Aiden and Garron moved fast through the empty halls, boots striking the metal floor. The urgency in their steps was real, but Aiden's mind was elsewhere, caught on a gnawing feeling he could not shake.
Something about this place bothered him.
Why had everyone here been so slow while fighting?
In the forest, his enemies had been sharper. Stronger. Even the weak ones reacted on instinct, quick when it counted.
Not that it changed anything. Their fate had still come by his hands.
But here... the guards felt slow.
Off. Unnatural.
He pushed the thought aside as they finally reached the end of the path.
Lyanna and Ro were already there, standing near the glass doors where they had first entered. Beyond the reinforced glass, the storm still raged, fierce winds screaming in the dark.
But it wasn't just the storm that drew Aiden's eyes.
At his feet, near the wall, lay Thara's body.
Aiden stared at it for a long moment, his mind turning back to everything that had happened.
We never really stopped to think about it all, did we?
Everything had been chaos, but something stood out now.
There were two guards outside.
They were the ones who gave the password. The hidden code.
But they never got a chance to act.
Aiden remembered clearly.
Thara had been shot immediately. Not arrested, not questioned. No hesitation.
And yet... they hadn't shot at them. Not him or Lyanna or Garron.
Only her.
She was silenced.
Aiden realized it in full now.
But why?
What did she know that made them decide she could not be allowed to speak another word?
"Aiden?"
Lyanna's voice barely registered.
His thoughts kept spinning.
Maybe Thara herself was betrayed. Someone set her up.
But that didn't add up either.
Why give her the code at all, only to kill her right after?
"Bones?"
Ro's voice came distant, almost like an echo.
What if the guards outside weren't even aware? What if they were just part of a routine... and someone else decided Thara needed to be silenced the moment she acted?
Zane had sent them here, specifically picking Aiden. He had known something about this place.
Something important.
Aiden's eyes narrowed slightly, mind racing faster now.
This place... this prison... it's not just another medieval dungeon. It's modern. Guns. Armor. Technology so close to my own world it feels familiar.
That word lingered in his head.
Modern.
It sounded hollow now.
What does modern even mean here?
This wasn't supposed to exist in a world of swords, mana, and elves.
Yet here it was.
My world...
His mind drifted dangerously, grasping at too many dark threads at once.
"Aiden!"
A sharp pull on his chestplate dragged him back to reality.
Lyanna's face was right in front of him, eyes narrowed with worry and frustration.
He blinked, the haze breaking as her hand released him.
Aiden exhaled slowly, steadying himself.
"...Right," he muttered, pushing aside the tangled questions in his head. For now.
"We are going out. Are you alright? Time is running out," Lyanna said, her tone sharp.
"Yeah." Aiden looked past her, focusing on the glass doors ahead. "About that... this is a secondary exit."
Lyanna frowned. "Secondary?"
"If it was the main entrance, it would be locked down or guarded. No doubt."
"But there's still the Silver Watch," Aiden added, his fingers tapping against his thigh. "They're waiting outside the portal. We can't just show up like this."
"We're supposed to be a morgue service. Won't they expect us to bring something back?" Lyanna asked, her voice tense.
"Exactly. What kind of morgue service leaves empty-handed?"
"Also... why haul bodies from here to the forest?" she pressed further. "That makes no sense."
"They're selling them," Ro muttered quietly from his corner.
Silence followed for a heartbeat.
"Why?" Garron asked, eyes narrowing with interest despite the situation.
Ro shook his head slightly, cutting it short.
"Its not important right now."
"I just want to get out first. Once we're outside, I'll talk to the Silver Watch. I just need a uniform," Ro said, his eyes narrowing as he glanced toward the raging storm beyond the glass.
His gaze then shifted down to Thara's corpse, her body lying cold and still on the floor.
"Good news," Ro said grimly, "Our friend on the floor won't be needing hers anymore."
Lyanna's face tightened at the thought. Her eyes flicked from Thara's body to Ro, unease clear in her expression.
"It's not really your size," she said quietly.
Ro crouched beside the body anyway, his face as cold as the corpse he was about to strip.
"I'll tuck it in," he answered simply, his voice low and without humor as his hands began to work.
You can't tuck in a jumpsuit.
Aiden and the others said nothing more. The air had grown heavier, silent and cold, as Ro crouched beside Thara's corpse, pulling off her gray jumpsuit.
As he worked, Lyanna broke the silence, her voice sharp with doubt.
"And what exactly are you going to tell them to let us pass without questions?"
Ro did not look up. Standing up to put the jumpsuit on himself.
"I know enough about how this place works," he said, voice low and confident. "And no, I'm not planning on betraying you. Trust me, I'd rather take my chances with you than whatever the Silver Watch has waiting for me."
