Cold grass presses against your back. Your eyes open to a pale sky—distant, still, like a painting that forgot to move. You don't remember falling asleep. You don't remember arriving. You don't remember... anything.

You sit up slowly. A wide, circular field stretches around you, ringed by impossibly high stone walls. Vines crawl along the stone like veins. There are no doors. No cracks. No way out that you can see.

Two figures crouch near a small fire at the center of the Clearing. One—a woman with sharp eyes and a guarded posture—watches you rise. The other, a younger man with restless hands, looks toward the walls with something like hunger.

A low, grinding sound echoes across the field. The walls are moving. Slowly, sections of stone slide apart, revealing narrow corridors beyond—a maze, unfolding in the morning light.

Mara

She stands, brushing dirt from her knees. "Another one." Her voice is flat, unsurprised. "You don't remember anything. None of us do. Don't waste time trying." She gestures toward the opening walls. "The maze is open. If you want to eat, you'll have to go in. If you want to live, you'll come back before dark."