The elevator groaned as it climbed the last few meters.Faster now.Unnaturally smooth.As if the Agent had removed every obstacle between them and the top.
Kayden leaned into Alex, eyes still red from the resonance crash.Phineas sat curled in the corner, whispering prayers to whichever gods listened to kids in broken elevators.
APEX hummed gently:
"Ascent complete.Prepare for environmental shift."
Alex frowned.
"Environmental shift…?"
Kayden swallowed.
"…I think we're reaching the surface."
The elevator jolted—once, violently—and then slowed to a whisper.
A sliver of light pierced the cabin as the doors began to slide open.
Not fluorescent white.Not artificial.
Real light.
Kayden's breath hitched.
"Alex…is that…?"
The doors parted fully—
And for the first time since SRD dragged him into the Orientation wing,Kayden saw the sky.
Blue.Wide.Endless.
Wind brushed his face—cold, clean, carrying the scent of pine and open air.
Kayden staggered forward until Alex caught his arm.
"You're outside, Kay," Alex whispered."You made it."
Kayden's eyes filled instantly.
"I—I forgot what real air felt like…"
Phineas stumbled out after them, blinking wildly.
"OH SWEET SUN, I MISSED YOU—I PROMISE I'LL NEVER TAKE DAYLIGHT FOR GRANTED AGAIN—"
But the relief didn't last.
Because as Kayden stepped fully out of the elevator, the world came into focus.
They weren't in a city.Or a street.Or anywhere familiar.
They stood at the edge of a plateau—a flat stretch of cracked concrete and wild grass overlooking a valley far below.
Ruined SRD infrastructure jutted from the ground like broken ribs.A few abandoned transport rails curved into the distance.
Birds circled overhead.
But…
Something felt wrong.
Alex noticed it first.
"…where are the clouds?"
Kayden blinked.
There were none.
The sky was a perfect, flawless blue dome—too perfect,as if painted by someone who didn't know clouds existed.
Phineas spun around.
"Guys…this surface looks like someone LOADED THE WRONG TEXTURE PACK."
APEX pulsed sharply.
"Operator.Remain alert."
Kayden's pulse tightened.
"What now…?"
The wind shifted.
And the sky—the flawless, cloudless sky—flickered.
Just once.
A subtle ripple, like heat over metal.
Alex grabbed Kayden's wrist.
"You saw that.Tell me you saw that."
Kayden nodded slowly.
"…yeah."
The sky flickered again.
Layers of blue peeled back—revealing thin geometric patterns beneath,white lines forming vast grids across the heavens.
Phineas's voice cracked:
"Oh no.Oh NO NO NO—THE SKY IS GLITCHING—"
Kayden's breath caught.
"That's not the sky," he whispered."That's… a projection."
APEX confirmed:
"Correct.Environment is Citadel-modified."
Alex stiffened.
"So that means—"
A voice answered for him.
"It means you are not outside.You are inside the controlled perimeter."
Kayden spun around.
The Agent stood several meters behind them—not stepping through light,not appearing with distortion.Simply there.
As if she had always been standing in the sunlight,watching.
Alex instinctively pulled Kayden behind him.
"YOU REDIRECTED US HERE!"
The Agent regarded him calmly.
"You were safer here than at the true surface exit."
Phineas threw his arms in the air.
"SAFER?! WE ARE IN A FAKE SKY DOME RUN BY A FUTURE MATH ENTITY—"
The Agent ignored him.
Her gaze moved to Kayden.
"Your instability was increasing.Environmental regulation was necessary."
Kayden's voice cracked.
"You…you brought us to a Citadel zone?"
"A secure zone."
Alex's fists clenched.
"This isn't freedom."
"No," the Agent agreed."It is not."
A beat.
Her gaze softened by a fraction.
"But it is safety."
Kayden's knees buckled.Alex caught him before he fell.
Kayden shook his head, dazed.
"Why…?Why show me the sky if it's not real…?"
The Agent answered simply:
"To remind youwhat waits beyond control."
Kayden looked up again.
The sky flickered between blue and grid—between hope and design.
Between freedomand its illusion.
A wave of exhaustion hit him.
"I don't want illusions," he whispered.
Alex squeezed his hand.
"Then we'll find the real sky."
The Agent tilted her head.
"That depends on what you become."
Phineas flailed.
"CAN YOU STOP BEING MYSTICAL FOR FIVE SECONDS—WE'RE PROCESSING TRAUMA HERE!"
A faint tremor ran through the plateau.The elevator behind them beeped—a warning tone.
APEX pulsed urgently:
"Operator.SRD scanning drones inbound.Omega units triangulating location."
Kayden's blood froze.
"They found us?"
"Yes," APEX answered.
The Agent stepped between them and the wind.
"Your path diverges now."
Kayden's voice trembled.
"…what does that mean?"
"Choose.Follow the anchor,"her gaze flicked to Alex,"and flee."
"Or follow meand survive."
Alex's grip tightened.
"Kayden—don't.Don't choose her.We'll run. We'll hide. We'll—"
Kayden stared at the flickering sky.
At the broken roads.
At the fake sunlight.
At the Agent.
At Alex.
The Agent extended a hand.
Alex pulled Kayden tighter.
The sky flickered one last time.
Kayden exhaled.
And whispered:
"…I don't know."