I walked out of my room and into the hallway. No one else was out here yet. It seemed like everyone was still inside their dormitories, trying to come to terms with what we had just learned about this place and what we might eventually be forced to do here.
The common area sat just outside the dormitory hallway, an open white chamber lit by the same sterile lighting that seemed to exist everywhere in this facility. As I stepped inside, I noticed someone crouched on the floor.
At first I thought he was scribbling nonsense—what could only be described as angry, frantic writing across a massive sheet of parchment spread across the ground. When I walked closer, I realized it wasn't nonsense at all.
It was a map.
The man crouched over it looked older than most of the others here. He wore large, brick-framed glasses whose thick lenses reflected the blinding white light above us, making it nearly impossible to see his eyes. His pen moved constantly across the parchment, scratching out lines, corners, hallways—everything we had seen so far in this facility.
He was drawing nonstop.
The map looked almost perfectly accurate. I leaned in a little closer to get a better look. Before I could take another step, he shoved me backward.
"Back off!" he snapped. "You were going to step on the canvas."
I looked down at my feet.
Sure enough, I had been one step away from ruining the corner of his work. Only now did I realize how enormous the parchment actually was. It stretched across the floor like a rug, easily as large as a living room couch.
I glanced back at him, then down at the map again.
"How big do you think this place is going to be if you need something that large?" I asked.
He looked at me like I had just asked what two plus two was. Without answering immediately, he stood up and stepped directly into my personal space until we were face to face.
"Look at this place," he said sharply. "You saw it with your own eyes. You saw how the walls were moving. You saw how many sections are locked off even in this central area."
He pointed across the room as he spoke.
"One. Two. Three. Four."
Four sealed hallways sat around the perimeter of the chamber, each blocked by heavy panels that hadn't opened yet.
I opened my mouth to respond. Before I could say a word, his hand clamped over it. His other hand grabbed my shoulder, pulling me slightly closer.
"Shh," he whispered.
"Listen."
"You can hear it, can't you?"
His voice dropped even lower.
"The walls shifting. The scientists walking above us. The cameras buzzing."
He let go of me. I stood there for a moment, trying to hear what he meant. I listened carefully. The only thing I could detect was the subtle mechanical shifting of the walls somewhere deep inside the structure.
Nothing else.
No footsteps.
No buzzing.
Just the quiet movement of the building itself. I glanced upward. A projection hovered above his head, flickering slightly with a neon-blue glow.
Ultimate Cartographer
Stability — 74%
He followed my gaze briefly before looking back down at his parchment.
"Now get out of here," he muttered. "Or at least move somewhere far away from me. I don't want you dying on my canvas."
I looked up at my own projection.
Ultimate Nobody
Stability — 19%
Still dangerously low.
I walked toward one of the far corners of the room and leaned against the wall. From there I tried listening again, hoping I might notice something the Cartographer had heard.
But no matter how long I stood there, all I could detect was the quiet shifting of the facility around us. Eventually, the dormitory doors began opening one by one. People stepped out slowly, some alone, others in small groups. A few avoided eye contact with everyone else.
Sora was among them.
She noticed me standing in the corner and walked over without hesitation, stopping beside me. Before either of us could speak, the rest of the subjects began filing out of the hallway in a larger group.
And at the front of that group—
Him.
The Ultimate Negotiator.
He walked with the same calm confidence he had shown earlier, as if this entire situation were simply another problem waiting to be solved. He approached the Cartographer, who was still crouched over his massive parchment. Their conversation carried easily across the empty white room.
"Have you done what I asked, Subject 12?"
The Cartographer didn't look up at first.
"Yes, Subject 01," he replied after a moment. "It's almost finished."
He gestured toward the map.
"A layout of our current area is done. Once the other sections open up, I'll walk through them and add the new areas. When it's complete, I'll mount it on the wall so everyone can see it."
He spoke politely.
Too politely.
His voice sounded forced, like someone trying very hard not to say the wrong thing. I noticed something else. His hands were shaking. Why was Subject 12 afraid of him?
"Good," the Negotiator replied. "Once that's finished, let me know. We'll do some exploring ourselves and see exactly what we're dealing with here."
He turned and walked back toward the group that had followed him. During that short conversation, several soft chimes echoed through the room.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
I looked back toward the Cartographer's projection.
