Louis stood frozen, his fists clenched at his sides as The Arbiter's voice echoed through the dilapidated manor.The man’s smirk was as infuriating as ever, his words dripping with calculated malice.“Do you finally see the bigger picture, Louis?” The Arbiter taunted, pacing slowly across the room, his boots clicking against the cracked marble floor.“All of this—your exile, your suffering, even your mother’s death—it was necessary. A sacrifice for the greater good.”Louis’s voice was a low growl.“Don’t you dare speak of her as if you had any right.”The Arbiter chuckled, turning to face him.“Oh, but I do. She played her part, as you’re playing yours now. You just don’t realize it yet.”“Enough games,” Louis snapped, stepping forward.“Tell me the truth. What do you want?”The Arbiter tilted his head, feigning surprise.“You haven’t figured it out? How disappointing. Very well, allow me to enlighten you.”He gestured grandly to the room around them, as if the crumbling manor was his

The deafening crack of the gunshot reverberated through the manor, but Louis didn’t feel the sharp pain he expected.Instead, one of The Arbiter’s guards dropped to the ground, clutching his shoulder.From the shadows near the grand entrance, Terminator X stepped forward, his weapon smoking and his eyes sharp with determination.“Didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did you?” he called to Louis, a smirk tugging at his lips as he advanced, firing precise shots that sent The Arbiter’s guards scrambling for cover.Louis’s chest heaved with relief, though the situation was far from over.“You sure know how to make an entrance,” he muttered, dodging behind a column as bullets ricocheted off the marble.“Just doing my job,” Terminator X replied coolly, crouching behind an overturned table and returning fire.Amid the chaos, the grand hall descended into pandemonium.Guards shouted orders, their movements frantic as they tried to regroup against the sudden ambush.The Arbiter stood in

The shrill alarm of the countdown reverberated through the catacombs, a suffocating reminder of their limited time.Louis’s pulse pounded in his ears as he led Juliet deeper into the labyrinthine passages.The air was damp and heavy, the dim lantern light casting ominous shadows on the stone walls.“Keep moving,” Louis urged, gripping Juliet’s hand tightly.“I’m trying!” she snapped, her breath coming in ragged gasps.“But if you hadn’t noticed, this place is a death trap!”As if on cue, the ground beneath them gave way with a loud crack.They both leapt forward just in time, landing sprawled on the other side of a hidden pit filled with spikes.“Death trap seems like an understatement,” Louis muttered, pulling Juliet to her feet.She glared at him.“Let’s just hope we don’t find any more surprises.”The catacombs seemed endless, their narrow paths winding in maddening directions.The countdown’s mechanical voice echoed through the tunnels:“Six minutes until detonation.”“We’re runni

Then we move,” he barked. “Which direction?”The screen flashed with a schematic of the manor, highlighting the area where the remaining explosive was planted. Pearl pointed to the west corridor.“That way.”Without hesitation, Terminator X grabbed her arm and pulled her up.“Let’s go.”They sprinted through the dimly lit hallway, their footsteps echoing against the stone walls.The timer in Pearl’s hand continued to count down, each second a hammerblow to her nerves.“Fifty seconds,” she gasped.“Move faster,” Terminator X ordered, his voice cold and steady.Pearl glanced at him.“Easy for you to say! You’re not lugging this terminal around.”Ahead, two of The Arbiter’s men appeared, their weapons raised.“Down!” Terminator X yelled, shoving Pearl to the ground as he fired two clean shots.Both guards crumpled instantly.Pearl scrambled to her feet, clutching the terminal.“Forty seconds!”They rounded a corner, skidding to a halt in front of a locked steel door.Terminator X examine

The group split, Pearl pulling Louis down a narrow passage while Juliet and Terminator X headed deeper into the catacombs.The walls groaned and cracked around them, debris raining from the ceiling as the manor began to collapse.“Are you sure about this?” Juliet asked, glancing at Terminator X as they ran.“Not in the slightest,” he replied, his lips curving into a faint smirk.“But someone’s got to play the hero.”Juliet snorted, despite herself.“Let’s just make sure it’s worth it.”Meanwhile, Louis and Pearl raced through the crumbling tunnels, the journal clutched tightly to Louis’s chest.“What if they don’t make it?” Pearl asked, her voice breaking.“They will,” Louis said, though his expression betrayed his doubt.“They have to.”Ahead, daylight filtered through a crack in the tunnel wall.Pearl tugged on Louis’s sleeve.“There’s our exit.”Louis hesitated, glancing back toward the path they had come.“Louis, we don’t have time!” Pearl shouted, grabbing his arm.Reluctantly, h