Kazuki awoke to an oppressive darkness, his entire body feeling heavy, as though invisible weights held him down. His head throbbed, and the air around him was cold, damp, and still. He blinked, trying to focus, but all he could see were dim shapes and shadows. As his vision slowly adjusted, he realized he was lying on the cold stone floor of a small, confining cell.

His wrists ached as he pushed himself upright, and the faint clinking of metal drew his attention to the shackles binding his arms and legs. The iron cuffs bit into his skin, their cold bite making it hard to move freely. Panic flickered in the back of his mind. He had been captured—thrown into some sort of prison. But where was this place? And where were his friends?

The cell was narrow, with stone walls that seemed to close in on him. Beyond the iron bars, only flickering torchlight illuminated the underground chamber, casting eerie shadows across the floor. Kazuki’s pulse quickened as he tried to recall how he’d ended up here. The last thing he remembered was the Principal’s voice taunting him, his friends fighting against the guards, and then…nothing.

“This must be one of the school’s dungeons,” he muttered to himself, rubbing his sore wrists.

Kazuki’s mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan. His powers over space and time felt muted here, as though something in the air—or perhaps in the cell itself—was dampening his abilities. He couldn’t feel the usual energy that hummed just beneath his skin, the source of his power. Something was wrong, and it made his skin crawl.

As he struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support, a voice echoed from the shadows at the far end of the chamber.

“You’re awake.”

Kazuki’s heart jumped in his chest. His eyes snapped toward the voice, and for the first time, he noticed another figure sitting in the corner of the cell opposite him. The figure was barely visible in the dim light, but Kazuki could make out a huddled silhouette, their face obscured by a hood. The voice sounded calm, almost resigned.

“Who are you?” Kazuki asked, his voice hoarse. “And where are we?”

The figure chuckled softly, the sound dry and humorless. “We’re in the Principal’s prison. A place where time itself is twisted to break you. It’s called the Prison of Time.”

Kazuki frowned, his pulse quickening. “The Prison of Time? What does that even mean?”

The figure shifted slightly, the faint light from the torches catching their face just enough for Kazuki to see the tired, weary expression of a young man who couldn’t have been much older than him. “It’s a special place,” the man said, his voice heavy with bitterness. “The Principal designed it for people like us—for those who defy the school government. Time flows differently here. Days, weeks, months…they lose all meaning. You could spend what feels like years in this place, only to realize only a few hours have passed in the outside world.”

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Kazuki’s stomach dropped. He had heard rumors of the school government’s secret prisons, but this was far worse than anything he had imagined. “That’s…that’s insane,” Kazuki whispered, his voice shaking. “Why would the Principal do something like that?”

The man laughed again, but it was a hollow sound. “Control. Fear. Those are the weapons he uses. The Prison of Time isn’t meant to just lock you up—it’s meant to break you. Slowly. To make you lose track of everything you are.”

Kazuki’s fists clenched. “I won’t let that happen. I’ll find a way out.”

The man’s eyes met Kazuki’s, and for a brief moment, there was a flicker of something—hope, maybe, or perhaps recognition. “I said the same thing when I was first thrown in here. But this place…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away. “It wears you down.”

Kazuki refused to give in to despair. He wouldn’t let the Principal win. He had his friends—Yumi, Haruto, Mei—who were counting on him. He had to escape and save them, no matter what.

“Do you know a way out?” Kazuki asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

The man shook his head. “No one escapes the Prison of Time…not without outside help.”

Kazuki bit his lip, his mind racing. If time flowed differently here, then maybe, just maybe, he could use his own powers against the prison’s mechanisms. He still had his abilities, even if they felt dulled. He just needed to figure out how to use them in this twisted space.

“What's your name?” Kazuki asked, shifting closer to the iron bars that separated them. He needed allies, and maybe this prisoner could help.

The man hesitated for a moment before answering. “Riku,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I was one of the first students to challenge the school government, but it cost me everything.”

Kazuki felt a surge of empathy. “I’m Kazuki. My friends and I…we’re trying to take the system down. We won’t let the Principal keep doing this to people.”

Riku’s expression hardened. “You have no idea what you’re up against.”

“I don’t care,” Kazuki replied fiercely. “We’re not going to give up. There’s always a way out.”

As Kazuki spoke, he felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere around him, almost like a ripple in the fabric of the prison itself. His powers stirred, faintly, but it was there. The prison might have been designed to suppress time, but Kazuki’s ability was tied to that very element. If he could harness it…

“I think I can break the time distortion,” Kazuki whispered, half to himself.

Riku raised an eyebrow. “You can’t. The prison’s power is absolute.”

“No,” Kazuki said, shaking his head. “It’s strong, but not absolute. I can feel it—my powers are connected to space and time. If I can disrupt the flow of time in this prison, I might be able to weaken the structure.”

Riku stared at him, disbelief written all over his face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Kazuki’s jaw tightened. “I have no choice. My friends are still out there, and they’re probably in danger. If I don’t try, we’re all doomed.”

Riku’s eyes narrowed, skepticism warring with a glimmer of hope. “If you think you can break through the prison’s control, then I’ll help however I can. But be careful. If the guards sense anything, they’ll—”

Before he could finish, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by the metallic jingle of keys.

Kazuki’s heart raced. “The guards,” he whispered. He backed into the shadows of his cell, hiding as the cell door creaked open.

A guard, tall and imposing in his black uniform, stepped inside, his face obscured by a helmet. “It’s time,” he said in a deep voice. “The Principal wants to have a word with you.”

Kazuki’s blood ran cold, but he forced himself to remain calm. He wasn’t going to break—not now.

As the guard approached, Kazuki felt the faint pull of time around him, like the ticking of a clock just out of sync. He could use it. He could twist the moment just enough to give himself an opening.

This prison may have tried to bend time to break him, but Kazuki was about to turn it into his greatest weapon.