When Alex left his room to visit the base, he did it on purpose. He had planned it.
What he didn't plan was how fast the water tentacles would grab him.
They came too quick.
So quick that the bathtub tap was still running.
Water kept pouring in, rising higher, spilling over the edges. It flooded the tiled floor and spread across the bathroom in a steady rush.
Bang!
The bathroom door slammed open.
The sound echoed hard against the walls as two figures burst in at the same time, fast and aggressive, bodies already moving for a fight. They rushed forward, eyes sharp, ready to strike whatever showed itself.
But there was no one.
No Alex.
Only the bathroom.
The bathtub was filled to the brim, water spilling out and running across the floor in thin streams.
Henry frowned.
"This idiot," he said, walking over to the tub. "he turned on the water and just left it like that."
"did he know we were coming?" Jimmy asked, his voice low.
Henry reached out and twisted the tap shut. The sound of rushing water cut off, leaving only dripping echoes. He turned back to Jimmy with a crooked smile.
"so what, you think this is a diversion?" Henry said.
"like those cheap tricks they do in movies?"
Jimmy didn't answer.
He had frozen in place.
His eyes were wide, locked on the surface of the water in the bathtub, his body stiff as if something unseen had grabbed him first.
Henry frowned when he noticed it.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked.
Jimmy didn't respond.
Henry was about to walk closer when he felt something grab his hand.
It was solid, yet soft. Cold. Wet.
His eyes snapped to the bathtub.
Water inside it began to move.
Several water tentacles rose up, swirling slowly at first, then faster, twisting like living things. Henry barely had time to react.
Before he could pull away, the tentacles wrapped around his arm, his waist, his legs.
The next instant—
He was dragged straight into the bathtub.
Jimmy watched it happen.
His blood ran cold.
"H-Henry!" he shouted.
Panic hit him hard. Jimmy spun toward the door and lunged for it, his hand stretching out.
Too late.
Another water tentacle shot out from the tub and snapped around his wrist, yanking him back.
Jimmy reacted on instinct.
He slashed at it with his qi.
The tentacle split apart, water splashing across the floor. Jimmy staggered forward and reached for the door again.
Then more tentacles surged out.
One wrapped around his arm.
Another coiled around his leg.
Then his waist.
They tightened.
Jimmy tried to fight, gathering qi, trying to force it back—
But a powerful yank ripped him off his feet.
The world spun.
The bathroom vanished.
The next moment, Jimmy felt himself being dragged, then thrown, then launched forward at insane speed. Water rushed past him as he was slingshot through different pipelines, twisting and bending in sharp turns.
Everything went quiet after that. Like nothing had ever happened.
Eventually, they were spat out.
Inside a white room lined with smooth marble walls, one of the many holes in the floor suddenly erupted. Water burst upward like a fountain.
Henry came flying out first.
He slammed onto the floor hard, rolling once before stopping on his side.
A few seconds later, another surge followed.
Jimmy shot out of the same hole and crashed down beside him, coughing as he skidded across the cold surface.
The water clinging to their bodies didn't linger. It pulled itself back, flowing like it had a mind of its own, retreating neatly into the hole. Then it vanished.
Silence followed.
Henry groaned, pushing himself up on one elbow. His head spun, vision blurry, stomach churning. Jimmy lay flat on his back, chest rising fast as he sucked in air.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
They couldn't explain what had just happened.
They couldn't even begin to understand it.
Slowly, their senses caught up.
The room was large. Too clean. White marble walls stretched in every direction, smooth and cold. Holes like the one they came from dotted the floor and lower walls, spaced out evenly.
Jimmy finally sat up, rubbing his head.
"What is this place?" he asked, his voice tight.
Henry stood fully now, forcing himself to stay calm as he scanned the room.
"I don't know," he said. Then his eyes narrowed. "But whatever dragged us here started in Alex's room. That means one thing."
Jimmy looked at him.
"He's here," Henry finished.
They moved together toward a massive double door at the far end of the room. The doors were tall, heavy, and seamless, no visible handle.
Henry pushed.
Nothing.
Jimmy tried next, pressing his shoulder into it.
Still nothing.
Henry frowned and stepped back, eyes scanning the door frame, the walls, the floor.
"Does this thing need a security code or something?" he asked, irritation creeping into his voice as he searched for any panel, any mark, any clue at all.
"It doesn't matter," Jimmy said. "I'll break the door."
Jimmy bent low, planting his feet. His body leaned back for a split second, muscles tightening. Then he lunged forward in a straight line.
