He struggled violently, his anger flaring the more he thought about it—he longed to slit the throat of the man who'd just left. Suddenly, alarms blared. Explosions and gunfire erupted one after another, and the corridor lights flickered off instantly.
The researchers in the laboratory panicked. One rushed to the door, pressing the intercom frantically, desperate to find out what was happening. Arthur knew this was his chance to escape, but in the chaos, the entire lab shook violently—and the cart with the scalpel rolled farther and farther away from him.
"Experiment terminated! Experiment terminated!" The researcher at the door shouted.
"Why?"
"Command ordered us to evacuate the test subject immediately! Hurry up and prepare the sedative!" The man replied, turning around.
"What the hell is going on?"
As Arthur waited for the right moment to break free, a powerful, deadly flame erupted from the corridor, followed by a thunderous explosion—nothing a regular flame weapon could produce.
He'd never seen anything like it. A dragon-like inferno tore through the entire corridor, its intense heat shattering the glass windows of the laboratories on both sides. The researcher closest to the door was blown to smithereens on the spot.
"Aah—!"
Screams echoed through the lab. The remaining researcher and his assistant exchanged terrified glances, then fled in a panic. But they hadn't run more than a few steps before both were incinerated by the next wave of flames. Their bodies were torn apart as if by a ferocious beast, limbs scattered and blood splattering everywhere. Outside the lab, wails, explosions, and gunfire filled the air.
Arthur lay on the tilting operating table, but fate had other plans. The cart with the scalpel rolled to the door and overturned. Moments later, a terrifying sound of metal twisting grew louder, like a starving beast devouring the other explosion sounds. The corridor outside gradually distorted and deformed under the noise, with everything scattered across the floor.
Warning bells rang in Arthur's mind. Time was running out—he had to find a way to escape.
The corridor had become a battlefield, with flames and bullets crisscrossing back and forth.
A grenade was launched into the air, only to be hit by a fiery fireball and sent crashing into the laboratory opposite Arthur. The violent explosion blew a fifty-centimeter hole in the twisted lab wall. Air rushed out of the breach, sucking countless objects toward it. The powerful suction nearly lifted Arthur off the bed frame.
Through the intercom behind him, Arthur learned that an unknown figure in strange armor had suddenly appeared on the ship—someone with the ability to shoot flames out of thin air, as if controlling them with his mind.
The urge to survive pulled Arthur out of his confusion. He scanned his surroundings, searching for any tool that could free him. The deformed bed frame beneath him might drag him into space at any moment.
"He's hiding in Laboratory 115 of the Galan Sector! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
Arthur looked at the lab number plate across the way, watching as the operating table in the opposite lab was torn from the floor and slammed against the breach. Poor soul—even his body was subjected to such torment before being sucked out into space.
Whether the computer detected the foreign object being pulled out or sensed the abnormal air pressure, it activated a force field to seal the breach, stopping the air from escaping. This allowed the interrupted gunfire to resume with even greater intensity, as both sides exchanged fire so fiercely they nearly tore the place apart.
"Hurry! He's fled into Laboratory 113!"
Arthur knew the figure was closing in on his position—maybe there was still a chance to be saved. Finally, through the glass on both sides, he caught a glimpse of the intruder. The attacker moved nimbly, fending off the soldiers' attacks while quickly scanning each laboratory, as if searching for something.
The armor on his body glowed with a faint blue light, shrouded in a thin, luminous mist. Unlike the artificial lighting outside, this glow seemed to emanate from the armor itself.
It triggered a memory in Arthur's mind—the shadowy figures. The red light in their eyes had felt the same way.
The faint blue glow was some kind of strange force field. Any enemy weapon that touched it vanished instantly, like water evaporating. Even physical bullets were deflected outright by the field.
No weapon seemed able to harm the armor. However, from the way he dodged between laboratories, it appeared the seemingly perfect force field had a drawback—it could run out of energy. Perhaps his evasive actions were to recharge the field; otherwise, he could have openly slaughtered the enemy.
Dancing flames and ice spikes that materialized out of thin air became his weapons, with fireballs and energy beams crisscrossing in rapid attacks.
Arthur snapped back to his senses, trying to reach for a piece of debris blown toward him to pry off his shackles. Suddenly, the outside fell silent. Teams of soldiers poured into the corridor from both sides, surrounding the lab and opening fire relentlessly.
An explosion caused an overload in the power system of the entire sector. A piece of debris fell at his fingertips in a perfect parabola. If the bed frame had been flat, he might have been able to reach it—but instead, it slipped past his fingers due to gravity.
