He walked down a narrow stone corridor.
The ceiling was low; the walls showed signs of many rough repairs, like they had been rebuilt again and again. Faint yellow lights hung from the ceiling, leaving parts of the corridor shrouded in dim shadows.
At the end of the hall, a figure awaited him
Dr. Elvan, a man from another era.
He was tall and gaunt, his hair completely white, dark rings under his hollow eyes.
He wore a long gray robe with the Sixth Order's insignia stitched to it, though it was old and frayed at the edges.
Dr. Elvan looked at Levan without smiling and spoke: "You're the one from Clock Plaza?" "My name is Elvan. I'm a primary evaluation scientist for the Sixth Order." He lifted a file in his hand. "My duty is simple but vital: To study anomalies. Cases that do not fit our known patterns." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and said: "Come. The Deputy Commander wants to see you. We don't register unknown cases without his direct approval."
Levan followed him.
They climbed three flights of narrow iron-edged stairs, leading to a secluded floor.
At the top, a young woman awaited them her forehead marked with the insignia of the Order.
She wore a dark gray uniform with a single white stripe on her shoulder.
She didn't speak to Levan, only nodded toward Dr. Elvan. Then, she turned to Levan and said quietly: "Follow me." She led him down a short corridor to a smooth stone door. Without knocking, she pushed it open. "The Commander is waiting. Speak only when he spoken to."
Levan entered.
The room was dim and unnaturally cold. At the far end, a man sat on a simple chair no crown, no decorative badges yet his presence was overwhelming. It was the Deputy Commander of the Sixth Order. His skin was ashen-brown, his eyes narrowed and sharp.
He wore a heavy robe with dark stripes across the shoulders, and his chest was partially exposed, revealing a scar that ran from his collarbone to his shoulder.
He didn't speak at first.
Levan felt it the subtle pull, the invisible pressure in the room.
It wasn't fear... it was gravity itself bending around the man's existence.
Still, Levan stood firm, though his heart slowed with each passing second not out of terror, but as if his body was instinctively recognizing the force before him.
Finally, the Deputy Commander spoke in a low voice:
"Sit. We don't appreciate delays."
Levan obeyed, taking the metal chair in front of the desk.
His posture was steady, though his breath felt heavier.
The Commander didn't reach for any files.
He didn't review any reports.
He didn't even introduce himself.
But on his right sleeve, stitched with deliberate precision, was the insignia of the Sixth Order.
And on his left shoulder, a dark metal emblem:
The rank of an Advanced Knight.
He spoke calmly:
"Forget what's been written about you.
I don't read words. I read people."
He drew a blank piece of paper from a side drawer and placed it gently on the desk.
"Tell me... what do you feel... since you stepped into this place?"
Levan hesitated for a moment, then said quietly:
"Nothing clear."
The Commander didn't react.
Instead, he leaned back slightly and said:
"Those without an Inclination... do not survive."
"And you... you are not 'empty'. You're simply beyond our current measures."
He stood up, pacing slowly behind Levan, his voice steady:
"Do you know why the Sixth Order is different?"
"Because we don't accept easy answers."
"The crystal didn't glow. Your body didn't collapse. Your vital signs are normal."
"This is no coincidence."
He paused briefly, then added:
"Some theories say that Inclination is not something you are born with
but something that awakens you."
"And maybe... what you carry inside is not an Inclination at all.
But something far older."
He returned to his seat, his gaze cold but not hostile.
"I don't need your answer now."
"Tomorrow, you'll descend to the Second Analysis Sector. There… we'll see if you can survive the truth."
"And remember… truth isn't always what you want it to be."
He gestured silently toward the door.
"The girl will take you.
Speak to no one inside this Order."
When Levan stepped out of the room and the door shut behind him, he had no idea that behind those walls, something had already begun to stir.
Back inside, the Deputy Commander remained standing, unmoving for a few long seconds.
Then, slowly, he raised a hand to his forehead and wiped away the sweat that had gathered — despite the cold air.
He stared at the ground, as if thoughts were colliding in his mind faster than he could contain them.
He whispered, almost inaudibly:
"Born without an Inclination…?"
"Still alive…?"
"Breathing normally…?"
His hand clenched the edge of the desk tightly.
"What the hell is going on…?"
He slowly sat back down, unknowingly, his eyes still lost in the empty space before him.
"Should I inform the High Commander now…?"
"Or wait for the final test results…?"
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to a truth he knew all too well:
"There will be chaos…
the moment this information gets out."
Meanwhile, Levan was walking through the quiet corridors, accompanied by the same young woman.
She didn't speak at first.
But after several minutes of walking through stone-paved hallways, softly lit by embedded crystal lamps, she finally glanced at him and said:
"My name is Arya."
"I was instructed to show you a few key areas before the official tests begin."
Levan nodded slightly.
Their footsteps echoed in silence as they passed through a maze of winding halls.
After about ten minutes, Arya stopped before a wide metal door.
A sign beside it read:
"Biological Research & Experimentation Division."
She opened the door and motioned for him to enter.
Levan stepped through and froze.
What lay inside didn't resemble anything he had ever seen.
A massive glass chamber stretched out before him, its walls thick and transparent.
Inside, metal enclosures and sealed rooms held strange, unrecognizable creatures.
He stepped closer to the glass.
His eyes widened with every second.
He saw:
A creature that looked like a cow, but its head was twisted, and its mouth stretched unnaturally down its chest.Another with four extra limbs, its skin covered in black, glistening bumps.A semi-dissected body laid on a steel slab, its bones layered with scale-like armor.
Some cages were empty.
Others housed floating specimens preserved in large vats of transparent fluid.
The lighting was dim, tinged with green, casting eerie shadows across the chamber.
Levan stood frozen.
A cold sweat gathered at his brow.
A chill ran down his spine.
This wasn't just observation.
This was exposure to something utterly unknown.
He whispered without meaning to:
"These... are the creatures…?"
Arya, watching him quietly, replied in a calm voice:
"Yes."
"These are real monsters some from the Abyss, some from beyond the Walls."
She offered a faint, almost reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. The ones here are very weak compared to what lives in the deeper levels."
"Our goal isn't to fight them… it's to understand."
"To study how they live, and why they attack us."
She looked him in the eye.
"What you see here… is only the beginning."
Levan didn't speak.
But he understood now
The world he knew was only a fraction of something far more immense.
And he… had only just taken the first step.