Slowly, a cocoon begins to crack open, revealing a beautiful blue butterfly. It unfurls its wings and tries to fly. As the butterfly flutters, shining powder trails behind, glimmering as it falls to the ground.
The powder lands on a plant, and as soon as it touches the leaves, they wither and turn black. The butterfly is about to spread its wings and fly out the window when suddenly, a hand reaches out, clutching it tightly. Tears stream down as the hand clenches into a fist, crushing the delicate wings.
The man, shaking off his hand, remarks, "Beautiful, but deadly."
At that moment, the door opens, and Isabella steps into the room. She says, "Father, you called for me?"
The man, Vincent Griffin, the king of the entire empire, stands calmly and responds, "A fragment of the Dark Moon is being auctioned inside Silver City. We need it at any cost. You must go personally to ensure that no one else even dares to lay eyes on it."
Isabella, slightly uneasy, asks, "But Father, is it so crucial for me to go? And what about the other responsibilities entrusted to me? What if this news turns out to be false...?"
Vincent Griffin turns sharply, his voice filled with anger. "How dare you question me?"
Hearing this, Isabella's face pales, and she quickly apologizes, "Forgive me, Father, that was not my intention."
Vincent, now composed, says, "Good. As for your duties, Victoria will handle them."
After Isabella leaves, Vincent whispers to himself, "Dark Moon..."
Evening, in the dungeon
Aniket lies on his back, staring at the ceiling, humming a tune, "Come, come, my heart calls you. We, the unlucky ones, are helpless."
In a nearby cell, another boy, sitting with his mouth slightly open, mutters to himself, "I'm in this pit because of that girl, and here this guy is singing like he's expecting royal delicacies instead of torture."
Half an hour passes, then two.
Aniket, playing rock-paper-scissors with himself, declares with a chuckle, "Look, I won!" Yawning, he adds, "What nonsense... she's still not here."
Li Mei, watching him coldly, comments, "Why are you in such a hurry to be tortured?"
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps grows louder. Two figures appear in front of Aniket.
With a sly grin, Aniket remarks, "Xavier... and you, the useless guy. Are your ancestors still cursing me? I remember hitting you pretty hard between the legs yesterday."
The man's face flushes red with anger.
Ignoring him, Aniket continues, "Where's your blood-sucking mosquito of a princess? I've been waiting all morning to get tortured!"
Xavier, calm as always, replies, "For your own good, you should hold your tongue."
The other man interjects, "After all the torture you went through yesterday, how do you still have the audacity to speak like this?"
Xavier extends his hand and commands, "Activate."
The chains mounted on the wall behind Aniket rattle violently, dripping with oil, and swiftly restrain him once again.
Xavier opens the barred door and steps inside. With a faint smile, he says, "You can thank the gods that the princess had to leave for an important task. But that doesn't mean we won't take special care of you."
Avinash, now more alert after witnessing yesterday's events, braces himself as the door opens once more. But it's of no use. A calm voice echoes, "Activate."
Chains shoot out and bind him as well. Avinash looks ahead and notices the priest standing there, but this time, his clothes are stained with blood.
As he glances to the left, he realizes the man standing there isn't the same one from yesterday. This new man's hands are trembling slightly.
Noticing this, the priest chuckles and says, "I hope you don't disappoint me like the last one. You've already seen what became of him. There's no turning back now, so stop trembling."
The trembling man starts laughing maniacally. "This is going to be so much fun!" he exclaims, his tone unhinged.
The priest sneers. "You sewer rat, it seems you'll last here longer than I thought."
Avinash, realizing he's in deep trouble, stammers nervously, "W-What happened to that other man?"
The priest looks at him and says sharply, "Hero, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. We don't like idle chatter while we work."
The new man, gripping his butcher's knife tightly, moves toward Avinash's fingers. Just as he's about to slash, the priest interrupts, "Stop. This will take too long. I want you to—"
But the new man ignores him, mumbling obsessively, "First the fingers, then the hands, then the legs, and finally the head…" He repeats the mantra like a lunatic as he readies his blade.
Sweat drips from Avinash's face. His fear is so overwhelming that he feels paralyzed, unable to sense his own legs. His heart pounds louder and faster than ever before. He wants to scream, but his throat feels dry, his voice utterly lost.
Suddenly, the priest shouts angrily, "NO! Didn't you hear what I said?"
The man abruptly stops, stepping back and muttering, "Apologies… I got a little too excited."
The priest takes a deep breath, calming himself. "Good. At least you know your place. For a moment, I thought I'd have to teach you the same lesson as the last one."
Just then, a sting lashes out, wrapping around the priest. Startled, the priest looks back and exclaims, "Victoria! Sir, you—"
Victoria, wielding the sting with precision, yanks it sharply, shredding the priest into countless pieces.
With a commanding voice, Victoria declares, "I hope everyone is listening carefully. I don't know how things were run here before, but from now on, everything will be under my supervision."
He continues, "As for collecting the blood—heroes must be rendered unconscious first. I won't tolerate anyone dying from excessive torture. Understand this: your lives are worth less than ants compared to the heroes."
His voice booms through the chamber, resonating in every corner.
For some, it felt like the voice of an angel. But whether it belonged to an angel or a demon, only time would tell.
A Week Later
Someone shouted angrily, "That's it! I can't take this anymore! You said we could escape from here!"
Aniket, taking a deep breath, replied, "It's pointless. We can't beat them. Even if you manage to get out of your cage, there are so many guards outside the door that they'll capture you in an instant."
He added, "And on top of that, their powers are on a completely different level."
Another voice chimed in, "But you said we have superpowers. If we use them, we can—"
Aniket interrupted, "It's useless. Our powers are completely worthless."
A third voice snapped, "Shut up! Just because your powers are useless doesn't mean ours are!"
Aniket retorted, "First, stop speaking in your native language. They might understand it."
He continued, "And yes, your powers might be better than mine, but without mana, they're still useless. You couldn't even pull off a basic magic trick with them."
Another voice spoke up, "So, you're saying we should just sit here, without a plan, while they ruthlessly drain our blood every day?"
Yet another voice questioned, "Do you even know why they're collecting our blood daily?"
Aniket smirked, "Ah, Miss Silent finally speaks. I think that's the first time I've heard you open your mouth. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if you're even alive."
The girl's voice came again, sharp and cold, "Shut up and answer the question."
Aniket sighed, "That dog, that cunning bastard Xavier, won't spill anything. Every time I try to trick him into talking, he clams up like the sly fox he is. Sure, he talks a lot, but none of it is useful."
He added, "And for the record, I don't know what kind of superpowers you all have, but mine isn't completely useless. I'm planning to blow a hole in this wall in about a month."
Another voice questioned, "Even if you manage that, what then? You think they won't kill you?"
Li Mei asked cautiously, "How exactly are you planning to blow up the wall?"
Aniket replied with a grin, "Obviously, with explosives. I've been manifesting a stash of gunpowder and storing it on the left side of my room. You see, my power allows me to create or manifest things. But without mana, I can only manage about a gram at a time. Just a few more days, and I'll have enough."
Li Mei, slightly concerned, said, "Just make sure you don't blow yourself up along with the wall."
Aniket laughed, "Have you ever heard the line, 'Risk is the price you pay for freedom.'"
Avinash, "And thus, I was watching him move towards his death."