Arion stood at the edge of the deserted land, scanning the eerily silent surroundings. No visible signs of an entrance to the realm were in sight—just endless stretches of barren earth. But he wasn't fooled. "An illusion," he thought, "probably set up to keep outsiders away". Not willing to take any risks, Arion had already called for reinforcements. Three armed officers stood beside him, ready for whatever lay ahead. The cops remained in constant contact with headquarters, who had strict orders to surround the area with additional forces if the signal from Arion's group was lost. Taking a deep breath, Arion led the team forward, stepping cautiously into the deserted land. The moment their feet touched the ground, everything shifted. The barren landscape rippled and morphed around them, transporting them directly into the realm. As they looked around, the realization hit them—there was no visible way back. The exit had vanished. "Looks like retreat's not an option," Arion muttered, tightening his grip on his gear. The mission was clear—find Zar, no matter what. —————————————— Zar continued walking toward the towering structure, Gorath trailing closely by his side. Though he tried to maintain a composed demeanor, his heart raced—this was the moment he had spent years chasing, yet it felt more daunting than he had ever imagined. "Is this entire place the laboratory, or is the actual lab hidden somewhere inside this castle?" he muttered under his breath, keeping his pace steady. He stopped about twenty steps away from the castle's entrance. The gate loomed before them, its dark and menacing design sending a chill down his spine. Both Zar and Gorath hesitated, staring at the ominous doorway as if it could swallow them whole. "Even the entrance is terrifying," Zar whispered, gripping the strap of his bag tightly. "And here I was wondering why Umbraxis is feared so much." His eyes wandered upward, spotting a broken window about five meters above them on one of the castle's side pillars. He examined it closely and nodded to himself. "That window looks a lot safer than this cursed entrance," Zar said, a flicker of hope lighting his face. He then turned to Gorath with a straight face. "Alright, little guy. Time to show me more of that usefulness." Zar and Gorath approached the base of the pillar. Zar examined the height of the broken window one more time before turning to Gorath. "Alright, listen. Build a tall stone pillar under my feet so I can climb up to that window," Zar instructed firmly. Gorath tilted his head and let out a confused growl. "Haæeæa??" His expression mirrored his puzzlement, as if the request made no sense to him. Zar sighed and gestured with his hands. "A pillar—like that massive rock you summoned to throw Orestes away. Do that again." Gorath paused, staring at Zar before shuffling back a little. He focused, his small body trembling as he attempted to summon the rock beneath Zar's feet. But all he managed to create was a stubby stone, barely five centimeters tall. Gorath grunted and strained, pushing himself to the limit, but the stone wouldn't grow any larger. Zar watched with a worried expression. "What's going on with him?" he thought. As Gorath continued struggling, Zar's mind raced. "How did he summon such massive rocks back then? Was it the curse of that cage amplifying his power? For his size and age, he doesn't actually have the strength to summon anything that big on his own." Zar pulled out the two sickles Aelrithar had given him, securing Gorath on top of his bag before slinging it over his shoulders. With a determined breath, he began climbing the pillar, using the sickles as makeshift climbing hooks. His injuries burned with every pull, and the weight on his back made the climb even more grueling. Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the top and hoisted himself up. Collapsing inside the broken window, Zar let out a heavy breath and dropped the bag to the ground. Gorath tumbled out but quickly regained his footing. "I'm completely out of strength," Zar muttered, his voice laced with exhaustion. "I couldn't even fight off a barking dog right now if it came at me. I didn't know the effects of that orb would last this long." He took a moment to catch his breath, leaning against the cold, stone wall. After steadying himself, Zar turned to Gorath and said, "Alright, listen—here's the backup plan." He held up the wand he'd used to enter the realm, pointing at the fragile crystal ball attached to it. "If we run into any danger, I'll break this immediately. It'll trigger the escape spell and take us out of this realm." Zar paused, looking at the dark interior of the castle ahead. Shadows danced along the walls, and the eerie silence made the space feel alive. "I'll miss the chance to see the umbrites if that happens," Zar admitted, "but my life comes first." Gorath growled softly, as if he understood the plan and agreed. Zar gripped the wand tightly, his resolve strengthening despite his fatigue. "Let's go." —————————————— Arion carefully scanned the surroundings, his eyes sharp and focused for any clues. Meanwhile, one of the cops, Cop 1, was fiddling with a broken violin he'd found among the scattered debris. Its strings were torn, yet he plucked at it as if trying to play a tune. "What exactly are you trying to do, Cop 1?" Arion asked, raising