Diana entered a vast hall, the floor made of luxurious and expensive wood, and a grand red carpet dominated the path.
The numerous chandeliers above shone their yellow light throughout the space, illuminating everything excellently.
Although the sun was shining outside, the people found the chandelier light more comfortable for their eyes, so the puppets closed the massive red curtain over the window - which was no less than five Yetis tall.
Diana wore a gray bracelet, from which a sturdy thread was connected to another white bracelet.
Cassian wore that white bracelet with his same white clothes. The assisting puppet had given him new clothes this morning and instructed him to bathe and wear them.
This scene was not unfamiliar, as every adult in the hall had a high-quality puppet with them.
Unlike Cassian, most of the puppets were sane and not mentally broken, but they were almost entirely consumed by addiction.
This fruit... its benefits are substantial, but the consequences are far worse...
It's like a direct offer from the devil, buying the soul but in another form. Just one fruit is enough to turn a person's life upside down...
Diana sat on the grand throne at the end of the room between two other thrones; this was her party and her seat.
She had turned eighteen today, and she could finally own puppets in her name.
Her parents sat on the other thrones, looking at her with mixed feelings. She looked just like them with the same brown hair, hazel eyes, and average height.
From her seat, Diana could see her grandfather Adam at the end of the room. Although he had trouble controlling his anger, she loved him very much.
And she loved him even more after receiving that outstanding gift.
Cassian stood behind her throne with the same blank eyes, sadly not pretending...
Her father, Arovan II, stood and began his clichéd speech, the same one he gave at every coming-of-age party for the family.
Diana frowned, but there was nothing she could do since he treated everyone this way; rudeness and arrogance were his second nature.
He couldn't be blamed; he had dozens of children if not more, and he couldn't remember all of them.
People here lived in constant peace; they didn't need to work because the puppets provided everything, giving them free time to do whatever they wanted.
With the decline of all kinds of entertainment technology, activities like reproduction were excellent sources of amusement.
After the speech, the party that lasted for hours began.
Countless amounts of food and desserts were distributed, drinks of all kinds could be seen on the main table, and the working puppets didn't rest for even a second.
In such a great atmosphere, several strange things could be noticed. Groups of teenagers gathered in every corner, discussing various matters.
From the whispers and widespread looks, it seemed Diana's reputation wasn't the best, as only a few spoke to her despite it being her party.
How could this society be complete without childish teenage cliques?
***
Far below Cassian, tens of kilometers or more, there was someone facing a challenging fate, perhaps even more so than him.
Jin looked at the barrier's edge and couldn't help but frown.
In front of him was a semi-transparent wall, emanating a threatening aura, almost impossible to pass through.
This was a mana barrier... and it was created by someone truly powerful.
With his current strength, he couldn't even dream of breaking through it... impossible.
"Someone of rank S+, there's also a faint demonic energy..."
This wasn't done by a human...
After some analysis here and there, Jin discovered a lot, as expected from a trained individual.
'Perhaps if I reach rank S-, I might be able to create a small hole for a few seconds, then sneak through quickly...'
There was hope, which made Jin not give up yet.
But in the end, he knew his body.
Yes... it had been greatly enhanced and become stronger, but there was a small, lovely seal surrounding it.
And this seal took him a lot of time to understand, but he finally did and wished he hadn't.
He would never break through the ranks again in his life... unless someone of higher rank than the curse caster helped him.
And that meant, someone of at least rank SS-.
The last person he saw at that rank caused him to be here, Octavius.
Jin remembered his strange days at the StarHold family headquarters. He made a simple mistake, and Loana decided to sacrifice him by sending him to fight Octavius.
Jin could see his hope of escaping this place flying away, giving him a final farewell kiss.
His gaze shifted to the status screen, and he couldn't help but frown when he saw that skill.
In reality, there was a small hope, but it was somewhat difficult to achieve.
'Will I really do it? even if I wanted I still need another human to help me use it...'
Chaos... chaos everywhere!
Jin's world suddenly collapsed, and his vision became blurry.
It seemed breaking the curse no longer had any meaning... his entire body had become a one...
In the corner of his eyes, Jin saw a shadowy figure staring at him.
That figure was... very familiar!
The pale man who brought him here... 'That damned man...'
Jin barely stood, his blood vessels bulging with anger. The man who brought him to this hell stood before him.
He was the one who easily defeated him and sent Cassian to an unknown place, possibly killing him.
"It seems your adaptive capabilities are better than expected."
The man approached slowly, Jin decided to conserve his energy for now.
If he sees any unnecessary movement, he will respond immediately.
He isn't the same as before; all his injuries had healed, and his body had become stronger.
However...
The man pulled out a strange device from nowhere and pressed the button in the center.
Jin found himself unable to do anything. He couldn't breathe or even open his mouth.
'What's happening..?'
He even found it very difficult to think, which he found strange.
"My name is Gilbert, and as for my second name... I'll leave that until I'm free."
Gilbert moved slowly around Jin, then stood holding his metallic hand.
"Excuse me for using such vile tricks, but you wouldn't let me approach without unnecessary fighting."
Gilbert carried a vial filled with black liquid and injected it entirely into the opening in Jin's palm.
"Do you know why I brought you to this place? And didn't send you to a hopeless place like that pathetic boy?"
Jin couldn't respond even if he wanted to, but he still tried to listen to Gilbert's words.
"Because I saw potential in you. You managed to escape from me despite countless obstacles and even injuring me..."
Jin trembled as he regained control of his body. The first thing he noticed was lifeless blue eyes staring into his soul.
"You! You will be an additional weapon for us, to help us get out of this place!"
Jin was speechless. All he wanted to do was punch this man, but that might ruin everything if he did so.
He wasn't stupid; he knew his situation now.
He had become a slave...
*****
Cassian soon found himself back in the room next to Diana, which was designated for training.
He was supposed to live in a coffin, but Diana made several exceptions for him to train here.
This room was much better compared to the previous one, with various resources and training tools.
It was truly a mystery how everyone here reached such incredible levels of strength without any training.
The reason was clear: everything from the water they drank daily to the meals and sugary snacks were highly valuable resources.
The Arovan family, where Cassian was now held, was many times wealthier than the StarHold family...
Perhaps it was due to a dark secret below... one not yet ready to be revealed.
Cassian looked at the various syringes before him. Instead of consuming those resources through food, they would be injected directly into his body.
This would severely harm him, nearly destroying his talent, but why would Diana care?
Her goal was very short-term; she just wanted to use him as a combat tool and prove that she had the most remarkable puppet.
There might be a few other things, but she didn't need to keep his talent intact for them.
Following Diana's orders precisely, Cassian began injecting himself with the syringes, one after another.
After ten minutes, blood dripped from every opening on his face, but in return, he became much stronger.
He consumed a sacred fruit afterward and began swinging his sword endlessly, again and again...
He lasted much longer this time, probably due to the effect of the syringes and those unknown substances.
After finishing his training and exhausting all the sacred fruits, it was time to meditate in drowsiness.
He never made progress anyway; meditation required a healthy mind to advance.
At that moment, Cassian remembered a mysterious command from Diana.
Was it from her? Or from other source ?
His memory was very hazy, and he couldn't really tell.
The seal on his forehead glowed then, and his familiar phone emerged from it.
'Yes... she definitely ordered me to review physics...'
Cassian finally confirmed the matter and began studying on the physics files on the phone, and the amount of Ether within him slowly grew...