"And besides….the collar said you were a prisoner," she said. "But that could've been a trick. A deception. So I brought you here to see for myself."
I tilted my head slightly, studying her face. A gentle wind brushed past us, lifting a few strands of her black hair. They swayed around her face before settling again.
"So then," I asked, "what's your conclusion?"
She didn't even pause. Her eyes stayed locked on mine.
"It's not a deception."
I blinked once.
"Oh? And why do you think that?" I asked.
I wasn't sure what answer I expected, but something about the way she spoke made me feel like she'd already made up her mind long before we started talking.
She turned around and spoke to the beasts.
"Ragnor, we'll head inside and talk. You all can rest for now. Things should stay quiet."
The King Ape, Ragnor, tilted his head and gave Ana a long stare, as if silently evaluating her decision. After a pause, he thumped his chest once, a slow and heavy sound of approval, then turned around and lumbered off without a sound.
The Sama Bear huffed through its nose then trudged off, its broad back swaying with each step.
The Black Mamba gave a low hiss, its narrow head swaying slightly as it slithered across the moss-covered floor. It paused for a moment near Ana's side, coiling partway as if to shield her one last time, then silently slid away into the shadows.
She then turned to the small, rat-like creatures and spoke in a softer tone.
"You two, stay alert and keep watch around the area, just in case."
The creatures squeaked in response and dashed away, quick and silent, vanishing between the structures.
Finally, she faced me again and pointed to the nearest house beside the temple.
"Let's go inside and talk."
I gave a small nod. Together, we walked toward the wooden mansion.
The building was massive, made entirely from dark, polished wood. A soft, sweet scent filled the air inside—like a mix of wildflowers and fresh herbs.
Everything was clean and neat, but what stood out most were the carvings. Beautiful, swirling patterns of Nagas were etched across the walls and furniture. It gave the place an old, sacred feeling, like a forgotten temple now turned home.
She stepped into a wide hall and spoke over her shoulder.
"I've lived in this house since the day I came to this small realm."
We followed her inside.
There was a long wooden bench along one wall. She moved toward it and sat down gracefully, her large wings shifting just enough to let her settle in before folding again behind her.
I couldn't help but wonder, how did she sleep at night with wings that size? Did she have to lie face down? How did she clean them? And what about her clothes, how did she even wear anything with those on her back?
One question led to another in my head until I shook them off and sat down on the bench across from her. Steve joined me right after.
It was Steve who spoke first.
"You didn't answer Billion's question earlier."
Ana nodded slowly.
"The reason I know you're not trying to deceive me… is because your collars are still active."
Steve blinked.
"Active? But the Holts said they won't work for 12 hours."
Ana nodded again.
"Yes, the collars' suppressing effect is off for now. But that doesn't mean they're inactive. You see, those collars were created by the Nagas. The Holts just stole them. They don't fully understand how they work, and they can't make new ones or even modify the ones they have."
She pointed to the collar around my neck.
"The most basic function, the Psynapse jamming, is temporarily shut down. That's why the collar looks black. If it were completely inactive, it would turn red."
Without realizing it, my hand reached up to touch the metal band around my neck. It felt heavier now, like I had become more aware of it.
I asked her, "Do you have a way to deactivate this collar?"
She shook her head.
"No. I only know what it does because I've seen them used before. As for how to deactivate it… I'm not sure. That part is beyond me."
Steve looked over at me. I had promised him I'd do something about his collar before the day ended.
I gave him a calm look.
"I'll figure something out."
He nodded, trusting me.
Ana spoke again.
"Also, I heard you killed the Abomination. That means you must have leveled up. So I'm guessing you don't plan on returning to the Holts?"
I answered without hesitation.
"Yeah. That's the plan."
I took a breath and then asked, "How long have you been here? And have you contacted anyone else?"
Her face grew a little sad. Even her wings seemed to change with her emotions—once shining softly, now duller, their light dimmed.
"Almost two months, I think. And no… you're the first two I've let in. Every other prisoner around here is either a high-level human or a Naga, and I didn't want to take the risk of being found."
Steve leaned forward slightly, his voice softer now.
"I'm sorry to hear that you've been trapped here for two months. Could you tell us more about this place? How you ended up here? Why the Holts are controlling it… and what they're doing with the prisoners?"
I turned to look at him.
He had just thrown out every important question at once like a checklist. I narrowed my eyes a little, already suspecting the real reason, Steve probably just wanted to get to the personal questions after. He was definitely curious about Ana and her race, maybe too curious.
I turned back to Ana, waiting to hear how she would respond.
She took a slow, deep breath, as if deciding how much to say, and then began to speak.
"First of all, I'm not completely sure what they're doing with the prisoners…or the Abominations they're capturing. But I have a few guesses. It has to be some kind of experiment. I've read about outlaws and rogue factions using Abominations for all sorts of twisted experiments. So, sadly, it's not unheard of."
Her voice was steady, but there was a hint of frustration underneath it.
She shifted her wings slightly, then continued.
"This whole realm….it was created by the Nagas. You probably guessed that from the massive statue of the Matriarch. It's their symbol, their protector. I don't know the exact reason they built this realm, but it had a purpose once."
She paused for a second and looked away, her expression tightening.
"But something happened. And now… the Holts, a human family, are the ones controlling it. That's dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Because I haven't seen many Nagas here. Which means either the Holts killed them....or, more likely, they sold them."
Her tone dropped at the end, her voice growing cold.
"And that's even worse—for you humans, especially."
She didn't have to explain why. Selling Nagas meant they had connections with slave networks or worse, black market groups that experimented on other races. And if the Holts could do that to a race as strong as the Nagas, then they could do the same—or worse—to anyone else.
The silence that followed was heavy.