Akira threw himself at the glass cage, pounding his fists against the transparent wall, but it didn't even shudder.
"Damn it!" he snarled, rage warring with his fear. "What is this? Let him out, you monster!"
"You cannot free him unless you choose him," the Voice replied, its tone cold and analytical. "In doing so, you will sacrifice the key—your only path to survival. The choice is simple: save him and die with him, or take the key. The latter is the logical choice. His chance of survival is already near zero."
Akira pressed his palms to his skull, trying to contain the pressure building inside his head. The false Noor's pleas were a constant, desperate torrent, begging to be saved. The dilemma was a chasm. Should he save a man already condemned and doom himself in the process? Or should he be the one to seal that man's fate, his own hands stained with blood so that he could live? The thoughts were a chaotic storm, sending his heart into a wild, arrhythmic panic.
From the screen, the real Noor's voice, faint and urgent, cut through the noise. "Choose the key, you fool! I'm watching! Choose it and save yourself! This is a trick!"
A low, knowing laugh echoed from the speakers. "Do you truly believe," the Voice said, its tone dripping with malice, "that if he chooses the key, he survives? My tests are not so crude. And consider this, Noor: what will you feel if he chooses the key over your life? That image you have of him, this loyal friend—will it not crumble to dust, knowing that when the choice came down to you or him, he would always choose himself? The equation is not so simple. Do not be so naive. Watch him. This test will reveal the real Akira."
Akira squeezed his head, the vise of his thoughts tightening. Noor or the key? The conflict was a war between his gut and his conscience. He paced the room like a caged animal, a knot of anguish tightening in his chest. God, what do I choose? he thought. Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?
"What are you waiting for, Akira?" the false Noor pleaded, his eyes brimming with tears. "Why won't you save me? Are you going to leave me here? To choose the key and save yourself? Please, choose me."
Akira slammed his hand against the glass, his face a dark mask of fury. He roared at the impostor.
"Can you not be silent! Just for a moment, so I can think! If I didn't want to choose you, I would have already taken the key! It's the logical move. There's no point in saving you; we'd both die anyway. The smart thing to do is to save myself and cut the losses. But I'm trying to find a way out of this trap, and you give me no room to breathe! You know that choosing you is pointless, but you grasp at anything to survive. It's human nature. But I don't want to leave you to die. I saved you once! And I am trying to save you again, even though I've only known you for a few hours. Do you think any man would choose a stranger over himself? And yet, I am still thinking about how to get you out of here. So please, be silent."
The false Noor fell quiet, tears tracing silent paths down his cheeks. Akira exhaled a ragged breath and raked his fingers through his hair, his mind racing.
"One minute remains," the Voice said, pouring acid on the wound.
The words amplified Akira's tension. The false Noor began his frantic pleading again. Dread, fear, anxiety—that minute was the longest of his life.
Thirty seconds. Each tick of the clock was a blade slicing at him. He stared at the terrified Noor, then at the key, his tool for survival.
Ten seconds. Akira's fingers dug into his scalp, his mind a furnace. Sweat poured from his brow as pressure built behind his eyes, turning them bloodshot. He trembled, his body wracked by short, sharp spasms.
Five seconds. The Voice commanded him to choose. Akira's mouth opened, ready to make the choice. His hand rose to point, but then it froze. A new thought, a sudden, brilliant piece of logic bloomed in his mind. The consequence of inaction. The Voice had laid out every rule, except for the penalty of refusing the choice itself.
The time expired. A heavy silence fell. Nothing happened.
"The time has elapsed," the Voice observed, a note of curiosity in its tone. "Why did you not choose?"
Akira's own voice was a dry rasp. "You never said what would happen if I refused."
"Ah. So that is your gambit," the Voice replied. "The consequence, in this case, is that both of you are free."
With a sudden hiss, the glass cages retracted into the floor. A wave of profound relief washed over Akira, as if a mountain had been lifted from his soul. He drew a deep, shuddering breath and rushed to the false Noor, freeing him from his bonds. The impostor collapsed against him, thanking him, praising God for his deliverance. Once he was free, Akira turned and took the key from the second cage, the cold metal a totem of renewed hope.
But a chilling thought intruded. The Voice had said there were only two keys. Jean had one. This was the other. That meant the real Noor had no way out.
"You are, no doubt, considering that fact now," the Voice said, as if reading his mind. "That the key in your hand is the last. What will you do, Akira? To heighten the drama, I will inform you that Noor, too, has a key. It is in his right jacket pocket."
The false Noor fumbled in his pocket, his eyes widening as his fingers closed around the object. A broad smile spread across his face, mirrored on Akira's. But the Voice was not finished.
"However," it continued, its tone a silken, venomous thread, "there is one true key in this room, and one false. The question remains: who holds which?"
The false Noor clutched his key tightly. Akira's face hardened into a mask of shadow and fury. A guttural roar of pure rage tore from his throat.
"You puppeteer!" he bellowed, his entire being vibrating with defiance. "Will your cursed games never cease? I passed your test! Why do you throw me into another one? What do you want from me?"
The Voice offered no reply. From the corner, the false Noor shrank against the wall, waiting.
"Do you wish to proceed from here?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Akira turned a gaze of pure contempt upon him. "You will wait. We have to figure out which key is real first."
"But how can we do that from here? We have to go to the gate."
"You want to go to the gate so that if your key is the true one, you can escape," Akira snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "You only think of yourself. If you thought otherwise, you would offer me your key now as payment for a debt. Twice I have stood between you and death, and still, your only concern is saving your own skin."
"I am not only concerned for myself! I suggested we go to the gate to test them. How else can we know?"
"Then give me your key," Akira commanded. "And I will test it for you."