We were the first ones back at the square. When we pressed the screen to collect our reward, a hatch opened.
Inside: three servings of dried meat, two two-liter water blocks, a can of green beans… and, all the way at the bottom, a first aid kit.
— "A first aid kit?" I said with a nervous laugh. "They want to help us now?"
— "It mostly means we're going to need it soon," Jin replied, pulling everything out of the hatch. "We'll keep it safe."
He looked concerned—his movements were more mechanical than usual.
— "I can feel it. The next quests are going to be worse. They're preparing us to take the hit."
He closed the hatch with a sharp motion.
— "What about Emilia?" he asked, scanning the square.
— "In her tent, probably. We should leave her alone for a while, I think."
— "Hey, guys!"
Lisa and Tyler had just arrived, out of breath but their faces glowing with a mix of pride and relief.
— "You made it?" Jin asked.
— "Pretty well, yeah," Lisa panted. "Not too complicated, just had to sprint like hell to reach that damn button."
Tyler pulled their rewards from the hatch: a flashlight, two protein bars, and… a silver magnetic card.
— "And this is our little bonus," he announced, holding the card up.
— "A key?" Jin read aloud. "Tower 12 – Temporary access. Interesting…"
As if responding to his words, the central screen suddenly blinked. A new message appeared:
BONUS QUEST UNLOCKED – TOWER 12. OPENING. Objective: Find the hidden file. Reward: Unknown.
A tense silence fell.
— "Looks like we just unlocked a secret level," Lisa whispered.
— "Or a very nasty trap," Jin corrected, his eyes fixed on the screen.
A chill ran down my spine.
— "You think they're finally going to tell us why we're here?"
No one answered. Even Jin, usually so quick to analyze, said nothing.
The screen displayed something else:
3 people authorized.
We quickly decided the lucky three would be me, Jin, and Lisa. We moved through the city, following the new instructions that had appeared on the walls—messages that looked like they had been written hundreds of years ago.
We arrived at the designated tower. A metal door, just like all the others. Lisa instinctively placed the card on it—it slid open, revealing a hallway with three closed doors.
The door behind us shut, leaving us bathed in red light. Then a woman's voice echoed, and I recognized it instantly…
— "Dear participants. Welcome to the Cohesion Tower! Each of you will take a different door. Inside, you will find an earpiece that will connect you to the others. You will each be taken to a different floor. On these floors, a riddle. Three participants, three floors, one riddle. And it's up to you to communicate to succeed. You have one hour. One hour, or you'll be sent back outside… during the night."
Jin and I exchanged a glance. We both knew that voice. It was Orphéa.
— "Please choose a door."
Without thinking, we pulled each other into a group hug. I headed to the right door, Jin took the center, and Lisa went left. The doors opened, and I entered a completely white room.
The door closed behind me. I was alone—but not for long. In front of me stood a small pedestal with a black earpiece. At the back of the room, a glass tube with a hole just wide enough to crawl through.
I put on the earpiece. Jin's voice echoed in my ear:
— "You guys there?"
— "Yes."
— "Yes."
— "Great. I think we need to go into these tubes."
— "Not like we have much choice," Lisa replied sarcastically.
I stepped into the tube. The door slowly slid down, sealing me in.
— "Uh… Jin? Lisa? Are you guys locked in too?"
— "Yes," they replied in unison, as nervous as I was.
Suddenly, a platform started to rise and carried me slowly into the tube. Jin spoke:
— "I'm going up…"
Lisa sounded worried:
— "Guys… I'm in a small, round room. There's some kind of keyboard. And that's it…"
Jin again:
— "Same here, but I have a screen."
— "Strange… I'm still in the tube."
Finally, the tube stopped, the door slid open, and I stepped into a small, round room lit by harsh white neon lights. No windows. Nothing but smooth walls. And silence.
I walked a little. A white circle about two meters wide lit up beneath my feet.
