I ended up talking with Xin and Ming for a while.
Most of the time, they stayed quiet about the deeper stuff. Every time I asked something important, they just gave me a look and said I'd find out soon enough.
It was frustrating but I could tell it wasn't because they could not talk. It was more like they didn't want to. Or maybe they thought words weren't enough to explain what was really going on here.
Still, I managed to learn a few things.
They'd been trapped here for almost eight months now. Eight whole months. No escape. No rescue. Just surviving.
The way they said it made it sound normal, like it was just part of life now. But that hit me hard. Eight months in a place like this....it was a slow decay.
I asked them why no one had broken out, and they explained the situation clearly: a Grandmaster-level guard watches over the entire realm.
Not just any guard either someone strong enough to crush resistance before it even starts. On top of that, there were the cuffs and collars. I already knew what they did from experience, but hearing it again made it worse.
At one point, I asked Xin why the Holts were keeping prisoners like them alive. That was the first time his expression really changed. His usual calm face hardened. He looked away for a second and then said, "I don't know. But it's something dark." His voice was low. Heavy. Like he'd thought about it too many times already and still had no answers.
He mentioned there were soldiers here too, lots of them. Some were still alive. Others hadn't made it. Killed by Abominations. Tortured by the Holts.
I didn't know what to say to that. So I just went quiet.
After a while, I closed my eyes and let my thoughts settle. Everything we'd learned so far painted a picture, but most of it was still blurry.
Eventually, I stood up.
I looked down at the cuffs on my wrists.
Their function was simple, absorb any energy I generated and disperse it harmlessly into the atmosphere. But I had something that could absorb energy too: the Generator Core.
Of course, the cuffs were far more advanced than my current ability. They were made to suppress even masters, not rookies like me. Still, there was always a way. Always a workaround.
I took a deep breath and stood in front of the wall.
Lowering into a boxing stance, I focused my strength into my right leg. I could feel the muscle fibers tightening, compressing, building tension like a spring about to snap. Energy gathered in my leg, raw and untamed.
Then I kicked out hard.
The cuffs instantly lit up. That gathered power vanished, siphoned away like it had never existed. But I was ready. I focused with my perception and tracked it—watched it as it flowed out from my body into the air around me.
I grinned. That was the moment I opened my channels.
The moment that dispersed energy hit the air, I reversed the flow, drawing it back in, threading it through the Essence channels carved into my bones. It shot straight into the Generator Core inside me.
Left leg, right leg again and again I kicked, alternating. Every burst of energy stolen by the cuffs, I tracked and pulled back. I ignored Xin's voice calling out something in the background. I couldn't stop now. I was testing a theory.
Soon, I felt it—heat radiating from the core as it began to saturate. Essence started condensing, compressing.
I opened my status panel.
Essence: 55/55 (+55)
The core was full.
I had a theory. I figured the collar had scanned my brain when I first went unconscious, recording a baseline to suppress my Psynapse. If that was the case, then I needed to break that limit. Force it to adjust.
I focused and redirected 40 units of Essence into my Psynapse and another 40 into Strength.
Pain hit me like a sledgehammer.
The collar flared violently, and my head felt like it was about to split in two. But I held on, teeth clenched, eyes narrowed. I activated [Psynapse Boost].
Essence surged through the core and into my mind. The pain doubled instantly. My knees gave out, slamming me to the ground, but I didn't stop.
That's when I felt it, an unfamiliar energy circling my brain. It was hostile, suppressing the incoming Essence. The collar wasn't just cutting me off, it was actively fighting back.
My eyes burned red. Veins bulged across my forehead. I grit my teeth harder, forcing myself to endure. I could feel my perception trying to slip past the suppression, clawing at the edges of my senses, but in the end, it was blocked. Shut down.
I exhaled heavily. My body was shaking. But I wasn't disappointed.
A smirk tugged at my lips.
I had almost made it.
I stood back up, wiped the blood from my nose, and activated [Essence Engine] again.
Once more, I began kicking, letting the passive ability of my Apex Body compress and store strength in my muscles before releasing it. I let the cuffs drain it then absorbed it right back. Converted the flow into Essence. Built it again, and again, and again.
Essence: 55/55 (+55)
I immediately transferred 40 units of Essence into my Psynapse and with that, it finally crossed 300.
The pain returned in full force. My head throbbed as the collar tried to suppress me again, cutting off my perception. But I was ready.
I activated [Psynapse Boost].
The world shifted.
In that moment, everything went still. The pressure in my head lifted as my blocked perception shattered through the barrier. It tore apart whatever wall had been placed around it and surged outward like a blooming wave.
My senses expanded.
It reached across the prison cell, flowing and stretching until it stopped right around the 300-meter mark.
I could feel them now. Dozens of prisoners scattered across the area, their breathing, their movements, even the dull pulse of their heartbeat.
Everything became sharper, more vivid. The darkness around me seemed to glow faintly in my mind. My brain relaxed. My thoughts stopped racing and fell neatly into place, calm and controlled.
The collar still sat on my neck, but it might as well have been a toy now. It couldn't suppress me anymore.
A chime echoed in my head.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Psynapse Boost: Level 8 → Level 9]
I smiled and pulled my perception back then sent it out again, faster this time.
The collar flared once more, trying desperately to fight me.
But it was too late.
My Psynapse tore through it like paper and spread out, smooth and unbothered.
I couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle.
Next were the cuffs but honestly, I didn't need them anymore.
My Psynapse had grown so powerful that it could generate the same force as my physical body. I didn't need to rely on brute strength anymore. I had something far more precise, Essence.
I turned back toward the wall.
Focusing my mind, I reached out. A gentle wind stirred around me as I manipulated the Essence in the atmosphere.
Satisfied with my little experiment, I transferred 60 units into Null Heart.
Essence churned in response. Streams of it flowed toward the glowing white core at the center of my generator core.
As the Essence poured in, the white core absorbed it greedily. Its spin quickened, and a quiet hum vibrated through my body.