Jason stood frozen in front of the heavy wooden door at the top floor of the tower, heart hammering against his ribs. His hand hovered just inches from the handle. He hesitated. Whatever might be behind this door could be either good or just plain evil, but curiosity was a dangerous thing, and this is exactly why Jason entertained it. The same pull from his dream tugged at him like an invisible hook in his chest. He could still hear the faint whisper echoing in his mind: *Find me... At the center...*

"Jason, what the hell are you doing?" Ylva hissed from behind him, claws flexing. "We don’t have time for this! Every second we waste, more of them are coming!"

He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for the door and wrapped his fingers around the handle. The moment his skin touched the metal, a powerful jolt of magic surged through his palm like electricity. The door was enchanted — heavily. It refused to budge even an inch.

"Shit... it’s locked by magic," Jason grunted, pushing harder. Pain shot up his arm, but he didn’t let go. Thanks to the system’s twenty percent adaptation to magic, he was able to overpower at least part of the enchantment. His unique system had granted him some immunity, enough to negate a portion of the spell. He felt the magic crack and weaken under his grip, like ice breaking under pressure.

With a strained growl, Jason shoved the door open.

The room beyond was dark and smelled of rot and old blood. On the stone floor lay a single male elf, severely malnourished. His ribcage showed clearly through paper-thin skin, every bone visible. His long silver hair was matted and filthy, but his eyes — when they finally opened — burned with life.

Ylva stepped in behind Jason and immediately let out an irritated growl. "Jason, are you serious right now?" she snapped, ears flat against her head. "Look at him! He’s half-dead. There’s no exit here, no place for us to run. We need to leave!"

Jason didn’t move. He just stared at the elf, caught in a strange trance, eyes locked on the broken figure.

Ylva grabbed his arm and yanked hard. "Hey! Snap out of it! Why are you wasting time staring at an elf when we’re being chased? If we decide to save this one, it will slow us down drastically. The smart choice is to leave him behind and run. Now!"

Jason still didn’t respond at first. His mind was racing, but his body refused to move.

Ylva’s voice rose, frustration clear. "Jason! You might be a man-whore who thinks with his dick half the time, but I know you have a good heart. Still... this is suicide. We can’t carry him. They’ll catch us for sure!"

Ylva seemed to be the only one who recognized the urgency of their situation, this pissed her off all the more.

Before Jason could answer, the elf on the floor flicked his wrist weakly. The heavy door behind them suddenly shattered from its hinges with a deafening crack, wooden splinters exploding outward. The force caught Jason completely off guard. He stumbled back, eyes wide.

The elf slowly raised his head. The look in his eyes was pure, burning hatred — the kind that came from years of suffering.

Jason realized what had happened. "I didn’t open the door alone," he whispered. "I just weakened the enchantment when I touched the handle. He used the opening I gave him to break it from the inside."

The elf’s cracked lips moved. His voice was hoarse but filled with venom. "Finally... someone with enough power to crack their cage."

Ylva was stunned. She couldn’t utter a word, her mouth hanging open. But her sharp ears caught something — footsteps racing up the stairs.

"Hey! Intruders! Stop right there!" an elf guard screamed as she reached the top landing, mana already crackling around her raised hand, ready to launch an attack.

Before she could take another step forward, her head exploded in a violent burst of blood and bone. The body dropped like a sack of meat.

Jason’s blood ran cold. "Oh fuck... I might have made a big mistake."

The malnourished elf on the floor let out a low, rasping laugh that sent chills down both their spines. "You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment."

Ylva finally found her voice, grabbing Jason’s arm again. "Jason, we need to run. Now. Whatever this is, it’s bigger than us."

But Jason couldn’t look away from the elf. The pull from his dream was stronger than ever. This broken, hateful creature was the voice that had called to him.

Jason realized in that moment they mignt be something inherently messed up with this race.

The elf slowly pushed himself up on shaky arms, eyes never leaving Jason. "You... you are not one of them. Good. Then perhaps you can help me finish what they started."

Jason swallowed hard. "Yeah... I’m starting to think opening that door was a really bad idea."

Jason knew none of this would be happening if he didn’t come here, it wasn’t like the elves forced him to do so.

And if they were keeping something like him captured, the first question that came to mind was how was someone so strong was able to be reduced to this state.

"I-I saw you in my dreams," The elf said, as he struggled to get to his feet, his entire body shaking aggressively but Jason had no idea what he was talking about.

"You are my saviour..." The elf continued and just like that, Jason saw another opportunity to lie his way out of this situation.

"So you saw it... The visions I made you have...." Jason said with a grin and Ylva was genuinely too stunned to speak.

"You gave me those visions? The ones I slaughtered my parents with my own hands? The ones I kill all these bitches and create furnitures from their corpses? Because those visions kept me going and I always saw you standing before me like you are doing right now..."

"Wait what?" Jason nearly choked on his saliva because what the fuck was he hearing, this damn elf was a pyscho!