My eyes fluttered open, and I woke up to the familiar darkness of the cell. I wasn't sure how much time had passed. After checking over my body, feeling the lightness in my limbs and the steady beat of my heart, I guessed it had been five or six hours. I was fully recovered.
My Essence storage was topped off and ready to go. Without wasting any time, I shifted fifty units of Essence into Strength and another fifty into the Null Heart.
I felt my muscles tighten and strengthen slightly as the changes settled into place. At the same time, I noticed the core of the Null Heart spinning just a little faster, humming quietly in the background of my senses.
Standing up, I stretched out my arms and legs, shaking off the stiffness, and activated [Essence Engine] again, letting it quietly refill my reserves while I moved around.
I called out quietly to Steve.
"You awake?"
He let out a low hum in response.
I raised my voice slightly and called out into the darkness.
"Hey Ming, how long are they gonna keep us stuck in here? You said they'd usually take you out. These guys fall asleep or something?"
Ming chuckled from his cell.
"Hard to say, kid. Normally, they only give us four or five hours to rest before dragging us out again. Maybe something's changed... but I'm not sure what."
I frowned to myself. That was strange. Why the sudden shift in routine, right after I arrived? Was the Empire making a move against them? A lot of possibilities rushed through my mind, none of them exactly comforting.
I extended my perception outward, sweeping over the prison carefully. Most of the humans were still lying down inside their cells, unmoving. Nothing seemed out of place at first glance.
I sighed and rubbed my stomach.
I wasn't really hungry, but after everything that happened, I just felt like I needed to eat something—out of habit more than anything.
Instead, I dropped down to the floor and started doing push-ups to pass the time. The simple, repetitive motion helped clear my head.
After a few sets of push-ups, I moved into squats, one after another, feeling my blood start to flow faster through my body.
Maybe fifteen minutes passed when I sensed movement through my perception. Someone was coming down the yellow dashed lane.
The moment I picked up his presence, I knew who it was. Grey.
Suddenly, the bars of our cell began to glow faintly. They started to vibrate, and before I could even react, the metal turned liquid—just like that—and slid down onto the ground without a sound. The thick, mercury-like metal pooled silently on the floor.
And it wasn't just our cell. Every cell down the lane was doing the same thing.
From the other side of the lane, Xin's voice called out.
"Finally."
He stood up, stretched lazily, and let out a big yawn before stepping out of his now-open cell.
Ming followed right behind him. He looked toward us and grinned.
"Hey, kids. Time to move!"
Steve, still looking half-asleep, asked, "What happened?"
I answered as I stood up.
"Well, the bars turned to soup and fell off, so... we're kinda free to go."
Steve rushed toward the dashed yellow line.
He waved his hand through the empty air and said, "Oh, it's really gone."
Meanwhile, my perception stayed locked onto Grey. He was standing far down the lane, talking quietly to another human.
He hadn't even glanced in our direction yet.
Without wasting any more time, I stepped out of the cell.
Xin threw an arm over my shoulder and grinned.
"Billion Ironhart, nice to meet you. I can already tell—we're gonna be great friends."
I laughed lightly and answered, "Glad to hear that. Nice to meet you too, sir."
Xin turned to Steve and gave him a nod. "Steve Harper. Nice to meet you as well."
Steve simply nodded back, keeping it short. That was just how he was around new people.
Ming spoke up next, his voice warm. "It must have been tough for you two in the dark all this time. Don't worry, though—we'll be outside soon."
I smiled and said, "Well then, no point standing around. Let's get moving."
Without waiting, I took the lead, following the dashed yellow line that stretched out in front of us.
One by one, other humans started stepping out of their cells too, falling into line behind us.
The sound of our footsteps echoed through the huge, dark prison, each step oddly loud against the stone floor.
All four of us—me, Steve, Ming, and Xin—walked slowly, keeping close together, step by step.
Out of the corner of my perception, I noticed Grey. He stood arms crossed, eyes locked onto me like a hawk.
I didn't look back at him. Instead, I kept my eyes down, focused on the dashed line beneath my feet, and kept walking.
We moved steadily until we reached a bend in the path.
To the right, a blue dashed line split off into another lane.
Straight ahead, the line turned red, leading toward a zone my perception still couldn't break through, no matter how hard I tried.
By now, almost fifty humans and about six nagas had gathered at the crossroads, standing close together in the dim light.
Grey stood in front of the group, silent for a moment.
Finally, he shifted his gaze away from me, turned around to face the path ahead, and spoke in a calm, commanding voice.
"Let's go."
We followed Grey in silence, moving steadily through the dim corridors. After a while, we arrived at a large hall where a teleportation circle was embedded in the floor. At the center of the hall, two old men sat in silent meditation, their presence heavy and still.
Grey walked straight toward the circle and said, "Everyone, step on—except for Billion."
My eyes narrowed slightly at that.
Xin patted my shoulder as he passed by, giving me a small grin. I let him go without saying anything.
I leaned closer to Steve and whispered, "You go ahead."
He gave a short nod and walked forward without hesitation.
Once everyone was standing on the teleportation circle, Grey raised his hand. The circle lit up in a soft glow—and in an instant, they were gone.
The hall fell silent again, leaving only me, Grey, and the two silent old man.
Grey stared at me and said, "Let's go. You're needed somewhere else."
He stepped onto the circle and motioned for me to follow. I did, and as soon as I stepped on, the circle glowed.
A moment later, I found myself in a brightly lit room. My eyes quickly adjusted to the light, and I couldn't help but smile.
I liked what I saw.
In front of me, Red lay on a bed, completely limp.
Her eyes were open but empty, staring blankly at nothing.
There were a few people scattered around the room. I ignored them for a moment as I scanned my surroundings.
The walls were painted white, clean and plain. A couple of couches sat against one wall, and a painting of a strange pot-bellied man hung crookedly above them. At the far end of the room was the bed where Red was lying.
Only then did I turn my focus to the people. King Holt stood there with a serious face, flanked by his two guards.
An old man with a bald head and medical clothes hovered nearby, probably some kind of healer. The Grandmaster who had fought Arkas was there too — I recognized him by the faint green mist clinging around him, even though he wasn't wearing his cloak this time.
Instead, he wore a simple white shirt and black pants.
He was tall and thin, almost bony, with a sharp, narrow face. His black hair was combed back neatly, and his black eyes were cold as they looked at me.
There were also two middle-aged men standing near the corner, but I didn't recognize them.
When I tried to scan them, all I got was a question mark.
Grey's voice came from behind me. "Go on. No need to be shy."
I shrugged and stepped forward toward the bed. The Grandmaster turned to face me fully, his gaze sharp enough to cut stone.
Without a word, he studied me for a few seconds.
Then he finally spoke.
"How did you do it?"
I tilted my head slightly, genuinely confused.
"Do what?" I asked.
His eyes narrowed, and a moment later, I felt an extreme itch crawling up my right hand.
Startled, I looked down.
My palm was turning green — a light green that deepened into a dark, sickly shade as it spread up my arm toward my shoulder.
The sensation wasn't painful, but it was deeply uncomfortable, like something was seeping into my skin.
I lifted my gaze back to meet the Grandmaster's cold stare.
"I don't know," I answered calmly.
His face darkened.
"Do you think we're fools?" he snapped.
"I'll ask again: how did Red lose her mind? There's nothing left of her. This wasn't an accident — it's like her memory was wiped clean, and her mind shattered on purpose."