No one spoke.
Not after that message.
"Trust no one."
The words didn't just sit on the screen—
they settled into the room.
Into us.
I glanced at Adrien again.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
"Relax," he said quietly, noticing my stare. "It's probably just to scare us."
"Or warn us," I replied.
Before he could answer—
the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
darkness.
A sharp mechanical sound echoed through the hall.
And suddenly—
a voice.
Not Strike.
Different.
Deeper.
Colder.
"Phase One will begin now."
A low hum vibrated beneath our feet.
"Your objective is simple."
Simple?
Nothing about this felt simple.
"Survive."
A loud metallic clang echoed.
The doors slammed shut.
Locked.
Someone gasped.
Another person cursed under their breath.
My heartbeat sped up.
"What is this?" Claire whispered beside me.
"I don't know…" I said.
But I did know one thing—
this wasn't training anymore.
This was a test.
The floor beneath us shifted slightly.
Panels sliding.
Sections separating.
Suddenly—
walls began rising from the ground.
Dividing the hall.
Separating us.
"Stay together!" Xiami shouted.
But it was too late.
A wall slid up between us—
cutting me off from her.
"Rose!" she called from the other side.
"I'm here!" I shouted back, my hand pressing against the cold surface.
No response.
Silence.
I turned.
Now—
it was just me.
And—
Adrien.
He stood a few steps away.
Watching.
"Well," he said softly, "looks like we're teammates now."
Something about that sentence felt wrong.
Before I could reply—
our tablets lit up again.
"Group C — Final Count: 2."
Final count?
My stomach dropped.
There were supposed to be more of us.
Weren't there?
Another message appeared.
"Rule 1: Only one may proceed."
My breath stopped.
I slowly looked up.
At Adrien.
He didn't look surprised.
Not even a little.
"You knew…" I whispered.
He exhaled.
"I suspected," he corrected.
Anger flared inside me.
"You didn't think to tell me?"
"And what?" he replied calmly. "Make you panic earlier?"
"This isn't a game!" I snapped.
"No," he said quietly.
"It's worse."
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
The walls around us shifted once more—
revealing something in the center.
A table.
On it—
two objects.
A key.
And—
a knife.
My chest tightened.
The voice returned.
"Only one of you will advance."
A pause.
"Choose."
My mind went blank.
"This is insane," I whispered.
Adrien didn't move.
Didn't react.
He just… looked at the table.
Then at me.
"You take the key," he said suddenly.
I frowned. "What?"
"I'll take the knife."
"That makes no sense."
"Exactly," he replied.
Something about his tone—
felt calculated.
"Why are you helping me?" I asked slowly.
A small smile touched his lips.
"Who said I am?"
My heart skipped.
Before I could react—
he moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
His hand grabbed the knife.
I lunged forward—
reaching for the key—
Our hands collided mid-air.
For a split second—
everything froze.
Then—
the floor beneath us shifted again.
A loud click echoed.
And the voice spoke—
"Time's up."
The lights flickered violently—
and the ground beneath Adrien's feet—
disappeared.
He fell.
Just—
gone.
"ADRIEN!" I screamed, rushing forward.
I dropped to my knees—
looking down into darkness.
Nothing.
No sound.
No movement.
Just emptiness.
My hands trembled.
My breath uneven.
Did I just—
watch him die?
Or—
was this part of the test?
My tablet buzzed again.
Slowly—
I looked at it.
"Candidate 17: Eliminated."
My chest tightened.
Eliminated.
Not failed.
Eliminated.
Another line appeared.
"Candidate 23: Qualified."
I froze.
That was—
me.
My fingers curled around the tablet.
And then—
the final message appeared.
"Welcome to Phase Two."
The walls around me began to open again.
But I didn't move.
Because one thought kept repeating in my mind—
over and over—
Did he really just die…
or did he let me live?