— "A cursor just appeared on the screen," Jin said. "Like on a computer. But it's just on a blank blue background... I'm not controlling it but…"
I moved left to right as I listened.
— "THE CURSOR! It's moving across the screen on its own, left to right!"
I froze.
— "Wait—what's it doing now? I stopped moving."
— "Nothing…"
— "And now? I'm moving right."
— "It's going right."
That's when I understood. This tower was like a computer.
— "Jin, Lisa, listen—I think I get it. When I move around the floor, I control Jin's computer mouse. And Lisa, you must be the keyboard—you said you had one, right?"
— "Yes… wait, I'll press a key."
Jin yelled:
— "It worked! The desktop just loaded. There's only one file… 'Riddle.' Owen, go a bit to the left."
I did.
— "Now down a little."
I moved back.
— "Okay, stop. Can you click?"
I didn't know how to click, but the only thing I could think to do was jump—so I did.
— "Perfect! A new window opened—'Word 1'… We need to guess a word. Oh, a video just started. Two men… they're kissing."
Lisa sounded intrigued:
— "Two men kissing? What are we supposed to get from that?"
Without thinking—thrown off by the idea… Jin… I answered without realizing:
— "Love."
— "You're probably right," Jin said, his voice softer.
Lisa typed it on the keyboard.
Jin's voice lit up:
— "It worked!"
A second folder appeared: "Word 2."
— "Let's keep going," he said. A new file launched—this time an audio track. Jin turned up the volume so we could all hear.
A heavy atmosphere filled our ears: muffled screams, a distant blaring alarm, the creak of a metal gate, then a man's panicked voice: "No, please… I won't do it again…" A gunshot.
Silence.
— "That was… intense," Lisa whispered.
I stood frozen, chilled. The recording looped. Same sounds. Same scream. Something about it stirred something deep inside me…
— "I also see a partly censored document," said Jin. "An ID sheet. It's blurred, but I can read some words: 'Arrest,' 'March 2079,' 'reason: crime of…' then it's redacted."
I stepped to the edge of the lit circle. When I stood far right, Jin exclaimed:
— "Wait! The cursor is hovering over the redacted word. Can you stay there?"
— "I'm not moving."
— "Okay… I can make out part of the word… looks like… 'crime of nature.' It's still blurry, but it fits."
— "What if… that's the word?" Lisa suggested. "What they decided it was."
— "Nature?" I echoed.
— "Try it, Lisa," Jin said.
The room lit up red.
— "Okay, maybe try 'crime'?" Lisa offered. "Typing it now…"
We heard the clacking keys. Silence. Then:
— "It worked," Jin confirmed. "Next one."
— "It says 'last word'. A new text just appeared:
'When verdict is passed, I am its mate,
Unjust or harsh, I seal the fate.
No choice, no grace, I set the line,
And leave a mark, sometimes divine.
Who am I?'"
Lisa thought aloud:
— "Before, we had crime. What comes after crime… the sentence!"
— "Good one," I said. "Owen, go down a little."
I moved.
— "Click."
I jumped.
— "Lisa, type it."
The keyboard clicked in my ear.
— "Typed!"
The room lit up red again.
— "Not it," I whispered.
We tried other words for about twenty minutes—punishment, fine, condemnation… but nothing worked.
Jin sounded worried.
— "It says we only have 30 minutes left… but there's a second riddle! 'The judge has spoken, the sentence is laid,
No matter the crime, the rules never fade.
No rest, no mercy, I am execution,
The echo of law, I am the…'"
We paused to think, then Jin said thoughtfully:
— "Sanction… Yes! No rest, no mercy, I am execution. The echo of law, I am the sanction!"
I burst out:
— "Yes! It rhymes, it has to be that!"
Lisa stayed cautious:
— "Let's not celebrate too soon… I'll try it."
Jin cheered when the room turned green and the tube door opened again.
— "We did it."
For some reason, we all burst out laughing. Then we each stepped into our tubes and returned to the tower's main hall.
We stepped outside and pulled into a group hug. We had made it.