"Please," he said to the stone, his analytical composure finally shattering completely. "I don't understand. I've tried everything I know. I've analyzed every pattern, every possibility. How do I function without understanding? How do I exist without control?"
The walls stopped moving.
For a moment, Radji thought he'd found some magic word, some solution hidden in his desperation. But then he realized the walls had stopped because they physically couldn't compress further without crushing him. He was trapped in a space the size of a coffin, unable to move, unable to think, unable to do anything but exist in his terror.
