The temperature dropped sharply as Cadet 17 descended the final flight of stairs, each step bringing him deeper into the heart of the Facility. The walls, raw concrete and dimly lit by flickering fluorescent lights, loomed around him, casting shadows that stretched and twisted across the narrow passage. Every footfall reverberated through the enclosed space; the sound muted by the oppressive quiet that clung to the air like fog.
As they moved further down, Cadet 17 noticed the atmosphere changing. The cold air bit into his skin, a subtle reminder of the secrets hidden deep below. He took in the slight shift in the scent—sterile, yes, but now tinged with something metallic, almost bitter. He couldn’t name it, but it left an odd taste in his mouth, like the faint residue of electricity on his tongue. The way the air felt heavier, pressing down on him, made him vaguely aware that they were venturing into a place not meant to be easily accessed.
Subject 16 walked a few paces behind, his footsteps lighter, more hesitant. Cadet 17 didn’t turn to look, but he could sense the shift in Subject 16’s demeanor—a change in the rhythm of his breathing, perhaps, or the subtle tension in his steps. He understood these cues in a way that was more instinctual than emotional, like reading a pattern in a puzzle.
“Feels like we’re descending straight into hell, doesn’t it?” Subject 16’s voice, though soft, carried a tremor that Cadet 17 recognized as unease. He noted how Subject 16’s chuckle didn’t carry the warmth he might have expected. The tone was off, the laughter forced. But Cadet 17 didn’t know what to do with that information—what it meant about Subject 16’s state of mind. He filed it away, focusing instead on the task at hand.
Cadet 17 didn’t respond verbally, but his silence wasn’t born of cold indifference. His mind was occupied, narrowing in on the mission that awaited him below. He could feel a faint flutter of something in his chest—nervousness, perhaps? He wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, he pushed it down, compartmentalizing the sensation. His training had taught him to keep such distractions at bay, though he wasn’t always perfect at it. Occasionally, these feelings would bubble up, faint ripples beneath his otherwise calm exterior.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Cadet 17 paused in front of a set of double doors, identical in their sterile design to the rest of the Facility. The pressure that had been subtly weighing on him throughout their descent suddenly vanished, as though they had stepped into a void. The sensation was disorienting. One moment, the air had been pressing in on him, thick and oppressive, and the next, it was as though everything had stilled.
Pushing the double doors open, Cadet 17 and Subject 16 stepped into a large, empty antechamber. The space was almost unnervingly bare, the walls, floor, and ceiling all made of the same stark, unadorned concrete, as if the room had been carved from the earth itself. The only notable feature was a large, imposing door on the opposite wall, standing as the final barrier to whatever lay beyond.
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As they moved further into the antechamber, Cadet 17 couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The room was silent, almost unnaturally so, as if the very air had been drained of life. There was no ambient noise, no hum of electricity or distant echoes. Everything felt muted, as though their presence had no real impact on the space around them.
Subject 16 slowed his pace, glancing around with a furrowed brow. “Can you feel it?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might disturb the unnatural stillness.
Cadet 17 tilted his head in question, not fully understanding what Subject 16 was referring to. There was nothing to feel, nothing to sense at all, which in itself was strange.
Subject 16 stopped in the middle of the antechamber, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room again. “There’s no ambient mana in the air,” he said, his tone low and cautious. “This place… it’s sterile. In a way that’s different from the rest of the Facility. Even our presence here feels muted, like we’re not really… here.”
Cadet 17 focused on his surroundings, trying to understand what Subject 16 meant. He noticed how the echoes of their footsteps died out almost immediately, how the air felt heavy yet devoid of substance. Even the heat from their bodies seemed to leach into the walls, absorbed by the very material of the room. It was as if the chamber itself rejected their presence, refusing to acknowledge that they existed within it. The atmosphere was heavier but emptier at the same time, a paradox that made the space feel both suffocating and hollow.
“I see,” Cadet 17 murmured, more to himself than to Subject 16. The observation was unsettling, but he couldn’t quite grasp why. He felt a flicker of uncertainty, a crack in the carefully maintained facade of stoicism, but he quickly pushed it aside, forcing his focus back to the task ahead.
With each step across the empty antechamber, the sense of unease grew stronger, but Cadet 17 kept his pace steady, his outward demeanor calm. His eyes remained fixed on the large door ahead, the final barrier to whatever lay hidden beyond. Subject 16 hesitated once more as they neared the door, his hand hovering near the access panel as if unsure whether to proceed.
“I think I’ll… wait out here,” Subject 16 said, his voice betraying a faint tremor. The half-hearted smile that accompanied his words didn’t match the usual expressions Cadet 17 had cataloged for Subject 16. There was something missing, something about the way the corners of his mouth didn’t lift as they normally would. But Cadet 17 didn’t fully understand what that discrepancy signified. He only knew that it was different, and that difference was notable.
Cadet 17 nodded curtly, but it wasn’t a dismissal. There was an underlying current of understanding in the gesture. He didn’t know why Subject 16 wanted to stay behind, but he didn’t question it. Subject 16’s decision didn’t cause him concern; it simply meant that he would proceed alone. Turning his attention to the task at hand, Cadet 17 stepped forward and pressed his hand against the access panel. The door responded with a soft click, followed by a low hiss as it slid open, revealing the space beyond.
A gust of cold, sterile air met him as the door opened fully, carrying with it a faint scent of ozone, sharp and electric. Without a backward glance at Subject 16, Cadet 17 stepped into the lab, the door sliding shut behind him with a final, echoing thud that seemed to seal him off from the world above.