Twenty minutes passed in a blur.

  Michael leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the desk. “Alright, time’s up.”

  “But what about—?” Tim’s words were cut off by a sharp knock at the door.

  “Time to go,” came a voice from outside, muffled but firm.

  Michael gestured casually with his hands, looking as though he might slump over the table at any second. “Don’t forget your tablets here. Go and follow Lacerta.”

  Liona and Nagato were the first to rise, their movements tense. Luca lingered for a moment, meeting Michael’s gaze one last time. The man offered him a brief smile—sharp, yet strangely encouraging.

  “I expect a report after this,” Michael said, his tone light but carrying an unmistakable weight.

  Luca nodded, recognizing the thinly veiled implication. It wasn’t just an order but a reminder that returning alive wasn’t optional. Almost against his will, a small, grim smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Understood,” he replied calmly, closing the door firmly behind him as he stepped out into the corridor.

  “Come on, we’ve quite a trip ahead,” Lacerta said, smiling at them. She looked the same as she had hours ago, before disappearing when they landed.

  They followed her through narrow hallways, her heels clicking sharply against the floors. The sound bounced off the walls, cutting through what would have been a silent walk otherwise. No one seemed to dare to speak, immersed in their own thoughts. Perhaps they had just started to realize that their lives would be on the line very soon.

  Through the clatter of footsteps and the occasional hum of fluorescent lights overhead, they finally reached an elevator. Sleek, with three thick red lines painted on the doors, it had enough space for three people at most. They were forced to crowd inside—Luca almost ate a handful of curls and barely avoided an elbow—under the amused gaze of Lacerta, whose personal space remained quite empty.

  There were no buttons inside, no visible controls to indicate which floor they might ascend or descend to. Instead, their senior simply stated, “Floor U100.”

  The elevator responded immediately, chiming softly before the doors slid shut with a soft hiss, sealing them in. For a moment, the silence was deafening, broken only by the faint whirring of machinery as the elevator began its descent. Luca felt the pressure change in his ears.

  “Nervous?” Lacerta asked suddenly, her tone almost playful. Though if the others could see her eyes like Luca could, they’d find they remained as calm as a still lake. “It’s alright. We can chat a bit. Why don’t you tell me about your designations?”

  “I chose Liona,” the young woman answered, a flicker of pride in her voice.

  “A bold name,” Lacerta said, her smile widening with satisfaction. “What about you both?”

  “Nagato,” Tim said after a pause.

  “Long-lasting gate. Really striving forward, huh?” Lacerta remarked, her voice tinged with amusement.

  Luca offered his next. “Mithras.”

  “You’re all little poets, aren’t you?” she said, raising a hand to brush a lock of hair out of her face. “Now, one last question?”

  “Will we be the only ones entering this Mystery?” Liona asked, pursing her lips.

  “Well, yes,” Lacerta confirmed, tilting her head slightly. “We have other situations besides this. You’re lucky, you know? The other one requires twelve people.” She paused, then added, “Half of them, give or take, won’t come back.”

  Luca’s thoughts raced as he considered her words. There were Mysteries where death struck instantly, without warning or escape—a random lottery of fate that left no room for strategy or skill. In Primal Dream, at least, if they weren’t saddled with the worst Role, their chances of survival would be… better than in others.

  Relatively speaking.

  For a carnivorous dinosaur zoo, anyway.

  Liona managed to speak, her voice tinged with horror. “But then—why would anyone want to enter?”

  “The same reason we’re sending you into a pit of dinosaurs and you’re jumping in,” Lacerta said, her lips curling into a faint smirk. “Money. Now, don’t fret too much about this. Even if the worst comes to pass, if you keep a cool head, you can find a way to survive.”

  Liona sent him a glance, for some reason, so Luca only nodded at her. It was empty encouragement. She would survive the night thanks to her charisma, so there was no need to worry. He had already given them some clues, not only for the Tour Guide, so everyone should be alright.

  The elevator continued its descent, the numbers flashing silently in the corner of the display. No one said anything more. And then, finally, the elevator slowed, coming to a stop with a soft ding that echoed through the cramped space. The doors slid open, revealing a dimly lit corridor bathed in pulsating red light. The air was colder here, tinged with an acrid metallic scent that made his nostrils flare.

  “Welcome to the Restricted Zone,” said Lacerta, stepping out without hesitation, confident as if the place belonged to her. “One of twenty-five, but you didn’t hear that from me. This way,” she instructed, gesturing for them to follow without looking back.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The corridor led them to a set of double metal doors emblazoned with a swirling spiral that seemed to twist and writhe when glanced at indirectly. Lacerta pushed the doors open, revealing an expansive room lined with capsules on either side. They gleamed faintly in the low light, a mix of electric blue and silver. Each one was large enough to accommodate a person, and their shape almost made Luca believe he was preparing himself for space travel.

  If only.

  Amid noises of wonder, Lacerta turned around, standing in the center of the room.

  “They are some beauties, right?” she said with a cocky smile and a hand on her waist, almost as if she had designed them herself. “You’ll use these to enter the Mystery. Ah, before I forget—time flows differently inside. Twelve hours for you, two for me.” She then pointed to three capsules clustered together in the corner. “Come on, don’t dawdle. You can’t lose your ticket.”

