Zzz. Zzz.
A perfect slumber. Peaceful. Quiet.
Tack. Tack. Tack.
The click of chess pieces echoed through the empty tunnel. The sound was repetitive—annoyingly so.
"Oh... I'm so alone. Bored. Playing chess all by myself," the voice croaked dramatically.
I blinked my eyes open.
And there he was. Master. Bent over a chessboard that looked like it had aged with him, mumbling to himself like the senile old man he was.
I sat up, blinking groggily. The tunnel was empty. No Rona, no Isaac. No other children. Just me, Master... and his beloved chessboard.
"Master? You're here?"
"Of course I am. Ya blind, imp?"
I ignored the jab. "Did you see a bunch of kids chained up by weird red zippy zappy shackles?"
Master perked up, eyes glinting with something far too excited. "Kids? Where? Oh, I love their chubby little red cheeks and their big round eyes."
"They're my age, Master."
"Imbeciles, they are," he coughed, spitting to the side like punctuation.
I rolled my eyes. "Master. Be serious for once. Did you see them or not?"
"Bah! None. I've been here all alone for centuries. I feel like I've gone senile."
"You are senile." I sat up fully.
Then—
"Llyne~ I missed you so much!"
Lyndall. The little boy appeared and wrapped his arms around me. I smiled, warmth blooming in my chest.
"My sweet dale. I missed you too." I hugged him back, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Master squinted. "Ya more senile than me. Student surpasses the Master, huh."
"I'm not senile. Why would you say that?"
"'Cause ya keep goin' 'Lyndall this, Lyndall that.' Who's Lyndall? I see no one. Unless ya talkin' to a ghost."
I blinked, confused. "Master! My name's Llyne. Don't forget your student's name! Lyndall's right here!" I pointed at him.
Master followed my finger. "Oh, ya mean him?" He pointed where I pointed, then chuckled. "Ohhh, my student. Hah."
"You okay, Master? You look like you're turning green."
"Where?!" He fumbled for a pocket mirror from literal nowhere, inspecting his face.
"Not now, but very soon. By my bare hands." I made strangling motions in the air.
He gasped theatrically. "How rude! Don't ya know it's an unforgivable crime to strangle your Master?!"
"Oh really?" I deadpanned. "I didn't know. I'M SENILE."
And so, the verbal war began.
"Huff. Puff. Wheeze."
We both ran out of breath, glaring at each other.
"I've never had such an insolent student."
"Should be glad. Your life won't be dull ever again."
After a long moment of pettiness, I glanced at the chessboard. "Who's winning?"
"My second student," he said immediately.
"Really? Where?"
Master blinked. "Oh, smackerm. Being with ya made me more senile."
I frowned. "You can't see Lyndall?"
"No little boy, I see."
I muttered, "Master Khun and Master Asha couldn't see him either... But Master Jay could. Why? Any idea?"
"Do ya think I know everything?"
"Yes. You're by far the most knowledgeable, handsomest, most heroic person I've ever met, Master."
"Oh~ Do stop."
"Okay."
"Why did ya stop?! Keep praising me!"
"Master!"
"Alright, alright, ya party pooper." He grunted. "If the kid's a ghost, spirit, whatever—this Jay boy might be related. As for you…" He pointed at my head. "Inside ya little brain is a world gone mad."
Oui… Why did I ask Master? ...If only Iz was here…
I sighed. "Anyways, would you teach me about this place, Master? Or else your dear student will be dead sooner or later."
"Before that..." Master's eyes gleamed. "I heard something juicy happened in the stadium. Spill it."
So I did. I told him how we "accidentally" set Monica, the monstrous mascot, on fire.
"Gyahahaha! That ugly twerp's gone for good, eh? Didn't know ya had it in ya, imp."
"It wasn't intentional… But imagine if I burnt down the whole stadium! Wouldn't it mean we wouldn't need to fight anymore?"
Master scoffed. "Keep dreaming! They'd probably build another one in hours."