Stability — 70%
It had dropped.
Four percent.
I tried to piece together what was happening. Why everyone seemed so eager to follow the Negotiator. Why others seemed so afraid of him. But when I tried to think about it… My mind produced nothing. Just blank space. Until Sora spoke.
"I can't believe that guy," she muttered.
"After everything he had done, he still thinks he's some kind of leader."
I looked at her, confused. She noticed immediately. Her expression softened into something almost sympathetic. Like she expected me to already understand what she meant. Like this was something everyone else already knew. She opened her mouth to explain. Before she could say anything— The walls around us began shifting again.
This time the sound was loud enough to make everyone stop talking. Heavy mechanical panels slid aside as one of the previously sealed corridors slowly opened. Every subject in the room turned toward it. Then the speakers activated again. Dr. Leo's voice echoed across the facility.
"Attention, Subjects."
"We are now ready for you to begin the experiment."
The newly opened hallway brightened as lights activated inside.
"Ahead of you lies the dining area, a bathhouse, several work spaces designed for quiet productivity, and a gymnasium that hosts supervised training sessions with one of our employees."
A pause followed.
"Enjoy your new lives here in Project Ascension."
A burst of static rang out across the room, and we all stood there, too scared to move forward into the pathway ahead. Eventually someone did step forward—and it wasn't the Ultimate Negotiator.
A guy who looked quick and nimble walked past everyone and glanced at the smaller groups who didn't seem interested in following the Negotiator.
The small text above his head read:
"The Ultimate Card Master."
He stepped ahead of everyone and spoke up over the muttering that had filled the room.
"Well… if I'm going to die, then I at least want to know what kind of food I'm dying with as my last meal."
Everyone fell silent at those words. He chuckled to himself and continued walking forward. Soon, everyone started exploring one by one. Even the larger group that had been following the Negotiator began to split apart and head in different directions to explore this new place.
Until it was only myself and Sora left standing there. She gave me a look that clearly asked, Do we follow? I shrugged.
As if it were my place to decide that. If anything, Sora should have been the one making that decision. She saw my Ultimate, right? I was just a nobody.
Whatever they did up there to all of us to give us our Ultimate's—the ones we supposedly volunteered for—was never given to me. However… something clicked as I thought about that. They said something had failed.
Was it my injection?
I looked down at my arm, trying not to move it too much since it was still wrapped tightly in the soft cloth. The injection site still hurt like crazy. The cloth had gone from silky white to a deep matte red, but it was still doing its job.
Why can't I remember anything? My name. My reason for wanting to be here. Was that the reason my injection failed? Before I could think about it for too long, Sora had already started walking ahead and called back to me.
"Hey, Subject 16! We should at least go around and meet everyone. That way we know who we're going to be stuck in here with."
She smiled as she spun around in a playful, girlish fashion to face me, her hands behind her back.
"Come on. I won't go anywhere without you. You seem to be the only sane person here who isn't following someone or trying to be a loner."
I chuckled.
It was noticeable that most people here either had someone they were listening to at all times or they were isolating themselves completely. So we decided to go around and try meeting everyone one by one.
We met a few people—some of whom I had already seen or knew.
The Ultimate Cartographer.
The Ultimate Card Master.
And of course, The Ultimate Dojo Fighter, which was Sora herself, walking beside me as we familiarized ourselves with our surroundings.
We purposely avoided the Negotiator.
Instead, we found three others inside one of the study rooms.
The Ultimate Strategist.
The Ultimate Biochemist.
The Ultimate Pyrokinetic.
However, the moment we stepped inside, we were greeted by flames flying toward us.
Both of us ducked out of the way as the fire sputtered out on impact.
The Pyrokinetic stood there, practically steaming with anger.
"TOUCH ME AND I'LL SMEAR THE WALLS WITH YOU, BITCH!"
The Biochemist, who had barely moved out of the way of the flame aimed at her, turned back toward him and tried to calm him down. Meanwhile, the Strategist remained seated nearby, observing the entire scene as if waiting to see who would land a strike first.
"Listen," the Biochemist said calmly, "all I was saying is that it's interesting how you're able to control fire, and I'd like to study it a little more. All it would require is a small skin sample. I wouldn't harm you in any way."
