Daniel stepped through the jagged rift and the world vanished.
There was no transition. No falling sensation. One moment he was in the ruined corridor of Base Alpha, the next he stood in absolute nothingness.
A long, impossibly straight hallway stretched before him.
The walls were made of smooth, matte black material that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. The floor was the same. There were no doors, no windows, no ceiling lights — only an endless corridor that continued into infinite darkness.
A single line of text floated in front of him, written in cold white letters:
```
Welcome to the Lost Corridor.
You have 71 hours and 58 minutes remaining.
Walk forward, Conductor.
The path only goes one way.
```
Daniel took a deep breath and began walking.
Every step echoed strangely, as if the corridor itself was listening. After a few minutes, the first change appeared.
The walls began to show faint, moving images — like old film reels playing behind black glass.
He saw himself waking up in Level 0.
He saw the first time he killed a Hound with the pipe.
He saw Vannia's parents smiling before they were erased.
He saw the Red Knight's final moments.
He saw himself rampaging in Base Alpha, blood pouring from his eyes.
The images grew more personal. More painful.
Daniel kept walking, jaw clenched.
The corridor suddenly widened into a vast circular chamber. In the center floated a single figure — a perfect mirror image of Daniel himself, but with empty black eyes and a cold, emotionless expression.
The mirror-Daniel spoke with his own voice, but completely devoid of feeling.
"You are afraid of becoming me."
Daniel stopped. The golden baton appeared in his hand on instinct.
The mirror continued, tilting its head.
"System User No. Infinity walked this same path. He wanted to understand everything. He wanted to control everything. In the end, he became nothing but a prisoner of his own infinite hunger. Will you follow the same road?"
Daniel raised the baton slowly.
"I'm not here to understand. I'm here to finish what I started."
The mirror smiled without warmth.
"Then prove it."
The chamber exploded into motion.
Hundreds of shadowy versions of Daniel poured out from the walls — each one representing a different choice he could have made, a different path he could have taken. Some were kind. Some were cruel. Some had become monsters worse than the Party Creators.
Daniel began to conduct.
Golden notes clashed against the shadows as he fought his own possibilities. The battle was silent, brutal, and deeply personal.
Every time he struck one down, the mirror-Daniel simply watched and whispered:
"You cannot kill what you might have become."
Daniel's blood tears had long since dried, but the weight in his chest grew heavier with every swing of the baton.
He didn't know how long he fought.
He only knew he couldn't stop.
Because somewhere deep in this Lost Corridor, the final truth waited — the truth about why the Pantheon feared him, why No. Infinity was sealed, and what would happen if he failed this challenge.
Daniel Voss, The Conductor, continued walking forward into the darkness.
71 hours and 58 minutes had become 71 hours and 12 minutes.
And the Lost Corridor was only just beginning to show its teeth.