Chains rattled heavily as Jiyul sat in the back of the prison cart. His legs were bound with steel shackles thick enough to hold a beast, and his wrists were tied tightly in front of him. Blood still dripped steadily from the arrow wound in his thigh, forming a small, dark pool on the wooden floorboards beneath his boot.
The wagon creaked forward, pulled by two dull-eyed horses. On both sides, royal-grade soldiers walked in silence. There were ten of them, armored and alert. The woman who had shot him, now revealed as Commander Selena Hyeorin, rode ahead on a black stallion. She hadn't looked back once since they started moving.
Jiyul leaned against the wooden wall of the cart, his head resting against the cold iron bars. His eyes were half-open, watching the city pass by in a blur of stone and color. No one spoke to him. No one dared. He didn't speak either. Silence clung to him like a second skin.
"Hey," a guard on the right finally said, his voice cautious. "You awake?"
Jiyul didn't respond.
"Listen... I don't know what your deal is, but that sword of yours... where did you get it?"
Another guard hissed at him immediately. "Shut up, idiot. That's cursed qi. You think he is going to answer you?"
The first guard persisted, his curiosity outweighing his fear. "He killed six guards in less than two minutes. That wasn't just swordplay. That was... something else."
Jiyul's lips twitched. It was barely a movement. He whispered, his voice low and cold.
"You got a lot of breath for someone who is scared."
The guard stiffened. Jiyul opened his eyes fully, looking at the man. Looking through him.
"That sword drank more blood than your whole squad has seen in their lives."
Commander Selena finally spoke from the front without turning her head. "You talk a lot for a prisoner."
Jiyul smirked. "I'm chained. Not silenced."
"You aren't dead either. Yet."
He chuckled once. It was a dry, hollow sound. "Should have let that other guy take my head then."
She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes sharp. "No. You are worth something to the palace."
"Oh? The king suddenly needs a killer?"
"No," she replied. "But nobles want to know who you are. What you are."
He looked away, staring back at the passing streets. "Let them wonder."
The cart moved deeper into the capital. The streets widened, and stone roads replaced the dirt paths of the outer districts. Towers rose above the markets, featuring golden roofs, silk banners, and perfumed air. It was a completely different world from the slums Jiyul had just left.
Children played on marble steps. Servants carried baskets of fruit bigger than Jiyul's head. Nobles rode in carriages lined with crystal.
He sneered at the sight. "I killed a man who stole grapes."
One guard looked confused. "What?"
Jiyul didn't elaborate. He just kept looking at the glittering city with disgust. "They step on necks to feel taller. And call it order."
"You are talking about nobles?" Selena asked.
"I am talking about rot," Jiyul replied. "This whole kingdom stinks."
One of the younger guards muttered under his breath, "If he talks like that in front of the king, he will lose his tongue."
"I would rather lose it than lick boots," Jiyul said.
They passed through a large arched gate. Guards on the walls saluted them, staring down at the blood-stained prisoner in the cart. Inside was yet another world. Stone buildings turned to obsidian spires. The scent of roses replaced the smell of spice and sewage. Caged hawks lined the high walls.
At the end of a wide avenue stood the black tower. Capital Prison.
The cart stopped. Selena dismounted. "Bring him."
Two guards yanked Jiyul out roughly. He didn't grunt. He didn't resist. One guard tried to shove him forward, but Jiyul turned slowly, meeting his eyes. The guard flinched and stepped back on instinct.
"Smart," Jiyul said.
They dragged him inside. The prison smelled like metal and mold. Rows of cells stretched endlessly, filled with screams, groans, and whispers. Iron bars. Rotting straw. Faint flickers of torchlight.
A crooked man with one eye walked toward them. He was dressed in a sleeveless black robe with the sigil of the royal prison burned directly into his skin.
"Is this the wild dog?" the warden asked.
Selena nodded. "Name is Jiyul. No surname."
The man stared at him. "Not even a clan? What, you crawl out of a grave?"
Jiyul answered plainly. "Maybe."
The man laughed. "You will fit in nicely."
They led Jiyul down to the lower levels. Deeper. Darker. Fewer voices. More silence.
"Put him in Cell Zero," the warden commanded.
A heavy gate opened, and dust spilled out. It wasn't a room. It was a cage in a cave. A stone floor, a leaking ceiling, rusted chains, and a wooden bucket in the corner. They threw him in.
CLANG.
The door slammed shut.
Jiyul sat down in the middle of the cell. The shackles were still on his ankles. One guard lingered, staring at him through the bars.
"You are going to die down here, freak."
Jiyul looked up. "No. I am going to walk out."
"And what makes you think that?"
"I always walk out."
Then he lay back, clasping his hands behind his head. The arrow was still in his leg, bleeding onto the cold stone, but he was smirking. He closed his eyes.
Silent again.