbelief in her voice. Arka nodded slowly. "He was one of the first test subjects. He disappeared after trying to escape. I think he's still here... inside." Narey felt her whole body freeze. Cerebrum Shift hadn't just taken the lives of students—it had taken those close to them. And now Arka, someone she had trusted all along, was personally tied to the mystery. But one thing was clear: they had to act fast. Whatever was inside that laboratory held the answers. And they had to face it before it was too late.
The air in the underground hallway felt different—colder, heavier, as if filled with whispers from the past. Narey and Arka's steps were muffled by the cracked concrete floor, while the light from their small flashlight barely pierced a few meters ahead. The surrounding walls were lined with dangling wires and old pipes, some still hissing faintly.
At the end of the hallway, a rusted plaque above a steel door read: LABYRINTHUS — Closed Experiment Zone.
"They really named this place Labyrinthus?" Arka whispered, barely audible.
Narey nodded slowly. "Maybe to make people think twice before going deeper. Or... because it really is a labyrinth."
They pushed the door carefully. Locked. But Narey was ready. She pulled a magnetic lockpick from her inner jacket pocket—a one-time-use tool made by BIN that would burn its chip after activation. Within seconds, a soft click was heard and the door creaked open.
The first room was an observation chamber. A thick glass wall, 10 cm wide, looked into a sterile room on the other side—a former experiment chamber. Inside, a metal bed with restraints on all four corners and a massive brain scanner suspended above it.
In the corner, a desk cluttered with files and an old computer with a dimly glowing screen. Narey went straight to the computer and checked the still-active system.
"Still logged in... under Prof. Vellan's account," she muttered. "He didn't even bother to clear his access history."
She found a folder labeled "Cerebrum Shift—Phase 2." Inside were video recordings. She clicked one. The screen showed a male student—Rafi Ardana. He sat calmly in the experiment chair, though his face was pale.
"Subject 12. Day 5 post-injection. Significant improvement in short-term memory. But the subject is beginning to experience visual hallucinations and severe insomnia. Signs of identity delusion are emerging. We will proceed with stage two electrode stimulation," Prof. Vellan's voice sounded cold and clinical.
Arka held his breath. "That's really him... my brother's friend."
Narey shut the video off. "This isn't just cognitive enhancement. They're manipulating consciousness. Maybe... even erasing it."
She copied all the files onto a flash drive. But before they could leave, a sound came from the hallway outside. Not footsteps—but wheels. Like a metal cart being pushed slowly.
Narey and Arka exchanged glances. They quickly turned off the flashlight and hid behind a large cabinet in the observation room.
The door creaked open. Light from the corridor spilled in, and a man entered.
Prof. Vellan.
He walked slowly to the desk, picked up a file, and wrote something down. But just as he was about to leave, he stopped in front of the thick glass.Still. Narey held her breath. For a moment, it felt like his eyes were looking directly through the glass. But then he exhaled, turned around, and walked out. Silence returned.
Once sure it was safe, Narey and Arka emerged from their hiding place. But before they could exit the room, Arka froze. "You hear that?" he whispered.
Narey frowned. From a narrow hallway to the right, a rhythmic knocking could be heard. Slow. Deliberate. They followed the sound to another, smaller steel door. It was unlocked.
Inside, a padded acoustic chamber. In the corner, a girl sat curled up, her body trembling. Her clothes were torn, and her eyes red, as if she'd been crying for days.
"Anjani..." Narey whispered.
The girl turned. It was her, just like in the photos. But something was different. Her gaze was empty. Her voice was faint. "You're... not one of them?"
Narey rushed forward. "We're here to get you out. I'm Narey. This is Arka. We're going to help you." Anjani only nodded weakly, as if not fully believing.
As they helped her walk through the corridor, Narey whispered to Arka, "We can't take her out through the main door. Too risky." Arka nodded. "I know an old disposal route near the chemical storage tanks. We can use that to get out." They changed direction. But before they got far, a small alarm went off—likely triggered when Vellan realized the unauthorized access too late. The corridor lights turned red. An alert blared from the speakers:
"Experiment Zone breached. Security protocol activated. All doors will lock in 180 seconds."
They ran. Anjani was still weak, but tried her best to keep up. The path to the storage tanks lay to the left—they entered, struggling to open the manual door. A massive tank loomed before them, and behind it, a rusted steel door.
Arka pulled the handle. Heavy. But eventually it opened just enough for them to crawl out one by one. Narey pushed Anjani through first, then Arka. She was almost left behind when footsteps echoed again—not one person. Three. Internal security officers.
Without hesitation, Narey tossed her small flashlight toward the right corridor, creating a distracting sound. Then she slipped through the gap and closed the door from the outside.
They emerged into the rear disposal area behind the building, hidden behind tall bushes.
The sky had turned crimson—dawn was approaching.
Narey activated her BIN device on her wrist. "Subject Anjani located. Alive. Weak and deeply traumatized. Cerebrum Project has entered Phase Two. Vellan is active. We need a silent evac."
A voice responded, "Extraction team arriving in five minutes. Coordinates locked."
Arka helped Anjani walk slowly. Her eyes were still red, but now there was life returning to them. "Thank you..." Anjani whispered.
Narey looked back toward the campus in the distance. The grand buildings stood calmly under the morning sky, as if they held no dark secrets. But Narey knew—this was only the beginning. One victim had been found. But many were still missing. And Vellan... hadn't stopped.