The night was silent, the only sounds being the faint whispers of the wind against the rocky walls of the slave quarters. The dim torches flickered, casting long, distorted shadows across the sleeping bodies of exhausted men.
But five of them were not asleep.
They moved carefully, their footsteps light as they approached the door. Alex was among them, his heart steady, his mind focused. This was their only chance.
One of the generals, a man with a long scar down his cheek, slipped a red crystal from his pocket. Its glow was faint, pulsing like a dying ember. Alex watched closely, his thoughts sharp.
"So my brother still doesn't know the true power of these crystals," he mused.
His brother had always believed the red crystals were only meant for forging weapons, tools of war imbued with destructive magic. He had no idea that these crystals could be embedded into one's soul, granting terrifying abilities—at a cost.
Alex's gaze shifted to the man beside him, General Darius, once the head of his secret service. A man who lived in the shadows, who had sworn to protect the king from unseen threats.
Darius was a ghost, a master of deception and intelligence. He had taken the greatest risk of all, embedding a crystal of invisibility into his soul.
With a slow breath, Darius closed his eyes and pressed a hand to the crystal.
Then, he vanished.
Not a sound. Not a shimmer. Nothing.
Alex felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Even in his past life, Darius's ability had unnerved him. A man who could stand in a room full of enemies and walk away unseen.
Then, something else happened.
Darius reached out and placed a hand on Alex's shoulder.
For a brief moment, Alex felt nothing, as if his body was dissolving into thin air. Then, when he looked down, he saw nothing. His hands, his feet—gone.
The other three followed, each one touching Darius as they, too, faded into the void.
Alex clenched his fists. This should work.
But it came with a cost, as a wave of headache hit him.
Darius had told him once—"The more people I turn invisible, the harder it is to keep it up. If I stretch my power too thin, the crystal will start to feed on my soul."
Alex knew what that meant. If Darius pushed too far, he'd fall into corruption. Into the abyss.
"We need to move fast," Alex whispered.
No one responded, but he felt the shift of air, the soft movement of feet.
They were ghosts in the night, walking unseen among the living.
And then, they opened the door.
In the female quarters, the night was just as still. The rhythmic breathing of exhausted prisoners filled the air, a silence only broken by the occasional rustle of someone shifting in their sleep.
Then, a shadow moved.
A girl, barely twenty, crept through the rows of sleeping bodies. General Caelum's daughter. She moved with trained precision, her eyes locked onto one person—Alex's sister.
She knelt beside her and gently placed a hand over her mouth.
Alex's sister jerked awake, her wide eyes filled with fear. But before she could react, the girl whispered, "Don't scream."
It was then that Alex's sister noticed who it was. The girl her brother told her about.
Follow her. Obey her instructions.
Though confusion swirled in her mind, she chose to trust him.
The two of them carefully stood up, their movements precise, avoiding any sound. Then, as they reached the door, the girl slowly pushed it open.
But just as they stepped outside, a hand touched her.
And suddenly, the world shifted.
Alex's sister gasped as she watched her own body disappear. Her hands, her legs—gone.
Then she saw them. A group of invisible figures.
She could see them only because they had all made physical contact, forming a chain of unseen bodies.
It was then she understood.
"We're escaping."
Her heart pounded in her chest. But something didn't make sense.
"Who are these people? And… how does Big Brother know them?"
Ever since they arrived, Alex had been different. He was calm, controlled, always thinking ahead, not like the confused, scared boy she had always known.
"Just what happened to you, Big Brother?"
But there was no time for questions.
They moved swiftly, silently, weaving through the paths of the slave camp. But they weren't heading for the entrance.
Instead, they went deeper.
Alex felt his pulse quicken as they went deeper into the mines.
"No turning back now."
They moved swiftly through the dark tunnels, stepping carefully over loose stones, their breaths hushed.
As they passed the last guard, a gust of wind brushed against the man's face. He stiffened, his hand instinctively gripping the hilt of his sword. His gaze flicked toward the empty space before him.
Silence.
Nothing but the distant sound of dripping water.
After a tense pause, he exhaled through his nose and muttered, "Damn tunnels." He turned away, shoulders relaxing.
The group pushed forward, slipping deeper into the mines. They had made it past the guards.
The air grew thicker with heat and something else, something unnatural.
Then, suddenly, the invisibility faded.
The General of the Secret Service, the man who had wielded the power of the red crystal, collapsed onto his knees. His breathing was ragged, his body trembling from exhaustion. The stone had its limits, and he had pushed past them.
Without hesitation, two of the others grabbed his arms, lifting him to his feet.
"Can you move?" one of them whispered.
The general swallowed hard and nodded. "Just… give me a second."
As they helped him forward, Alex felt a tug on his sleeve.
He turned. His sister stood there, her brows drawn together in confusion and fear.
"Big Brother… what's going on?"
For a moment, Alex hesitated.
He then forced a small, reassuring smile.
"Don't worry," he said softly. "I'll get you out of here."
She stared at him for a moment longer, searching his face as if trying to understand something. Then, reluctantly, she nodded.
They continued forward.
The deeper they went, the redder the crystals became. The glow of the stones painted the tunnel walls in a burning, bloody light.
And with every step, Alex felt it.
A dull ache pulsing behind his eyes.
A pressure in his skull, tightening.
He clenched his teeth. The corruption. It was getting stronger.
And yet it wasn't affecting the others… yet.
He had used the crystals before, yes, but they had been purified. This reaction shouldn't be happening.
Unless his thoughts are correct.
"The body I reincarnated into… had already been exposed to corruption before."
After what felt like an eternity of walking, they finally reached it.
The crystals stopped.
The cavern opened up into a massive gaping chasm, a crack in the very earth itself, so deep that no light touched its depths.
The Abyss.
The exact place where the lightning had first struck hundreds of years ago.
The place where the corruption began.
A foul wind rose from below, carrying a whispering sound.
The others hesitated. Even the generals.
Alex st
ood at the edge, staring down into the darkness.
"We're passing through here," he thought.