Kiyohime woke to find Adamus meditating with a rat in front of him, holding a key card in its tiny paws. Her eyes widened. "Where did you get that key card? Can you talk to rats now? Have you made friends with them?"
Adamus chuckled. "Not exactly. I've connected my life energy to the rat, so I'm controlling it."
Kiyohime, intrigued but concerned, asked, "That's interesting, but aren't you worried about running out of energy like you did against that forearm guy?"
Adamus explained, "I've found a way to manage that. If I stay still and constantly gather energy, even though the crystal drains it, I can maintain control for a while. Just enough to use this rat to get the key card."
Kiyohime, moved by his ingenuity, gave him a quick hug. "You're the best!" Realizing her spontaneous gesture, she pushed him away, mumbling, "My bad." Then she refocused. "So, are you ready to escape right now?"
Adamus shook his head. "No. If I'm leaving, I'm taking everybody with me."
Kiyohime raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care about these jerks and perverts?"
Adamus responded firmly, "I can tell some of them are innocent. It's better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."
Later, during lunch, Adamus made his way toward Suvaco, who was sitting with his crew of pig-like inmates. As he approached, the group fell quiet, their eyes studying him with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. Adamus, however, remained resolute, his eyes flashing with determination as he spoke.
"I have a plan to escape," Adamus said firmly, keeping his voice steady. "If you're willing to put your trust in it, we can all get out of here. But I need your help. I need all the energy I can get. We'll make it work, but we have to be united."
Suvaco, always the calm presence in his group, looked Adamus over carefully. The seriousness in his voice seemed to resonate, and he nodded slowly. "If you truly believe it's going to work, then we are down. We'll help," he said.
As Adamus turned to walk away, one of Suvaco's pig-like companions stepped forward, his face a mixture of frustration and caution. "Do we really want to do this again? Try to escape just to get captured? I'm tired of false hope. We've been through this before. Why should we risk it again?"
Before Adamus could respond, Suvaco held up a hand to silence his friend. His eyes softened as he looked at Adamus, then turned back to the rest of the group. "This kid... he seems different. I have faith in him. We've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain. If he believes it will work, then I do, too." With a final nod, he turned toward Adamus, signaling his crew to follow.
Adamus glanced over at Suvaco, grateful for his trust, then turned toward the forearm inmate and his crew, who were still hanging around the corner of the cafeteria. Adamus walked up to them with a purposeful stride, undeterred by their previous encounter.
He stopped just a few feet away from the inmate known as Forearms, who was nursing a black eye from their altercation the days before. Forearms eyed him warily, his arms crossed defensively.
"Are you trying to escape?" Adamus asked, his voice low but confident. "Because I have a plan that can get all of us out of here. You want out, too, right?"
Forearms stared at him for a moment, clearly hesitant. His gaze flicked between Adamus and the others, and he finally grunted, his voice laced with skepticism. "Why should I trust you? And these people?" He gestured toward the inmates following Adamus. "Why do you want to help me out? We just fought days ago."
Adamus replied, "Because I can tell you're not all bad guys. You're just stuck in bad situations. This is your second chance, especially with this corrupt system."
Forearms stared at him for a moment before saying, "You seem trustworthy. What do you need me to do?"
Adamus nodded, sensing he had earned a sliver of trust. "You seem like the leader around here. Gather everyone up."
Later, Forearms did just that, rounding up the rest of the inmates. As they gathered, Adamus spoke. "I have a plan. Tonight, I need all of you to meditate and chant 'Om Mani Padme Hum.' I promise, I'll open all your cages and deactivate the prison's power grid."
One of the inmates skeptically asked, "You expect us to believe that'll work?"
Another inmate, more willing to take the leap, replied, "I mean, we've got nothing to lose."
But a third, more cynical inmate muttered, "How is meditation gonna solve any of our problems? It's a waste of time."
Adamus met the doubt head-on. "Meditation is never a waste of time," he said calmly
That night, as planned, the prison guards and inmates began chanting, "Hum Om Mani Padme Hum," hoping for a chance at freedom.
As the night progressed, the chant "Hum Om Mani Padme Hum" echoed through the prison. In every cell, the inmates, following Adamus's plan, chanted along. Meanwhile, in the generator room, the security guards watched the security cameras with skepticism, chuckling at the sight of the inmates meditating.
"What's with this weird chant?" one guard asked, his tone dripping with amusement.
"I don't know," another guard replied, shrugging. "Let's just keep an eye on them."
In the cells, Adamus sat in deep meditation. His life strings extended throughout the prison, reaching out to the other inmates. Despite the crystals suppressing their powers, Adamus's energy surged as he drew strength from the life energy of the inmates and the rats. His green fiery aura returned, vibrant and potent. He directed the rats to the power grid, where they chewed through wires and dismantled the prison's electrical systems.
