The air inside the vessel grew thick with unrest, tension wrapping around the throats of every prisoner like an invisible noose.
Chaos had suddenly erupted, exploding without warning across the crowded slave bay.
A wild rebellion was unfolding, like sparks striking dry tinder—countless slaves began pushing, shoving, shouting, and fighting back against the soldiers who had begun binding them.
The clang of chains, the screams of defiance, and the sounds of flesh against armor ricocheted in every direction.
"I'd rather die than be a slave!" one voice screamed above the rest, filled with searing hatred.
"Damn the Zeraf!" another bellowed, his voice raw, his fists swinging wildly before being tackled.
Screams of rage clashed with the shrieks of fear as the rebellion swelled in intensity.
*rumbling!
Thousands of feet stomped against the metal flooring as panic spread like a contagion—making the ground quake beneath the sheer volume of movement.
The once-contained slaves had turned into a stampede of raw desperation.
It was a storm of slaves unleashed inside the cold walls of a war machine.
Orin turned rapidly, her eyes darting left and right.
"Are we really doing this again!?" she gasped, unable to hide the flash of panic behind her words.
Her voice echoed the memory of Leran—the stampede, the cries, the death.
Jinn didn't hesitate.
"All of you know the drill!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos with sharp clarity.
"Link arms—now!"
The response was instant.
Without missing a beat, the group formed a chain, their arms linking tightly together like a last defense against the incoming madness.
Hector clenched his fists, bracing himself as his muscles tightened with instinctual discipline.
"Keep it together!" he growled, eyes darting between the stampede and the others.
*thud! *thud! *thud! *rumbling!
The thunder of frenzied footsteps only grew louder.
It was as if history was repeating itself, a cruel echo of their experience from Leran—only this time, they were inside the belly of the enemy.
Verhedyn muttered with exasperation, "What the hell are they thinking? You're inside the Zeraf's warship—you really think fighting here will get you anywhere?"
Jinn's brows furrowed as he nodded slightly.
"You're right," he said quietly, then raised his voice again.
"There's no use resisting now. The moment they captured us—our fate was sealed. It's already over."
Though their arms were locked tightly, their hearts beat erratically as the chaos threatened to sweep them away.
Then—
"Jinn, there's something going on over there!" Kain's trembling voice broke through, his finger pointing shakily towards the distance.
Jinn turned his head and his breath caught in his throat.
His pupils dilated as he saw what was coming.
"Shit!"
From the far side of the bay, a stampede surged forward—a wall of bodies moving with blind panic.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, all crashing together like a living wave.
They were running for something… or from something.
Either way, their sheer number and momentum promised devastation.
If they got caught in that flood, Jinn knew—especially with the smaller members of their group—they wouldn't survive.
He scanned the chaos rapidly, his mind racing, eyes flickering across every column, crate, and pillar he could see.
Then—there!
A large support pillar, wide enough to offer shelter from the coming rush.
"There!" he barked, pointing.
"We can use that pillar as cover!"
Without question, Hector nodded.
"Alright—you lead, we follow!"
Just like in Leran, Jinn moved first, weaving through the frenzied bodies with his group behind him.
The link on their arms didn't loosen—it grew stronger, their unity the only shield against being scattered.
"We're almost there!" Jinn shouted as he guided them around a particularly dense patch of shoving bodies.
He aimed for clearer spaces, his eyes sharp with focus.
But then—
"W-Where's my sister's necklace!?"
Orin's voice cracked as she gasped, her fingers flying up to her neck.
Her eyes went wide with horror.
The necklace was gone—Nevi's necklace.
The last keepsake she had of her sister, and now it was lost in a sea of chaos.
"Let's find it later!" Verhedyn yelled over the din.
"The stampede's almost on us!"
Tears spilled down Orin's cheeks.
Before anyone could react, she pulled away—unlinked her arm and ran back into the chaos.
"Orin, no!" Ophelia cried out, panic in her voice.
She turned toward Jinn, her face stricken with fear.
"Jinn—Orin, she just—!"
Jinn didn't hesitate.
"Hector, take over! Get them to the pillar!"
He placed a hand firmly on Hector's shoulder.
"I'll bring Orin back."
"Godspeed," Hector nodded as he took command, leading the group forward while Jinn broke away.
Panic gripped Jinn's heart, his breathing growing shallow.
The press of bodies around him blocked every direction. He couldn't see her.
His thoughts raced:
What if I can't find her?
What if the stampede tramples her before I reach her?
Then, like a bell inside his skull, Amaron's words echoed: "Take off the eyepatch if you 'really' need to use your other eye."