an eyebrow. Cop 1 smirked without looking up. "Investigation. This is my method, so keep your nose out of it." Before Arion could retort, Cop 2 called out, "Hey! Come check this out." The group gathered around a small, broken cage lying near the cave entrance. The shattered metal bars looked freshly damaged. Cop 2 ran his fingers along the edges and examined the damage. "Judging by the state of the metal, this cage was broken maybe a day ago—two days at most." Arion stepped in closer, narrowing his eyes as he absorbed faint energy traces lingering around the cage. "Zar was here. These particles... they match his energy signature." "Probably him, then," Cop 3 chimed in, crouching near the footprints scattered around the cage. "Look at these—someone definitely came toward this cage and stopped here. Then they most likely jumped into that cave right after." He pointed toward a dark, gaping entrance beside the broken cage. "But what was in this cage?" Cop 3 muttered, inspecting it more closely. Arion straightened up, brushing off their theories. "Are you guys nuts? Zar isn't some curious fool who dives into random caves just because they look mysterious. He's focused. He has a goal, and I guarantee you he's not wasting time wandering around." He pointed at the footprints. "And these? They're not his. For two obvious reasons—first, they're unnecessarily large, and second, there's no sign of these footprints anywhere else in this area. Whoever or whatever made these prints didn't leave a trail—almost like it appeared here out of nowhere." Before anyone could respond, the grating sound of the violin screeched through the air again. Arion's patience snapped. "Cop 1! Stop playing that damned flute!" he shouted, still bent over the cage. "It's scrambling my thoughts!" Cop 1 flinched, finally setting the instrument aside as silence fell over the group once more. Cop 2's expression hardened as he said in a firm, dissatisfied tone, "Arion, we're here because you requested backup. You might want to remember that and let us handle things our way." Arion, unfazed, replied in his usual nonchalant manner, "I don't care about all that. What I do care about is the fact that none of you can leave this realm without me. So, unless you're planning to get stuck here forever, I suggest you start listening to me." "And let's not pretend you're here out of the goodness of your hearts. We all know you agreed because catching someone chasing after Umbraxis—the greatest weapon of mass destruction—is a guaranteed promotion." The group fell silent. None of the cops could argue against his logic, and the tension in the air thickened. Cop 2 grumbled under his breath, "This kid…" but chose to let it go, unwilling to escalate the argument further. While Cop 2 and Cop 3 were investigating the area, Cop 1 wandered around, distracted by various items on the ground. "Why are there so many broken musical instruments around? Did we accidentally get teleported to a ruined ancient orchestra?" he muttered. He stopped in front of a broken piano, one that Zar had thrown at Orestes earlier. Examining it closely, he called out, "Hey, y'all, look at this one. This looks freshly broken too!" Arion's attention was immediately drawn, and he left the cage to inspect the piano. "Zar's energy particles again... and there are so many of them. It's as if he channeled a load of energy into this piano and exploded it," Arion murmured, absorbing the energy particles from the piano. Cop 1 raised an eyebrow. "Does he have something against pianos?" "No," Arion replied, still focused on the piano. "In fact, he loved playing piano during his days off." He paused for a moment, thinking. "He most likely had a fight with Orestes, the gatekeeper mentioned in that book. That's why there are so many shard spikes around too. There's no way Zar could've beaten him, so he probably just escaped or... died. Maybe the cops were right. He must have used the cave as an escape route." Before Arion could think any further, Cop 3 called them over from a distance, pointing at something on the ground. "The land is muddy here, and there are two different sets of footprints. One of them is undoubtedly Zar's!" Arion smirked, a gleam of triumph in his eyes. "Got you, Zar. Just wait for us." —————————————— It had been an hour since Zar began exploring the castle, but despite covering every inch, he had yet to find the laboratory containing the Umbrite. Exhausted, he sat down in a dimly lit corridor. "I hate it when the thing I'm interested in starts getting boring," he muttered, his voice heavy and low. Gorath, on the other hand, remained as energetic as ever. Gorath began running down the corridor but suddenly slipped on the oily floor, making a loud, echoing noise instead of the usual crack of a slip. Zar, sensing something was off, immediately examined the floor. He knocked on the ground with his fist three times. Each time, the same hollow, echoing sound reverberated back. "So there's a ground floor too?" Zar mused, his interest piqued. He then looked at Gorath. "Jump on the ground, see if we can break through." Gorath leapt, but despite his strength, he couldn't make a dent. Zar's frustration mounted. He grabbed Gorath with both hands and threw him onto the floor with all his might. The ground cracked open immediately, creating a hole large enough to