In the martial arts system of the Samsara Realm, chi is rooted in the study of meridians. The human body is a labyrinth of energy channels—far more complex than ancient texts suggest. Traditionally, there are twenty-four symmetrical meridians (the Twelve Principal Channels on each side), plus the Ren and Du meridians, totaling 365 acupoints. But modern testing has revealed over a thousand distinct meridian points, including hidden and anomalous channels embedded deep within muscle and bone.
While the number of meridians doesn't always correlate with a technique's power, high-tier martial arts invariably require a broader understanding of the body's energy network. Bronze and Silver-grade techniques typically involve the Twelve Principal Channels and perhaps a handful of hidden meridians—four to five hundred acupoints at most. Even a top-tier Silver technique like the Frostless Sutra, when cultivated to perfection, only activates sixty-three meridians and 727 acupoints.
But the Sacred Heart Codex? It engages a staggering 384 meridians and 4,677 acupoints—many of which lie beneath the surface, embedded in bone and sinew. The result is a three-dimensional energy matrix that reshapes the body's structure as chi flows through it. It's a system unlike any other—unprecedented in scope and unmatched in power. Compared to the Frostless Sutra, its might is a hundredfold greater.
Jack Harper's first step in cultivating the Sacred Heart Codex was to convert his already-perfected Frostless Sutra chi—known as Glacial Grandmaster Energy—into the Codex's unique variant: Celestial Ice Chi.
And once again, his affinity for ice-based techniques proved invaluable.
"I assumed transitioning from Frostless Sutra to Sacred Heart Codex would be arduous. Different grades, same element—I expected a long process of purification and refinement. But the Glacial chi I've cultivated has already mutated. Its coldness surpasses any known ice technique. In essence, my Silver-grade chi has reached Gold-tier purity. That means I can convert it directly, without further refinement."
"My body resonates perfectly with cold energy. I mastered the Frostless Sutra in just half a month. The chi flowed through me without resistance. Now, that same advantage is saving me time again."
As Jack began the conversion, he realized his physique was uniquely suited for the task. Simply following the Codex's prescribed circulation routes was enough to initiate the transformation. His meridians accepted the new energy pathways without resistance, even integrating the Frostless Sutra's methods seamlessly. After all, the Sacred Heart Codex was a synthesis of countless ice techniques—absorbing one more posed no issue.
Still, "simple" was relative. Compared to the Codex's notoriously slow cultivation rate, Jack's progress was lightning-fast. He meditated for two days and three nights, circulating the foundational chi thousands of times. By the end, ninety percent of his Glacial chi had been converted into Celestial Ice Chi.
The remaining ten percent, however, was the essence of the Frostless Sutra—the core known as the Glacial Vortex Heart. It could absorb the chill of the Nine Heavens. To discard it would be a waste.
So Jack turned to a secondary technique recorded in the Codex: the Oceanheart Assimilation Mantra. Rather than converting the chi through circulation, this method fused foreign energy directly into the Codex's system. It was designed to absorb not just one's own chi, but even energy stolen from others.
"Oceanheart… it seeks to contain not just rivers, but entire oceans. The ambition behind this mantra is staggering."
Jack examined his body's energy structure and mused:
"The human body truly is a mystery. Even with the Codex's exhaustive mapping of surface and internal meridians, there are still secrets. The Frostless Sutra carved out a unique channel between the Ren and Du meridians—just four new acupoints, but they house the Glacial Vortex Heart. To integrate it, I'll need to reopen and refine that hidden channel using the Oceanheart Mantra."
With resolve, Jack summoned his chi. Ninety percent of his power was now Celestial Ice Chi—still unrefined, but ten times stronger than the weakened Glacial Vortex. He circulated his energy through hundreds of meridians, then directed it toward the hidden channel.
Immediately, he felt resistance. The Codex's meridians had accepted his chi without issue, but this new path was guarded. The silver vortex in his dantian stirred, sensing intrusion. It surged upward through the Ren meridian, piercing Jack's defenses and occupying the first acupoint of the hidden channel like a fortress.
