Within a matter of seconds, we were up and moving. One of my metal legs that had been bracing my true body in place let go, reaching downwards. I hooked it onto the back of Streiphen's shirt, flicking him upwards. His feet lifted off the floor as he swung off the ground, eyes wide as he landed on my platform next to me. He wouldn't be able to keep up if I left him alone. I couldn't just leave him behind, either.

Steel crashed against steel as I ran over the cafeteria floor for the final time, out the door alongside the other escapees. The cafeteria wasn't the only place the red light had infected. All of the corridors had been dyed crimson, the sound of the wailing alarm omnipresent.

The Fishfolk Chimera was fast on his feet, leading us down a corridor as we ran. I heard the slow grinding of metal far behind us. They had closed the door of the cafeteria, preventing our retreat. Not that we intended to do so.

My mind was submerged in doubt and confusion. Why had this happened? Why now, of all times? Had they been waiting for us to find a way out to start shutting everything down? The theory that this was all some elaborate punishment for rebelling against the researcher bubbled to the fore. My body tensed up, even if the platform continued moving. The timing was far too convenient. I couldn't think about that. I had to cling to the hope I had.

Streiphen knelt on the front of the platform, looking forwards. His body shook, yet his hands were still clenched firmly on the nail's handle, aiming it forward. His expression was focused, even if his eyes betrayed the deep seated fear in his heart. Sigura ran in front, faster on two legs than many of us were on four. She seemed more anxious than exhausted, too, as though this wasn't her top speed. Was she forcing herself to keep pace with us?

The sound of grinding metal pierced the air once again. Ahead of us, a pair of huge steel doors began to close, pulling together from either side of a wall. Sigura's eyes widened, and she gritted her teeth.

"SOMEONE GET THE DOORS! NOW!"

The blue Chimera, who I now saw was leaving slimy footprints with every step, extended his arms forward. His skin bubbled and inflated, his words fighting to escape his lips through the strain.

"[Gelatinous Growth]."

The arms stretched forward, as though made of elastic, continuing to expand with an explosive force as they stuck to the edges of the door. The goo spread like a disease across flesh into the mechanisms within, holding everything they could in place. The closing doors slowed to a crawl as the group of us burst through. The man grunted, yanking his arms forward with a sickening ripping sound, tearing the inflated ends of his arms off. Only a pair of torn stumps remained. We could worry about that later.

Right now, we had to focus on the objectives. The list could be relied on to keep me on track.

Follow the Fishfolk and keep him alive.

Ensure that Sigura and I weren't caught.

Get to the exit and be free.

I cursed myself for resting in the cafeteria. If I'd been more forceful, I could have been more pragmatic with my use of time. My emotions had once again got in the way of efficiency. I don't know what I would do if we lost our one chance of freedom because of my own blunder.

I heard the whooshing sound again, and now the source was close enough to my [Sensory Zone] to perceive. The sight of it brought back unpleasant memories, and only served to push me forwards that little bit faster.

Above us, pipes shook and trembled as their contents rolled and spilled out around us, a cloud of white gas, slowly but surely filling up the corridors. It crept through the air like a looming predator, fangs bared. If anyone was stuck in a corridor or fell behind, they'd fall victim to the trap. For them, that would be the end.

For a brief moment, I wondered if the gas would even affect me. I didn't have lungs, or even any way of intaking the gas I was aware of. Unless... unless it could enter my pores.

I didn't slow down for a second.

The Fishfolk continued to sprint down seemingly random corridors. What if he was simply insane? If he had no idea where he was going, or the researchers found a way to trick his magic, or-

No. Keep moving. Stop thinking.

Doors burst open around us, allowing a stream of Dolls to come pouring out. They came in droves, bearing glaives that sparked with electricity, flanked by more gas pouring out of the halls behind them.

Without even needing to think about it, I sprung into action.

The metal panel covering my compartment flew off, landing on my platform with a bang that caused Streiphen to jump with fright. Bottles of acid flew out of the compartment and from my grip, flung into the approaching guards. The bottles exploded, the acid eating through their metal bodies. Their expressions didn't change in the slightest, even when they started sustaining fatal wounds. Admirable, if not deeply unnerving.

Another prisoner, a short man with ginger hair and green shamrock-like marks adorning his cheeks and bare arms clapped his hands twice in quick succession. He muttered under his breath, with a voice seething with bitter venom.

"[Luck o' the Cursed]"

A wave of bright green light extended through the floor, spreading over the Dolls. It was accompanied by a pleasant feeling, like standing in the midst of a calm meadow on a warm summer day. As one, they began to trip over themselves, as though their bodies had forgotten how to run in a straight line. When one fell, they knocked others over too, a domino effect that spread outwards until the floor was littered with bodies.