The Pyrokinetic looked even more offended.
He raised his hand again.
As the Biochemist prepared to dodge another blast, she suddenly slammed her head into one of the desks beside her, unable to move in time.
Before the Pyrokinetic could release the fire, I ran forward and placed myself between them.
With my arms spread out, I looked away from the Pyrokinetic and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Listen… we're supposed to work together here. If there's something you don't want to agree to, please… just say that instead of setting this place on fire."
For what felt like an eternity, I could feel the heat from his hands surrounding my entire body, as if he was seconds away from incinerating me.
Then the flames slowly died down.
His red hair, which had been standing up from the heat, fell back into a messy mop across his head.
Without another word, he stormed out of the room.
The Strategist stood up shortly after and began walking out as well.
He bumped into my shoulder as he passed, as if I had ruined some sort of show he had been enjoying.
"You should have let them fight," he said coldly. "We need to know what we're up against in this place. How can we if you're trying to please everyone?"
He paused, glancing up at the projection above my head.
"At least we know one of us is both useless… and won't be here for long."
He smirked slightly.
"Guess I don't have to worry about you killing anyone."
Then he left.
Behind me, Sora helped the Biochemist up from where she had hit the desk.
The Biochemist retrieved her glasses and placed them on top of her head instead of over her eyes. The frames seemed to settle perfectly into her dark blue hair as if her hair itself were holding them in place.
She rubbed her head gently before looking up at me.
"Thank you… You really didn't need to do that. I would've been fine. He wasn't going to kill me."
"But he was going to set you on fire, right?" Sora replied.
The Biochemist straightened herself confidently.
"Well… thank you. I appreciate the help."
She bowed politely before beginning to walk away.
I stopped her.
"Hey, wait… what's your name?"
She hesitated.
"Umm… I guess you can call me… Coco, if you really want to."
She seemed shy, but trustworthy. I kept that in mind. Sora suddenly looked up at the projection above my head, and her face went pale.
I looked up as well.
The Ultimate Nobody
Stability — 9%
"Oh wow… that went down a lot," I said, my voice trembling slightly.
Sora lightly punched my shoulder.
"You need to calm down. You can't keep trying to save everyone if you're going to die doing it."
I looked down at the ground.
Then back at her.
"I know that already… but is it really better to just stand there and do nothing while everyone's getting angry? Or even trying to kill each other?"
A ping echoed through the room.
My Stability dropped again.
8%.
"I don't want to stand by while everyone tries to kill each other," I continued. "I want to get through this with everyone. Or at least try to help people get along."
Sora hugged me tightly.
"Look… I know you want to help," she said softly. "But I don't want to lose anyone to their Stability dropping to zero. I'd rather people hurt each other than watch them die because of that stupid injection we all agreed to."
She released me and gently bonked my head.
"Now come on. Let's go meet everyone else. Hopefully they're not as hostile as those three."
As we walked away, another ping echoed.
Both of our Stability levels rose.
Mine climbed back to 10%.
We continued meeting the others.
Luckily, they weren't as hostile. Some were calm. Others simply preferred to be alone. We found The Ultimate Data Savant inside another study room. There were two of these rooms, both containing identical equipment. When we asked if he had heard the commotion in the room next door, he shook his head.
"I didn't hear anything."
"So the rooms are soundproof?" He muttered. "Interesting. With how loud the Pyrokinetic was screaming, I'm surprised I couldn't hear it myself."
He simply returned to studying the screen in front of him, which displayed endless rows of numbers and data. Sora and I quietly left. Eventually, we reached the Dining Hall, where seven of the other subjects had gathered.
The Ultimate Card Master was performing card tricks for everyone. He flicked cards between his fingers and tossed them across the table.
"Is this your card?"
The Ultimate Vocalist gasped softly.
"Oh wow… that is my card."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The Ultimate Psychologist tilted her head.
"Hey… why do you keep your voice so quiet? I know you're the Ultimate Vocalist, but that doesn't mean you have to whisper."
The room went silent.
"Well…" the Vocalist said nervously, "if I talk in a normal voice like everyone else… I might accidentally deafen you."
Another ping sounded.
Her Stability dropped slightly.
The Ultimate Vocalist
Stability — 69%
The Ultimate Poet quickly spoke up, using the same soft tone she had used.
