The transition from the open field to the belly of the castle was a descent into hell.

  The guards led Yu down a spiral of stone steps that seemed to go on forever. With every turn, the air grew heavier, colder, and more stagnant. The smell of grass and wind was replaced by the cloying scent of wet mold and ancient dust. Cold crept up from the floor, biting through the thin soles of his shoes. The damp air wrapped around his skin like a wet shroud, sticking to his sweat.

  "Here." The guard stopped in front of a dark alcove.

  The iron bars were thick, rusted, and coated in a layer of grime. They groaned in protest as the guard unlocked the mechanism, swinging the heavy gate open with a screech of metal on metal. Inside was a narrow chamber, barely large enough to lie down in. It was a stone box buried in the earth. The walls glistened with moisture, and the only light came from a flickering torch in the hallway that carved shifting, monstrous shadows across the floor.

  "Get in." The guard said, a shove sent Yu stumbling forward. He couldn't catch his balance. His knees crashed against the unforgiving stone floor, a sharp bolt of pain shooting up his legs. He gasped, scraping his palms against the slimy rock.

  By the time he turned around, the iron gate had already slammed shut. CLANG. The sound was physical. It reverberated through his bones, ringing in his ears. Yu felt like the sound of a life ending. The guard wordlessly locked it. The key turned with a harsh click-clack. He did it with the ease of routine—a mundane task, like sweeping a floor or swatting a fly. There was no malice in the action, which made it worse. To them, Yu was just inventory.

  Yu scrambled to his feet and grabbed the bars. The iron was freezing, smelling of rust and blood. He tried to shout, to demand an explanation, but his throat had closed up.

  “…Where… am I…?” It came out as a broken whisper. No answer. The guard didn't even look back. He just turned and marched away, his boots echoing down the corridor until silence swallowed the sound.

  Yu sank to the cold stone floor, pulling his knees to his chest. He wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to conserve warmth, trying to make himself small. The dampness of the cell seemed to have weight. It pressed against his chest, tightening, constricting, suffocating him.

  He was a "criminal." In this world—where he had only tried to help—that was the label placed upon him. A glitch. An intruder. A prisoner.

  ?

  "Please wait!" Rize’s voice split through the tense air, sharp as a blade. Her gaze was fierce, unwavering, burning with the injustice of it all. "Yu fought with us! He risked his life to help Claval—he saved her when no one else could! Why must he be thrown into a cell like a bandit!?"

  "I follow the law," he stated simply. "An unregistered civilian entering a Class-S battlefield is forbidden. It jeopardizes the chain of command. It jeopardizes order." The Lord of Avras paused. He turned slowly, his cape settling around him. His posture was strict, unmoving, a pillar of aristocratic law.

  "Order…?" Rize’s voice trembled. Her fists clenched at her sides. "Is imprisoning an ally what you call order!?"

  "Please stand down, adventurer. The lord’s judgment is absolute in this domain." A knight stepped forward, his hand raised in a warning gesture.

  "So we’re just supposed to obey in silence!?" Rize’s hand flew to the hilt of her sword. Her knuckles turned white. Rage burned through her eyes, hot and reckless. She was ready to draw. She was ready to fight the entire army.

  "Rize!" Hanara’s voice cracked like a whip. A hand clamped onto Rize’s shoulder—hard. It was Hanara. Her grip was like iron, stopping the draw a heartbeat before the blade left the sheath. "If you draw here," Hanara hissed in her ear, "both you and Yu are finished. They will execute you."

  "But—!" Rize turned to her friend. Her eyes swelled with tears—not of sadness, but of pure frustration. Anger. Helplessness. Why do we have power if we can't use it? Why did we save the world if the world doesn't care?

  The lord watched the exchange with disinterest.

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  "Sentiment cannot be allowed to break order," he said, turning back. "Order is the power that protects this land. Without it, we are no better than the monsters you hunt." The words were cold. Logical. And final.

  Rize bit her lip. She bit it until the skin broke and the taste of copper filled her mouth. She lowered her hand from her sword. She could only turn back to Claval—still unconscious on the stretcher—and let her trembling shoulders be supported by her companions. The carriage door closed. The wheels began to turn. And the distance between her and Yu grew with every revolution.

  ?

  The cell was silent. Oppressively so. It wasn't a peaceful silence. It was the silence of a grave. The only sound was the rhythmic drip, drip, drip of condensation falling from the ceiling into a stagnant puddle in the corner.

