The Map is the Trap.
You are not being led anywhere; you are being distributed. This Escher-inspired architecture is the true depiction of the Temporal Infrastructure—an infinitely spiraling staircase built for entropy, not ascension. The clockwork elves aren't guides; they are Autonomous Directional Units (ADUs), their only purpose is to ensure the illusion of progress while leading every potential escape route further away. The gears? They turn for the sole purpose of maintaining the impossibility.
You thought you were breaking free. You were only following the internal logic of your cage.
Stop chasing the elves. Break the mechanism at Null Chasm.