Zoe was following Dan and Brad as they descended the slope. They seemed very sure of where they were going in this place where it was pitch dark and everything looked similar. Who knows how long they've been walking these roads? thought Zoe, feeling sorry for her comrades. Although they did not have the opportunity to talk much because of her training, the bond between them was well-developed. Zoe owed them her life, but they were always telling Zoe not to be silly, saying it was their duty.

Only when she regained her memories could she guess how many days, months, perhaps years, she had spent lying on the floor. Or maybe when she found Cain. It was Dan and Brad who saved her from this darkness, even from the hands of death, and Zoe would never forget this for the rest of her life.

During their time, Zoe's ideas of Dan and Brad began to form. Brad was more of a goofball. Even though he had some unwarranted outbursts, no one could get mad at him because he was a sweet person. Sometimes he couldn't read the room, that was all. In fact, aside from being angry, people seemed to like him more because they found him funny. From what Zoe understood, the types thrown in here were usually treacherous people. At least that's what she got from the conversations of the others. But no matter how hard Zoe tried, she couldn't see the potential in Brad to do something worthy of being thrown here.

Dan, on the other hand, was tougher. The importance he attached to the subordinate relationships gave clues that he might have worked in an organization before. Dan also liked to have fun, but that required a little push. Maybe that's why he and Brad were close friends. Maybe Brad could see and bring out the playful personality in Dan. Because Dan was trying to be more respectful and distant from others.

Dan and Brad stopped abruptly while Zoe was thinking about her comrades. Zoe was looking around curiously, and it wasn't hard for her to understand why they had stopped. They had arrived at the entrance to the dungeon that Lucy had pointed out. There seemed to be something inviting Zoe at the entrance, which was a wide cave mouth. It was as if she felt that the dungeon was challenging her. She was walking towards it when Dan noticed her and stopped Zoe.

"Hey, you're not going there yet," he said and cast a glance at the dungeon. "I know it's tempting, but first we have to find Hadrian and get his card, or you won't stand a chance."

Zoe came to her senses when Dan stopped her. Indeed, the Dungeon was calling for her. “Does it tempt you too?” Zoe asked Dan.

"Yes. Dungeons have that kind of charm. But since we are not SorCybers, we cannot enter through the door,” replied Dan.

“I see,” said Zoe. "If you could get in, you'd probably have cleaned this place up with everyone in Araf already," she added. “But why are only SorCybers allowed in? Do you know the reason?"

“Not exactly, but probably because it was a magically created place. What I do know is that there is always a dungeon that acts as a core in places transformed by Ritual/Morph cards.”

“So you mean Abyss was transformed too?” Zoe asked curiously.

"Partially. The only transformations we know of are this dungeon and the magical barriers in the holes we fell through into the Abyss. But maybe the whole Abyss has been transformed. None of us know what this place used to be like." replied Dan.

“How can this magic last for so long?” Zoe asked curiously, growing even more confused. “I can only use Pinky for 3 hours a day.”

“As far as I know that usage limits vary according to card types,” Dan replied and continued. “For example, if you have a card that allows you to shoot fireballs, the limit can be 50 fireballs per day. When it comes to ritual cards, that changes.”

“How is it changing?” Zoe was excited to learn new information about the cards.

“Ritual/Morph cards are single-use. A certain area can be changed based on the card level. And when you go up, you will see a lot of transformed regions.” said Dan, who obviously shared what he knew without hesitation.

“What kind of regions, for example?” said Zoe. Hearing things about the world above excited her. Since this was the only world she was familiar with due to her memory loss, the different possibilities piqued her curiosity.

“For example, a city that has been transformed into a medieval castle, or a region that has been transformed into an enchanted forest… In some cities, even between neighborhoods, there may be places that have been transformed.”

“But why do they do this magic, is it just for aesthetic purposes?” Still not seeing the purpose of the magic, Zoe finally got a little angry. She wondered if so many people were imprisoned here just because someone could cast spells.

“No, of course not,” said Dan, as if trying to calm Zoe. “Maybe some deep-rooted and bigwig families might use it because they like the aesthetic or look, of course, I don't know, but the main purpose is the loot!”

“Loot?” replied Zoe, surprised.

“Yes, loot. Whenever a death occurs within the area of effect of the Ritual/Morph card, the loot in the dungeon is enhanced. If the card's user wishes, they can seal the exits. That's why we can't go out. And once the exits are sealed, no one can leave before the dungeon is cleared. There have been many such massacres above to improve the loot.” After a pause here, Dan continued. “The families that have these cards see these dungeons as their vaults. If they happen to need money, they clear these places.”

