Cracks were buried along with the darkness that filled the hallway. No signs of movement could be heard or seen around. The silence would test the mental stability of those submerged in this man-made abyss.

No torch was lit. No guards patrolling the parameters. After all, there was a famous saying in the Kingdom of Amina, that those who entered the Hound Correctional would never be able to see the sun again — or so they thought.

Theta was the exception. Whether she was fortunate or unfortunate would depend on her capabilities.

Like taking a stroll in her own courtyard, Theta's steps were light as she trotted to the innermost part of the prison.

"Stop procrastinating and talk to me. I know you're in there, Zarno," said Theta in a teasing manner. Her tone held laughter of familiarity as she reached out her right hand. Her fingertips touched the cold prison bars.

Though her eyes could not see him, Theta felt his murderous gaze.

The darkness was suffocating, but neither Theta nor Zarno was normal. They were both people who dwelled in the abyss of disparity and malediction after experiencing the trials of the world. She was the pot and he was the kettle.

Theta continued as if she was sure that he was indeed listening to her. "My mother is dead you know. You were right. I should have run away with her to save myself and my mother."

There was no bitterness in her voice. Rather, a chilling calmness resounded through the echoes of her words.

"Zarno... I am not here for some useless sympathy. That will not bring back what I have lost." Theta leaned more to the cold bars as she gripped the metal bars. "I am here to offer a deal."

Even when her words resonated with the entire innermost part of the Hound Correctional, nothing changed and no one replied.

But Theta persisted. "Work with me and I can guarantee you the fall of the Kingdom of Amina, that, I promise you with my life."

The sound of rattling chains answered Theta, renewing the candle of hope. The brief noise was followed by a deep mocking chuckle.

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"Perhaps losing a mother has made the girl stupider than before." Zarno's voice was scratchy, a result of a parched throat without water in years. Had it not been for the fact that he was a magic user, he would have died in the Hound Correctional a long long time ago.

A small curve was carved on Theta's thin chapped lips. "Perhaps. But let us be stupid together, Zarno. What will we lose? We are already broken beyond repair anyway."

Theta's nonchalant answer earned her a croaked laughter from the chained man beyond the prison bars.

"Hahaha!" Zarno's resounding laughter continued to ring within the prison walls, waking the slumbering daredevils that should have remained asleep for many years. "The girl has indeed become mad! Hahaha! Welcome to the dark side, Theta Mariyah. That bastard father of yours would crack if he heard your words. Oh, the price I would pay just to see his twisted face!"

"So... will you give me the chance to break you free then, Zarno the Mage Slayer?"

Zarno was sentenced by the Lykus Empire to death but was pardoned to lifetime imprisonment by the previous emperor for a reason that even the current emperor did not know about. Angry that the man responsible for countless of mage's deaths, the current emperor tasked the Amina Kingdom to handle the 'special' criminal. They sealed the legendary Mage Slayer with his hated magic to never die even in the face of hunger and thirst.

Zarno did not answer Theta nor did he object. Theta took this as a 'go' sign for her next plan.

Theta closed her eyes. It was no different with her eyes closed since the darkness cloaked her. But the moment she opened her eyes, a pair of gleaming amethyst orbs pushed back the shadows of the abyss.

"Spatial lock," whispered Theta while her right hand held the locked metal bars.

A faint glowing lilac sphere appeared around her hands. The nearly transparent sphere grew larger as the glow of her eyes became sharper, earning a soft gasp from Zarno.

"T-This girl..."

The stale air trembled. The sphere finally enveloped the entire prison bars.

Theta merely clicked her tongue. But what happened next almost made Zarno faint. What was once the sturdy metal bars, tapped with barrier magic by a Class B mage, had become nothing in a mere moment. No trace of magic and metal remained between the chained Zarno and Theta. It was as if the existence of the metal bar was only a figment of their imagination.

"Now, Zarno." Theta took a step forward. She was now standing a meter away from the kneeling legendary Mage Slayer. "Will you listen to my deal now?"

Zarno gulped. He was the renowned Mage Slayer. Even with his imprisonment, his name still brought nightmares to those who knew him once. But here he was, astonished beyond compare in front of a mage user that he was supposed to hate but couldn't.

"The girl has awakened her magic." Zarno did not ask but said as a matter of fact.

"Hmmm. You can say that. Or maybe I am too desperate to stop the fastly decaying corpse of my mother that is why I manifested magic."

"Just because the girl has manifested her power, the girl shouldn't be too arrogant. The world of the strong is vast. One will always have a vanquisher."

Theta cocked her head. "True power is not given to the strong and the kind. No. It is earned. True power comes from the desperate... like you and me. Like how you became the legendary Mage Slayer after being betrayed by the noble ideas you should have served." She took another step forward. Theta hooked Zarno's bearded chin so their gaze would meet. "Let us burn this world, Zarno. Let the hunters feel what it means to become the hunted."

Before Zarno could react, the chain around his body that kept him for a decade was gone! Even the spell that slowly killed his strength for years was dispelled! And all it took was a mere touch from the child that he used to pity!

Theta did not give Zarno any time to waste time. She turned around. "Let us go, Zarno." She looked back at him and grinned like an innocent child. "We have some friends to free."

No one knew at that time that the beginning of the Zhizhu Baihe Pavilion would become a great powerhouse in the entire continent in the near future started between a sixteen years old child and a criminal.