"What do we do?!" Adam asked quickly, breath broken, sweat dripping from his forehead.
But Kayden didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the wall, searching for a word SOS.
He focused his spiritual energy into his legs. Heat gathered in his muscles, then he kicked the wall with explosive force. The cave shook—but didn't break.
Adam pushed him aside. "Move."
He raised his fist and struck. The wall cracked.
' This is unfair ', counting internally. One minute. That's all they had before everything reset. Survival was the only goal—but something inside him told him that wasn't enough.
"ADAM! HIT IT AGAIN!" he shouted, voice shaking with tension and fear.
But Adam didn't strike again. Instead, he closed his eyes… and released his energy into the cave itself.
It seeped into the cracks, spreading through the stone like veins.
And then—Light exploded. Not a glow. Not illumination.
A sea of light swallowed everything walls, ceiling, ground.
Gravity collapsed , Balance shattered. The world flipped.
Kayden felt his feet leave the ground. His vision filled with white. Sound dissolved. Reality folded inward.
"DON'T DROP THE SNAKE!!" Kayden screamed—
But it was too late.
Adam hit the ground first, pain shooting through his spine like fire.
Then Kayden landed directly on top of him.
No sound came out. Just air forced violently from Adam's lungs.
"I'm… actually going to die…" Adam muttered weakly.
When Kayden rolled off him, Adam finally managed to breathe again.
"How much do you weigh, damn it?" he gasped.
"Ninety-five… maybe more?" Kayden muttered, exhausted. Then he turned his head.
The snake was there dead. It looked like Adam had crushed it during the fall.
Adam didn't stand immediately. He sat for a moment, studying his broken body, then slowly got up.
"Kay… get up. Let's go to the city."
They walked together in heavy silence.
Kayden noticed blood dripping from Adam's hand.
"Adam… your hand is bleeding. Remove the poison."
Adam exhaled, closed his eyes, and released a faint surge of spiritual energy. The poison faded. Then Kayden quickly wrapped the wound.
"The only real thing here is your injuries," Kayden said jokingly while tightening the bandage. "Don't you think about retiring? Or repentance?"
Adam shook his head. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Back in the city, Adam asked about the date.
"Seven days have passed," someone replied.
Kayden sat on a broken bench and stared at Adam.
"Everything happened because of you. The snake was the gate to this amusement-made hell," Kayden muttered. "And you killed it… so we were dragged inside. It was one gate… and one exit in the cave. Maybe… maybe it's gone now."
Then he pointed at Adam's hair and dirty clothes.
"You look like you crawled out of a grave."
"Just noticing that now?" Adam replied coldly. "We shouldn't stay long. Something feels wrong… Nian probably can't tolerate your smell."
Kayden sniffed himself and frowned. "Unfair."
Adam muttered as if admitting it to himself, "Maybe I shouldn't have killed that snake… it was the gate of the illusion."
He suddenly looked up.
A crow circled above them in slow spirals, watching. His expression hardened. Something in him shifted."Kay…" he said quietly, "we need to go back now…"
Henry slowly opened his eyes, as though waking from an unfinished dream. Warm energy flowed through his limbs unfamiliar, yet comforting. He remained still for a moment, unwilling to leave the fragile peace surrounding him.
Silently, he wished he could fail alongside Kayden. He was not ready to move forward without him, but deep down, he trusted Kayden would overcome this as he always did.
Slowly, he rose and opened the door, only to be met by the harsh glow of a lamp. He narrowed his eyes, irritated by the brightness, as though the world itself wanted to disturb him.
Then he saw him.
Kayden sat quietly, a small black cat beside him, lazily observing the room with half-closed eyes.
Henry smiled unconsciously and sat beside him.
Near Kayden lay a few simple foods and a bottle of water, looking like gifts he had picked up along the way or received from one of the train passengers.
"What happened to you?" Henry asked with genuine curiosity, staring at his brother as though trying to make sure he was truly unharmed.
Kayden lightly shrugged, his voice low. "Honestly… Adam was right. I spent a long time lying to myself."