Zoe was nauseous. Everything she had heard about the world above always made her nauseous for some reason. The curse in her chest flared up a little more. What's going on up there, Zoe thought. Still, a thought occurred to her, replacing the hatred she felt for the world above.

"Then when I clear this dungeon, I'll have emptied a family's vault?" Zoe grinned fiercely.

“Yes, that is a plus, but you will probably have made new enemies. Powerful and deep-rooted enemies” said Dan.

Looking up, Zoe's eyes gleamed with passion. So many people were thrown here, and very few of them miraculously survived. But those survivors were also doomed here because of this spell. I bet the pits to the Abyss are open for people to be thrown here, and again, I bet whoever cast this spell is also careful that the people thrown here don't have CyberDecks.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“ They'll also have a new enemy when I clear this place too…” Zoe said. It was clear from her voice that she would never forgive those who did this.

Dan and Brad were a little surprised to hear this. Sensible people generally avoided messing with deep-rooted families. Dan attributed this to Zoe's lack of recollection of the events up above. She thinks so now, but when she goes above, she will see what the world is like, he thought.

They were now far from the Dungeon and on a new course. They had been walking for a long time. Not being able to measure time properly and everything around them looking so similar still seemed strange to Zoe. Thinking, if we don't know how far we're going to walk, let me try to get to know Dan, Zoe turned to her comrade.

“Hey, Dan, what were you doing up there?”

Dan smiled, who seemed to somehow anticipate that this question would come. " Actually, those in the Abyss rarely speak of their past life." He was about to continue his sentence when Brad interrupted.

“Don't be a dick, Dan. She doesn't remember anything anyway. You won't die if you share something," yelled Brad to his friend. It was obvious that he was genuinely angry. His frowning eyebrows gave him a sweeter look somehow.

"If you hadn't intervened, I would have continued the conversation," Dan shouted to his friend. “But, I was about to say, Zoe,” he said, turning to her. “But when it comes to you, I can tell. After all, you decided to help us without hesitation. Maybe thanks to you we will return to our former life.”

“I told you that I owe you, remember,” Zoe said, looking at Dan and Brad one by one. “But I'm not just doing this for you. I don't want you to think like that. After all, I want to go back up and learn about my past.”

“Still,” said Dan, “ We informed you of many things when you woke up with amnesia and placed a great responsibility upon you. Maybe it has to do with your Will stat, I don't know, but most people wouldn't be able to face it that quickly.”

“Maybe if I could remember my past…” Zoe said, looking thoughtful. “I mean if I knew what I did to deserve to be thrown in here, to be betrayed… I don't know if I would have been so eager to go up.” She felt the endless pain in her chest and thought if I knew what sin I committed that branded me with this curse.

"Hey!" said Dan, giving Zoe his full attention. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Speaking for myself, I can say that I like you from what I've seen so far. I may not know what it's like to lose your memory, but you can see it as an opportunity to start over."

Start over, huh? thought Zoe. I couldn't do it even if I wanted to. This pain in my chest and the only thing I remember would not let that happen. It seems I would rather die than forget your betrayal, Cain. How can I start over when I have this feeling inside?

When there was no answer from Zoe, who looked thoughtful, this time Brad interrupted. “I agree with Dan, Zoe. You seem like a good person so far. And whether you wanted to or not, you have truly given us hope. You should know that normally the atmosphere here is not this positive.”

“Thank you, guys,” Zoe said, it felt good that these two were trying to cheer her up rather than what she had heard. “So Dan, do you want to tell me now?”

Clearing his throat and mentally preparing himself to talk about his past, Dan began to explain. "Actually, of all the people you've met, I might be the only one who deserved to be thrown here," said Dan. “I was such a scumbag up there.” Seeing that Zoe didn't want to interrupt his story, Dan continued.

“I was a member of a team of junkyard thieves. A group called Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. A group that trapped and killed people on the road. Ripped out all their valuable parts and cards, and then sold them and partied. Our leader was a guy who was influenced by a fairy tale he heard as a child and named himself Ali Baba. He must have liked the system in the fairy tale so much that he formed an elite team of 40 people under him. He was a man who challanged Corpo-States and deep-rooted families.”

Zoe had already guessed that Dan might have belonged to such an organization out of respect for the superior-subordinate relationship. It was something simpler in Zoe's mind, not such a complex organization. “So how did you join this team?” ' Zoe asked with curiosity. Even though she didn't approve of what they had done, Zoe liked that there was someone who was disturbing these deep-rooted families that kept on coming up in every conversation.

