The hallway was narrow, metallic, and badly lit — basically the worst place in the world to run for your life unless you enjoyed tripping over pipes and dying dramatically.
Maxx stumbled after 4531, their footsteps echoing through the tight corridor. The red alarm lights flashed like the world's most hostile disco.
"LEFT!" she hissed, tugging him sharply.
"I DON'T KNOW MY LEFT RIGHT NOW!" Maxx yelled back, nearly slamming into a wall.
Behind them, something heavy landed with a metallic THOOM.
Maxx didn't look back.
He didn't need to.
The drone's mechanical growl vibrated through the floor.
4531 pulled him into a corner and shoved him against the wall.
"Stay quiet!"
Maxx tried. He really did.
But he was. breathing like an asthmatic vacuum cleaner
glowing faintly again and very unquiet at the heart , it was beating like a overused drum.
4531 placed her palm over his chest.
"Stop glowing!"
"I'm TRYING! My body thinks it's a lava lamp!"
Her eyes flickered, scanning.
She leaned closer, pressing both hands against his chest this time, trying to force his energy down.
The sparks under his skin dimmed—slowly—painfully—
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
The drone was right outside.
4531 grabbed Maxx's face with both hands and whispered:
"Breathe with me."
"Huh—? This is a weird time for bonding—"
"Breathe!"
She inhaled deeply.
Maxx followed.
Her presence steadied him again, like before—energy coiling inward instead of exploding outward.
The glow faded just as a long, spider-like scanning beam slid across the hallway wall.
Maxx held his breath so hard he nearly passed out.
The beam paused on their hiding spot.
Maxx mouthed:
"ohgodohgodohgodohgod"
4531 squeezed his wrist, grounding him.
The beam moved on.
The drone stomped away.
4531 let out a shaky breath.
"We need to reach the maintenance elevator. Come on."
They crept out of the corner and continued through the maze-like tunnels.
Maxx whispered:
"What happens if they catch us?"
She didn't look back.
"They won't."
"4531—"
Her voice broke.
"I won't let them take you."
Maxx blinked.
That hit harder than any ability surge.
The Elevator
When they finally reached the metal door, 4531 pried open the lock panel with her broom.
(At this point, Maxx was 99% sure the broom had more features than his entire apartment.)
Sparks burst.
The panel beeped.
The old elevator groaned open, dust drifting like sleepy ghosts.
Maxx stepped inside—
And immediately froze.
"…Oh hell no."
The elevator was huge — but pitch black.
A single flickering red emergency light hovered like a demon's eye.
4531 pushed him inside.
"We don't have time to be scared of darkness."
"I'm not scared of the dark," Maxx whispered.
"I'm scared of STUFF HIDING IN the dark!"
She rolled her eyes and stepped in with him.
The doors slammed shut behind them.
Maxx jumped.
"WHY IS EVERYTHING SO LOUD—"
The elevator shuddered violently.
Sank.
Sank.
Sank…
Darkness swallowed them.
Only their breathing filled the space.
And then—
"…4531?"
"Yes?"
"Back in the storage room…" Maxx rubbed the back of his neck. "You said you hear a name that isn't yours."
She stiffened.
"Yes."
"What name?"
Her pixels flickered.
"…Lyra."
Maxx blinked.
"That's… actually a really pretty name."
She gazed down at her hands.
"It scares me," she whispered.
"It feels like a memory I'm not supposed to have."
Maxx leaned against the elevator wall.
"Maybe you had a life before this. Maybe you were someone."
She hesitated.
"What if remembering makes me… break?"
Maxx shook his head.
"You're already breaking the system by feeling.
Maybe remembering is just… the next step."
"Next step to what?" she whispered.
He didn't answer cause he didn't know.
But for the first time, she didn't look afraid of the question.
Helix ' s Lobby
Director Helix stared at a massive holographic map.
The elevator icon blinked with a faint red triangle.
He tapped it.
"Transit Tier," he murmured. "Kaito is directing them there."
The cloaked figure beside him chuckled.
"You admire the doctor's intelligence… yet he betrays you."
Helix's eyes remained cold.
"He believes he's helping them escape."
A small smile ghosted across his lips.
"He doesn't realize the Transit Tier is exactly where I want them."
The cloaked figure tilted their head.
"Shall we deploy the Reaper now?"
"Not yet." Helix folded his hands behind him.
"Let the boy descend."
On the hologram, the elevator sank deeper into the arena's forbidden layers.
"Let him see," Helix whispered,
"what sleeps below."
BACK IN THE ELEVATOR
Maxx rubbed his arms.
"Why is this thing going down for so long? How deep are we—like, Arena Hell-depth?"
4531 stepped close to him as the lights flickered again.
"This part of the Arena hasn't been used for years. Kaito probably chose it because it's off-grid."
"Oh great," Maxx muttered. "We're heading to the basement of a murder simulation."
"Maxx?"
"Yeah?"
She touched his hand.
Her voice was quiet, almost trembling.
"If something happens down there… and if I glitch… or get deleted… or reset—"
"Hey." Maxx squeezed her hand firmly.
"You're not getting deleted. You're not resetting. You're not going anywhere."
Her breath hitched.
Pixels softened on her face.
"…Why do you care so much?" she asked.
Maxx swallowed.
Because she was the first one in this world who looked at him like he mattered.
Because she was the only person who didn't treat him like a mistake or a monster.
Because he couldn't lose someone again.
But all he said was:
"Because you're real to me."
Her eyes widened.
Before she could respond…
SCREEEEEECH
The elevator jerked violently.
Lights died completely.
Maxx grabbed her arm in panic.
Then—
A slow, metallic scratching crawled across the roof.
Maxx's blood turned to ice.
"Uh… 4531?" he whispered.
"Yes?"
"Please tell me the Arena doesn't have… creatures."
She looked up.
Expression pale.
"…That's not a creature."
"Okay," Maxx whispered, "then what is—"
A hooked blade pierced through the elevator ceiling.
Maxx screamed.
4531 screamed.
They both screamed.
The metal shrieked as something tore its way inside.
The lights flashed back on for a split second—
Long enough to reveal a humanoid silhouette crawling through the torn ceiling.
With eyes burning blue and limbs too long.
Mask emotionless.
A Reaper Unit.
It turned its head toward them with a slow, robotic crack.
Maxx whispered:
"Oh come on—
THIS ISN'T EVEN THE BOSS LEVEL YET!"