The flicker of blue light grew brighter as Adrian stepped forward, crunching broken debris beneath his boots.
He already knew who it was.
Standing in the ruined temple's inner sanctum, untouched by blood, fire, or dust—
Camilla.
Her long black hair shimmered like wet ink in the unnatural light. Her eyes—icy blue, glowing faintly—cut through the darkness like searchlights. She wore a long, high-collared black coat, asymmetrical in design, lined with subtle stitching that almost looked like ancient glyphs if one stared too long.
"Well done," she said, smiling faintly.
The temple felt colder just hearing her voice.
Adrian didn't smile. His chest still rose and fell with strained breaths, blood crusting over his wounds.
"Are you about to tell me this entire island isn't real?" he asked, his voice flat.
Camilla chuckled. Not the warm kind — the kind that sounded like someone amused by a bug.
"No. Everything was real. The monsters. The island. Your pain."
"And you really did well."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"So this was what I was supposed to do?"
She tilted her head, stepping slowly around the remnants of a collapsed column.
"Well… not exactly. I just wanted you to develop your abilities."
"Why?" Adrian asked.
She stopped walking, her blue eyes gleaming under the temple's shadows.
"So you can work for me," she said softly. "Obviously."
Adrian let out a dry laugh.
"What if I don't wanna work for you?"
Her boots clicked on the stone floor as she walked toward him — slowly, deliberately — until she was uncomfortably close.
Her voice dropped to a near whisper.
"It's not a choice… obviously."
Adrian's hand moved on instinct — fast — reaching for her throat.
But she moved even faster.
Her figure blurred — not like normal speed, but like time slipped for just a second — and with an elegant sidestep, she redirected his momentum with a touch, her palm hovering just an inch from his chest.
She whispered words.
Adrian didn't understand them — they felt ancient, heavy — more emotion than language.
And then—
The Seal.
It ignited.
Adrian's body locked. His knees buckled. It felt like chains inside his bones had suddenly yanked him downward, dragging his spirit out of sync with his body.
"Ngh—!"
But he couldn't scream. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe right.
Camilla raised her hand.
SNAP.
The world shattered.
In an instant, the ancient temple was gone — replaced by a stark, sterile room.
White concrete walls. Fluorescent lights. No doors. No windows. A single metal table.
Adrian sat in a bolted-down chair. Still frozen.
Still silent.
Still helpless.
Camilla now stood beside the table, a thin file in her hand, flipping it open casually.
"You see, we Puppeteers are… far above humans," she said calmly, almost tired of explaining.
"So far above them that even a slight disagreement between two of us could flatten continents. Destroy civilizations. Break the planet in half if we felt dramatic."
She let the folder drop shut with a soft clack and looked at him, expression blank.
"That's why we made rules. We're not allowed to destroy or directly harm humans… or each other."
She walked behind him slowly.
"But we are allowed to use tools. Proxies. You."
Adrian's heart pounded.
Still, no words came.
"But rather than think of it as me enslaving you… I'd rather you think of it as me doing you a favor."
She circled back in front of him.
"Without my seal, you'd be dead. Some military psy-division would've detected your wavelength by now. You'd be dissected in some blacksite lab within a week."
She smiled again, resting both hands on the table like a boss in an interrogation room.
"With it? You get a salary. An apartment. Even a car, if you want. Outside of work, you get to live like everyone else. You're free."
She leaned forward, voice soft as frostbite.
"Now. What do you say?"
SNAP.
Adrian gasped — he could move again.
He sat up, blood rushing back into his limbs.
"Just go fu—"
SNAP.
The world shattered again.
—
He woke up.
In bed.