The darkness swallowed her whole.
It wasn't empty darkness the kind that simply lacked light. This one pressed back. It wrapped around Zariah's skin, cold and intimate, like a living thing testing her resolve. The door sealed behind her with a low, final hiss, cutting off the chamber, the choices, the voice.
And Adrian.
Her chest tightened so sharply she had to brace a hand against the unseen wall to steady herself. The air smelled metallic, faintly sterile, layered with something older beneath it oil, dust, time.
The floor beneath her feet vibrated.
Then it moved.
Not shifting descending.
Zariah sucked in a breath as the realization hit. "An elevator," she murmured, though nothing about this felt mechanical enough to be ordinary.
The darkness thinned as thin strips of light ignited along the walls, revealing a narrow vertical shaft encased in black alloy. Symbols similar to the ones on the doors above ran down the sides like scars.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
This wasn't transport.
It was a drop.
"How deep are you taking me?" she asked aloud, her voice sounding too loud in the enclosed space.
No answer came.
The descent accelerated.
Her knees bent instinctively, body bracing as pressure pushed down on her shoulders, squeezing the air from her lungs. She clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms.
Think. Breathe. Observe.
Adrian's voice echoed in her memory, steady and unforgiving.
The elevator slowed abruptly.
Then stopped.
For one terrifying second, nothing happened.
Then the floor slid apart.
Zariah stumbled forward, catching herself just in time as the space beneath her feet vanished, replaced by a wide, circular chamber bathed in low blue light.
She landed hard, boots skidding against smooth stone.
The floor sealed again above her.
Trapped.
Zariah pushed herself upright slowly, every muscle tense, scanning the room. The chamber was vast larger than the one above with curved walls that rose into shadow. Screens lined the perimeter, all dark for now. In the center stood a single structure: a ring of glass and metal, open at the top.
Like a well.
Or an arena.
A chill crawled up her spine.
"Welcome to the lower tier," a voice said.
Zariah spun.
A man stepped out of the shadows opposite her tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in dark, tailored clothing that carried none of Elias' calculated elegance and none of Adrian's lethal restraint.
This man radiated something else entirely.
Authority.
"You're not the voice," Zariah said.
"No," he replied calmly. "I'm what comes after it."
He stopped a few steps away, studying her openly, unflinchingly. His eyes were sharp, dark, unsettlingly familiar in the way predators often are.
"You know who I am," he added.
Her throat went dry.
"…Kellan said there were Watchers," she said slowly. "You're not one of them."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "No. I design them."
Zariah's pulse spiked. "Then you're the one who wants me to bend."
The man chuckled softly. "I want to know if you break."
She straightened her spine despite the tremor in her legs. "You're wasting your time."
"We'll see."
He gestured to the structure at the center. "That chamber is a mirror system. It doesn't reflect faces it reflects choices."
Zariah didn't move. "And if I refuse to step inside?"
"Then Adrian's restraints tighten."
Her breath hitched.
"You're using him as leverage," she said bitterly.
"Yes," he agreed without shame. "Because it works."
Anger flared hot and sharp in her chest, burning away the fear. "You think I won't resent you for that?"
"I think resentment is irrelevant," he replied evenly. "What matters is outcome."
He took a step closer. "Adrian Volkov has spent years controlling variables, eliminating threats before they take shape. And then you walked into his life."
Her jaw clenched.
"And suddenly," the man continued, "outcomes changed. Networks destabilized. Alliances fractured. Enemies moved too early. Too recklessly."
He studied her with unsettling intensity. "You are not dangerous because of what you can do. You are dangerous because of what people are willing to do for you."
Zariah swallowed hard.
"You didn't answer my question," she said quietly. "Who are you?"
The man held her gaze.
"My name is Viktor."
The name landed heavy, echoing somewhere deep in her chest.
"I was Adrian's final contingency," Viktor continued. "The solution he hoped he'd never need."
Her stomach twisted. "You know him."
"I built half the systems he destroyed," Viktor said. "And I watched him walk away from everything that made him unstoppable."
A pause.
"For you."
Zariah's breath shook.
"That's not true," she whispered.
Viktor smiled faintly. "Isn't it?"
One of the screens flickered to life.
Zariah turned and her heart nearly stopped.
Adrian filled the screen.
He was kneeling now, restraints glowing brighter around his wrists and ankles, jaw clenched as pain carved lines into his face. Blood streaked down his temple, but his eyes burned fiercely.
Unbroken.
"Zariah," Viktor said softly. "He won't last forever."
Her chest ached violently.
"Get out of my head," she snapped, turning back to Viktor.
"I'm not in your head," he replied. "I'm in his."
The chamber lights shifted subtly, casting long shadows across the floor. The structure at the center hummed to life, energy rippling along its surface.
"Step inside," Viktor said. "Let's see which choice defines you."
Zariah hesitated only a second.
Then she moved.
She stepped into the ring.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold, the world shifted.
The chamber vanished.
She stood somewhere else.
Somewhere familiar.
Her old apartment.
The walls were bare, cracked in the same places she remembered. The air smelled faintly of cheap detergent and stale coffee. Her chest tightened painfully.
Across the room stood Kellan.
Not the man from the shadows but the one from her past. Smiling. Charming. Lying.
"You trusted me," he said softly.
Zariah's hands curled into fists. "This isn't real."
"No," he agreed. "But the pain was."
The scene changed.
Her bank account drained.
Her name dragged through whispers.
Doors closing.
Betrayal stacked on betrayal.
Her chest burned, tears stinging her eyes but she didn't look away.
Then Adrian appeared.
Standing between her and the chaos.
Silent. Solid. Unyielding.
"Choice," Viktor's voice echoed. "This is where most of them fracture."
The scene twisted again.
Adrian turned his back.
Walked away.
Left her standing alone in the wreckage.
Her breath broke.
"No," she whispered.
"Would you still choose him," Viktor pressed, "if he doesn't come back?"
Zariah lifted her chin, heart pounding.
"Yes."
The world shuddered violently.
The illusion cracked like glass.
She was back in the chamber, gasping, sweat slicking her skin.
Viktor stared at her with something close to disbelief.
"You didn't hesitate," he said quietly.
"Because I already lost everything once," Zariah replied hoarsely. "I won't let fear decide for me again."
The restraints on Adrian's screen flickered.
Dimmed.
Her heart leapt.
Viktor exhaled slowly. "Interesting."
But then the floor beneath her feet opened.
Zariah screamed as she dropped, the chamber ripping away above her. Wind tore at her hair as darkness rushed up to meet her once more.
Her last glimpse was Viktor's face no longer calm.
But calculating.
"You've passed the first layer," his voice echoed after her. "Let's see how you survive the second."
The darkness swallowed her again.
And far above
Adrian felt the restraints loosen.
And knew....
Zariah had chosen him.