The man had the height of a Dwarf, and wasn't finding it easy to keep up with us. His face was dripping with sweat, and the white clothes the facility had given him were stained grey from effort. I sent a metallic panel out to him, attempting to hoist him up onto my platform. He could be useful, but only if he didn't tire himself out. If he-

One of the Dolls slashed him, a long, deep cut along his back. Electricity shot through his body, causing him to convulse wildly as he dropped. It was a pain that I had learned too well. I knew he wouldn't be standing back up after a hit like that.

Divert my focus. He wasn't a factor anymore. Remember the objectives.

We continued to run, leaving the sea of Dolls behind us. I heard screaming, banging and coughing from adjoining corridors, the sounds of fighting between Chimeras, or against the forces of the facility.

Could any of those fighting beyond our group have been Dairen or Yrlack?

The thought gave me pause. I stopped for a brief instant, catching myself before I could commit to the action. If I stopped now, all hope was lost. If I even hesitated, the possibility of recapture or certain death came ever closer. I had to pray they would be alright. That we would meet again beyond this dark, cursed place.

I followed the Fishfolk as our numbers began to dwindle. We'd numbered just above a dozen before running. Now there were only seven of us. Up ahead of us, the Fishfolk made a sound somewhere between a croak and a scream.

The door was fully closed.

I hoped against hope that the Chimera would make a sharp turn and lead us down another corridor. That this wasn't the way out. He continued to run in a straight line towards the massive iron doors, a wall that loomed over us, holding us back from freedom.

My front left leg began to melt.

I could feel the sensation through my [Telekinesis]. It was one that caused no pain, but the sight of it reminded me of death. The sensation of burning, melting away to nothing. I wasn't going to get caught. I could escape. I could live.

Sigura ran faster now, her teeth gritting so tightly I could hear her fangs grinding together. She blazed with bright orange light, her form a mere silhouette beneath a blanket of distorted heat. She sprinted ahead of the Fishfolk, leaping into the air. She tucked her legs and arms in close, forming a ball as she flew. The veins on her body throbbed faster now as the metallic sphere in the center of her chest glowed ever brighter.

"[OVERHEAT!]" she roared, a sound that drowned out all else.

If I had a jaw that could drop, it would have.

Sigura punched right through the metal, forming a circular hole of melted steel that expanded as I watched. She'd burned through the thick metal door with the sheer heat of her magic. I hadn't even considered that her magic had changed too. If mine had gone from being able to craft trinkets to everything I could do now, what had hers become? The Fishfolk hopped through on all fours, following the Captain, continuing his sprint towards freedom.

I jumped, tucking my legs under my body as I leapt through the expanding hole. Streiphen ducked his head, keeping close to the platform as we soared through. In my old body, I wasn't certain I could have made a jump. Not only was it a tight leap, but my fear of touching the molten steel at the edges of the hole would have caused me to hesitate. As it was, my [Sensory Zone] gave me a perfect awareness of my surroundings. My mind had adapted, giving me measurements of the hole even as it warped and increased in size.

Without hesitation, I'd leapt.

The sound of sizzling flesh echoed through the corridor behind me. I forced myself to drone out the screaming and coughing. There were six of us now.

The corridors began to change. The Fishfolk was leading us up an incline. Had this whole facility been underground? If that was true, were we heading towards the surface?

The thought that the outside world was truly close made me think once again about how surreal this all felt. For what had felt like years, I'd been trapped in this facility. I'd developed routines for eating, sleeping, exercising. I'd forced myself to habitually breathe deep when I went to bed in a vain attempt to hold back the nightmares of the night my life had been torn from me in that forest. Then, I had died. In the moments leading up to the cauldron, I'd felt a similar sensation to what I'd felt now. A dream-like feeling that allowed me to focus on a single task, drowning out everything else around me to follow that single-minded goal.

Unlike that dream-like moment, I had no such distance to shield myself with. I was forced to take the brunt of it all without anything to protect me. I had no deep breaths to hold back my anxiety, my fears or my impending sense of dread. While I had no way to smother such feelings, I had something else. They'd taken my ability to retain my logic, but in its place I'd gained new magic. With this chance event, I'd gained joy and hope. A real chance at freedom.

A second chance at life.

With renewed force, I continued to run, pushing myself to my limits. I'd never had to move this body so fast and push it so hard for an extended period before. I could feel the dull call of a headache echo deep within me. The first symptom of a mental Soulburn.

There was no way I was going to stop here, magical backlash or not.

In the corridor ahead, the alarms grew louder and louder. I saw Sigura's eyes widen in panic and disbelief before I saw the cloud of smoke. An endless expanse of gas that choked the corridor.

White gas. The same as that night.