"So it's developed sentience… That's the influence of Polar Maha. Good thing the Codex can assimilate foreign techniques without destroying them. But this will take effort."
The Oceanheart Mantra didn't devour—it harmonized. It transformed a portion of the Codex's chi to mimic the target, infiltrated it, then gradually converted it from within. Jack's chi still retained traces of the Frostless Sutra, making the mimicry effortless. The vortex didn't detect the intrusion and allowed the disguised chi to enter.
But just as Jack prepared to assimilate it, the vortex recoiled. It retreated to the second acupoint, now on high alert.
Jack tried again. This time, the vortex resisted fiercely. He had to pour in more power to force entry. The vortex fled to the third acupoint—and began spinning rapidly, drawing in the chill of the Nine Heavens to bolster its defenses.
Jack sensed the incoming cold and quickly diverted part of his Celestial chi to block it. But the effort diluted the Mantra's strength. It took him much longer to breach the third acupoint, and the vortex escaped to the fourth.
There, it went silent.
Jack didn't trust the calm. He split his chi, sending half to probe the final acupoint. This time, the chi flowed effortlessly, surrounding the vortex and penetrating its outer layers.
Just as he reached the core, the vortex exploded.
Not outward—but inward. It reversed its spin and collapsed.
And that wasn't the worst part.
Another force within Jack stirred—one he hadn't felt in ages.
The Chill of Penetration, also known as Bone-Deep Frost, a malevolent ice power from the cursed blade Frostmourne, began to awaken. Normally dormant unless summoned, it now surged in response to the vortex's call. Thousands of icy threads pierced Jack's body, flooding his meridians and converging on the final acupoint.
"What's happening? Are these two forces… resonating?"
Jack was horrified. His past experiments with Polar Maha had fused the Nine Heavens' chill with the Nine Earths' frost. He hadn't anticipated lingering side effects. If these two powers collided inside him, it would be like detonating a nuclear bomb in his core.
"No time to hesitate!"
He wrapped the vortex in Celestial chi and forced it into his dantian, hoping its structure could contain the blast. He also activated his Microcosmic Force, drawing on every ounce of strength to reinforce his body and suppress the invading frost.
But Jack wasn't Flora. His Microcosmic Force could only absorb a fraction of the Bone-Deep Frost. The rest surged forward. Just as the vortex reached his dantian, the evil ice power followed—piercing through his defenses and colliding with the vortex.
Then, a massive explosion of sapphire energy erupted within him.
The explosion was silent—felt only by Jack Harper himself—but its force was anything but subtle. Maha, in ancient tongue, meant "immense." The fusion of two elemental extremes—Nine Heavens Snow and Nine Earths Frost—had triggered a surge of power at least tenfold stronger than either source alone.
This wasn't a simple boost like the Cosmo Force used by Saints. It was more akin to the Kaio-Ken x10 or a Super Saiyan transformation from Dragon Ball—a raw, violent amplification of energy. External bursts could be controlled. Internal ones? Like swallowing a nuclear warhead.
Fortunately, Jack had severed the vortex's connection to the Nine Heavens before the explosion. The residual celestial energy was minimal, and the imbalance between the two forces prevented a full-scale detonation. Even so, the resulting power spike breached the threshold of Gold-tier chi.
But Jack's mastery of the Sacred Heart Codex was still at the Silver-tier beginner stage—barely scratching the surface. His body wasn't ready to contain such overwhelming force. Worse, as he focused his chi to shield his dantian, the previously blocked Nine Heavens Snow began to seep in, threatening to collide with the already unstable Maha fusion.
"If that happens… I'm done for."
Jack knew that if the two forces clashed inside the hidden acupoint nestled deep within his organs, his body would be torn apart. He had to act fast.
