Adrian Cross was exactly as he remembered him: perfect in every insufferable way.
The man moved through the group like water, always where he was needed, always saying the right thing, always making people feel like they mattered. He helped the weak, deferred to the strong, and somehow managed to make everyone believe he was exactly what they needed him to be.
'Three years, I spent three years thinking he was my friend.'
He watched Adrian from the back of the group as they traveled toward the exit gate, cataloging every gesture and expression and carefully-crafted moment of vulnerability. Adrian told a story about his sick sister back home, about how he was climbing the Tower to pay for her treatment, and the woman listening wiped tears from her eyes while everyone else nodded in sympathetic understanding.
'He doesn't have a sister because I checked after everything fell apart. He came from a group home and aged out at eighteen with nothing and no one.'
The story was a lie like everything else about Adrian Cross, but the emotion was perfectly calibrated and nobody suspected a thing. Why would they? He was so good, so helpful, so earnest in his desire to protect everyone around him.
Ravenna stayed close, her emotional sensing picking up on his tension even if she didn't understand the source. She tried asking him about it once after they first joined Adrian's group, and he deflected with a vague comment about being naturally cautious.
She didn't believe him, and he could tell from the way she watched him when she thought he wasn't looking, from the way her brow furrowed when Adrian came too close. But she trusted him enough not to push, and that was more than he deserved.
"You don't like him." Her voice was quiet, pitched so only he could hear while they walked at the tail end of the group.
He kept his eyes forward. "I don't know him."
"That's not what I said." She picked at a loose thread on her sleeve while choosing her words carefully. "Everyone else thinks he's wonderful and they follow him like he's already their leader. But you look at him like he's a threat."
'Because he is, because in four years he's going to smile that same smile while he hands us over to the Archon's forces. Because twelve people are going to die screaming while he watches with those empty eyes.'
"I'm just being careful," he said while adjusting the knife on his belt. "The Tower teaches you not to trust too easily."
"I trust you."
The words hit harder than they should have, and he focused on keeping his expression neutral. "That's different."
"Why?" She tilted her head, watching him with those mismatched eyes.
'Because I saved your life. Because I don't want anything from you. Because I'm not a hollow shell wearing a human face, pretending to feel things I can't actually feel.'
"Because I haven't given you a reason not to," he said instead while stepping over a fallen branch. "Yet."
Ravenna was quiet for a long moment, processing that, and then she reached out and touched his arm. The contact was brief, barely there, but it carried weight.
"I don't think you will," she said softly. "Give me a reason, I mean."
He didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't try.
---
They reached the exit gate on day fourteen, a full sixteen days ahead of the deadline.
The gate rose from the forest floor like a twin to the one they entered through, white stone carved with symbols that glowed faint green in the afternoon light. Candidates gathered around it already, survivors from other groups who made it through the first floor and were waiting for their chance to proceed.
Adrian's group made camp nearby, setting up a semi-permanent site while they rested and recovered before making the transition to Floor 2. The atmosphere was celebratory, people laughing and sharing food and acting like the worst was behind them.
He knew better because Floor 1 was nothing, and the real Tower didn't even start yet.
"We should talk."
Adrian appeared at his elbow with that perfect smile firmly in place, and he actively suppressed the urge to put a knife through his throat right there.
"About what?" He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, making the posture look casual.
"Team composition for Floor 2." Adrian gestured toward the group, all of them relaxed and oblivious. "I've been watching you these past few days. You're good, better than good actually. The way you move, the way you fight... you've done this before."
'Careful.'
"I learn fast." He shrugged, keeping his voice flat.
"Clearly." Adrian's smile didn't waver, but something shifted behind his eyes. "I think we could help each other, you and I. You have skills while I have resources and connections. Together we could climb faster than either of us could alone."
Every word was a trap, but he couldn't refuse outright without raising suspicion. Adrian was testing him, probing for information, trying to figure out what made the quiet kid with the demon girl tick.
"What kind of connections?" He scratched at a spot on his knife handle, giving his hands something to do.
"Powerful ones. There are organizations watching the lower floors, always looking for talented climbers to recruit. I have contacts with several of them." Adrian stepped closer, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. "Join my team properly, and I can make sure you get noticed by the right people."
'The Archon's forces, that's who he means. He's already laying the groundwork for his betrayal.'
He let the silence stretch while pretending to consider the offer, his mind racing through possibilities. He could reject it and maintain his distance, but that would make Adrian suspicious. He could accept it and play along, but that meant spending more time close to someone he wanted to kill.
Or he could do what he did best: use the situation to his advantage.
"I'll think about it," he said finally while pushing off from the tree. "For now I'm fine traveling with the group. We'll see how Floor 2 goes."
"Fair enough." Adrian clapped him on the shoulder with casual familiarity that made his skin crawl. "No pressure. The offer's open whenever you're ready."
Adrian walked away, still smiling, still perfect, and he watched him go with murder in his heart.
'Enjoy it while you can, Adrian, because you think you're the predator here, but you have no idea what's coming.'
Ravenna appeared at his side a moment later while wrapping her tail around her leg.
"What did he want?"
"To be friends." His voice was flat while he watched Adrian disappear into the crowd. "That's all."
She studied his face for a long moment, clearly not believing him, but she didn't push. Instead she just moved a little closer, her shoulder almost touching his, offering silent support for whatever he was dealing with.
He let her stay there because he didn't deserve it, but he let her anyway.
Tomorrow they would enter Floor 2 and the real climb would begin, and he would have to decide how to play the long game against a man who already proved he was willing to sacrifice everyone around him for his own ends. But that was tomorrow's problem.
Tonight he just watched Adrian Cross charm his way through the camp and counted the days until he could make the bastard pay for everything he was going to do.