It had happened in the blink of an eye.

Literally.

One moment Kaine had stood in Aj’uhl’s office, the next he was... elsewhere.

He looked around.

The walls were black with glowing blue borders. The floor and ceiling were a dark shade of green. Every surface was smooth, though he could not tell what material had been used to build this place. It did not feel like stone, much less metal or plastic.

There was an opening in the wall across from him, so he stepped in that direction.

It had no door, so he went through.

The next room was identical to the previous, though this one had two openings—the one behind him, and another across from him.

So he went the only way he could.

This time, the room was not square. This one had five walls. One behind him, two to the sides, and two in front. Both of the latter had openings.

He paused a moment, looking from one to the other.

There was nothing distinguishing about them. They were identical, just like the walls and floors and ceilings were identical from one room to the next.

Who built this place? And how?

He was inside a Kinzuki Cage, wasn’t he? So how could there be anything at all in here?

Thinking of where he was made him shudder.

He shook his head and walked toward the opening on his right, figuring he could always backtrack if he didn’t find the prisoner.

But the next room made him pause again.

This time, the wall across from him had three panels, each with its own opening.

“Seriously? An extra choice every time? Is this how it’s going to be?”

If this was the case, he worried the prisoner may have panicked and got lost in what could only be a maze.

“How does he even eat in here?” he wondered out loud.

After a moment of pondering, he decided to always take the right-most passage. This way, it would be easier to find his way back.

Though finding his way back might not be necessary, considering he had a transpin. Assuming it worked in here.

Going from room to room, his theory was confirmed. Each time, he would arrive in a larger space with one additional opening. When he reached a point where there were twenty options to choose from, he stopped and sat on the floor.

“This is gonna take forever,” he muttered to himself. “For all I know, there is no end to this. I don’t want to be walking through...” He frowned. “How can all this fit into a small cube? This makes no sense at all.”

As if capturing a soul in here made any more sense.

He straightened, eyes widening.

“Unless...”

He had just remembered how Val had compared this to Nim’s ordeal.

“That has to be it!”

None of this was real.

It was a virtual experience.

For all he knew, his body was still out there, and the cage had just sucked in his DNA and memories, the same way Nim had been merged with the ship.

All this... everything he saw here was only a construct. It felt real, because he was just as insubstantial as the surroundings.

“That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t help me find the person who is trapped in here.”

He got back to his feet and looked around, studying the walls and the openings. Maybe he had missed something?

If it all was virtual, there might be some way he could control the construct...

Then again, if it was intended as a prison, it would not make sense to leave a backdoor.

He frowned.

“Hello?” If someone was here, maybe they would hear him. He shouted again. “Hellooooo? Can anyone hear me?”

He fell quiet and listened closely.

It was eerily quiet in here, he realized. But he thought he’d heard something. A faint click.

Yes. There it was again. Louder, now.

He glanced at the openings, then headed for the one that seemed to go in the right direction.

The click grew louder.

“Hello?” he called out again.

It seemed now like the sound approached more quickly.

But why is the person not responding? he wondered.

Kaine ran through a dozen more rooms, each with more and more openings. It was dizzying. He had stopped counting them and had lost all sense of direction. His only guide now was the sound, which kept growing louder. He would always take the way that seemed to go toward it. He assumed the other person was doing the same thing. Could they hear him too? His footsteps seemed loud to him in this eerily quiet place.

Finally, he saw a small shape coming fast toward him.

They both froze in the middle of a huge room and stared at each other for a moment.

The prisoner was a child! A girl, too. She had curly brown hair and large blue eyes that looked like they had cried a lot. One of her legs was missing and had been replaced with a metallic limb—which clicked every time she took a step.

With a gasp, the girl ran to him and hugged him tightly, tears flooding down her cheeks.

“Now, now,” he said gently while patting her back, “everything’s okay. I’m here to take you out of this place. What’s your name?”

She looked up at him, sniffed, and wiped her face with the back of her hand. She grabbed his and pulled him toward a wall.

“What is it?”

When they reached the surface, she drew a circle against it. Then to the right a semi-circle.

Kaine’s eyes widened. Was this girl mute?

Each gesture she made traced a letter, he realized, until she had fully spelled out her name: Ondine.

“I’m Kaine,” he said. “But let’s get out of here. I’m sure you’ve seen enough of this place.”

She hugged him again as he raised his wristpad and activated the transpin.

He barely had time to wonder if it would work that the black and blue walls around them faded.

The next moment, they were back in Aj’uhl’s office. Except it was empty.

He blinked and looked around.

Something was off.

Not only were Val and Aj’uhl gone, but there was a strange smell... and unusual sounds.

He heard voices shouting in the distance and rushed to a window.

From there, he saw a crowd of Imperial troops surrounding the building.

“Oh no,” he whispered. “This is not good. Not good at all...”