That’s all it takes.
Restraint? Gone.
I slam my fist into the doorframe beside me. Metal crumples like foil. My claws slice through reinforced bulkhead as easily as flesh. I roar until my throat burns and the sound echoes back through a dozen tunnels.
My vision blurs red. My muscles feel like they’re on fire.
The Maze tries to adjust—vents sealing, panels shifting—but it’s too slow.
I tear a control panel off the wall, jam my claws into the circuitry, and let the current surge through me. The smell of burning insulation floods the air. The shock tries to drop me—I don’t let it. Ichannelit. I rip the power line straight out of the wall and swing it like a whip, blasting open the next door.
My boots melt. My knuckles split. I don’t care.
Because he made her watch that.
He made her watchhimdie.
And I know what she’s thinking right now. She’s blaming herself. She’s adding this to the weight already dragging her under.
I can feel it, because it’s the same poison crawling through me.
I force my way through three corridors before the Maze reconfigures ahead, dropping a blast door down with a heavy clang. The locks engage—thick, multi-sealed, electromagnetic.
I slam my hands against it, sparks raining.
The Maze flickers to life again—Husker’s voice slithers through the intercom, smooth and delighted.
“Temper, temper, big guy. You’re supposed to play the game, not break it.”
“Open the door,” I snarl.
He laughs. “Oh, Ilovethis part. The angry monster, the crying girl, the body count rising… you two reallysellthe ratings.”
“You’re dead.”
“Oh, probably. But hey—what’s one more corpse in this story, right?”
I dig my claws into the door, gouging metal.
He keeps talking. “You know, I wasn’t sure about adding you. The Reaper wildcard? Too cliché. But look at you now! Emotion. Obsession. Perfect counterpoint to our sweet little developer’s spiral into guilt.”
My muscles go taut. “You don’t get to say her name.”
He grins—though I can’t see it, Ifeelit through the Maze’s pulse. “I don’t need to. You already branded it on your tongue, didn’t you? Jalshagar.”
The word hits me like a slap. He shouldn’t know that. Hecan’tknow that.
I snarl, slam my forehead against the steel until the welds scream. The pain keeps me conscious. Keeps me from losing myself completely.
Then I whisper, low and venomous: “You built this Maze to keep us apart.”
“Oh no,” Husker purrs. “I built it so you’d find her. And then lose her. Again. And again. And again. It’s not a Maze, my friend. It’s a loop.”
Static crackles. The lights flicker. He’s gone.
I stand there in the dark, chest heaving. The heat from the Reactor Core seeps through the floor. Sweat drips from my brow, mixing with blood. My knuckles are raw meat.
Somewhere on the other side of the door, I can hear her voice—muffled, faint, calling out orders to Dravven, her words shaking but firm. She’s moving again. Fighting again.
