A mechanical hum filled the void as the black colossal doors of the fortress began to shift. Massive metal plates slid apart, revealing an endless abyss of darkness within. Jin could feel it instantly, there was an unnatural pull coming from inside those doors. It was as though the prison itself was alive.
Every instinct in Jin's body was telling him to flee. He nervously glanced over at Ymir, his senior, yet Sir Ymir remained completely unshaken, his aged eyes locked onto the fortress and were filled with unwavering bravery and possibly a hint of fear.
Jin ignored his instincts and stepped forward through the titanic doors. The atmosphere was incredibly heavy. Inside, the prison was completely silent, its walls were lined with glowing runes that pulsed in an ancient rhythm. As the two ventured deeper, the atmosphere grew even heavier, the air seemed to be pressing down on them like an unseen force. Guards lined the corridor, they remained completely motionless. Their weapons were at the ready as if they were waiting for an enemy attack. Various scientists could be seen moving around the area, going in and out of various unknown rooms. They too were in complete silence.
Then the two reached the chamber.
At the center of the room, a figure sat completely motionless on a raised floating platform. His body was bound in an elaborate web of golden chains, glowing with unknown ethereal energy, the inscriptions on the chains were shifting and moving like like it was alive. The chains wrapped around each of his limbs, they were coiled tightly around his chest, and ran deep into the walls, binding him to the prison itself. Each chain pulsed with power. They were not just restraining movement, but crushing the very essence of strength. They were continuously absorbing the prisoners energy.
The prisoner's face was covered by the strands of his long, blond, and disheveled hair. His body, though seemingly devoid of any muscle, fat, or nutrients, radiated with a power so immense that even in his weakened state, it sent a chill down Jin's spine.
Jin's voice came out as a whisper. "W-who? Who is he?"
Sir Ymir did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at the glowing chains, his eyes scanning each intricate rune. Finally, he spoke.
"Are you aware of the incident that took place around 6years ago... The Lunark Massacre?"
Jin responded, "Who doesn't? One of the largest cities in the entire human domain was wiped off the map. Hundreds of millions of people were killed by an army of Tier-6, 7, and 8 beasts."
Ymir frowned and said, "Thats the one." and then glanced back to the prisoner.
Jin followed his gaze and his eyes widened in shock as he came to a unnerving realisation, "Wait!" He looked back at Ymir, "Are you trying to tell me that he killed all those people?"
Ymir shook his head, his gaze remained on the prisoner bound by the golden chains, "No he did not." Ymir paused, the silence was palpable. He slowly turned to Jin and said, with a hint of brutality hidden in his aged eyes, "We killed them."
Jin's eyes widened even more. The two's silence lasted for a while. Jin's thoughts were running wild. He knew about the corruption in the COE, he knew about some of the things the COE had done and still do in order to keep their power. But he also believed that the COE was a necessary evil in a world full of monsters. But this... How could massacring millions of people be justified in anyway. He finally calmed down after processing his thoughts and asked a simple question, "Why?"
Ymir responded instantly, "7 years ago, we noticed strange influxes of energy just before various attacks against the COE. A few of our prisoner camps were sabotaged and a couple supply lines were taken out over the course of a few years. It never arouse too much suspicion as the attacks were big enough to make a difference, but not important enough for us to look into properly.
That all changed when, by accident, one of our researches noticed those strange influxes of energy and we realised that a few very powerful evolvers were behind these attacks against us."
He took a calculated step forward, distancing himself slightly from Jin and continued "Very few people knew about the locations of the prisoner camps so we knew these werent your run of the mill terrorists. They were dangerous, and worst of all they were smart. For a year, we couldn't find a single thing about them and they hadn't attacked us again since the investigation started, as if they knew we were looking into them. Eventually, after a lot of time and effort our research led us to a group of evolvers that called themselves Silent Genisis.
We didn't know much about them but we found out that their leaders were powerful. Powerful enough to take on the entire human domain"
Jin cut him off and said "Hold on. How have I never heard of them? People that strong shouldn't be able to hide under the radar."
"Because before they could make any moves we managed to find them hiding in the city of Lunark." Ymir was silent again, seeming trying to think of how to explain the next part to Jin. "They somehow got word that we knew their location, so they tried to flee. To stop them, me and the majority of the other Council members combined our abilities into one attack. We couldn't let poeple as powerful as they were espace. So we made the necessary sacrifice. The city of Lunark."
Ymir turned back to look at the prisoner and continued his explanation, "Around 70% of the city was destroyed, along with 80% of its population. Yet... Yet after all of that..." A visible rage came across Ymir's face as he narrowed his eyes while staring at the man in chains, "We only injured 3 out of the 5 members."
Jin responded immediately, "What happened to the other 20% of the population of Lunark? If this is their leader then where are the other four members?"
Ymir took a deep breath, seemingly attempting to contain his rage, "As for your second question, the 3 injured members of Silent Genisis escaped, while this man and another member held us all off."
Ymir chuckled and shook his head, "Us council members are supposed to be the pinnacle of strength in the human domain, the 'apex' of human evolvers. Yet 2 evolvers, no older than 25 held off 9 Council members at once. Our battle lasted days and the aftermath was devastating. The remaining population of Lunark were killed through collateral damage, but more importantly, 4 Council members were killed that day. And what was the result? Failure. Despite all the sacrifices we made to catch them most of their leaders escaped and we were only able to imprison 2 of their members."
Jin frowned, he was confused. He was scared "Then why not just kill the two that you caught?"
The old man let out another dry chuckle. "Do you think we haven't tried?"
Jin turned his gaze back to the prisoner, his heart pounding. The chains that were attached to that man... He could feel them, suppressing not just his immense power and strength, but his existence itself. This was definitely more than just a prison.
"The only thing we can do for now is weaken him, bind him here, and ensure that he never-"
"Interesting."
The voice was less than a whisper, its volume so quiet that only those with incredibly high senses could hear it. Jin and even Ymir froze. The prisoner had barely moved and barely spoken, however, the already crushing pressure in the prison increased.
Jin's legs almost gave in however he composed himself soon after.
The prisoner slowly raised his head, and for the first time, Jin saw his eyes. Each eye contained 3 different colours. His left eye was black, white and gold, whereas his right, was red, blue and green. Jin stared deep into his eyes, they were incredible. It was like looking into a ferocious void of untamed fire.
Suddenly, a spark ignited in the center of the young man's chest. A single flame flickered into existence. The golden chains surged in response, their inscriptions burning with intensity, fighting to suppress whatever force was awakening within him. The chains shook and tightened their grip on the man.
But it was too late.
The ember expanded into a small flame, hovering before him. Then, as though answering an unseen call, it broke free and shot forward. It phased through the barriers, through the very walls of reality itself, and streaked across the void like a comet, hurtling toward the world below.
"What… what did you just do Rohan?" Sir Ymir clenched his jaw as he reached behind his back, his grip tightened around the battle-axe that was strapped to his back.
The prisoner only chuckled in response to the question.
The prisoner tilted his head slightly, his grin sharp. "Just experimenting a bit old man, no need to be such a pussy about it."
The mysterious chained prisoner Rohan, the leader of the terrorist cell Silent Genesis lowered his head and looked in the direction of Veyros. His eyes reflected a glint of happiness and hope as he said, "I am placing a bet on the next generation. A child has been caught in the flames of fate. I am going to give him some help."
Silence hung in the air as Jin and Ymir exchanged glances. Something had just changed. Something had shifted.
And for the first time in almost 8 years, the prisoner, bound in chains that kept him weak and broken, laughed.