He surged his Celestial chi, wrapped the last remnants of the vortex, and forced it into the Du meridian. From there, he guided it straight into his dantian—the only part of his body capable of withstanding such pressure. Simultaneously, he activated his Microcosmic Force to suppress the Bone-Deep Frost and reinforce his meridians.
But Jack wasn't Flora. His Microcosmic Force could only absorb a fraction of the invading energy. The rest came crashing in. The moment the vortex reached his dantian, hundreds of icy tendrils followed, piercing through his defenses and colliding with the vortex.
And then—everything changed.
A colossal surge of sapphire energy erupted within him.
"Ugh—!"
Though the explosion made no sound, Jack felt it in every fiber of his being. The force was immense, chaotic, and unrelenting. But just as it threatened to spiral out of control, something within Jack awakened.
A memory.
Not of battle. Not of training.
A memory of despair.
Of being frozen in a prison of near-absolute zero. A place where thought was impossible, yet consciousness refused to fade. A nightmare of timeless torment—no pain, no purpose, no end.
And in that void, something stirred.
"I've felt this before… when my Cosmo was first awakened… when Magneto experimented on me… when Sephiroth invaded my dreams…"
No. This was older. Deeper.
Jack remembered the moment he first touched the essence of ice. Not as a weapon. Not as a shield. But as a force of nature. A power born from suffering, sealed away by his own will.
"That's it. I've always had this power. I just buried it… along with the pain."
Every ice-based ability he'd acquired since—every technique, every mutation—was merely an echo of that original force. And when Sephiroth breached his subconscious, he'd recovered the memory… but not the feeling.
Until now.
In that instant, Jack Harper reclaimed the source of all his ice powers.
He was no longer a wielder of frost.
He was its sovereign.
"Nine Heavens Snow. Nine Earths Frost. Obey me!"
Though his dominion was limited to his own body, it was enough. Jack's will surged through the chaos, reshaping the Maha explosion. The energy no longer lashed out blindly—it spiraled into thousands of streams, flowing through the Codex's meridian network.
Every chi technique had a limit. The Frostless Sutra had reached its peak, which was why Jack had abandoned it. But the Sacred Heart Codex, once fully mastered, could reach the highest Gold-tier level. Its capacity was nearly a hundred times greater.
As long as the Maha energy didn't explode all at once, but instead diffused through his body, even a full-power burst wouldn't overwhelm it. And that's exactly what happened.
Had Jack realized his true power a fraction of a second later, the external Nine Heavens Snow would have collided with the internal Maha surge, triggering a catastrophic implosion. But because he acted in time, the energy was dispersed across his meridians. The incoming celestial frost, instead of causing chaos, became fuel—accelerating the flow and strengthening his chi.
In that moment, Jack Harper transformed the force that nearly killed him into a source of power.
The Glacial Vortex Heart, the Bone-Deep Frost, the Maha surge—all were absorbed into the Sacred Heart Codex, becoming part of its system.
The danger passed.
Jack felt his chi surge like a tidal wave. What had once been thin threads of Celestial Ice now roared through his body like liquid mercury—cold, heavy, and unstoppable. The energy formed a massive loop, circulating endlessly without his input.
He emerged from his trance, his emotions spent, his mind clear.
And he understood what had just happened.
"I've reached the Codex's foundational stage. Not full mastery, but the threshold has been crossed."
According to the manual, this stage was known as Mercury Flow Through a Thousand Channels. Once achieved, the practitioner's chi would circulate automatically, unhindered by bottlenecks or stagnation. The energy would refine itself over time, deepening in purity and strength without the need for constant cultivation. From this point forward, Jack's progress would be steady and inevitable. He no longer needed to grind through endless hours of meditation—he simply had to learn how to wield this immense power with precision.
By sheer luck—or perhaps fate—Jack had not only survived the near-fatal fusion of foreign energies, but had also gained a massive boost in strength. What should have taken thirty years of painstaking cultivation had been accomplished in three days.