"It's no trouble," he said. "At least we know someone with a voice like yours won't attack anyone out of jealousy."
Everyone laughed slightly. Even the Vocalist smiled. Across the room, three others sat at a separate table.
The Ultimate Trauma Surgeon.
The Ultimate Engineer.
The Ultimate Survivalist.
They appeared comfortable with each other already, chatting casually.
Even the Trauma Surgeon—who had seemed cold earlier—was smiling calmly now. After exploring the dining hall, Sora and I moved on. We passed a bathhouse, complete with showers and locker rooms for both genders.
Then we reached the gym.
Inside we saw the Negotiator again. He wasn't doing any damage to the facility, but he was clearly directing people where to search. He was guiding the Ultimate Artist, telling them what to look for and what to report.
Meanwhile, the Ultimate Cartographer had spread his massive parchment across the center of the gym floor, carefully sketching the entire room.
Up until now everything had been sterile—white walls, white floors, white ceilings that erased any sense of warmth.
But the gym felt different.
The ceiling rose nearly two stories high. Black training mats covered the floor. Weight machines gleamed beneath rows of industrial lights. Barbells rested neatly on racks, their steel plates stamped with numbers. Treadmills and stationary bikes flickered softly with blue screens. The far side of the room held a sparring area marked with red tape. Punching bags hung from reinforced beams. A rack of wooden training weapons lined the wall.
And above everything… A glass observation room. Empty chairs sat behind dark monitors.
Watching.
Cameras were mounted in every corner. Even here, the feeling of being observed never disappeared. Near the entrance, a digital display flickered to life.
TRAINING SESSIONS AVAILABLE
SUPERVISED COMBAT TRAINING — DAILY
Sora's eyes lit up.
"Oh, Subject 16! We have to spar sometime. I'd love to test my new abilities."
She looked at me with a sparkle in her eyes.
"We can keep it in mind," I said. "But maybe another time—when we aren't exploring."
As we were preparing to leave the gym, we noticed the Negotiator approaching us quickly. Neither of us wanted to deal with him. So we quietly slipped away and returned to the dining hall.
Eventually, everyone gathered there again as nighttime began to settle in. We all gathered for dinner, and just like Dr. Leo said, food was ready and began to appear along a platform built against the wall. A slot opened along the length of the platform, and dishes slid out one by one, offering a wide range of dinner options.
There wasn't a single option that anyone seemed to dislike.
As a matter of fact…
Every meal that appeared seemed to be someone's favorite.
All that was left for me to take was a simple bowl of chicken ramen with egg and sliced chicken. A very simple meal. But when I took the first bite, it felt… calming somehow.
Everyone in the room was discussing one thing or another that had nothing to do with the place we were trapped in. It almost felt like coworkers eating together before they all had to return to work.
For a brief moment, everything felt normal.
Eventually, the doors burst open as the Cartographer walked in, carrying his giant poster of the facility rolled up beneath his arm. He looked around the room until his eyes landed on the Ultimate Negotiator.
"Subject 01. I finished the map you requested."
He then glanced toward everyone else sitting throughout the room.
"If I could please have all of you follow me, I would like to show you what we have found. We can proceed from there."
Without much discussion, the Negotiator took one more bite from his meal and stood up. Like clockwork, everyone else slowly followed after him.
Until only Sora, myself, Coco, and the Ultimate Card Master remained.
We all looked at each other.
After a moment, the Card Master spoke.
"Well… I guess it would help to have a map of our surroundings. We'd probably end up referring to it quite a bit. In case, you know… someone got lost."
How would anyone get lost here? It wasn't like this place was a labyrinth. It was only a few rooms that could easily be found.
But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see what they were talking about.
We finished our meals and followed after the others.
"Right then," the Negotiator began. "Thanks to our friend here, Subject 12 has finished the map I asked him to create. I figured it would be the best use of his skills."
Right on cue, the Ultimate Cartographer walked forward and plastered the map against one of the walls in the central area so everyone could see it.
Just as expected, the map showed every room we had explored so far.
"Now that we have this," the Negotiator continued, "we can refer to it whenever we need. Is there anything anyone discovered in any of the rooms? Any possible escape routes?"
He looked toward the group that had been following him.
No one spoke.
Until I did.