  Yu curled up against the farthest wall, staring at the damp stones. The flickering torchlight from the hallway couldn't reach him here. He was in the dark.

  His own thoughts were louder than anything else.…What am I even doing here…? The question scraped out of his throat, unheard by anyone.He had come to help. And this was his reward? A cold stone floor and the title of a criminal?

  Clack. Clack. Clack. Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Leisurely. Heavy. A shadow fell over the bars. A guard stopped in front of his cell. He wasn't the one who had locked him in. This one was older, with a paunch and a face that looked like it enjoyed cruelty. He leaned casually against the bars, chewing on something, a smirk plastered on his face.

  “Well now…” His voice was a greasy rasp. “What’d a scrawny kid like you do to end up down here in the rat hole?”

  Yu said nothing. He buried his face in his knees.

  “Oh? Gonna ignore me? Big man.” The guard chuckled, a wet, rattling sound. He shook his head, spitting on the floor. “Fine, whatever. Boring. Let’s talk about something more fun.” His grin twisted, revealing yellow teeth. “That girl who was with you…she’s got a fine body, doesn’t she? Goooood legs.”

  Yu’s blood ran cold. His head snapped up.

  “Once the lord decides she caused trouble too… resisting arrest, maybe… she’ll end up right here. In the cell next door.” The guard noticed the reaction and widened his grin. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

  Yu’s breath hitched. His heart hammered against his ribs.

  “And when she does…” The guard leaned forward, pressing his face between the bars. His breath washed over Yu—foul, warm, smelling of stale onions and rot. “I’ll make sure to… take very good care of her. Personal care.” A low, disgusting laugh echoed through the narrow cell, bouncing off the wet walls.

  Heat surged violently inside Yu’s chest. It wasn't fear anymore. It was pure, white-hot rage. His fists clenched so hard his nails tore into his palms, drawing blood.

  “Relax, relax.” Another laugh. “I’ll let you hear her scream too—it’s only fair—GEHAHAHAHA—”

  “STOP IT!!!” Yu lunged. He slammed into the bars with all his strength. CLANG! The metal vibrated, sending a shockwave through his arms, but it didn't budge.

  “Ooh, scary! Save your energy, kid. You’re gonna need it.” The guard didn't even flinch. He just laughed harder, stepping back out of reach. He walked off, his laughter trailing behind him like a toxic fume.

  Yu stood there, gripping the cold iron. His hands dripped blood onto the stone floor. His body shook. With fury. With humiliation. With absolute helplessness.

  “……If I stay here… I can’t protect anyone…!” He slid back down, collapsing onto the floor. His chest heaved, gasping for air that wouldn't come. Rize’s face flashed in his mind. Claval’s bloodied body. The guard’s vile grin. It all twisted together like a burning rope inside his skull, tightening, choking him.…I have to get out. It wasn't a thought. It was a survival instinct. I have to get out. NOW.

  Yu pressed his bloody palms together. He didn't chant. He didn't cast a spell. He just pushed. He focused on the sound behind the silence. The frequency of the gap between worlds. A faint sound stirred behind his heartbeat—a trembling resonance he had begun to recognize. It was the sound of the barrier screaming. He opened his hands. CREAK.

  The air groaned. It wasn't the wind. It was the fabric of space buckling under pressure. A thin crack opened on the cell wall, bleeding pale, static light. The fissure crawled outward, eating the stone, erasing the moss like chalk wiped from a board. Cold wind—different from the damp dungeon air—rushed through the widening gap. It smelled of dry paper.

  “Let me through…!” The cell trembled. The torchlight flickered and died. His vision warped. The stone walls dissolved into white static. Gravity inverted. The world flipped. Sound vanished. Light swallowed everything.

  A sensation of falling up— And then, a soft thud. When Yu blinked, the darkness was gone. Yu was staring at a ceiling. A clean, white, popcorn-textured ceiling. He heard the hum of a refrigerator. The distant sound of a car passing by. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. To his right, his bookshelf, filled with manga and textbooks. To his left, his desk, covered in homework. His room.

  “…I’m… home…?” Yu’s breath staggered, coming in short, panicked gasps. He touched the floor. Carpet. Dry, warm carpet. This was the real world. There was no mistaking it. He had escaped the dungeon… but the smell of the cell still clung to his skin.