I don’t know how long I sat there.

  It was hard to work up the courage to go back into those dark halls just outside the room.

  Unfortunately, I knew I couldn’t stay here forever.

  With no food or water on me, the clock was ticking. With any luck, it wouldn’t take long to get to the surface.

  A shiver ran through me at the thought of going back out there… but I had to keep moving, so I reluctantly stood, letting my tail fall behind me.

  Taking a few breaths to steel my nerves, I unlocked and opened the door.

  The darkness was just as terrifying as before, but I didn’t let my fear stop me. I took a couple, cautious steps outside, carefully checking the corners as I did.

  The unnerving silence hadn’t changed.

  Carefully avoiding the old corpses, I continued down the hall, my heartbeat increasing as I felt the darkness press against my senses.

  I wished Ordon had implemented some kind of map or signage, but it seemed they must have relied on some other method of direction, leaving me with no choice but to continue searching blindly.

  For all I knew, there were no other ways out and I was just wasting my time. Maybe I should have been looking for something to help scale the elevator shaft instead.

  Another light source caught my attention, this one giving off a pale green glow. I cautiously approached the double doors and peeked through the two glass windows, revealing a room roughly one hundred feet across.

  I stumbled forward in shock as the contents came into focus.

  Inside were a series of glass cylinders, taller than I was, set at even intervals along each wall. Each one contained a humanoid suspended in glowing green fluid. Most were ones I recognized, but with strange growths covering their bodies.

  My tail twitched involuntarily as I observed the horrors in front of me. Did I even want to go inside?

  None of them appeared to be alive, thankfully. Though, just being in the room with those things when my nerves were already shot seemed like a bad idea...

  But there could be something inside I could use to find my way out of this place.

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the doors. Surprisingly, they didn’t have a security lock, or if they did, it had long since malfunctioned.

  The air in here was cold and acrid, like spilled chemicals that had dried up long ago.

  The creatures didn’t react to my presence as they floated suspended in their fluid-filled tubes. I couldn’t hear a heartbeat from here, even with my enhanced hearing, but I didn’t want to get closer to check.

  Luckily, my eyesight let me read the holographic labels hovering just in front of each tube.

  The first one looked like it was once an orc, but now it had chitin-like growths covering its body like armor.

  Subject 01: Orc, Male

  Age: 32 years

  Test: Cellular grafting of rift monster material (Crawler) FAILED

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Status: Deceased

  The rest had similar labels, though using different species and rift monster materials.

  An arm covered in tentacles growing from the skin…

  A jaw and upper neck, split into long tusks…

  A chest with insect-like legs sprouting from the ribs…

  My fingers clenched as I read through at least a few dozen more… all of them failures. What was the point? What was Ordon trying to accomplish here?

  Experimenting on sentient species was terrible in any reality. To see it done by my own kind was even worse.

  I could almost empathize with the lizard-man who attacked me back in the metro if this is what people knew about Ordon.

  Shaking my head, I refocused on looking for anything useful. I could worry about what Ordon did here later.

  As I searched the far end of the room, an open computer terminal caught my eye. On it was a notice sent to someone named Vance Fallon, head of Team 2.

  -With the success of Team 6 and their Artificial Rifts, grafting tests will be put on hold indefinitely. Starting tomorrow, all personnel from Team 2 will now be transferred from Sub-Level 8 to Team 6 on Sub-Level 5 to assist them in their research.

  -Erasion Ordon

  My eyes went wide as I read the name of the sender. Erasion Ordon, the man responsible for our exile.

  Valerie had mentioned Erasion was trying to make his own towers to control magic… did that mean there was a connection between the rifts and Magi-Towers he was trying to replicate?

  Another thing I could figure out later, but the notice did give me some relevant information.

  After looking through the files that weren’t locked behind security, I was able to find a map. I took out my shard and snapped a photo.

  At least now I wouldn’t be wandering around aimlessly.

  I now knew I was on Sub-Level 8 and there was a staircase nearby I could use to reach the surface level.

  The question was, should I leave? Or should I try to learn more? This was part of the reason I came after all, and the only monster we had run into was that slime thing…

  I’d decide once I found the staircase. If Sub-Level 5 looked clear, I’d see what I could uncover.

  If not… well I guess I’d just have to come back later once I was more prepared.

  ———

  With my new map, finding the stairs was fairly easy, and luckily, I didn’t run into any monsters lying in ambush.

  The stairs were simple metal with rubber strips for traction and didn’t look like they’d seen much use.

  Now, the steps were laden with corpses.

  The scattered bodies of the staff who used to work here, all with various wounds covering their lifeless forms, were sprawled across the stairway.

  It looked like they were trying to flee, but were torn to shreds by something when they reached the stairs.

  The carnage made me pause and listen, but there was nothing. Whatever caused this must have moved on or was killed.

  I toned down my sense of smell and carefully avoided the disembodied limbs as I climbed the steps.

  Floor 7 was slightly worse off than 8 was. There were strange scorch marks marring the walls, floors, and ceiling in an arcing lightning pattern. Not a place I felt comfortable exploring.

  Unfortunately, the next floor was even worse, the marks becoming more frequent and larger, but that wasn’t the strangest part. I could feel myself getting lighter as I grew closer to Sub-Level 5, like someone dialed gravity down by a few G’s.

  It grew even worse when I reached Floor 5.

  I was barely able to keep myself planted on the floor before, but now I was fully floating, and I could feel myself being pulled ever so slowly towards something further in. Whatever was there was letting off a low hum that I could feel in my bones.

  Grabbing the coarse wall for balance, I stopped to think. I had a decision to make.

  Should I continue forward, or get out while I could?

  [WARNING!]

  [Level 37 Demonic Entity Detected]

  [Verifying…]

  [Demonic Presence Confirmed]

  [Notifying Planetary Protection Agency]

  I nearly jumped out of my skin as the System suddenly started blaring in my vision.

  Wait, the agency?! If they found out I had nanites they would come after me for sure!

  “No, stop! Don’t notify them!” I desperately tried to cut off the nanites before they completed the transmission…

  […]

  […Request Denied]

  [Notification Successful]

  Shit.

  If the agency got here, I wouldn’t be able to come back later. I might never get another chance to find out what Erasion was doing here!

  Wait… did the nanites just hesitate to answer?

  But I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I could feel something getting closer.

  I froze as I detected movement at the end of the hall.

  A slim, hunched humanoid figure, silhouetted against a flickering red emergency light twitched and jerked out past the far corner before pausing, twisting its head toward me.

  Its two pale white eyes locked onto me.