If Sigura and the Fishfolk fell asleep, I'd need to pick them up. I'd place them both onto my platform and escape. But the way out mightn't be a straight path. I still needed the Fishfolk to guide me. Would I be able to guess the right path myself? What if I failed? If I guessed incorrectly, and we found a dead end, that would be it. Our chance at escaping, at freedom, would be sunk. If that happened, it would be my fault. Entirely my-

Streiphen rose to his feet. Shaking from fear or exertion, he raised his nail. Green motes of light appeared along his dark skin, attaching to the blade, sticking to it like glue. They expanded along the weapon, creating a sheen of light that coiled around the jagged edges. He raised the blade high above his head, his arms trembling.

I didn't have time to question or doubt him. I could only keep running.

"[RELEASE!]"

With the shout, he swung the nail downwards. A flash of green light shot forwards, a thin wave that cleaved through the air. Hearing the shout, Sigura and the Fishfolk darted to the sides, narrowly dodging the projected swing. The light cut through the darkness, splitting the cloud in two. In the center was a clear path, one devoid of gas. A path to freedom.

With renewed haste, we ran through the corridor. The gas closed behind us, forming another wall of death. I could almost imagine the whooshing of the pipes as the hissing sound of an angry predator cheated of its prey.

I grinned at the thought. Internally, of course.

The path leveled out again. We were moving straight ahead. Doors on our left and right began to slide open. I could see the glimmer of steel and the reaching hands of the Dolls about to enter the corridor. My [Telekinetic Field] expanded, spreading through the metal of the doors. I could feel the Dolls gripping it, harshly pushing it open in their attempts to break through and catch us.

With all the force I could muster, I pushed.

The doors around us slammed shut with a resonant bang. The doors began to open once again, and I pushed deeper. I could feel the very joints and locks that held the door together. I pushed harder, twisting the mechanisms opening the door together, tightening as much as I could.

The sound of the Dolls pounding against the metal was music to my ears. Again, not ears, but... my zone, I supposed. That 'music' cut deeper, becoming a throbbing noise that bounced along my whole body. The symptoms were getting worse. The pain was setting in.

I searched around me, and counted. We'd lost another person. There were only five of us now.

We turned once again, and I saw it.

Something I thought I would never see again in my lifetime.

The outside world.

Freedom.

The light was dim beyond the corridor, but at the far end I saw a wide opening. We were entering some sort of storage area. I couldn't see the world beyond, but I saw the grey light spilling in from outside, covering the floor and walls with the light of the moon. I saw wagons and carriages all around me as we ran into the open space as a group. They were all unmanned, but I reached in regardless. Boxes of supplies and empty cages.

I didn't know how much I could lift, but I wanted everything I could take. If we were to escape, to survive, I'd need everything. My [Telekinesis] found metal in the boxes, all of which I greedily took. Ingots of steel and strangely coloured metals flew through the air towards me, a glinting array of stars amidst the white walls of the facility.

I wanted to see the night sky again.

I heard the grinding of metal, far louder than before. It droned out the sounds of panting and laboured breathing of those around me. Enormous doors, thicker than any before, began to shut ahead of us. I couldn't see them, but the sound was unmistakable.

This was it. The final hurdle.

If these doors closed, I doubted we could break through. As we ran, the doors finally came into view, and my gut instinct was reinforced. They were thicker than I'd feared, dense enough that I wondered if even Sigura could burn through them. Beyond the walls, I saw light. Natural light. The light of the outside world.

The Fishfolk collapsed to the ground, gasping and quivering. I removed the panel of my compartment, sliding him onto it. I lifted him into the air, bringing him back towards my platform. The strain of doing so felt astronomical compared to everything else. Was he exceptionally heavy, or was I running out of energy?

The headache returned with force, sinking its fangs deep into me as lances of pain surged through my whole body. I wanted to vomit and expel the ringing, but I had no mouth. I planted the panel on the platform, and the weight didn't feel quite so heavy.

Something gooey stuck to my back leg, and I saw the blue, armless Chimera latch onto me. He looked dead tired, his body 'sweating' material as parts of him sloughed off, sticking as much of himself to me as possible. He was sweating nearly as much as I was, nearly as much as the torrents of liquid came from every pore on my trembling body, striking the floor in thick, audible splashes. Sigura roared as loud as she could, pouring everything she had into the run.

There were only two people running now. Me, and Sigura.

I was so close. We all were. The sound of the doors closing drowned everything else out, even the desperate, pained ringing within me. The thoughts of them closing, being locked in here, trapped, after being so close to freedom was more frightening to me than dying. Being held in this place for the rest of my life, however long that might be, was a suffocating thought. I wasn't going to stay here. I was going to be free again.

I was going to live.

Running for the twin walls of steel, Sigura and I leapt for our lives as the doors slammed shut with a deafening bang, right behind us.

Freedom.