"Celestial mercury flows through a thousand apertures. Silver veins carry sacred chi. This is the sign of true initiation into the Sacred Heart Codex."
Even more astonishing was the nature of the power he now possessed. The fusion of Glacial Vortex and Bone-Deep Frost had birthed a new form of energy—one that could sustain itself, remain permanently within his body, and continue to evolve. This was no longer a temporary Maha burst. It was a stable, scalable chi system. And the Codex, with its all-encompassing framework, had absorbed it seamlessly.
Jack Harper had not only succeeded—he had surpassed his expectations.
He exhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts, and opened his eyes.
Three days had passed.
He was still inside the stone chamber carved into the mountainside by Elliot Gray's alchemy. Elliot was nowhere to be seen. Only Flora stood guard outside his door.
And she hadn't been idle.
Despite having just endured five years of brutal training on Death Queen Island, Flora had continued her practice without pause. The stone walls and floor outside were covered in thousands of sword marks—precise, deliberate, arranged like a vast chessboard. It was clear what she'd been doing during Jack's retreat.
The moment Jack stood up, Flora sensed it.
"Jackie, you're done?" she asked, turning her head.
Her voice was soft, her expression calm—but the joy in her tone was unmistakable.
Jack, however, was too stunned to respond.
Because Flora's outfit had changed.
Before his retreat, she'd been wearing a simple black bodysuit—functional, elastic, designed for movement. Nothing remarkable.
Now?
She was dressed in a sharply tailored military uniform in Jackie-blue wool, complete with a matching overcoat, a peaked cap, and knee-high black leather boots.
To put it bluntly: she looked like a goddess of war.
The uniform had been modified—cinched at the waist with a wide belt to accentuate her slender figure and proud bust. The bulky trousers had been replaced with form-fitting leggings that highlighted her long legs. The boots had heels. The silver emblem on her cap had been swapped for twin goddess sigils. The iron cross was now Flora's sword insignia. The military crest had become the Capricorn symbol.
Combined with Flora's six-foot-tall model physique, the result was breathtaking—an intoxicating blend of elegance and power. Even Jack Harper, now wielding Gold-tier chi, felt his heart skip a beat.
She's stunning…
Though he'd long been drawn to Flora, it was her knightly demeanor and their unspoken bond that truly captivated him. The Claymore warriors were all beautiful—eternally youthful, flawless skin, perfect figures—but their grim expressions and emotionless attire rarely inspired romantic thoughts.
This was different.
Flora had dressed with intent. She had transformed.
And Jack was speechless.
Flora, however, answered his unspoken question.
"Your friend—the one who calls himself 'the Sage'—recommended this outfit. He said it was the battle uniform of a powerful army from your world. Do you not like it?"
"No, no—it's perfect," Jack stammered.
Perfectly insane, he thought.
Jack Harper was still reeling from the encounter when a low rumble echoed across the snow-laden sky. It wasn't thunder—not in the natural sense. His instincts, sharpened by Gold-tier chi, immediately recognized the sound: metal clashing with blunt force, powerful enough to ripple through the atmosphere like distant thunder. The sheer impact reminded him of his own clash with Magnor, when Polar Maha collided with Tenfold Deathstrike.
Outside, the crunch of hooves on snow grew louder. Moments later, Elliot Gray stepped into the stone chamber, wrapped in a frost-covered cloak.
"What happened?" Jack asked at once.
Elliot shook the snow from his shoulders. "Nothing much. Just a Gold-tier adventurer going toe-to-toe with this world's final boss."
"Wait—this world doesn't even issue missions. Why would someone come here?"
Jack frowned. Without a mission from the Book of Samsara, there was little incentive to challenge a world's apex entity—especially one like the Lich Queen Jaina, who was already a Gold-tier powerhouse. Killing her wouldn't yield much reward.
Elliot shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they're not here for her. Maybe they're here for us."
Jack turned toward the distant sky, where flashes of light and rolling explosions lit up the clouds like a brewing storm.