  Luca approached the last capsule, his fingers brushing against its cold, smooth surface. With a faint click, the upper part of the capsule opened, sliding aside to reveal a padded interior that looked almost inviting. Almost.

  He hesitated for a moment, tempted to remove his shoes before climbing in, but dismissed the thought as unnecessary. Instead, he settled himself inside, lying back cautiously. The padding conformed to his body, cradling him in a way that felt both comfortable and unsettling. As the lid began to close, Lacerta’s voice drifted toward him.

  “Good luck, rookies.”

  And then, darkness swallowed him whole.

  It wasn’t just the absence of light—it was the complete obliteration of his senses. Sound faded first, replaced by an oppressive silence so profound it pressed against his eardrums. Then came the sensation of falling—not physically, but mentally, as though his consciousness were being torn from his body and hurled into an endless void. His skin prickled, every nerve ending screaming in protest as the world around him dissolved into nothingness.

  For a fleeting moment, Luca wondered if this was it—if this would be his end. Would his brother wake up one day, wondering where he was? Would they cut down the line before Shawn could open his eyes?

  Then a new sensation emerged: a faint vibration coursing through his body, resonating with the bracelet still wrapped tightly around his wrist. It pulsed in time with the rhythm of his heartbeat, grounding him even as everything else slipped away.

  When the darkness finally receded, he found himself somewhere else entirely.

  He stood in front of a towering skeleton—a Therizinosaurus, its massive claws curved like scythes, frozen mid-strike. The display loomed over him, white bones casting an ominous shadow over the floor. The illustration—quite realistic, with bold colors—was both impressive and deeply unsettling, as though it were watching him from the image.

  A faint, icy sensation prickled at his wrist—the bracelet humming softly against his skin. Before he could process it, a translucent message blinked into existence directly in his field of vision:

  [Main Task (D-Rank): Take Pictures of the Attractions (0/6)]

  The words hung there for a moment before fading, leaving an afterimage burned into his mind. It wasn’t just text; it felt as if it had been etched directly onto his thoughts. Well. Forget about forgetting the task. It would be impossible.

  How generous of Pendulum.

  “Mithras, are you already up?” a cheerful voice chimed beside him, snapping him out of his contemplation.

  Luca turned to see a woman dressed in a green park uniform—her jacket slightly too tight, her khaki pants adorned with the logo of the dinosaur zoo. She looked ordinary enough and acted as though she were familiar with him, using his designation despite the fact that even his coworkers didn’t know it. (To think they hadn’t even asked told a lot about their current nerves.)

  “Yes,” Luca replied evenly, keeping his tone casual. “I wanted to take a look around before my turn.”

  “Well, you’ve got around an hour and a half,” she said, glancing down at the watch strapped to her wrist. Her expression shifted briefly, almost imperceptibly, as though recalling something unpleasant. “Did you eat lunch already?”

  “I ate something,” Luca answered evasively.

  She snorted, shaking her head. “Don’t wait until the last hour. Everyone who makes that mistake ends up throwing up during the trip. Don’t give the poor visitors a scare they don’t like—or your salary will get docked like Charles’s.”

  Luca nodded, feigning agreement. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  With a sigh, the woman adjusted her cap and gave him a dismissive wave. “I’m heading out then. Hope there aren’t too many kids again. They always start crying or screaming when we get to one of the kings’ exhibits.” She hesitated for a fraction of a second, her smile faltering ever so slightly. Then, without another word, she turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner.

  “See you soon,” Luca murmured under his breath. As soon as she was gone, he pretended to continue examining the Therizinosaurus skeleton. But his attention was no longer on the bones. Another message had popped up during their conversation, this one lingering ominously in the corner of his vision:

  So, this was a Role Task, wasn’t it? Lacerta’s earlier warning echoed in his mind like a funeral bell tolling in the distance: Prioritize whatever means you survive. In this case, if he didn’t complete it, he’d end up triggering the Death Rule.

  What rotten luck. It seemed like he’d drawn the worst possible mission—the same one that had ended with that named character’s life.

  With a sigh, Luca turned away from the towering skeletons and walked toward the balcony overlooking the ground floor. The museum was quite spacious, the square floor ample enough to host six realistically sized displays of the attractions—vivid, lifelike depictions of the predators in action, their teeth bared, claws extended—and enough people to hold a concert. Three doors, made for giants obviously, stretched across each of the walls.

  Beyond the buzzing white noise of the voices, he heard a deep growl coming from outside.

  From upstairs, he saw the lines of enjoyment and laughter among the people.

  Sighing, Luca felt a bit of excitement himself despite knowing well what would happen. He pushed off the railing and descended the stairs. With each step, the magnitude of the museum dwarfed him, and his eyes jumped from display to display. Two occupied the corners, and the remaining four stood proudly in the middle of the ground floor—the four kings.

  His lips twitched.

  Dinosaurs. Really. In front of them were replicas of bone and glue, good enough to make holographic show directors hide their heads in shame. And this was at the very bottom of the Most Exciting Things from this Mystery List.