reveal what lay beneath. As expected, Gorath shattered into pieces, but as usual, he quickly reformed himself. Zar, without hesitation, jumped into the hole. To his surprise, the ground floor was none other than the laboratory he had been searching for. Zar immediately stood up, his eyes locking onto the object at the center of the room—a glass sphere resting on a table. Inside it, the Umbrite shimmered, its violet hue radiating waves of energy so vibrant that the dark laboratory glowed under its light. The table was barely ten steps away, but to Zar, it felt like an eternity. His breath quickened as he took slow, deliberate steps toward it, his gaze fixed on the sphere. The sight of the Umbrite mesmerized him, as though it had cast a spell on his very soul. "Even more magnificent than I imagined," Zar murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. Now close enough to touch it, he extended his hand, his fingers trembling ever so slightly. Gorath, despite lacking the ability to fully comprehend human emotions, sensed something unusual about Zar's demeanor. For the first time, a flicker of unease stirred within him as he observed Zar's captivated expression. Gorath stared at him with a concerned look, an unfamiliar tension building as if even he could sense the gravity of what Zar was about to do. —————————————— At the site of the mythical structure leading to the hidden laboratory, Arion and the cops arrived, dragging along Aelrithar. The old man appeared brutally tortured— his body weakened, his face bruised, and his clothes stained with dried blood. His left leg had been severed from the knee down, forcing him to rely on one of the cops for support as they moved. The group also brought along his ox, held hostage, its reins firmly in the hands of another officer. Despite being a sorcerer, Aelrithar could do nothing to fight back. The cops of Valtheris were equipped with special gears designed to counter most forms of magic, leaving him powerless and completely at their mercy. As they reached the circular gate embedded in the ground, one of the cops shoved Aelrithar forward, causing him to stumble and fall. "Perform the damn ritual now!" the cop barked. "You've already wasted enough of our time!" Aelrithar barely managed to lift his head. His voice trembled, strained and weak from both exhaustion and pain. "The ritual... it can't be performed with only one leg," he stammered. Arion, leaning lazily against his staff, rolled his eyes in irritation. "Are you not tired of these excuses?" he said coldly. "I'm certainly tired of torturing you over and over. Stop being so stubborn and do it already!" "It's not an excuse!" Aelrithar protested, his voice breaking as he tried to plead. "I'm telling you the truth-it's physically impossible! Why can't you understand?" His words were met with nothing but Arion's frustrated glare. The young man snapped his fingers. "Cop 3." Without hesitation, Cop 3 raised his weapon and fired a concentrated laser beam, striking the ox's eye. The animal let out a deafening, agonized cry that echoed across the desolate landscape. "NO!" Aelrithar's anguished scream pierced the air as tears streamed down his face. He collapsed further to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Arion remained unmoved. With a blank expression, he tossed a staff toward Aelrithar's feet. "Stop crying. You're a grown man," Arion said, his voice as unbothered as ever. After a short pause, he added, "The ox is still alive. It will stay that way-as long as you stop wasting my time and do what you're told." One of the cops leaned over to his partner and whispered nervously, "There's no way this kid's just a high-schooler. He's starting to scare me..." Aelrithar's trembling hands reached for the staff. With his breathing uneven and tears still flowing, he began the ritual. His thoughts raced as he chanted, despair gripping him tightly. "This is wrong... all of this is wrong. You monsters will face punishment someday. I know it." Finally, the ritual concluded. The gate creaked and groaned as ancient mechanisms came to life, revealing the hidden path. Arion stepped forward, signaling the cops to release the ox. "We don't have enough time, zar must've already found the umbrites, let's just head into this gate". Before they could step through the gate, one of the cops suddenly caught a signal from their reinforcement team. Arion snapped his attention toward him. "What was that?" The cop checked his device and responded, "It's a message from the reinforcements. They said we've been inside this realm for far too long. They had no choice but to follow us in. I sent them our coordinates—they should be arriving shortly." Arion raised an eyebrow. "Good. They better hurry, though. We have no idea how long this gate is going to stay open." He paused and looked around. "Where's that Aelrithar guy? Let's ask him." The group quickly scanned the area, but Aelrithar was nowhere to be found. One of the cops cursed under his breath. "He ran," another cop muttered. Arion rolled his eyes, clearly unfazed. "Forget him. He's dead weight now anyway. It doesn't matter if the reinforcements can't make it in time—we'll sort this out ourselves." With that, he gestured for the team to advance. Weapons drawn and senses sharp, they stepped toward the gate, ready to face whatever lay beyond.