Outside the Axis walls, in a remote location far to the south of the Solaria Empire—
A square building stood tall, its smooth walls devoid of any windows or openings. It wasn’t very large, as it served merely as an entrance to what lay underground.
Beneath it, tunnels and fortified chambers spread deep below the surface, forming a structure resembling an anthill.
This place was dedicated to storing and testing relics discovered by the Solaria Empire, far removed from any trace of human civilization.
Especially after such objects had claimed the lives of many in the past, due to people’s ignorance of their true nature.
Underground, within one of the corridors, several people pushed handcarts carrying boxes of various shapes and sizes.
Walking ahead of them was an elderly man, clearly one of the senior researchers of this facility.
Today, he was overseeing the transport of these relics, which had been requested by the imperial family.
In fact, they hadn’t requested just this batch, but many other items as well—most of which had already been transferred to the capital through teleportation gates.
This batch, however, was somewhat special.
Not because it was particularly powerful or extremely dangerous—most of it had been classified as Rank 5.
But because all of them possessed negative effects that could not be removed.
Each of them interfered with spatial manipulation in their surroundings. As a result, they could not be transported through teleportation gates, nor by individuals with spatial abilities.
If attempted, only two outcomes were possible.
The first was that the teleportation would fail entirely, leaving you stuck in place.
The second was that you would end up somewhere else entirely... who knew where? If you were unlucky enough, perhaps inside the jaws of a monster.
Thus, they were to be transported to the capital by train.
After walking through white corridors that felt endless, they arrived in front of a massive elevator. The elderly researcher entered first, followed by the others carefully pushing their carts inside.
The doors closed behind the last person, and the elevator began to ascend.
Everyone stood in silence, boredom clearly written on their faces, until one person finally spoke, breaking the suffocating quiet.
"So, Chief... why is the Asterval family requesting so many relics all at once?"
The question came from one of the men pushing the carts, curiosity evident in his voice.
The elderly researcher glanced at him.
"Who knows? Maybe they want to use them on the border. Or sell them at an auction... or even show them off in their vault. Why do you care? Just focus on your work."
Silence once again filled the elevator, and the man looked embarrassed by the old man’s sharp words.
The moment the elevator doors began to open, the man pushed his cart forward too hastily, irritated and careless, not even waiting for the doors to fully open.
As a result, the edge of the cart struck the door, and a small, unsecured box fell to the floor.
A dull thud echoed.
Everyone froze; their eyes locked onto the fallen box...
After all, who knew whether whatever was inside might explode the next second—or do something even stranger?
The elderly researcher, however, moved as calmly as ever. He walked past the man and slapped him on the back of the head.
"Be careful, you idiot."
He stepped up to the small box, picked it up, and placed it back onto the cart. Then he looked at the others, raising his white, age-faded eyebrow.
"Why are you all frozen like a bunch of fools?"
One of the men relaxed upon seeing this and asked,
"What’s inside that box?"
The moment he spoke, he realized his mistake, expecting to be scolded like the other man for meddling.
But to his surprise, the old man stepped closer, opened the box, and revealed its contents.
"Nothing special. Just a piece of metal. Its only function is disrupting teleportation gates."
He then lifted the item inside and showed it to everyone.
It was a card made of strange black metal, about the size of a palm, engraved with symbols and lines on both sides.
"I don’t understand why the others classify this thing as Rank 7 just because it contains Rank 7 essence."
He spoke as if he were on the verge of cursing his colleagues for that decision.
"Rank 7..." the nearby man muttered, tension clear in his voice.
The old chief looked at him.
"Why are you scared? I said it’s just a piece of metal containing the imprint of a Rank 7 individual. Or do you doubt the hundreds of tests we conducted on it?"
The man smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
"N-No... that’s not what I meant."
Seemingly tired of the conversation, the elderly man placed the card back into the box, sealed it tightly, and gestured to everyone.
"Alright, move it. Push these things—we don’t have all day."
...
Caius’ POV:
I walked toward a small building near the academy gate, a sign hanging above it that read:
[Parcel Collection Building]
I entered through the door and approached one of the staff members.
"I have a package that arrived. I was told to come here to collect it."
The employee smiled.
"Yes, sir. Please give me your card so we can verify your name and information."
I did as he said and handed him my card.
After a few moments, he returned it to me.
"Here you go."
Then he stood up from his chair.
"Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go get your package."
With those words, he headed through the back door and disappeared inside, returning shortly after with a metal box, which he placed in front of me.
"This is your item, sir. Because it’s a magical object, we didn’t send it directly to your room to avoid any possible incidents. I hope that doesn’t inconvenience you."
I nodded, then looked at the box and picked it up.
"Thank you."
I left, the box in my hand.
This was the item I had requested from the Red Eye.
And the object that would keep me conscious inside the dream