To settle the turbulent thoughts in his mind, Sol decided to try using [Meditation]. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Sol activated the skill and immediately felt his mind sharpen. At first, the increased concentration made it worse as it forced him to only think of his parents' death, but with some effort, he was able to steer the focus on categorizing his spells. His breathing stabilized as he organized a few more spells in his mind until he heard the sound of the metal door opening.
‘That's odd. I thought we already did today's training.’
Weaver, the red-cloaked assassin who Sol now knew was Red Sands, and another man whom he had never seen before entered. Wearing a luxurious white silk outfit, this bald man gave an unsettling feeling.
Weaver, with an annoyed look on his face, took out a chair from his spatial ring and gestured for Sol to sit. Having read the journal, Sol already knew what they were planning and obviously didn’t comply.
“C’mon darling, we don't have a lot of time. Although I would’ve liked to have more fun with you, we gotta cut this short, don’t make us do this the hard way.”
Sol quickly assessed his options. ‘I could leave with [Burrow], but then I wouldn’t be rescued, which would put all I have done to not attract attention to waste. I could resist and be triple-teamed and likely lose. If it was just one, I could manage, but three is too much. Even if I use all my skills and spells at my disposal, I am unsure if I can beat them in a head-on fight. The last option is to undergo the so-called conditioning and resist it. The way Cane described it in the diary was that it was only truly effective after starving and exhausting the target. I am in my peak condition thanks to my high vitality and also the food supply the Guildmaster provided, so I have a good chance of resisting it.’
There was a standoff between the young man and the trio, but the bald man quickly broke the silence.
“Enough of this, tie him down if you have to.”
Weaver and Red Sands stepped forward ready to restrain Sol, and at that moment, he decided on the best course of action. Sol raised his hands and slowly walked towards the chair.
The bald man scoffed, “Good. This will make it easier.”
Sol chose to endure the process. He knew that escaping would ruin the entire point of staying in this cell, and fighting would likely end up with him still being strapped to the chair. It was better to conserve his energy for the mental battle as he could pretend to be under its effects until the rescue team arrived.
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The bald man placed his hand on Sol’s head as psychic energy traveled from the palm into Sol's head. They felt like tiny hands pushing into his brain and while not painful it was very disturbing. The energy poked around as if trying to understand what it was working with before beginning the actual procedure. The moment it tried to tamper with Sol’s mind something unexpected happened.
Sol, who was ready to resist the process and recover from its effects as fast as he could, felt nothing as the energy bounced off the moment it tried to do anything. The bald man frowned as he also felt this resistance.
“The fuck? Are you sure he has been weakened?”
Weaver nodded, “Yeah, I made sure of it.”
The bald man looked back at Sol’s head as if peering inside but eventually found the answer.
“It’s like I am hitting a solid wall. This isn’t normal even if they are in perfect condition. It’s as if… someone shielded him.”
Sol, hearing the bald man's words, tilted his head in confusion.
‘Shielded? I don’t know anyone who could even do such a thing.’
The bald man continued, “Even so, I should be able to break past it. It will just take more effort.”
He took out a potion and drank it, boosting his psychic abilities. The bald man then placed his hands on Sol’s head to try a new strategy. The energy once again flowed into his mind, but this time the energy didn’t spread out and instead gathered to one point to break through the barrier. Next thing Sol knew, the energy smashed into the barrier. Even though Sol didn’t take the brunt of it directly, it still felt like he got hit with a hammer.
“Argh!”
The first attempt at breaking the barrier failed, but the bald man didn’t give up. He repeatedly smashed into the barrier, making Sol’s head feel like it was inside a giant bell. Eventually, a crack appeared. It wasn’t big, but enough for the bald man to do his job.
The bald man sighed, “Goddamn. I have never encountered such a strong mental barrier.”
He began the conditioning process once more, sending the invasive energy through the tiny gap. Since they were in a rush, they only needed temporary obedience, so the bald man focused on shutting down Sol’s conscience.
As he did, there was another unexpected event. The barrier in Sol’s mind reacted to the intrusion and went from defensive to offensive. It grabbed hold of the bald man’s energy and followed it back to the mind of the man invading his body. The barrier protecting Sol was not gone as it had left to attack the intruder of the mind it was protecting.
The bald man noticed the attack and tried to defend himself, but he stood no chance. He was only able to pierce the barrier after consuming a mental-enhancing potion, and the hole he made was minuscule. With the full force of the barrier attacking, the defense he could muster was pointless. The rampaging psychic energy of the barrier shredded his brain by destroying every single memory he had ever created. The bald man could only watch as memories of his childhood were destroyed, his teenage years erased, and his adult life consumed into nothing as this energy took everything.
As this happened to the bald man, Sol was completely stunned. Not because of the bald man’s energy that tried to change his mind, but because when the barrier left, something deep within Sol’s mind was unlocked. Memories, one’s he had no idea were tampered with and sealed away under the barrier’s protection.