In the security room, panic set in as alarms blared and screens flickered. "What's going on?" one guard shouted. "Why is everything glowing green? The machines are shutting down!"
Kiyohime, observing the chaos and the transformation of Adamus's energy, asked, "Where are you getting all this power from?"
Adamus, smiling confidently, replied, "These words 'Hum Om Mani Padme Hum can shatter reality and make dreams come true."
As he spoke, the sound of unlocking mechanisms filled the air. The cage cell doors began to swing open. "Yes!" Adamus exclaimed, triumphant. "The rats chewed through all the wires. The crystals are deactivated. We can use our full strength now!"
Using the connection he maintained with his life strings, Adamus relayed the message to the other inmates. They heard his voice clearly, each one understanding the call to action. The prison's power grid was down, and the path to freedom was now within reach.
Adamus stood up from his meditation and raised his hand in the Gyan Mudra, his eyes glowing a brilliant gold. Whispering "Tenshi no Me," he extended his hand to Kiyohime and asked, "You ready to go?"
"Yes," she replied, "but I need to change first."
Adamus, impatient, said, "We don't have time for that."
Kiyohime insisted, "It won't take long," and with a subtle incantation her prison garb dissolved into shimmering threads of magic. In its place formed a striking samurai-style outfit black as midnight with accents of deep crimson. The armor plates were sleek and fitted, edged with traces of gold that glimmered like embers in the dim light. A crimson sash bound the waist, its knot flowing into layered fabric that gave her silhouette both grace and power. The gauntlets and greaves were lacquered black with streaks of red, completing the look of a warrior poised between elegance and ferocity. Her long hair framed the ensemble, and with every movement, the outfit seemed to whisper of battlefields and blood, of a serpent's wrath dressed in the guise of a samurai.
Kiyohime then cast a spell on him, and the dull orange of his prison jumpsuit dissolved into shimmering motes of light. In its place appeared a sleek samurai-inspired battle suit, primarily black with sharp white accents cutting along the armor's edges. The design carried the spirit of traditional samurai armor but refined into a modern, streamlined form plates fitted close to the body for speed and agility, yet still radiating authority.
The chest plate was jet-black with polished white inlays, etched with abstract storm-like patterns. His shoulder guards were angular and minimal, shaped for mobility, their edges lined in white that caught the light with a subtle gleam. Gauntlets and greaves reinforced his arms and legs, blending lacquered black surfaces with white ridges and trims. A broad sash at his waist was layered in black and white fabric, tied in a stylized modern obi knot that hinted at both discipline and style.
The outfit's overall effect was striking a warrior clothed in the balance of shadow and light, tradition and evolution. It was the garb of a modern samurai touched with divine presence, a fusion of the old world and something beyond mortal design.
Adamus looked at Kiyohime with surprise as she slowly pulled a sword from her mouth, the blade gleaming ominously as it emerged. "That sword's been in your mouth the whole time?" he asked, his face a mixture of curiosity and unease.
The weapon, her Muramasa Katana, was a masterpiece of sinister craftsmanship. The blade itself was forged in a haunting black, its surface etched with swirling patterns of deep purple that seemed to shift and shimmer like smoke under the light. Along the edge of the blade, faint traces of a dark red hue pulsed, the sword had a life of its own, feeding off an unseen energy.
Its hilt was wrapped in black leather, intricately braided, with a texture resembling scaled snake skin. The pommel bore the head of a serpent, its eyes made of glinting amethysts that seemed to follow one's gaze, emanating an eerie intelligence. The guard was shaped like a coiled snake, its fangs extended outward, as if ready to strike.
Engraved along the blade in delicate yet sharp strokes were the words Lady Death, written in an ancient script that seemed to whisper her name when the katana moved. The weapon radiated a malevolent aura, one that made the air around it feel heavier, colder, as though the blade hungered for its next victim.
Kiyohime grinned and stuck her tongue out, revealing a tattoo. "Sort of. This tattoo is a curse my monk father placed on me. It lets me keep things in a different dimension."
Adamus extended his hand again. "Let's go. We need to hurry."
Kiyohime took his hand, and together they sprinted through the prison corridors, with other prisoners joining in the chaos. As they ran, Kiyohime's thoughts drifted to a distant memory. She recalled a prophecy from a sage about a warrior with golden eyes, a figure ablaze with fire, who would offer her a world of possibilities.
Could Adamus be the one from the prophecy? Despite her doubts about prophecies, something in Adamus's unwavering determination and fiery presence stirred a sense of hope within her. As they fled together, she felt an unexpected connection and the possibility of a new beginning, igniting a spark in her heart.