Carter darted through the newly revealed opening in the wall, but his excitement instantly died as he peeked into the darkness. The fading light of the room barely illuminated a few steps leading downward, hinting at a staircase concealed in the dark. With no way to gauge its distance and lacking any light source, descending seemed risky. With the light dimming in the room beside him, he had two choices: leave or continue.

"Uhh..."

Carter's head swiveled back and forth, his eyes scanning the dimly lit room and the deep, dark staircase as he weighed his options. With the room's fading light, he decided to push forward with his original plan. Stepping cautiously, he descended into the depths, mindful of each step and vigilant of his every foot placement.

Carter cautiously continued down the steps, reaching out to grasp the cold stone wall for support. The rough surface offered little to hold onto, and the thought of slipping and falling a frightening distance crept into his mind, causing him to move slower.

Finally, after a short time climbing down, his foot found even ground. With a sigh, Carter sat on the last step as he wondered how much longer he would have to walk through the darkness. With a huff, Carter let his feet glide around the ground as he thought about what to do about the darkness when one of the stones sunk, and soft blue light began to line the side of the corridor.

Carter's eyes grew wide, and his mouth opened when the lights started to glow; he jumped to his feet as soon as what was happening hit him and rushed to look at where the lights were coming from. The first thing he noticed was a strange smell coming from the blue light, and the way it moved seemed like fire, but the blue glow was strange, seeming more like glowing water than any fire he had seen. His first instinct was to touch the flame, but a thin layer of crystal blocked him. Although it seemed thin enough to break with just a light press, Carter had no idea what would happen if he broke the container, so with a click of his tongue, he stood and observed the 'fire' as it danced behind the thin crystal. Little to no warmth escaped from the other side of the crystal, so whatever was happening did result in some kind of fire, but Carter had no idea what as he hadn't seen it before or had he. He couldn't shake off this faint familiar feeling as if he had seen this flickering fire-like light before but couldn't place it.

Carter turned his curiosity to the small stone that acted as the on and off button for the mechanism. However, he hesitated to fiddle with it, concerned about damaging it and plunging himself back into darkness. Deciding to leave it untouched, he chose to continue onward, hoping that something just as interesting would happen later. With this in mind, he set off down the now bright corridor, feeling a newfound spring in his step.

***

Arc sat reading under the subtle green glow of the strange green stones that dotted the domed ceiling. These so-called researchers called these green stones Life Stone Lights, a name that he had learned from reading the papers piled high on each desk, although he had only read some papers from each desk. Apparently, these green stones were the byproduct of whatever research was being carried out here, and the fact that they had life light in their names was ominous, to say the least, even though it might be separated by one word.

From the look of all the papers, this research had been happening for a few hundred years, although with little results to show. The more Arc read and tried to understand what happened, the more confused he became.

The first thing he noted from his reading was that the subjects had no age range, and it seemed almost random; nothing about it seemed to hold a meaning: children from the orphanage, from the streets and caravans, adults who worked in any field, merchants that made their way to sell goods, even the old and dying did not escape the fate of simple experimental subjects. It seemed that whatever this research was, it had no real goal. It seemed more like a unique form of torture being created, and it reminded him of something he had seen before when he was in Feyrish.

The only other important thing he had found was the introduction of a strange serum a little more than a year ago. It seemed that every desk created a different name for this strange serum, but the first papers he had read called it Liquid of Order.

Arc carefully studied the many papers on different desks, trying to find anything about the new serum. Despite his efforts, he found little information beyond the serum's changing name. The research from last year seemed disorganized as if the researchers themselves didn't remember their work. This disconnect and sometimes missing information between the desks that were so close to one another seemed chaotic but organized, intentional yet organic, and all too familiar.

What made the chaos worse was that the further back Arc read into the pile of documents, the more in-line the papers became. Documents of other older serums, their creation methods, and their effects seemed like real research, but at the same time, it was also strange, like all of the so-called researchers were just following specific orders or instructions. Arc just couldn't put his finger on what was so off-putting about these papers. Again, everything changed a year ago when that Liquid of Order arrived, and then the organization and instructions became chaos as if that was the intention.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Arc could tell that the serum was important because the direction of this research seemed familiar. But that raised further questions. It seemed like the Liquid of Order had to have been made somewhere else and was closely guarded, adding more questions to the already long list that Arc was already compiling.

