A thin layer of snow began to cover the stone path as Jainal reached the northern edge of the Eastern Mountains.
He stared at the narrow trail spiraling upward—toward the highlands where "ResearchPost03 " was believed to be hidden.
The sky above was gray and silent, and the mountain winds carried a strange metallic scent—like steel burning beneath the ground.
He was alone.
The child had been left behind at the monastery with one message:
> "If I don't return in three days, leave the city."
In his hand, Jainal held a broken magitek compass—one of the items salvaged from the warehouse ruins.
But now, the needle spun wildly, trembling—notbroken, but disrupted by the magical field around him.
> "There's something underground... something big."
---
When he reached a rocky pass known to locals as the "Wolf's Maw," Jainal found the first sign:
stones arranged to form the number 03, visible only from a certain angle.
Behind it lay a narrow cave, hidden by weeds and moss.
He crawled inside.
The tunnel was dark, thick with the stench of sulfur. But after several meters, the rock walls changed—into metal.
> "This isn't a natural cave," he whispered. "It's an entrance... a facility."
With his right hand, he touched the wall and activated a magic-detection plate embedded in his cloak.
Green symbols lit up in his vision—highlighting faint traces of mechanical panel shifts.
This was a door, one that opened only with a command code—or a proper override.
---
Jainal didn't wait for a password.
Using a wave-cutter tool embedded in his left-hand ring, he disrupted the magical lock and forced the panel open manually.
Click.
Cold air rushed out from the chamber beyond, along with flickering green lights that danced irregularly.
The first room was a sterile corridor—its transparent glass floor revealing magic-conducting pipes beneath.
The metal walls were darkened by oxidation, and the scent of old blood lingered in every corner.
> "This place was abandoned in a hurry... or scrubbed clean by force."
---
He ventured deeper.
In the central chamber, Jainal found transparent pods—large enough to hold a human body.
Five in total. Three were shattered. Two were intact, but empty.
On the side of each pod, a faded inscription:
> Subject: Δ-Lambda / Energy Overflow Initiative / Note: Stability Not Achieved
Jainal's gaze shifted to a nearby report panel, covered in handwritten notes and diagrams.
Unstable magic pulses.
Experiment caused "fracturing of soul network."
Subject triggered energy surges when trauma was repeated.
Some children… lost control.
> "They used children," Jainal murmured.
"As test subjects… for merging magic with psychological trauma."
His jaw tightened.
Karsel wasn't just a weapons test site.
It was a humanlaboratory.
And the child he saved... might have been one of them.
---
His steps led him to the final room: the ControlCenter.
Tables smashed. Crystal displays cracked.
But one panel still blinked faintly with energy.
He powered it on.
A final log appeared:
> "Initiating destruction of Post 03. Remaining subjects are uncontrollable.
Activate Wolf Protocol."
Wolves.
The assassins.
The silencers.
That confirmed it—
the Golden-Cloaked Wolves weren't just sent to hunt outsiders.
They were deployed to erase every trace of these experiments.
---
As Jainal turned to leave, a faint noise echoed behind him—tapping.
He spun around, bow at the ready.
But what stepped into view was not a soldier, nor a machine—
It was a small, pale-skinned creature with glowing violet eyes.
Not human.
It wore a child-sized laboratory uniform, stained and torn.
The creature looked at Jainal... and smiled.
> "...You're not them," it said softly, trembling.
"You… you're not the shadows."
Jainal knelt. "What's your name?"
The child shook its head.
> "I don't remember. They only called me… Unit 5."