He stepped inside the jumpsuit, clearly oversized for him.
"Besides," he added, his tone darkening, "if it doesn't work... you'll just kill them all, Aiden."
Aiden stiffened, his jaw tightening.
"Are you crazy? There's too many of them out there."
Ro finally looked up, meeting his eyes directly.
"That didn't stop you earlier, did it? You do realize how many bodies you left behind, right? All during what was supposed to be a stealth operation."
Aiden opened his mouth to argue, but Ro didn't give him the chance.
"Don't play dumb with me, Aiden. You had options. You chose the brutal route the moment you realized you knew more than the rest of us."
Ro's words struck deep. He tightened his fists unconsciously, stepping closer.
"And look how well it worked," Ro added, his voice turning sharp with mockery. "Efficient, isn't it?"
Aiden's eyes narrowed.
"You weren't there when we planned the operation. How do you know so much?" he asked quietly, his voice sharper now.
Garron and Lyanna watched carefully, staying silent. They were near the door, on alert in case more soldiers came through, but neither interrupted.
Ro finished putting on the jumpsuit before answering, his voice low and cutting.
"I've picked up a lot about you, Aiden. I know how you'll react. Maybe I even know more about you than you do. Funny, isn't it?"
Aiden stepped forward, his fists clenched tightly now, only to be stopped as Lyanna quickly raised her hand.
"Not now," she said firmly, her eyes warning him.
Ro smirked faintly as he zipped his jumpsuit.
"Aiden... if only you knew how much I pity you."
His words carried harsh sarcasm, but beneath it was something colder.
Aiden glanced at Ro one last time before turning his attention to the glass door.
The storm still raged beyond it, furious and wild.
He stepped closer, the doors nearly sliding open, when Ro's hand came down on his shoulder.
"Hold it," Ro said calmly.
Aiden stopped and looked back at him.
"You need to take that armor off," Ro continued, his tone casual but firm. "You're not walking outside with it on."
Aiden frowned.
"Why?"
Ro's expression barely shifted, but his voice dropped slightly.
"First of all, and between you and me, this armor isn't something that should be handed out to the primates outside."
Aiden raised an eyebrow, but Ro went on before he could speak.
"Second," he added, "the portal filters. You won't even make it through properly if you keep it on. Same goes for the weapons."
Aiden felt a cold realization settle in.
Ro didn't hesitate at all explaining the difference between here and the outside. As if it was obvious.
So obvious that even in this strange world, these weapons... this technology... did not belong.
Not here.
Ro turned next to Garron.
"Same goes for you. Strip the armor. You still have the work suit underneath, right?"
Garron nodded quickly, already pulling at the straps.
Lyanna followed. She had only put on light padding, but even that was off limit.
One by one, they stripped down to what they had worn when entering, simple, unassuming uniforms.
Aiden removed his armor last, quietly noting how strange it felt to shed the protection after so much blood had been spilled in it.
They stood together now, back in their original state.
Just as they had come in.
"Can we go now?" Aiden asked, his voice still carrying a hint of irritation.
"We're ready," Ro replied, though even in his weakened state, there was that familiar mocking edge clinging to his words.
Without wasting another second, Aiden stepped toward the glass doors.
They slid open automatically with a soft hiss, the movement still enough to make Garron pause in faint amazement.
Lyanna, on the other hand, only looked more confused.
The moment they passed through, the storm slammed into them.
Rain hit hard and fast, each drop biting against their skin.
The wind howled louder than before, fierce enough that it felt like the ground itself might give way beneath them.
Aiden pushed forward anyway, squinting through the chaos.
He glanced back once at the massive structure behind them.
The prison loomed silent and uncaring in the storm.
Strangely, there was no pursuit.
No alarms.
No guards.
No one coming after them despite the bodies left behind.
Even the guards, who had been stationed outside when they arrived, were gone.
The path ahead was completely clear.
Suspiciously clear.
Still, no one spoke.
The storm swallowed their voices before they could even form.
With heads low and steps careful, they crossed the metal bridge in grim silence. Each of them was too focused on staying upright to say what they were all thinking.
There it was at last. The platform carved with the teleport markings stood waiting for them.
Aiden moved first, his steps slow.
He reached the center of the stone, planting his feet firmly as the raging wind pushed against him.
"Sealed gate! bound by duty! Show me the way beyond!" he shouted. His voice was almost devoured by the roaring storm.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Only the endless rain and the crushing dark surrounded them.
Then the air stirred.
From the swirling mist, particles began to gather.
They twisted and spun together, slowly taking shape until a faint outline formed before them.
The outline grew solid.
Light filled the hollow space and the gate finally stabilized.
Without hesitation, one after another, they stepped forward.
They left the storm, the slaughtered prison, and the unanswered questions as they vanished into the portal.