'Have I walked into a trap with my own two feet?'
The woman whose name he didn't know. The woman he had met not even an hour ago. The way her eyes, glassy with pleasure, clung to him made the thought surface unbidden, as if she were urging him on without a single word.
Her body squirmed beneath his, reacting to every movement. Her lower lip trembled as she bit down on it, trying to endure the waves crashing through her. The haze of lust threatened to blur everything else, so he pushed harder, faster, letting the rhythm swallow the thought whole.
And it worked.
Whatever words she might have formed dissolved into broken moans.
"It… it really wasn't supposed to be like this~."
The words came out weak, almost breathless, before slipping into incoherent sound again. Despite the faintly accusing edge, there was something beneath it, something that told a different story altogether.
Whatever hesitation had flickered in Kael vanished with the next movement.
And yet, even as pleasure surged, a thought slipped through.
Fucking a woman he'd known for only a few hours. Something he would never have done, not normally.
The mastermind behind that ridiculous mission… he hadn't done this to lead him away from his original conviction.
Right?
-------
Returning a few hours earlier.
The setting sun had already surrendered its final rays, leaving the sky in a heavy half-darkness. Neither moon nor stars could break through the thick clouds pressing down on the city. The air was cold, sharp against the skin, and the sky looked ready to tear open at any moment, yet the threatened rain stubbornly held back.
Streetlights flickered to life instead, cars threading red and white lines through the streets below. Towering buildings cast their pale glow into the night, artificial light filling the spaces where natural light failed. But even with all of it, the mood refused to lift.
The city shone, yes. Yet beneath that oppressive winter sky, everything still felt quietly, persistently depressing.
That same heaviness lingered in Kael's sunken eyes as he stepped out of what used to be his workplace.
He slowed to a stop in front of Axion's headquarters. Five years. That was how long he had worked here. The glass facade reflected a version of himself he barely recognized, and a ripple of emotion passed through his eyes before he looked away.
'Not anymore… I don't work here anymore.'
The thought settled with a dull weight rather than shock. Today's abrupt expulsion had already burned through whatever disbelief remained. Kael exhaled softly and resumed walking toward the bus stop.
The distance was short, maybe five minutes on a normal day. Tonight, under the winter dusk and with unemployment clinging to him like a second coat, it felt longer. Each step dragged, heavy with thoughts he couldn't quite organize.
He reached into his pocket, fingers brushing against the cigarette pack and lighter before pulling them out. The familiar motion felt automatic. As he lit up, the flame briefly warming his numb fingertips, a question surfaced again.
'Where should I go now?'
With his goal of perfecting Axion's artificial intelligence, GUIDE, abruptly torn away, the question felt sharper than before. Without it, there was only an empty stretch ahead, undefined and unsettling.
Lost in that spiral, Kael barely noticed the bus pulling in or the cluster of commuters gathered nearby. A few glanced his way with visible irritation, eyes lingering on the cigarette smoke curling into the cold air. Some looked ready to say something, then hesitated.
His unkempt appearance didn't help. The faint grime clinging to his skin, hair that hadn't seen proper care in too long, dull blue eyes lacking focus. Light clothing that did little against the cold. In the end, no one spoke.
And Kael was left alone, watching small clouds of smoke mix with his warm breath, drifting into the darkening air as his thoughts pulled him further inward.
It went on like that for a few minutes, until the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated, snapping him out of it.
Lowering his gaze, Kael flicked the cigarette between two fingers and took another drag before pulling out his phone.
[Hello.]
An unregistered number.
He blinked, an odd sensation stirring, but he had no intention of finding out who was on the other side, let alone replying. With a small frown, he moved to slip the phone back into his pocket.
Then another vibration.
[Do you want to play a game?]
Kael paused for a few seconds, eyes lingering on the screen. In the end, he decided not to humor whoever was behind it and tucked the phone away again.
Almost immediately, it vibrated once more.
Annoyance surfaced. Clicking his tongue, Kael pulled the phone out again, intent on blocking the number and turning it off entirely. He wasn't in the mood for games, let alone conversations.
But instead of a message, a notification greeted him — a bank alert informing him of an incoming transfer of $1,000.
His expression stilled.
He hadn't been expecting any money, especially not now, and certainly not such a casual amount. Curiosity edged in despite himself. And Kael opened his banking app, scanning for details.
There, under the transfer description—
[Do you want to play a game?]
The same words.
He didn't need long to connect the dots. Whoever was sending the messages was the same person behind the transfer. For a prank to go this far… that finally earned a flicker of interest.
He wasn't in the mood for games, not really. And yet, after a brief pause, Kael opened the chat and typed a single word.
Yes.
Only seconds passed before another message arrived.
[Mission: 01]
Lust. It can be viewed as passion, or as another form of love. Sometimes it is a moral challenge; other times, a simple human impulse revealing truths of power, identity, and connection.
To some, it is corruption. To others, creation.
For you, Kael Mercer, a man who once spoke only in logic and code, what is lust?
Can you calculate it, or must you experience it to understand?
[Goal: Fuck a woman before midnight.]
[Conditions: She must be beautiful, and a stranger with no prior contact.]
[Reward: $10,000]
At the ridiculous mission, Kael raised an eyebrow. An incredulous expression settled on his face as a single thought surfaced in his mind.
Who the fuck has this much free time on his hands and is sending these messages?