"Bull-charge."
He slammed his massive body into the door.
Bang.
The impact echoed through the white room, sharp and loud. Jimmy bounced back a step, boots scraping against the marble.
The door didn't move. No cracks. No dents. Not even a scratch.
Jimmy growled under his breath.
Henry rushed in beside him, and the two of them attacked together. Punches. Shoulder checks. Another heavy slam. They put everything into it, striking again and again.
Still nothing.
The door stood there, silent and unmoved.
Unbeknownst to them, their actions weren't going unnoticed. Somewhere else in the base, a warning had already been triggered and sent out.
After several failed attempts, Jimmy stepped back, chest heaving.
"One more time," he muttered.
He lowered himself again, gathering strength, muscles swelling as qi surged through his body. He charged forward once more, faster than before.
But this time, things changed.
Before Jimmy could reach it, the door itself swung open violently.
A single figure stepped through.
Jimmy couldn't stop.
He slammed straight into the person.
The impact was brutal—but wrong.
Instead of pushing through, Jimmy felt a massive resistance. His body jolted as if he had crashed into solid stone. The force shot back through his bones, rattling him from head to toe.
It felt worse than hitting the door.
Jimmy staggered back, eyes wide in shock.
The man hadn't moved an inch.
Standing there calmly was Theron.
His large frame filled the doorway, unmoved, unbothered. He looked down at Jimmy, expression unreadable, eyes cold and steady.
He raised his hand and calmly placed a single finger against Jimmy's forehead.
That was all it took.
In the next instant, Jimmy was lifted clean off his feet. His body shot backward like a ragdoll, smashing across the floor before rolling to a stop.
Henry reacted on instinct.
He rushed in with a shout, fist raised, qi flaring around him.
Theron didn't even turn fully.
A simple backhand slap caught Henry across the chest.
Bang.
Henry was sent flying as well, his body spinning through the air before crashing down beside Jimmy.
Both of them were still conscious. Barely.
Their vision swam. The world tilted and spun, sounds coming in late and distorted. They didn't pass out, but their bodies refused to listen. Arms wouldn't lift. Legs wouldn't respond.
Through their blurred sight, they could see more figures rushing into the room.
And they knew—this was far from over.
---
Meanwhile, back in the training hall, the alert had appeared in all their vision.
Gwen, Tamsin, and Merrick froze as the system message flashed. Alex saw it too—and at the same time, the crushing weakness in his body began to ease, slowly pulling back like a receding tide.
"That hasn't happened before," Gwen said, frowning.
"There's always a first time," Tamsin replied. "We should move. Now."
Merrick dropped what he was holding without hesitation. The three of them turned, already moving toward the exit.
"Wait—take me with you!" Alex shouted.
Gwen stopped and looked back at him.
Her eyes were sharp.
"Part of the training," she said flatly. "You're drained. If you want to come, then get yourself there on your own."
She turned and left with the others.
Alex clenched his fists, teeth grinding together.
He was completely spent. His qi was nearly empty. His artificial qi felt worse, like dry ash instead of energy.
Inside the Dragon Roar base, cultivation wasn't possible. The base existed in a created space—stable, controlled, with just enough oxygen and support to keep people alive.
Nothing more.
Alex lay there breathing hard, staring at the ceiling.
'Move,' he told himself.
One thing about the training Alex went through was this—he had learned the basics of Reflection Effect, but only the basics. He wasn't at a level where he could Reflect heavy or violent energies yet.
Despite all the pain tearing through him, his body showed no visible wounds. No broken bones. No blood. Nothing on the surface.
What he was feeling now was the backlash.
The aftermath of forcing large amounts of energy through channels that weren't ready for it. His muscles burned. His core felt hollow. Every breath scraped on the way in.
To get back on his feet, he needed qi.
Still, the Dragon Roar clan had their own way of handling things. They didn't panic. They prepared.
Through his blurred vision, Alex spotted several glowing yellow crystals embedded along the wall. They pulsed softly, steady and calm. These were special storage crystals—used by the Dragon Roar clan to hold refined qi. Anyone could absorb from them, restoring their reserves to a certain level depending on how much they took.
Alex swallowed.
'I don't know why,' he thought, 'but I have a feeling this whole thing is my fault.'
The thought sat heavy in his chest.
'I need to get there. I need to see what's happening.'
Gritting his teeth, Alex dragged himself across the floor. His body arched with pain, arms shaking as he pulled forward inch by inch.