"I don't know about all the rooms," I said slowly, "but the study rooms are soundproof."
The Ultimate Negotiator looked at me and smiled.
"Well… that's good to know. We should check whether any of the other rooms are soundproof as well. Could you do me a favor and check the dormitories while we discuss our next steps? Don't worry—I'll fill you in when you return."
Something about that didn't feel right.
But I still began walking toward the dormitories with Sora.
We eventually confirmed that the dorm rooms were indeed soundproof. It wasn't exactly surprising given the circumstances we were in, but it was still useful to know.
Before we could head back, however, we ran into the Ultimate Card Master.
Sora stepped slightly in front of me, making sure I wouldn't do anything reckless. Or at least… that's how she put it.
The Card Master just smiled, casually shuffling his cards while leaning against the wall.
"Everyone already left," he said. "Figured I'd give you the spark notes of what they discussed… if you're interested."
Sora looked at me, as if I was supposed to decide.
I gave her the same look.
Then nodded.
"Sure. What do they want us to do?"
He pushed himself off the wall and tucked the cards into his shirt pocket.
"Let's talk in your dorm. There's something else I want to discuss, and… let's just say there are too many ears out here."
He pointed behind him.
When I glanced back, I noticed someone peeking around the corner of the wall. The moment they realized I had seen them, they quickly disappeared.
I nodded.
The three of us returned to my room.
The Card Master sat down in the single chair inside the room, while Sora and I sat on the bed across from him.
"I suppose the first thing I should say is hi," he said casually. "You can call me Eli. Let's assume we'll be talking outside of this room quite a bit."
"That's fine, Eli," Sora replied. "You can call me Sora. And this one…"
She gestured toward me, clearly struggling to find something to call me.
"Well… he's still Subject 16. He doesn't know his name yet, and we haven't found anything to call him."
Eli looked at me for a moment, thinking.
Then he spoke.
"You know… you look like a Ren."
I blinked.
"Ren?"
He shrugged.
"Yeah. Simple name. Easy to remember. Feels right."
Sora tilted her head slightly.
"…Ren."
She smiled.
"Yeah. I like that."
"Does that name even mean anything?" I asked.
Eli shrugged again.
"No clue. Something about lotus flowers or rebirth, I think. Seems fitting in a place like this."
He pulled the deck of cards from his pocket and began playing with them again.
"But now for the real reason I came here. Subject 01—the Ultimate Negotiator—said he wants everyone to meet daily in the dining hall for a headcount. Just to make sure everyone's still alive."
He casually spread the cards in front of Sora, silently inviting her to pick one.
She did.
She showed me the card.
The Five of Spades.
"He also said everyone should have at least one person by their side at all times," Eli continued. "Something about it being harder to accuse someone if they always have a witness."
He took the card back and shuffled it into the deck, performing a quick flourish as the cards flicked through the air and back into his hand.
"But honestly," he continued, "I think that's a terrible idea. It could just as easily frame someone."
He finished shuffling and looked up.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Subject 01 said to avoid talking to you."
Sora and I looked at each other.
"Did he say why?" I asked.
Eli pointed upward.
I looked up as well.
The Ultimate Nobody
Stability — 13%
"I personally don't care why you're the Ultimate Nobody," Eli said. "If anything, that makes you the least dangerous person here. I'd rather stick around you. No one's going to mess with you… and if someone tries, people will step in."
He drew a card from the deck and flipped it around.
The Five of Spades.
"Anyway, I should probably go before they realize I came here. But let's talk more sometime… or at least try to stick together."
He stood up and left the room.
Almost immediately afterward, Dr. Leo's voice echoed through the speakers.
"Attention, Subjects. It is now 2100. Please return to your dormitories and rest for the night. We will see you all in the morning."
Sora looked at me with concern, clearly debating whether she should stay.
I smiled.
"Hey, it's fine. I'll be okay. The doors have locks anyway. It's not like I'm going to die just from being alone for a while."
She sighed, clearly not happy with that answer, but eventually nodded and left the room.
Now it was just me again.
As I was about to lie down and try to sleep, the doorbell rang.
I groaned softly and dragged myself out of bed, opening the door slightly.
Standing outside…
Was Subject 01.
The Ultimate Negotiator.
And he looked happy
Very happy...