"Then why are they fighting the Lich Queen?"
Elliot explained, "It's a quirk of this world's rules. To prevent invasion by the Burning Legion, the creator gods set up a barrier around the realm. Any being with power beyond a certain threshold gets repelled. Adventurers are usually exempt thanks to the Book of Samsara, but Jaina found a way to extend the barrier's effect. Now, anyone at Gold-tier trying to enter gets redirected—straight to her Icecrown Citadel. And once they arrive, she ambushes them with her entire army."
Jack nodded and opened his Book of Samsara. It showed that the next mission world would activate in just over ten minutes. Elliot's name was already listed among the recruited teammates.
"Can your alchemy let us see what's happening over there?" Jack asked. "If they're coming for us, we should at least know who they are."
Elliot nodded. "Not with standard alchemy, but I tampered with the magical surveillance system at Icecrown last time I infiltrated it. The Eye of Acheron. I can reverse-engineer it to get a glimpse."
He drew an alchemy circle on the ground. As it activated, the stone beneath them transformed into quartz, forming a massive crystal sphere over a meter wide. Within it, an image flickered to life—Icecrown Citadel, towering into the stormy sky.
Above the frozen fortress, thick clouds churned violently. A massive void had opened in the center, the swirling mist forming sheer walls like an inverted abyss in the heavens. Beneath the gray clouds, two figures clashed midair, their movements too fast to follow, each collision echoing like thunder.
One was clad in jagged skeletal armor, face half-hidden, wreathed in blazing blue frost. It was the Lich Queen Jaina, wielding the cursed greatsword Frostmourne in her right hand while casting devastating ice, blood, and dark magic with her left. Behind her, thousands of liches, death knights, and frost dragons formed a terrifying battle formation.
Her opponent was… small. Barely over five feet tall. Short-haired, youthful, androgynous. No armor—just a flowing white silk coat. Two golden flesh-wings sprouted from their back, fluttering like streaks of light. No weapons. Just bare fists, delicate and pale, yet capable of clashing head-on with Frostmourne without injury. Each strike rang out like a dragon's roar, shaking the sky.
"That's insane," Jack muttered. He compared the two combatants to Sephiroth and thought, Jaina's melee skills aren't top-tier—even with Frostmourne, she's no match for Sephiroth. But her magic is monstrous, and with home-field advantage and an army backing her up, even Sephiroth in his three-winged form would struggle.
As for her opponent… fast, yes. But not stronger. Their fists, though—those are something else. They shatter spells, break curses, even deflect Frostmourne's edge. What kind of technique is that?
Just then, the golden-winged figure dodged a blizzard spell, countered with a punch that collapsed a hundred-meter ice tower, and vanished from the battlefield. As the minions scrambled to avoid the falling debris, the figure reappeared a kilometer away—outside the combat zone.
Mid-flight, they suddenly turned, locking eyes with the Eye of Acheron. Their crimson gaze pierced through space, through the quartz sphere, and landed directly on Jack and his companions.
They smirked.
Then veered southeast—straight toward them.
"Damn. They spotted us!" Elliot cursed. "They must be from the Dark Dynasty."
Jack remained calm. "We've only got five minutes until the next mission world. And we're six hundred kilometers from Icecrown. They won't make it in time."
Elliot shook his head. "Don't be so sure. They were slower in combat, but who knows what tricks they have for travel? That's a real Gold-tier adventurer."
Jack's expression hardened. He knew Elliot was right. He summoned his Headless Horseman Steed, ordered Flora back into the Valhalla Codex, and pulled Elliot onto the saddle. They soared into the sky.
Moments later, a golden light tore through the clouds behind them.
"Teleportation," Elliot muttered. "Short-range jumps—three to four kilometers at a time. One per second. Combine that with flight speed, and yeah… they're gaining fast."
The death steed flew faster than sound, slightly outpacing the golden wings. But teleportation changed the game. The gap narrowed.
