Dust exploded into the room as concrete slabs crashed to the floor. The Warden forced its massive frame through the opening, its elongated limbs bruised and bleeding from tearing through steel and stone.
Its breaths echoed like a broken engine:
Hhhhh… krrrr… hhhhh…
Noah didn't think; he sprinted.
The chamber had multiple corridors branching off like veins, but the system quickly highlighted one:
[Recommended Path: Right Corridor — 200 meters to possible exit]
He didn't hesitate.
The Warden roared and gave chase, its footsteps slamming into the floor with monstrous force. The entire hallway vibrated with each stride.
Noah's lungs burned as he ran.
His Vital Points continued ticking downward:
358 → 350 → 342
If he didn't finish the mission soon, he'd die long before the creature reached him.
The corridor twisted sharply. Rusty pipes burst as he passed, spraying sparks and steam. Noah shielded his face and kept running.
Then—
THUMP.
He hit a dead end.
"What—?! Are you kidding me!?"
The wall was solid, the door sealed shut with heavy locks.
The system pinged calmly:
[Access Requires: Override Key]
Noah's voice cracked with frustration.
"Override key?! Where the hell am I supposed to—"
A shadow stretched across the floor behind him.
He turned slowly.
The Warden stood at the opposite end of the corridor, blocking the only exit. Low, guttural rumbling vibrated from its throat.
Its head jerked unnaturally, like its neck was full of loose wires.
Then it charged.
Noah had seconds.
He slammed his fist against the sealed door. Nothing. He kicked it. Nothing.
His Vital Points dropped:
312 → 292 → 272
Noah wasn't going to die trapped like an animal.
His flashlight beam swept over the wall—
—and landed on something.
A small emergency box.
Inside it: a metal card labelled OVERRIDE: LEVEL 1.
"YES!"
He smashed the glass, grabbed the card, slammed it against the scanner.
The lock beeped.
The door hissed open—
Just as the Warden lunged.
Noah dove through the opening.
The creature's massive hand scraped the floor where he had stood seconds earlier.
He slammed the door shut.
The Warden smashed into it immediately.
The metal bowed inward, groaning.
Noah ran deeper into the new corridor.
This one was different—cleaner, straighter, with reinforced walls.
As if built separately from the rest of the decayed underground.
Lights flickered on one by one as he passed.
Then he reached another chamber—circular, dome-shaped, and eerily quiet.
In the center was a giant machine, half buried in cables and pipes. Screens showing unreadable data blinked weakly. A large cylindrical core hummed faintly with blue energy.
The system immediately reacted:
[Unknown System Infrastructure Detected]
[Compatibility: 72%]
[Warning: Interference may disrupt host's countdown]
Noah approached cautiously.
"What is this place…?"
On the side of the machine was a dark screen covered in dust. He wiped it with his sleeve.
A video log began playing automatically.
Static.
Then a voice—calm, clinical.
"Experiment Log 341.
Time-loop stabilization remains unstable.
Subjects show acute psychological degradation after repeated resets.
Vital Point drain prevents temporal collapse but…"
The audio glitched.
"…only one subject shows long-term compatibility."
A human silhouette appeared on screen.
The shape was familiar.
Too familiar.
Noah's breath caught.
"…That's me."
The video flickered—
"Subject 0-1 demonstrates a unique anomaly:
When placed under lethal pressure, system growth increases.
More testing required."
Noah staggered backward.
"What do you mean 'testing'? What did you—"
The system overrode the video itself.
[Message Corrupted]
[Access Restricted]
Noah slammed his fist against the screen.
"Tell me! What did they do to me?!"
The chamber lights blinked rapidly.
Then the system delivered a new notification:
[MISSION UPDATE COMPLETE]
Objective: Escape the Facility]
Vital Points Restored: +50]
Vital Points:
322 → 372
Noah exhaled shakily.
But then another alert flashed.
[Hostile: Warden]
**Status: Attempting forced entry.]
A loud metal crash erupted behind him. The corridor wall dented inward. Dust and fragments rained down.
Noah looked toward a ladder going up the side of the chamber.
An exit hatch.
He sprinted for it.
Another crash.
The wall bulged inward even more. The Warden was almost through.
Noah climbed the ladder, hands slipping from sweat and cold. His heart hammered in his chest.
His Vital Points:
360 → 356 → 352
The hatch above him refused to budge at first, then suddenly popped open, flooding him with faint daylight—the first natural light he had seen in hours.
He hauled himself up—
—and the Warden's arm burst through the wall below, tearing cables apart like paper. Its fingers clawed the air just inches from Noah's foot.
He pulled himself out of the hatch and rolled onto the frost-covered grass outside.
He was behind the hospital.
Its remains towered above him—broken, blackened, silent.
The underground entrance collapsed behind him with a violent crash, burying the Warden beneath tons of rubble.
The system delivered the final mission alert:
[FORCED MISSION COMPLETE]
Reward: +600 Vital Points]
Total VP: 952]
Noah lay on the cold ground, chest heaving, staring at the grey sky.
But the system wasn't done.
A new prompt appeared—larger than any he had seen before.
[NEW MAIN QUEST UNLOCKED]
"Find the other Subjects."
Noah's blood ran cold.
"Other… subjects?"
The system pulsed once more.
[Day Reset in: 23:57:19]
The countdown continued.
And Noah realized:
The real nightmare was just beginning.