Henry sat beside him and reached for a piece of bread, eating slowly while examining him carefully. "Your clothes… look cheap."
Kayden laughed softly. "I got them from donations. Don't worry, I'm fine."
Henry asked no further questions. He did not need words. Kayden was there, and that alone was enough.
The two stood and decided to head home for some rest. Everything felt less suffocating when the other was nearby.
At the reception room ,Fiona sat across from a man they did not recognize. She looked tense and unsettled, her hands tightly clenched, her gaze distant and uneasy… as though her entire past had suddenly returned to stand before her.
Kayden suddenly whispered in a strained voice, "Who is that?"
Ayrton stood behind Fiona, one hand resting on the back of her chair, his eyes sharp and alert, prepared for any danger.
"I don't know. I can't remember everyone's faces," Ayrton muttered, never taking his eyes off the man.
Kayden rubbed his face as though trying to erase a heavy suspicion. "Maybe… this is just a guess… could he be her husband?"
Ayrton glanced at him sharply. "That would be unexpected. There was never even a marriage contract between them."
"Gentlemen, could you give us some privacy?" the man asked calmly.
Ayrton looked at him coldly. "Introduce yourself first."
The man slowly stood and lowered his hat to his chest as though formally announcing himself. He had dark brown hair and calm brown eyes "My name is Hugo."
"And I'm Ayrton, the supervisor here," Ayrton replied without softening his tone.
Hugo smiled, though the smile never reached his eyes. "Then, Mr. Ayrton… would you allow me some privacy with my wife?"
Fiona's voice came out like a slap. "I'm not your wife. There was never a contract to begin with."
Then she looked at him with unusual coldness. "And you don't get to ask for privacy here. This is a facility, not some filthy den."
Ayrton stepped back slightly in surprise. He had intended to interfere himself… but she had already beaten everyone to it.
Hugo ignored her words as though she had never spoken. "That's not entirely accurate… You still belong to me."
Ayrton stepped forward. "You can't just appear out of nowhere, without proof, and speak as if you own someone. Fiona belongs to no one… not anymore."
Hugo looked at Ayrton with an unreadable smile, his tone balancing between curiosity and provocation. "Then… who does she belong to?"
The question struck like an arrow, but Ayrton did not answer immediately. He looked at Fiona, as though every answer existed within her.
Kayden, feeling the weight of the silence, was about to jab him with his elbow to make him speak, but Ayrton finally answered, his voice quiet at first before growing firmer with every word.
"She belongs to no one. Not me, not you… And if she did belong to me, my devotion would never resemble yours. I cherish blessings… I don't throw them away at the first sign of hardship."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Even Hugo, despite his usual mockery, did not respond immediately. He remained silent for a moment before Adam suddenly broke the silence with his calm voice.
"Do you remember me?"
Hugo stared at him for a moment. Adam, with his striking and imposing appearance, was not the type of person one easily forgot. Yet Hugo frowned, rubbing his forehead like someone trying to recall a fading dream.
"I feel like I've seen you before… but where?"
Adam shook his head, a mocking smile touching his lips. "You're good at running away, aren't you?"
Hugo did not answer, so Adam continued bitterly, "I remember that day… you didn't run. But you gathered a decent number of your friends and disappeared. Among them… that trash, Arbella."
Hugo exhaled deeply and nodded. "That's true… completely true."
But suddenly, his expression changed, as though realization had arrived too late.
"You… You're that butcher. The one who killed so many people…!"
Adam neither confirmed nor denied it. He only continued staring at him in silence.
At that moment, Fiona muttered mockingly, disgust obvious in her eyes. "Don't smile too much… your smile is painfully fake."
Then she added more sharply, "Why are you here? Do you want something?"
Hugo answered as though inviting her to a ballroom party. "Actually… I came to tell you there will be a gathering soon. And I was wondering… would you like to attend?"
He smiled again. "You're strong enough now… and you look far better than before."
Kayden immediately turned toward Ayrton, his face tense, while Henry whispered sarcastically from the other side, "He's flirting with your woman… aren't you going to do something?"