Jack pushed the steed harder, but its speed was fixed—four times the rider's running speed. Flora's half-demon physique might've boosted it, but she couldn't ride. No choice.
"Screw it. Let's fight," Jack growled, diving toward the snowy plains.
The moment they landed, the pursuer struck—no words, just a golden fist descending like a meteor. The impact roared like a dragon's cry.
"Polar Maha! Eternal Night Ice Vortex!" Jack leapt from the saddle, unleashing his full power in a counterpunch. He hadn't mastered the Codex's advanced techniques yet, so he relied on his old favorite.
Gold and blue collided midair. The blast scattered a meter-thick layer of snow, exposing frozen earth across half a mile. Jack, still new to Gold-tier, couldn't match the raw force of someone who could trade blows with Frostmourne. He was sent crashing to the ground.
"Huh?" The attacker paused, surprised. Then smirked. "So you've inherited Magnor's Sacred Heart Codex. Impressive progress. No wonder they died by your hand."
Jack seized the moment. "How did you find us? How do you know who we are?"
The golden-winged figure—now clearly a short-haired girl—lifted her chin. "Ask the necromancers when they're torturing your souls."
She raised her hands. Golden light surged. Another punch.
"Frostgrasp!" Jack cast a freezing spell, but she vanished—reappearing behind him.
"Too slow," she whispered, driving a fist into his back.
Jack dodged instinctively and summoned his Aquarius Dark Gold Cloth. But her punch tore through the armor, shattering the shoulder plate and breaking his bones.
"Hah!" Jack retaliated with another Polar Maha strike. She met it with her left fist. The impact scattered his chi. Without the armor, his arm would've been pulverized.
Jack realized her fists were her only weapons—and her greatest threat. He grabbed her left hand, refusing to retreat. Her right fist came for his chest. He made a split-second decision: take the hit, and counter.
He braced with his armor and kicked at her abdomen.
"Foolish," she sneered, blocking with her knee.
The clash was brutal. Her punch shattered his chest plate and broke several ribs, sending him flying like a cannonball.
But Jack wasn't defeated.
He smirked.
Her lower body was frozen solid.
His ice chi, though not absolute zero, was among the coldest in existence. It needed contact to spread—and her fists had been immune. But her knee wasn't. The moment it touched him, the frost invaded, freezing her legs completely.
Jack's injuries weren't fatal. The Codex allowed chi to reinforce bones and organs. His shoulder and ribs began to mend. He could still fight.
The golden-winged girl didn't anticipate the sudden shift in air pressure. Her body, mid-ascent, lost lift and plummeted headfirst toward the frozen ground.
"Sacred Spirit Sword Technique—Holy Blade, Form Twenty-Two!"
Flora burst forth from the Valhalla Codex, her palm forming a blade of pure chi. The strike combined the finesse of a Gold Saint with the ferocity of the Lone Swordmaster.
Even upside-down and off-balance, the girl reacted with terrifying precision. Her fists blocked Flora's sword strikes—but not without consequence. Three clean gashes appeared across her golden wings, each one precise and deep.
"You dare provoke me? Fine. I'll show you what true power looks like—Dragon Warrior Transformation: Triple-Headed Gold!"
Her voice thundered with rage. Her eyes turned molten gold. Energy erupted from her body in a storm of fury, blasting Flora backward and shattering Elliot's alchemy circle. Even Jack's Polar Maha strike was dispersed.
In the blink of an eye, her petite frame expanded—growing to over six feet tall. Her golden hair cascaded to her thighs. Her chest swelled to impossible proportions. Thousands of golden scales formed a majestic suit of dragon armor across her body. Horns sprouted from her head. A tail lashed behind her. Her wings multiplied—now six in total, radiating divine fury.
She was no longer a girl.
She was a half-dragon war goddess.
Her eyes blazed with golden fire. Her voice roared like a tempest.