Gritting his teeth, Jinn reached up and yanked off the eyepatch.
*snap!
With a soft click and subtle whirr, his mechanical eye activated—instantly calibrating.
Blue outlines shimmered around the bodies in his vision as his interface locked onto every source of heat and aura signature in range.
"How the hell am I supposed to use this?" he muttered—before the eye pulsed and honed in on a particular aura.
Bright violet.
It glowed vividly against the chaos—Orin's energy signature.
His eye focused on her collapsed figure, already being pressed beneath the weight of several toppling bodies.
His stomach turned.
Without thinking, he pushed forward—climbing over fallen slaves, vaulting across hunched backs, using his strength and momentum to leap through the gaps.
"Orin! Did you find it!?" he called out as he approached.
"J-Jinn!" she sobbed.
"I-I can't find it—help me, please!"
He looked back—the stampede was seconds away.
He had no time.
With a sharp breath and gritted teeth, Jinn bent down, wrapped his arms around Orin, and hoisted her onto his back.
"What are you doing!? My sister's necklace—please, Jinn!" she screamed,
*thud! *thud! *thud!
pounding her fists into his back.
"We don't have time!" he shouted, his voice desperate.
"We'll look for it later—together!"
Jinn sprinted, feeling his heart pump hot fire into his limbs.
Something awakened inside him again—his body moved as if guided by pure instinct and purpose.
He dodged, weaved, and charged forward, bursting through the crowd with Orin on his back.
When he reached the pillar, he placed her down gently.
He was breathing heavily—but he wasn't tired.
Not even a little.
"That's weird…" he whispered, but before he could finish the thought, Orin's palm struck his face, hard.
*SLAP!
"You idiot!" she screamed through sobs.
"That was my last memento of her… you idiot…"
Verhedyn scoffed from the side.
"Hey, be grateful at least."
He jabbed his finger toward the front.
"If Jinn had been even a second late, both of you would've been crushed."
"Oh, should I be celebrating then?" Orin snapped. "Should I be clapping while I cry!?"
"That necklace was from Nevi—my sister! My dead sister!"
Ophelia stepped between them. "Quarreling won't help… We'll find it again—when things calm down."
*Crash!
Suddenly, a deafening crash echoed from the front of the chamber.
The stampede had collided with the soldiers—full force.
A blood-curdling brawl erupted, fists against rifles, desperate screams clashing with orders.
Then—gestures were made.
Soldiers raised their rifles and opened fire.
*Bang! *Bang! *Bang! *Bang! *Splat!
Blinding flashes erupted, and bodies exploded in a rain of blood and gore.
The resistant slaves were butchered where they stood—their limbs and organs sprayed across the floor in grotesque messes.
Everyone fell silent.
Verhedyn's voice, hollow and stunned, broke the stillness. "Damn… I'm glad we stayed here."
The soldiers, cold and methodical, resumed their task.
The rebellion had been extinguished.
No more cries.
No more resistance.
The warden gave a silent nod.
The soldiers moved.
They began shackling the remaining slaves—group by group, without resistance now.
Thick iron clasps were snapped around wrists.
Then came the chokers—strange mechanical devices latched to the necks of each slave with a metallic click and a soft beep.
Verhedyn nudged Jinn.
"Ever worn shackles before?"
Jinn didn't answer.
His eyes were empty.
His mind was spinning—not just from the slap, but from guilt.
Was I wrong?
Should I have stayed and helped her find it?
Does she hate me now?
Then—something shimmered.
In the crowd ahead, a small glint caught his eye.
His gaze narrowed.
It was faint, but unmistakable.
Nevi's necklace.
Held tightly in the hand of a tall, older man—a fellow slave.
Jinn's eyes widened.
But before he could act, it was his group's turn.
The soldiers began binding his friends one by one, starting with Hector, then Kain.
When they reached him, they paused.
The soldier raised an eyebrow at Jinn's synthetic arm.
"Huh. What's this? A prosthetic?"
He turned to the officer nearby.
"Warden—this slave has a synthetic limb. What do we do?"
The warden stepped forward, observing Jinn with cool indifference.
His eyes scanned Jinn's face and his arm, before dismissively replying, "Leave it."
The soldier shrugged and slapped the bindings on Jinn's other arm, locking the restraints into place while leaving the cybernetic untouched.
Jinn was then pushed forward, herded into a formation like cattle.
His friends followed, but—
Not all of them were in the same group anymore.
Jinn's eyes darted around as he watched Ophelia, Orin, and the others being taken elsewhere.
"Shit…" he muttered under his breath.
But in the same group as him—was the man with Nevi's necklace.
And now… Jinn knew what he had to do.