Then, gunfire erupted again from the connected laboratories across the way. A shadow crashed through the glass and rolled into the opposite lab. Leaping into the air, he turned around and unleashed a burst of intense flames from his hand.
No amount of surprise could compare to witnessing it firsthand.
After a fierce exchange of fire, the man took cover in the laboratory opposite Arthur.
He rolled on the floor and jumped up immediately, instinctively raising his hand toward Arthur. A ball of flame materialized out of thin air, engulfing his entire palm. He spotted Arthur tied to the nearly upright bed frame—impossible to miss—and caught sight of an incoming attack out of the corner of his eye. With a quick wave of his hand, he shot the flame from his palm like an arrow.
Crouching down to grab his weapon, he effortlessly tore the bed frame from the breach, using it as a shield as he sprinted toward Arthur. His movements were fluid and seamless. As he reached the corridor, he spun around, hurling the bed frame forward, then summoned a column of icy cold that pierced through the frame like a bed of nails, devastating the enemy.
He rolled under Arthur's bed, pulled a dagger from his waist, and cut through the leather straps binding Arthur's hands and feet. He hadn't gotten a good look at Arthur until then—when their eyes met, he froze in place. His serious expression softened, giving way to a look of shock and joy.
"Arthur?" The man's eyes instantly glistened, as if they'd known each other for years. He pulled down his silk-like black mask, patted his chest, and said, "It's me, Sasaki!"
Who? Who was Sasaki?
"Whoa..." Arthur tore the rubber ball from his mouth, confused. "Who are you?"
Arthur stared blankly at the man named Sasaki. He was roughly the same height as Arthur, wearing an ornate metal helmet inlaid with gold and silver, and armor adorned with intricate patterns. He had a handsome face with sharp features.
Sweat dripped from his curly hair beneath the helmet. Even disheveled, he exuded an air of calm stability.
Yet Arthur had no memory of him whatsoever.
But there was no time for Sasaki to explain—the soldiers were gathering nearby again, their gunfire growing denser. The guards' fire quickly focused on their position, the steel plates groaning under the assault. The man immediately pushed Arthur's head down, sliced through the bed frame with a single sword strike to use as cover—leaving Arthur stunned.
Good god, how tough was that steel?
After unleashing another wave of flames, Sasaki knelt down, pulled a coin-sized object from his waist, and pressed it into Arthur's hand.
"This ship won't hold much longer—take this!" He winked at Arthur. "If we meet again... we'll talk then!"
"Will we even get the chance to meet again?"
Sasaki smiled, then muttered a strange phrase under his breath. He slammed his palm against the ground, winked at Arthur once more, and without hesitation, pushed him backward.
"You...?"
The unexpected move left Arthur stunned. He instinctively reached out to brace himself, but there was nothing beneath him—no floor to touch.
He fell.
It was like plunging into an abyss. The flames and light gradually faded from his sight. Slowly, the darkness around him brightened, until he could no longer make out the distant speck of light.
Some inexplicable force was pulling at him—from every direction, unpredictable. He couldn't comprehend what was happening; it was far beyond his understanding. But his thoughts were cut short as intense nausea and dizziness overwhelmed him, quickly stealing his consciousness.
After a long while, the sound of speeding vehicles roused him. The solid feeling against his back told him he'd finally landed somewhere.
Where was he?
He'd have to open his eyes to find out. For now, the only thing he could confirm was that he'd landed on a soft patch of grass. The burning sensation on his skin was something that could never have happened on that ship.
Before he could open his eyes, his head spun again. The nausea from the dizziness hit him, and a burning feeling rose in his stomach. The liquid inside rushed up his throat and out of his mouth. He quickly rolled onto his stomach, vomiting violently—mostly pale yellow fluid. If he'd eaten recently, it wouldn't have just been stomach acid.
As the vomiting subsided, he caught a glimpse of speeding trains passing by out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at the grass in front of him, stunned. His muddled mind cleared instantly from shock, his eyes widening and his jaw nearly hitting the ground.
Rail tracks, grass, and artificial sunlight—it was a scene he knew all too well.
Arthur scrambled backward in terror, falling onto his buttocks. He frantically pulled a handful of grass and brought it to his nose. It smelled exactly like fresh grass. Everything here was familiar, yet he couldn't understand what was happening.
"What the hell is going on?"
Arthur stared around in confusion, scratching his head.
"I... I'm in Aurelia?"