CHAPTER 17
The hidden passage stretched deep into the darkness, cold stone walls closing in on both sides. Ethan and Ivan moved slowly, their bodies still in their semi-invisible state — translucent, ghost-like, but not fully unseen.
The air grew heavier the deeper they went.
When the corridor widened, the place opened into something far more disturbing.
Rows of cells… a dungeon.
Inside the cells lay people — thin, pale, hollow-eyed. Their breaths were shallow. Some twitched weakly. Some didn't move at all. The energy around them felt depleted, drained almost to nothing.
Ivan narrowed his eyes. "They're alive… barely."
Ethan scanned them. "Something's wrong with their essence. It's like they're being… siphoned."
But neither of them could pinpoint the cause.
They continued forward.
A faint noise echoed through the hall — a conversation, muffled but distinct. The two Inner Zone beings exchanged a look, then approached the sound.
The door in front of them was solid — but this time, when Ethan stepped forward, his phased form passed straight through.
They slipped inside.
Two figures stood in the center of the room. One was an elderly man, silver-haired and thin, but with sharp, hungry eyes. The other was a middle-aged man, strong-looking, maybe in his thirties or early forties.
Their voices carried clearly.
"Are you bringing me more test subjects?" the elderly man asked.
The middle-aged man scowled. "You're using too many. The villagers are starting to notice. You'll draw attention."
The elderly man chuckled. "Let them. What will they do? Nothing."
"That's not the point," the younger man snapped. "We're not strong enough to fight the entire island if they revolt. Slow down."
The old man clicked his tongue, but eventually sighed. "Fine. I'll reduce the intake."
There was a pause.
The younger man folded his arms. "What about the results? Tell me you've made progress."
The old man's eyes gleamed with manic excitement.
"Oh, far more than progress," he whispered. "We can now choose what power to grant to people. Fire, lightning, strength — anything. We can also control those who receive power. And if needed, strip the power away."
The middle-aged man's brows shot up.
"Already?"
The elder nodded eagerly. "And now… I'm trying to extract the crystal's essence and merge it into our bloodline — the Isaac bloodline. Once it fuses, we will be the strongest lineage in this world. Then we can enter the outside world and conquer it."
Ethan and Ivan froze.
Not prisoners.
Not criminals.
Test subjects.
And the crystal — a tool of forced evolution, manipulation, control.
Ivan whispered, "So they were right. They can manipulate the crystal."
Ethan nodded slowly. "And they're trying to extract its essence… merge it with their bloodline. That's insanity."
But though the situation was horrifying, it wasn't their mission. Their priorities were still the amethyst metals — and whatever the unicyte was planning.
The conversation continued.
"When will it be ready?" the middle-aged man asked.
"By tomorrow," the elder said proudly. "We'll have the final extraction."
Footsteps. Chairs scraped.
The two men began walking toward the exit.
Ethan and Ivan silently slipped back through the wall, moving fast before their semi-invisible forms could betray them.
The two men walked through a hallway. Ethan and Ivan followed from a distance.
They stopped before a small chamber.
Inside stood a pedestal — and on it, a crystal, glowing faintly. It was small, no bigger than an index finger, but its energy was old, alien, familiar.
Ethan's pupils shrank.
"That shape…" he muttered.
Ivan finished his sentence. "The amethyst mythos crystal. The one that can attract the unicyte."
It wasn't a perfect match to the ancient illustrations, but the resemblance was undeniable.
Ethan whispered, "Then the 'god' these people talk about… is probably a unicyte."
Ivan clenched his jaw. "But why give humans a crystal? Unicytes hate humans. They see them as pests."
"Exactly," Ethan murmured. "So what's the angle? What's the plan?"
The two Isaac men left the chamber and entered a nearby lab.
Ethan and Ivan followed again, careful and quiet.
The lab was filled with equipment — wires, tubes, metallic cylinders. The elderly man gestured toward a set of lab coats hanging on the wall.
"Wear one," he ordered.
The younger man grumbled but put one on. The elder did the same.
Ethan and Ivan read the embroidered names:
Isaac Christopher
Isaac Emmanuel
Ivan whispered, "So their family uses Eastern naming order. Surname first."
But their attention shifted when Isaac Christopher — the elder — sat at a control panel and began typing.
His fingers danced across the keys. Then he hit ENTER.
The room trembled.
The crystal in the chamber pulsed violently — glowing brighter, brighter, then blinding.
Inside the machine, something liquefied. A glowing drop of crystalline essence slid down a tube and landed into a small container.
The two men rushed in, retrieved the container, poured the liquid into two syringes, and injected themselves.
Ethan and Ivan watched closely.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then fwoosh — fire erupted from Emmanuel's fingertips, swirling like a miniature tornado of flames.
The elder laughed wildly — fire bursting around him in an even bigger blaze.
"It works!" he shouted. "It works! By tomorrow, the extraction will be complete — and we will build our army! We will conquer the entire world!"