The fluorescent lights in the 3rd-floor hallway of the Eisenforte Laboratory were excessively bright. The cool white illumination allowed no room for shadows, turning the faces of those walking beneath it into pale taxidermy. For three days, I had been struggling to adjust to this clinical light and the chilly 18-degree air.

Through the windows on the right, the sunlight of an ordinary city shone, but the left side was different. Concrete walls without a single window and heavy steel doors. That was the Subject Zone. The dry voice of the security training officer flickered through my mind: "If you encounter a subject, keep interactions to a minimum. That is the regulation."

At 3:04 PM, 'she' appeared from the end of the hallway.

The woman in a white lab coat walked with a rhythmic pace, as if following a set beat. Her features and black hair became clearer as she drew closer. A white card attached to her neck was printed with the number D-09. She smiled at me. It was a vivid, warm smile, as if she didn't know the first thing about regulations—like meeting an old friend.

“Hello, Researcher.”

She knew my name. Introducing herself as Maybel Valkyrie, her gaze was a shade of grey. Deep within those clear eyes, something unidentifiable—perhaps fatigue or fear—flickered for a brief moment.

Just then, a sharp electronic beep tore through the hallway. LEVEL-1 ALERT.

It was the lowest level of alarm, but Maybel's reaction was bizarre. In a fraction of a second, her smile evaporated, and her entire body froze in a state of perfect 'stasis.' It wasn't surprise. It was the reaction of someone who had waited for this sound for a long time, or perhaps a finely engineered machine. As soon as the alarm stopped, she smiled softly again as if nothing had happened.

“You'll get used to the sounds here; it makes things easier. Once you learn what each sound means.”

After she disappeared into the cold light beyond the steel door, I stood there for a long time. Was the smile I just saw real, or was it a lingering image of a controlled system?

3:11 PM at the Eisenforte Laboratory. I still knew nothing.