I appeared within familiar walls. White, pure, bland. I was in the Curch, probably in its own private summoning site. No one was waiting for me—I came unannounced and sooner than expected—but the room was still supervised by three people.

Warmth hit me. A stream of calmness invaded my body. A welcomed feeling that I was longing for. My energy was replenishing already, letting me know that I have made it home.

"Sir," some of the workers there said.

I ignored him.

"Sir!"

The man was getting desperate. His shouts were coming faster and louder. He was running to intercept me as I was calmly walking towards the door.

"Sir I must escort you to the [Oracle]."

I knew my eyes were dead, but I still infused them with all my pent-up rage, frustration, and fear.

"You don't want to stop me."

He hesitated, but his duty came before anything else.

I hesitated. I didn't blame him. I didn't even know him. Was he part of what was wrong in this world? Was he perpetuating the tyranny of the Sanctum?

[Clerk]

I extended one energy arm and struck him flat on the chest. Like a swordsman would to his apprentice to teach him a lesson.

He was sent flying across the room. The impact against the wall was nothing short of brutal. Dust flew and a hole showed I had not been kidding.

The man grunted in pain and curled on himself.

“Go help him. And you,” I said while pointing to the third person in the room, “what happened to Yasmin?”

I waited a few seconds, and when no answer came I sighed deeply.

“Look, I’m really in no mood. Do you want to tell me voluntarily? Or do I need to make you tell me?”

His face contorted, the dilemma visible on every wrinkle on his face. But he chose the right option.

“The [Oracle] announced that she had consorted with enemy factions to hide important assets. She is under custody in a basement’s cell, but…”

“But?”

“But the [Oracle] announced her public execution was set on the morning of the seventh day.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I nodded and made my best effort to just walk out. My blood was boiling. My energy whispering on my ear to be set free. I clenched my fists and drew blood from my lips.

I cannot make this man pay. It’s not his fault.

Instead, I tried to focus on what to do next. Directly attempting to save Yasmin was suicide. The whole Church was probably alerted, and with this commotion they would start actively searching for me.

Who knew if even the townspeople and the guard would try to capture me. They could win the favour of the [Oracle] himself if they did. Why wouldn't they?

What I needed was a quiet place. Somewhere I could think of a plan, strategize how to bring them down. Seven days. In seven days I had to become strong enough to fulfil my promise.

I ran. Literally and figuratively. I knew I cold have gone to my pocket space, but the idea terrified me. Something was waiting for me to return there; an entity that I could not yet comprehend.

This wasn’t the time to explore. The second option, while probably not the most intelligent choice, would have to work.

Lebil had said that it would take a few days for the Dungeon to go back to normal, so hopefully that meant no one else would go there. I charted a path in the complete opposite direction, so that if anyone saw me leaving—and I assumed they would—they wouldn’t be able to connect where I was going to.

I exited the Church and made my way to the gates. The System was reminding me I had pending messages, but I couldn’t afford to read them there. Once I was in a safe place, that would be my first priority.

The city gates were manned, soldiers standing guard at either sides. They were performing their normal identification duties for incoming visitors. I even dared to think they didn’t seem too worried.

I slowed to my normal walking pace. Put on my good kid face. And finally walked to the gates.

Their eyes scanned me.

“Hold on.” One of them said.

I was sweating.

“The city has been placed under curfew. If you intend to come back, you must do so before 6 in the afternoon.”

I think I blinked a few times before I actually processed what he was saying.

“Ah, no, sir. I’ll be back in a few days.”

“All good then, please take care and be sa-”

“Stop that boy! By the [Oracle]‘s orders, he must be put under arrest.”

The shout came from somewhere behind my back. I was willing to bet my nonexistent fortune that it was someone from the Church. Probably the men at the summoning site had rattled me out—as they should.

I wasn’t going to wait for the consequences, or for the soldiers to come to their senses and seize me. Making it this far without having been stopped was more than enough.

I build up my energy in a focal point. Right outside my chest. And I made it big, compressed, and bursting with energy. As if it was a pulse sent to sense my surroundings, I made it burst.

As bright as I could.

I didn’t wait to see the results of my impromptu fireworks. As soon as the energy was out, I broke into the sprint of my life. I sent pulses all the way, continuously, to make sure I was not being followed.

I heart cries and shouts, the whole battalion trying to understand what had happened and what to do.

I didn’t have any interest in waiting for them to figure it out, so when I made it out on the clear, I brought out my energy arms. Using them as huge springs was magnitudes faster than plainly running.

I went deep into the surrounding forest and circled around the city, far from civilization and from any prying eyes. Slowly, taking triple the amount it had taken with the expedition, I made my way to the summoning site.

My plan was quite straightforward. Reaching the building, finding some secluded room, and thinking over my options. However, when I stepped foot into the area, it was clear that it would be much more than that.

[You have entered a dungeon]

I struggled to make sense of it, but I wouldn’t turn down a good opportunity.

“Hoh? Grinding it is, then.”