‘Why do I bother?...’

He stood in front of the entrance gate fortifying his mental defenses, making them as robust as he possibly could and then he stepped into the tunnel. That feeling of being weighted down returned but he forced his body to move and with each step he took the voices inside his head got louder and louder, more vicious, insidious.

The mental defense would persist for a week or two. He hoped everything will be finished within that time.

His feet took him deeper into the tunnel and it felt like weights were being forced upon his body and his freedom restrained. He hated this feeling so he tried to not think about it, forcing his attention toward other things.

Though a prototype, this armor was not any worse than his previous one. He wondered what kind of thing she would create this time, a mixture of curiosity and hate for the armor he would be using next. Curiosity because she always created something that blew his mind and hate because if not for her, he would have died out there a long time ago.

“Sir, this way.”

He followed the hologram that took him to the isolation chamber.

As soon as he got out of the armor, a door opened. He entered, leaving his armor behind.

A pod, but this one specialized in purification rather than healing.

A wave of drowsiness as his body relaxed but he resisted, reviewing all his attempts to apply the law. With his body still in the recovery phase, he could not fully push himself but he still had been conducting light experiments and though he did not succeed, he also did not fail. He could finally see the path.

It was like he had been swimming in complete darkness before, with no sign to guide his effort but now it was like he could see a spark of light. It was still far far away but he had finally gained a direction and when he reached it, he would be able to use the law.

Or maybe he would not. All that mattered was that he was tired and if even after giving his best he failed, he would be happy rather than sad.

***

She thrust out her hand.

“What was this supposed to be?”

“Me..ss.ag.e.”

It was amazing how she would be present the moment he was discharged from the purification chamber despite his irregular return schedule.

‘Maybe she had done something to the armor after all? Or is it due to her connections?’

Even back in the settlement, her shop always had people despite not a single thing in there being cheap.

“Really?”

She squinted her eyes as she continued, “ Message? Is that your answer? Do you realize you could have missed his opportunity just because you could not wait for a while longer?”

“Was nea.r.”

She stared at him but with his eyes forever closed, it did nothing to him.

Frown

Rather than a living breathing human, he appeared more like a doll as he stood there silently. He was surely breathing but she could not sense any disruption as he inhaled and exhaled the air, nor the movement of his chest. A blank expression was fixed on his face.

“Brat… grow some hair. You look too creepy standing still otherwise.”

Silence.

Honestly, she had stopped expecting anything. It made her wonder why her brother had taken a liking to this kid.

“Here, cover your head with this.”

Inero-ie quietly took the cloth from her hand, warping it around his head.

His body automatically followed her while he focused on trying to isolate the whispers that were buzzing inside his head. The longer he stayed within the settlement, the stronger they would get until he would no longer be able to endure them.

Both of them were quiet, busy with their thoughts as they walked past the otherworldly scenery.

One had closed his eyes, unwilling to allow anything to move his heart while the other was fixated on her research while hoping to put some sense into the boy. How she could do that, she no longer knew.

How many cycles had passed since she had found that small kid? Now he had grown up but she still had not been able to change anything about him. He had always been possessed by something. Something that imbued within him that intensity that was so clearly felt when she had found him. She could no longer sense it, but she did not think it had disappeared.

“Sigh…”

Strange. He always felt suffocated inside. Just the mental torture he experienced whenever he returned was serious enough but it was amplified by the narrow space that was filled to the brim with people. For him who had spent most of his life roaming through expansive plains, valleys, and mountains, the settlement was no different from a cage.

But this place, it was wide. At least he did not feel physically suffocated.

***

A quiet path. Rustling of leaves. Rays of light trickled through the dense canopy that was spread above their heads. Warmth spread whenever the light collided with his skin. For a moment the whispers disappear and he felt a sense of peace that he only experienced outside.

Then they return, stronger and their mumbles more diabolical.

“Did you sense the law?”

Nod.

“When?”

“Tw.o cy.cl..es?”

Silence.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“When are you going to shed?

"D.on't kn..o.w."

Silence.

“You have to go for a check-up soon, keep that in mind.”

Nod.

“What did you do outside? No strenuous activities I hope.”

“Wan..de.r.”

Silence.

“How was the armor suit?”

"Bit in.eff..i.c.ient, en.er..gy."

“How much of the refined core did it consume?”

“50.”

“50% in two months? Humm… not that bad for a prototype. Let's start designing a new model after you get hired.”

Nod.

***

“Lord Knrama, how are you?”

“Excellent. What is Cile doing these days? Still stuck inside her lab?”

“As you said, Lord. We exited a few days ago because we faced a bottleneck.”

“And how are you doing, young lady Sline?”

“I am perfectly fine, Lord. I will call the young lady.”

“Please do.”

