The military gate of the Rootspire closed behind Lian.
The sound of the massive plates colliding echoed in the narrow corridor, separating him from the last signs of the city.
The only thing still connecting Lian to the outside was One’s faint presence at the end of Hive Link.
The distance and dense layers between them had weakened the link, but it had not been severed. One’s dissatisfaction and worry remained like a vague pressure in the corner of his mind.
Lian, contrary to the situation, was completely calm.
Six Rootbound Wardens moved around him.
Two in front, two on the sides, and two behind.
Kael was also personally walking beside the group. He had placed his spear behind his back again, but his gaze turned toward Lian every few moments.
The commander still could not decide whether Lian was truly insane or if everything in the past few minutes had been planned from the start.
Probably the correct answer was a combination of both.
The military corridor had no obvious decorations, unlike the Rootspire’s main hall. The walls were made of compressed black roots, with wooden plates between them.
Red veins moved inside the root tissue, casting a faint light on the guards’ armor.
Heavy doors were placed at regular intervals on both sides of the corridor. Behind some, the sound of soldiers could be heard.
The Rootspire was not only Vhalaris’s center of government.
Part of it was a military fortress, a command center, and also a large underground prison.
Lian walked in silence.
The chains around his feet did not allow running, but they were not so short that he had to walk slowly. It seemed the Cindari had designed prisoner equipment so that transferring a dangerous individual was possible, without giving them freedom of movement.
After passing through two corridors, the group stopped in front of a circular door.
Two Rootbound Wardens placed their hands on the seals on both sides of the door.
The golden veins on their armor lit up.
Mana entered the metal plates, and the carved rings on the door began to rotate one after another.
The door opened with a heavy sound. A circular room was behind it.
Several metal rings hung from the ceiling, and golden roots had come out from the floor and connected to a transparent container in the room’s center.
Three Cindari were sitting behind semi-circular tables.
None of them wore full armor. They wore formal black and red clothes, and a special insignia was on their chests.
An older man in the center raised his gaze from a tablet in front of him.
His golden eyes first stopped on Kael and then on Lian’s chains.
"A new prisoner?"
"A High-Risk Outsider. Direct transfer order from Captain Thane." Kael answered.
The registration officer raised an eyebrow.
"The one who destroyed the central bridge?"
"Yes."
The man looked at Lian again. This time, more curiosity could be seen on his face.
"Guest Sigil."
One of the Wardens brought out Lian’s temporary insignia, which had been recorded earlier, and placed it inside the transparent container.
The container closed.
The golden roots around it began to move and touched the Guest Sigil from several directions.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a red light came out from inside the insignia and spread through the room.
The recorded images and information from the past few hours appeared one after another.
Entry through the First Root Gate, temporary registration at the Rootspire, receiving residence permission, moving to Ashfall Ward, and then the successive security alerts.
The registration officer placed his hand on a plate.
[Unauthorized Entry into Restricted Rootspire Territory.]
[Destruction of Civilian and Military Barriers.]
[Resisting Lawful Detainment.]
[Assault and Injury of Twenty-Seven Vhalaris Soldiers.]
[Direct Engagement with a Border Captain.]
[Threat Classification: High-Risk Outsider.]
[Additional Classification: Classified Intelligence Subject.]
The old man stared at the report for a few moments.
"Twenty-seven wounded." one of the younger officers beside him said under his breath and then pulled the screen up slightly.
"Not even one dead."
The room was silent for a moment.
The third officer examined the file.
"Three have fractures. Five have burns or damage. The rest have physical impact and superficial injuries."
"Was it accidental?" the old man looked at Kael.
"No." Kael answered without taking his eyes off Lian.
He was now sure. Lian could have killed at least a few soldiers the entire way.
On the first bridge, he could have thrown the soldier he had grabbed from a height.
In front of the second Barrier, he could have driven his fist directly into the guards’ bodies.
Even during the fight with Kael, there were several opportunities to deliver a fatal blow.
But he had chosen none of them. Everything had been done to reach the Rootspire and be registered as a dangerous prisoner, not to start a real war.
Of course, that was exactly the case. Lian had no plan to explain anything, but the reason for his actions was clear. If he had killed the soldiers, he might not have had any chance for negotiation.
The plan he had drawn up was based on negotiating with the Cindari, and he did not want to ruin all relations and cause enmity right now... not yet.
"No murder charges will be recorded." the registration officer said.
Kael nodded.
The old man did not take the Guest Sigil out of the container. The golden roots wrapped around it and sank the black insignia into their structure.
[Temporary Guest Status Revoked.]
[Prisoner Identity Registered.]
[Race: Call themselves Human.]
[Origin: Unknown.]
[Security Level: High.]
Then one of the officers brought out a small seal from a metal container.
The seal was hexagonal in shape, and golden lines moved on its surface.
He pointed at one of the Wardens.
"Keep the chains steady."
Two soldiers grabbed Lian’s shoulders. The officer came closer and placed the seal on the central lock of his chest chains.
Golden light quickly spread from the contact point, and new pressure entered Lian’s Mana channels.
[Secondary Suppression Seal Applied.]
[High-Output Skill Formation Further Destabilized.]
[Suppression Resistance Detected.]
[Seal Output Adjusted.]
Lian gave a brief look at the seal.
The previous chains had slowed his Skills, but this seal focused on the connection between his body and Mana.
The Cindari had considerable experience in restraining powerful individuals, and this made him curious about where that experience came from.
’It might have to do with the Ruined Realm natives. After all, they had entered this world in the past.’ He thought to himself.
There was probably certainty that conflicts had occurred between the natives of the two worlds, but if this was true, many questions would arise.
"The file is complete. Transfer responsibility for the interrogation section is with you." the registration officer said to Kael.
The circular door behind them closed.
This time, they headed toward an elevator at the end of a sloping corridor.
The elevator platform was made of metal rings and living roots. After the group entered, the roots gathered around it and formed a semi-open wall.
Kael touched the seal on the wall, and the platform began to descend.
The first level beneath the Rootspire still partially resembled the architecture of the upper sections. Orange lights, smooth walls, and doors with official insignias could be seen.
Ordinary prisoners were held on this level: thieves, city criminals, and those who had committed smaller crimes.
The sound of voices or movement could be heard from behind a few doors. The elevator passed without stopping.
On the second level, the light diminished.
The doors were thicker, and more veins moved on them. The guards on this level wore full armor, and their weapons were always ready.
This section was designed for Cindari warriors and criminals who had the ability to break ordinary prisons.
The third level was even heavier.
Black roots had replaced the smooth walls. Magical plates were placed in several layers between them, blocking Mana movement in the corridors.
The cells for military prisoners and dangerous individuals were probably located there.
But the elevator still did not stop.
The veins around the platform changed from orange to dark red.
The city’s orderly architecture gradually faded.
The roots became thicker, older, and more irregular. Some of them were so large that the elevator passed through their hollow tissue.
No floor name or official sign could be seen anywhere... as if they were heading to a part that officially did not exist...