This liquid held so much importance to these researchers and the ones they worked for that when it was brought here, it also seemed to change the direction of the research from its original purpose, True Awakening, to something called the Opening. Whether it be the research for the True Awakening or the Opening, it seemed that the number of patients that survived the administration of the serum was close to zero. To any sane being, it would seem a failure, but to the fanatics, it appeared that they thought they were close to understanding how to achieve their goal.

Arc rubbed his eyes to give them a rest from reading. It seemed that he had made little headway in the direction of what this place was, so he just stared up at the shining green stones above. As Arc looked over the ceiling filled with green stones, some dimmer than others, possibly indicating that they would go out soon and need to be replaced, he couldn't help but comment aloud.

"Seems like they were slowly replacing the stones there with these life stone lights."

He let out another annoyed sigh as he tried to jump back into reading, but the faint and distant sound of steps coming from the hall he had used to enter made him panic.

He had already decided that he did not mind being caught, but if he were, there would need to be a lengthy explanation or a fight, depending on who found him. All that would do would disturb his exploration of this interesting place, and he could not have that. Glancing around for a path of escape, he saw the other exit opposite the one he had entered. Without a second thought, he dashed toward it, leaving a mess behind him, indicating someone was there.

***

Carter's eyes grew wide as he looked around the vast labyrinthine-like room, which was surprisingly broad for an underground space, leaving Carter awestruck. The corridor, constructed from plain stone, seemed fitting for the underground. However, Carter found it mystifying that such a colossal room appeared to serve no purpose other than as some sort of exchange room. Amidst all this, one more detail caught his attention.

"Why is only one of the corridors lit?"

Carter couldn't help but notice that, among the thirty or so similar paths and winding routes, only one was bathed in a soft, inviting glow. It seemed to beckon him as if daring to follow where it led. Without pausing to consider the consequences, Carter eagerly embraced the invitation and charged down the corridor with curiosity and excitement propelling him forward.

***

Arc's labored breathing echoed off the walls as he sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him down the dark hall. He pushed himself to keep going further into the darkness, beating himself up for his frantic dash out of the lab, which had caused him to leave behind his alchemic lantern. Gasping for air, he finally came to a halt.

"By The ancestors! When will these long halls to nowhere end?" Arc screamed as he caught his breath.

Soft, distant steps echoed behind Arc as he ran, annoying him with each tap they made. Arc was getting to the point where it would save more time to talk to whoever was chasing him versus running down an endless black hallway with no end in sight. At least with a confrontation with the would-be chaser, he could be done and leave, but his thoughts soon ended when the faint green glow in the distance caught his eye.

Even with the steps behind him closing in, Arc couldn't even bother because he was too occupied with what this new green light might be. If the worst came to worse, he could deal with whoever was behind him and continue with his exploration, which seemed to bear some fruit with the papers finally and now this green light, which he could only assume were those strange stones stuck in the lab's ceiling.

"Uhr!"

Arc let out a short, involuntary exclamation of pain as a sharp, stinging sensation sliced into the side of his arm. The distant glow of the nearby green light cast long shadows around him. Despite the distant light, the details remained dimmed and obscure, teasing him with glimpses of the cold stone walls, the only thing he could see around him. His initial instinct said it was likely his first trap in this labyrinth. Yet, as his vision adjusted to the light, he saw something far different from the simple traps he thought it would be.

Amidst the dim green glow, he saw the gleam of crimson eyes. They flickered with a deep, intense madness and fixed on him with an unsettling alertness. Only after processing the eyes did Arc look at what they were connected to: a Seedling; its short, pale pink hair shimmered faintly in the dim light, contrasting against skin that pulsed with veins glowing in the same green that was bathing them now.

Its teeth clattered, and its body shook as green liquid oozed out of the Seedling's eyes like streams of tears. It seemed to open its mouth to scream, but no voice or sound came out, as if it had lost its voice. What came out instead was a light puff of green smoke. At that moment, Arc realized that this encounter was no trap but maybe the answer to the questions he had been asking for.

"What!"