A massive white room with nothing in it except a few sofas and a table in the center. It was empty.

‘Should I send something again?’

“Sigh…”

How happy everyone was when this child was born. Hundreds of cycles had been spent on research and experimentation but it was only with this child that they had finally seen the result. It had been such a joyous day.

“Sigh…”

If only she had not inherited all of her parent's qualities. If only.

‘That boy is also messed up, it is a pity he had to go through all that…’

But it was also those experiences that had forged him into such a capable man. He was still flawed though. But it was still amazing to think he had achieved that much all by himself.

“Right, there was that lady there to help too.”

A frozen wasteland. That was all that existed outside the settlement. Toxic air and hostile landscape. Isolated and besieged by monsters that were filled with hatred that made them attack without any regard for their own lives. It was no easy task to remain sane out there much less survive one day after another. That was what existed outside, a world rich with resources but an environment that did not tolerate humans.

Harvesters were all special. They had the mental strength that allowed them to endure the hardships that came with their work and even among them were some special individuals with capabilities that made them like like fished in water.

‘I wonder how will—’

"Granduncle, a surprise to see you here."

Her eyes did not change. He swept a glance at her smiling face.

“Very good, excellent, and how is my favorite child doing? How is your project going?’

"Stuck."

"Why?"

"Materials."

"Humm… weren’t you given a team to help you with that?"

“They are not capable enough.”

‘Sigh…’

A wave of sadness surged forth in his heart, maybe it was because he had become old.

“It's a good thing I came then. I found a talented harvester that will be of help to you.”

“Why do you not visit even without any reason?”

She tried to convey the anger as well as curiosity in her voice but he could easily feel it.

‘She is all grown up now…’

Most people would not detect the strangeness. She had learned how to act and how to converse. He could still remember when she would not even respond in conversation and it made him that much sadder.

“Hahaha, I will try to. Anyway, you can use him however you want as he is more than capable enough. I will send you his information.”

“When will he be joining?”

“I told him you will take a test before allowing him admission. I already gave him some information so just make a test to make sure he meets your requirement.”

Nod.

“Thank you, Granduncle.”

He rubbed her head

***

A moon orbited the planet. The two celestial bodies swam through the dark space.

Inky black space rippled. It could not be sensed at first but then the space started twisting violently and a spaceship flew out while tearing a hole through the space. As soon as the ship left, the space quickly repaired itself.

Engulfed in fire, the ship was on collision course toward the moon but the moment it was going to collide, it froze and the flames disappeared. Reallining itself, the ship landed on the surface.

Donned in full-body suits, these individuals exited the ship, and one of them rushed outside and started kicking the ground. The remaining two just sat down, looking at their companion.

There was no sound, but only the visual as the light from the ship made it possible to see the destruction that each kick had caused. Cracks spread, further and deeper with each kick.

“I am sorry. I will tear off that bastard's head when we escape safely.”

“Take me with you. That fucking bastard dared to deceive us after taking that much compensation. We would have been corpses if we were just a bit late in retreating.”

Last among them spoke, having calmed down somewhat

“Where are we currently? We need to get the fuck out of the empire as quickly as possible. How long will it take those dogs to track us?”

“Just a minute… yeah, another jump and we will be out of the empire's territory as for how long it will take them, I don’t really know.”

“Where will we go? If we return like this, it won’t end well for us.”

“Where should we go–,” her eyes narrowed as she turned and looked in the direction of the planet, “ did you feel that?”

“What?”

They quickly went inside and focused the sensory equipment in that direction.

A hologram. A pitch-black sphere. Suddenly the layers of darkness seemed to be stripped off as color returned to the sphere revealing a deep blue-colored planet.

“Hey, is that… is what I am seeing true?”

“Fuck… hey, did you check correctly, you sure we have not warped into the middle of the empire.”

“Idiot, do you think this ship can breach a space that has been protected by IPSSTR?”

“Then are they making a new one?”

“But we are still in the outer boundary of the empire. Why are they even making one here?

“Maybe they are after a new resource? How about we go check?”

“Are you sure? There will be a monster guarding that tower.”

“And why would he leave the tower? We just need to pick up something without making too big of a commotion and escape.”

“You thinking we can find such a thing in there?”

“Of course, and even if we don’t it won’t matter. The empire is spending a huge amount of resources to construct that tower. Even if we just find the reason, we will be set for a few centuries. So what do you two say?”

“I want to break that bastard's neck, so yes.”

“I will also agree but we have to decide on a time limit beforehand. It won’t be funny if, after all the difficulty to slip out of that treasure world, we get caught due to our own carelessness.”

“How will we get inside?”

“I will contact the jinns, and have them create a portal. ”

“Then I will start mapping out an escape path just in case.”

Just like that the three women dispersed and started doing the tasks they had selected.