“When I was a child, my family's convoy was attacked by this Ali Baba's thives. Although they killed adults without blinking, Ali Baba had strict rules against killing children. He preferred to take them and raise them to have new thieves. I was another thief who was raised by Ali Baba."

“I'm sorry,” said Zoe. She felt bad that this topic was brought up at her insistence. She had no intention of reminding Dan of his painful past. “You don't have to continue.”

“It's okay… I chose to tell it myself, after all, I could talk about other things. It's been a long time since these events took place. So much so that even I forgot to hold grudges after a while.” Dan stayed silent for a while. He was obviously thinking about the past. He continued after a while. “When you clear this dungeon, it's going to get very messy above, Zoe. Quite vindictive people will go up. Dozens of people you haven't met in Araf all have accounts with mafias and families."

“Let's let it get messy,” replied Zoe. She was looking upwards. Everything she had heard about the world above made her sick. “We died once, let them die a little bit.”

Dan smiled. He didn't want to say anything else after Zoe's words. They continued to walk a little longer in silence. Then, this time, Dan began to speak spontaneously, continuing his story.

“Children raised by Ali Baba try to become one of his 40 distinguished men after a while. Ali Baba was a charismatic leader and everyone would try to be on his good side. He was also caring and compassionate towards us children. He acted as if he saved us, not killed our family. Of course, there were also those who did not follow this system and tried to escape, but they were not heard from again.”

“It sounds terrible. Ali Baba was really a jerk. He must have been a pretty strong man since he was able to run a system like this for years and attack anyone and do whatever he wanted." said Zoe, and asked, succumbing to her curiosity, "Do you know what kind of a card he had?"

“Almost nobody knows. But he was definitely someone to be feared. Besides, there has never been a situation where he had to use his cards anyway. He already had elite soldiers for this. To not disturb his peace. Among these 40 men, 10 marauders had CyberDecks. Of course, this was a long time ago. Maybe now he can provide CyberDecks to all 40 of his men. Who knows?" said Dan, trying to sound indifferent.

“Then you youngsters who were trying to be thieves, were you replacing people when they died?” asked Zoe, looking genuinely interested.

“Yes, but apart from that, there was also a rank system. Thieves wore badges that showed their rank. They rank up or down according to their success or failure in missions. If you were a rank 40 Thief and ranked down, no one would ever hear from you again.” Dan hesitated. “When the same thing happened to me, I comprehended what they went through"

Zoe approached him and placed her now 4-fingered left hand on Dan's shoulder. She stayed like that for a while, trying to console him. “Did you ever find anyone you used to know here, then?” she asked. In case he found some survivors with whom he shared the same fate.

“There was one more person.” Dan quickened his steps, his voice raging. “Seth. I've known since I was little. It could even be said that we grew up together. He was thrown here long after me, and I found him. Where I was thrown myself. I would often patrol the pit I was thrown into anyway.” At this point in the conversation, Dan swallowed. It seemed like he was talking about a fresh wound and he couldn't go on.

Brad took over the conversation. “Seth was a great guy. I met him here, but I really loved him.” He pointed at Dan. “The three of us got along exceptionally well .”

Dan roared, his pain was replaced by anger. "That's why we're going to find that Hadrian bastard. And hold him accountable for what he..."

Then everything happened at once. For a split second, Zoe saw a silhouette jumping from above. Afterward, all she saw was a glaive that cut Dan in half, from head to toe. The sound of the glaive crashing to the ground echoed throughout the Abyss.

"And what if Hadrian finds you first?" said the man, sounding maniacal. He had a very relaxed demeanor. He looked as if he hadn't just murdered a human. He had spiky hair, crazy eyes, and a face full of scars. He was hiding the weapons that he had hung on his body with the long coat he was wearing.

Zoe was in shock. What had happened seemed too absurd to be true. Dan was just in front of her and he was talking. He talked about his past and shared his feelings. Now he was lying on the ground, split in two.

Brad was the first to get over the shock. “DANNNN!!!” He rushed to attack Hadrian, shouting. Yet, driven by anger, Brad didn't even have time to think about his attack. Hadrian swung the glaive vigorously, cutting off Brad's left arm as he ran towards him. Now Brad had fallen beside Dan, desperately awaiting his death.

However, the woman in front of him had caught Hadrian's attention. When he examined this blue-haired woman closely, he could not believe his eyes. In fact, Hadrian, who had kept his relaxed demeanor, shouted in shock.

“ZOE! YOU BLUE-HAIRED BACKSTABBING BITCH!”

Hearing this woke Zoe from her shock. Does this son of a bitch know who I am?