"You dared mock Luna Celeste? I'll reduce you to dust! Supreme Fist—Genesis Light!"
She brought her fists together. The golden light surged—ten, a hundred times stronger than before. Even the Lich Queen or Sephiroth in his three-winged form would've been devastated by such force.
But Jack, Flora, and Elliot didn't flinch.
Because at that exact moment, a beam of white light enveloped them.
They vanished.
"No!" Luna Celeste screamed. Her fists slammed into the snowfield, detonating mushroom clouds across the tundra.
But her prey was gone.
They had entered the next mission world.
🌍 Mission World: Berserk (Medieval/Dark Fantasy)
Challenge Tier: Upper Bronze Mission Objectives:
Survive for 90 daysReward: 1,000 survival pointsTeam Formation MissionGoal: Have 7 adventurers in your team by mission's endReward: Unlock team formation privilegesFailure Penalty: Team leader permanently loses team formation rightsCollect the Egg of the King – BehelitGoal: Each surviving adventurer must possess one BehelitReward: 2,000 survival points per BehelitFailure Penalty: Adventurers without a Behelit lose 4,000 survival points
These were the tasks displayed in the Book of Samsara.
🌫️ Arrival
"Cough… cough…"
The white light faded. Jack Harper, Flora, and Elliot regained consciousness. Jack's injuries from Luna Celeste's final blow—shattered shoulder and ribs—had begun to heal thanks to the Sacred Heart Codex, but his internal organs were still damaged. He coughed violently.
"Jackie, are you alright?" Flora knelt beside him, her voice laced with concern.
Jack took a deep breath and waved her off. "I'll live. Bones and organs will take a few days to fully recover. Her punches left behind some strange energy—I've suppressed it with chi, but my combat ability will be limited for now."
Elliot nodded. "We need a healer. And a scout. Actually, we need to start dividing roles. Building a proper team will take work."
Jack smiled. "Don't worry. We'll get there. First, let's meet our rookies."
Because Jack hadn't recruited enough members, the Samsara Realm had auto-filled the team. From now on, if the squad dropped below seven, new members would be added automatically. Once full, the team leader could choose whether to accept more.
At their feet lay fifteen people—men, women, young, old. A strange mix.
Legend had it that in some infinite-loop novels, the order in which newcomers woke up reflected their potential. If that were true… things were about to get weird.
The first to awaken were a pair of angelic children—boy and girl, around ten years old. Both were mixed-race, dressed in black and white formal wear, with eerily identical features. If not for their hair length, they could've passed for twins. They looked around silently, hand in hand. Confused, but not afraid.
Next came a lanky teenager—seventeen or eighteen, with a ponytail and sleepy eyes. He wore beige pajamas covered in anime girls and clutched a body pillow featuring a half-naked cartoon heroine. He blinked slowly, seemingly unaware of his situation.
Then a scar-faced middle-aged man stirred. Buzz cut, gold chain, Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, flip-flops—and a watermelon knife in hand. Jack and Elliot instantly labeled him "the thug." Surprisingly, he didn't shout or panic. He simply sat down and observed.
After that, four people in police uniforms woke up—three men and one woman. They regrouped immediately, alert and cautious.
The woman, short-haired and sharp-eyed, seemed to be the leader. She stepped forward.
"Who are you? Where are we? You're suspects in a kidnapping case. Answer truthfully."
She spoke with authority. Her group had guns. But before she could continue, Jack raised a hand.
She fell silent.
Not by choice.
Jack had used a basic Force technique—mental suggestion. Though his Force skills were rudimentary, his psychic strength had grown through countless battles. After mastering his ice chi, his control had deepened. With a single gesture, he sealed her voice.
"Please be patient. Once everyone's awake, I'll explain everything."
The woman's eyes narrowed. She reached for her gun—but Jack's gaze stopped her cold. Her three companions froze as well, mentally bound by Jack's psychic command.
Ten minutes later, all the newcomers had awakened.