"True." Groaning, I asked, "So… Will you finally help me?"
"Alright, alright. Let me ask ya something first—ya know about Eden and The Valley, right?"
"Yeah. Eden's up top. Where I came from. The Valley's down here."
"Correct. But do ya know how The Valley came to be?"
"Only that the ancestors built it. To stay hidden."
"Half true," Master muttered. "But if you want the full picture, you need to start somewhere else."
He leaned in. Eyes sharp. Voice low.
"What do ya know about the human life cycle?"
I blinked and recalled. "Huh? Uh… Baby, school, job, money, old, dead. Kinda boring."
"Exactly." A cold smile tugged at his lips. "Now... that was before THE SYSTEM came."
I frowned. "What, like governments? Laws?"
I blinked. "Like, country systems? Laws? Government?"
"Sure. Every country's got their own flavor. But the core—the bones? All the same. Just polished up with fancy words."
"So? What's wrong with the foundation?"
Master's tone shifted. "It's rotten. Cruel. Worse than anyone dares to admit."
He paused.
"No one knows who built THE SYSTEM. Or who's behind it. Not even Scorpion."
"…Scorpion?"
"An assassin syndicate. The best there is. Even they couldn't dig deep enough to find the source."
That made me go still.
"…You're saying THE SYSTEM is like—an AI? Rogue program? You been watching too much dystopia, Master."
"You joke now. But let me ask you something." He tilted his head. "What happens in Eden when a kid breaks the rules?"
"They get punished."
"And when an adult breaks 'em?"
"…Maybe the police. Maybe nothing."
"Sure. Sure." His eyes narrowed. "Now think. All those 'genius' kids who vanished. Scientists who 'accidentally' crashed. Died young."
I stiffened. "…Yeah. I saw those headlines. One day, they're changing the world. The next—they're gone."
"Coincidence?"
"...Maybe they just had bad luck…"
"Denial." His voice cut sharp. "Don't insult your brain like that."
"What. You think… THE SYSTEM killed them?"
"Obviously. To keep us small. Weak. Powerless." He leaned closer. "Imagine someone inventing something that could rival THE SYSTEM. What do you think happens next?"
My mouth went dry.
"They don't even make it to the prototype phase, huh…"
"Our ancestors saw the truth. They paid the price. Families lost. Blood spilled. So they ran. Dug into the earth. Built The Valley with their own hands."
"To fight back?"
"They tried. Failed. THE SYSTEM's grip runs deep—too deep. Most people worship it. Believe they need it to live."
He fell silent for a beat.
"Fighting it isn't rebellion. It's suicide."
"And now it just… ignores The Valley?"
"It tried once. Sent troops. Hundreds of thousands."
"What happened?"
"Our gate held. And after that—silence."
"…Why'd it stop?"
"Who knows? Maybe we're not a threat. Maybe it's waiting."
A chill crept down my spine.
"But Scorpion still roams," I said quietly. "If THE SYSTEM's so controlling… why let them exist?"
"That's the part I don't get either."
He looked away.
"Sometimes I wonder… Maybe they're not enemies."
"…You mean Scorpion and THE SYSTEM?"
Master didn't answer.
"Master—about THE SYSTEM—"
"Time's up, imp." He stood and dusted off his cloak like the conversation just now did not happen. "Here's your hint for the next game—Keep things hush, hush, and ya live. If not, onto the next life ya go. Oh, and make sure ya don't burn the whole place down, ay?"
He grinned, flicking his finger.
RUMBLE.
The tunnel shook. My heart leapt into my throat.
"W-What?!" I staggered as the walls cracked. "Lyndall?! Where are you?!" But he was already gone.
Betrayed by silence.
The ground quaked again. I grabbed the wall, tried to steady myself—but there was no escape. No exit. Just stone and chaos.
I kicked at the wall. Harder. Harder.
CRASH.
The ceiling caved in.
And then—
Everything went black.