"You two seriously shut up before I hit you. I won't forget this," Ayrton whispered, nearly starting an argument and forgetting he was supposed to be the leader here.
But Fiona did not answer. She merely looked away.
Hugo turned to Adam. "Did you like my abilities?"
Adam nodded slowly, deadly serious. "Definitely… I couldn't kill you, and that was irritating. Ayrton and I spent quite a while talking about you alone."
Then Adam added coldly, with the faintest smile barely visible on his lips:
"In my house… there's an expensive weapon. Sometimes I wonder… would it suit your neck?"
Hugo did not seem bothered. Instead, he lightly touched his neck as though checking whether it was still there, then smiled with disdain.
"It wouldn't suit my neck… and you know that very well. Besides, haven't you and Ayrton had enough bloodshed already?"
Adam slowly shook his head before stepping beside Ayrton, his very presence serving as an answer.
Then Ayrton replied, "Many years have passed, Hugo… and I still haven't grown bored. I doubt I'll tire of it anytime soon."
Hugo stepped back and turned toward Ayrton with a piercing gaze, his tone sweet as poison.
"You're choosing the harder path, Ayrton… but time waits for no one. Eventually, you'll need to justify everything."
Ayrton raised a brow mockingly, his voice dry.
"Do I know you? I don't think you even know me. So don't give yourself that kind of space as though you've earned it."
Hugo paused for a moment, then cast a sideways smile toward Kayden and Henry. It was a smile completely devoid of warmth.
"You two… are far more alike than you think. But neither of you resembles her at all."
He laughed softly, a weak and irritating sound, and then… vanished. Not faded away, but as though the air itself had swallowed him whole, as if he had never existed there to begin with.
A heavy silence settled over the room.
"What does he mean?" Kayden asked quietly. "Henry… let's just go home."
Fiona continued staring at the ground in shock, her lips trembling soundlessly. She was fighting herself
fighting the chaos raging inside her that never showed on her face. With absolute precision, she used her power only to maintain control over her nerves, afraid that everything might collapse in a single moment.
Kayden approached her quietly and patted her shoulder.
"You did great… far better than you realize."
Fiona nodded silently, though her eyes remained fixed on empty space.
As they prepared to leave, they suddenly heard Henry laughing.
"Someone should explain himself, shouldn't he, Kayden?"
"That's true. He's not very brave," Kayden laughed loudly in agreement.
Ayrton looked down at the floor and said nothing.
After Kayden and Henry crossed three streets, Colton suddenly returned to his true form.
Kayden glanced sideways at him and muttered while continuing to walk without slowing down,
"Look at yourself… go back to Adam already."
Then he quickly added with sarcasm,
"Don't you like your master? Go flatter his ego instead."
But Colton did not retreat. He followed them with an expressionless face.
"He's the one who forced me to stay with him."
Kayden did not comment. Instead, he suddenly pointed toward Henry's feet. "Ah, by the way… remember what Adam explained? About controlling the energy in your feet?"
Colton also began explaining the technique to Henry, surprisingly patient as he detailed the method that allowed them to move with such lightness and speed.
On Henry's first attempt to run, he jumped enthusiastically only to fall flat on his face.
Kayden nearly collapsed from laughter.
Henry stood up, brushing the dirt off himself before trying again. This time, he ran with shocking speed.
Stopping, however, was a completely different problem.
Kayden grabbed him by the arm before he slammed into a wall and laughed loudly. "Well, at least you survived your first permanent injury."
Then suddenly, Kayden shouted excitedly,
"Let's race home!"
Before he even started counting, he bolted forward.
"Cheater!" Henry yelled from behind him as he ran with everything he had.
As for Colton, he remained standing still for a moment, watching the sun tilt toward the horizon.
Then he disappeared from his spot and appeared directly in front of the Price family home.
By the time Kayden and Henry arrived, Colton was already waiting for them with a faint smirk.
"I won."
Kayden gasped from exhaustion, while Henry muttered between breaths,
"You're a cheater… completely shameless."
Colton laughed quietly and pointed at them.
"You'll never beat me… even if a hundred years pass. The two of you are equally pathetic at losing."