The whole world went silent. The three students were scattered like lonely mutts before a terrible calamity: a man, a stranger. No one could muster the courage to blink, breathe, or move. Time itself seemed to stop in an evil, ironic mockery.

As the seconds passed, even the sound of the rain and the whistling of the wind were swallowed by the muteness of pure shock. The situation had escalated from nothing to deadly in a flash—leaving the students to face a difficult decision, and to answer an impossible question.

What now?

Just the sight of Aiden’s bloodied head pinned beneath the merciless stomp of a pair of boots, and the slow breathing of the broken beauty who had been beside them only seconds ago, was enough for them to taste the rusted steel themselves.

They were frozen.

As if intending to cut through the atmosphere of terror, a deep, manly voice suddenly spoke from behind. "Hey. Hurry it up. We’re leaving."

The tall man remained silent as he crouched down to his knees, lifted Aiden into his arms, and turned back, keeping his eyes glued on the students left behind.

"Sir, shouldn’t we take them too?" he asked indifferently.

"No. We ran out of..." The unseen man paused. "Never mind. Just leave them and hurry up. That kid you’ve got there seems special."

The cloaked man simply nodded beneath his hood and resumed his pace.

As Team Yellow shivered with every step he took, they focused on the owner of the voice. Their hearts begged them to see the one responsible for this disaster, but their souls simply remained paralyzed with terror.

Only one of them managed to look back.

Loyu turned her head so slowly and hesitantly that, if it weren’t for the fact that she had done so consciously, not even she might’ve been able to notice. Her pupils glided to the far corner of her eyes, desperately trying to avoid being caught. No one could tell what would happen if they did, no matter how harmless such a movement was.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally managed to fully glance back. However, what met her sight made her act on the spot.

Seris was slowly fighting to stand up, her face so pale it blended with the mist. Loyu watched what would most likely be her final struggle. Something told her that, unlike Aldrus and the others, the silver-haired princess wouldn’t share their luck.

Just as Seris finally managed to get up, mere moments away from lunging forward, Loyu clenched her teeth and shut her eyes with the resolve of a thousand men.

She put everything into it.

That one action.

That single helping hand.

When reality became meaningless... when the most animal of instincts took over... when the purpose and duty of a comrade demanded action—every single part of her moved as one, leading in a single direction.

Backwards.

The brown-haired girl opened her eyes, now brimming with tears. She caught the scent of dirt and the taste of rain.

"Guys! Movement up ahead!" The straightforward voice of a friendly caveman suddenly reached her heart.

That was all she needed.

"NO!"

Everyone jolted and turned toward the once oh-so-calm and gentle girl, just in time to catch her body before collapsing to the ground.

"Loyu! What’s wrong?! Hey! What’s going on?!" Sornel asked, still stunned by her sudden outburst.

"DON’T GO, PLEASE!!" the girl screamed, begging once again. "L-LISTEN... to me..."

Yet she ultimately couldn’t force herself to explain. Still, seeing the state she was in, every single one of them decided to retreat. It may not have been conventional, but in that moment, they all became certain of one truth: A desperate scream was worth a thousand words.

What none of them knew, however, was that Loyu’s actions would become the key to finding the light amidst the storm. The one that still was yet to come.

***

Present—2:00 P.M.

About four hours had passed since the jailer’s first visit that day. He had returned once more to deliver food as promised. Now Aldrus, Alice, and Cedric sat in a circle, just as they had the previous night.

Whether the jailer’s words were true or not, they couldn’t simply remain there and do nothing. At the very least, they had to try.

"Alright. So, here’s what we have," Aldrus said. "We know for certain Aiden’s in here, somewhere, and that Cedric’s brother should be fine. However, right now we need to consider an escape plan. Even if it ends up being futile, I’m leaning toward searching for the weak point that guy talked about."

Beside him, Cedric clicked his tongue and muttered, still unconvinced, "Don’t tell me you actually believe him. There’s no way there’s a real weak point here."

"What’s strange is the fact that he was directly instructed to tell us such a thing, almost as if... as if they wanted us to try," Alice pointed out.

"Hmm. Yeah, I noticed that too. For starters, I’ve begun to think this entire cell might be an artifact. I mean, if the shackles weren’t what prevented us from using our powers, then the only other explanation would be this place itself. But that still doesn’t explain how it relates to us ’finding a weak point’ or why they would want us to try."

"I think you’re overthinking it, Aldrus. The facts are simple. They seem eager to watch us struggle, yet we can’t just go against that either, and they know it. Whether it benefits them or not, staying here without trying is a guaranteed loss," Cedric said.

Ahh, man... My head hurts...

The three fell silent, each absorbed in their own thoughts. No matter how much they analyzed the situation, they remained completely trapped.

They had to make a decision soon. Going in circles wouldn’t accomplish anything. However, they also couldn’t just carelessly attempt something dangerous without knowing the full repercussions of their actions. At least not while Aiden’s life was in their hands.

Still, although everything seemed hopeless, Aldrus thoroughly reflected on these thoughts, convinced the key to their freedom lay behind that annoying contradiction. And as he spent some time on it, before long, he slowly reached a single conclusion...

Actually, it was rather simple.

A Holder’s power heavily relied on their Perspective, not only in the way they usually thought of it—something like a mana reserve—but rather, the actual meaning of the word. Everything could affect the outcome they desired, and especially for Holders, emotions and concerns played the biggest role.

That had made him think... what if their current mental strain was precisely what the captors sought?