Several hours had passed since Nox finished the first test. He spent this time in silence and calm, as if cold water had been poured over his mind. The impact of what he had done was so severe that his mind shut itself down to protect itself.
The others began to come out one by one. First was Elena, who felt worried about Nox's behavior, but she didn't try to ask what happened. Instead, she talked to him about simple topics to pull him out of his gloomy mood.
Astrea came out next, then Talia, followed by Dante and the others. It seemed that everyone had passed the test, but their expressions showed that it wasn't easy. The group decided to respect each other's privacy, so no one asked what happened to the others.
After resting for a while, they decided to continue the labyrinth and enter the next test. They stood before one of the doors, then entered it with deep focus. This time, they were prepared for anything unexpected, unlike the first time.
"Am I in darkness?"
Nox found himself in a small dark stone room. He looked down and found himself wearing ragged, torn clothes. He examined the room, then realized where he was.
"I'm in a jail?!"
The room matched the descriptions of old prison cells, made of strong stone, with no light. What confirmed Nox's assumption were the shackles attached to the wall.
The ghost appeared in front of Nox, smiling provocatively. Nox looked at it with killing intent, but the ghost ignored him and began to speak:
[You are now in a prison , and as you can see, you are imprisoned. You will live here for some time, and then I will tell you what you are supposed to do. Also, you cannot use your powers in this test. You are currently just an ordinary human.]
Upon hearing the ghost's words, I tried to connect with my shard, but I couldn't no matter how hard I tried.
'So I'm a prisoner now? It feels like fate is punishing me for killing the orphans.'
[That is correct.]
Nox was surprised by the ghost's sudden response and looked at him in confusion.
"What is correct?"
The ghost's wicked smile widened, then it pointed at Nox the way a witness points at a criminal.
[This test is connected to your first test. You have been arrested for killing the children, and your powers have been sealed because of that. And let me surprise you: you have been sentenced to death. You will be executed in five days. I will tell you how to survive on the fourth day. If you fail to meet the condition, you will be executed — which means failure. Don't worry, you won't literally die, but you will suffer severe mental pain once you exit.]
The ghost's words shocked Nox. He didn't expect the tests to be connected. His emotions surged as the ghost reminded him of the orphanage incident. Nox believed he deserved execution. People like him should have their heads cut off, their bodies burned, and thrown into the river.
[Now that I've explained everything, see you later.]
The ghost disappeared, but gave Nox a strange look before vanishing. Nox couldn't understand it and decided to ignore it.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
Nox stood and walked to the iron door separating him from freedom. He looked through the small opening and saw several similar doors — other prison cells.
Step! Step! Step!
Heavy footsteps echoed. Nox turned toward the sound. After a moment, he saw a knight wearing full plate armor, holding a long spear.
"He's coming toward me?"
I stepped back away from the door. The knight stopped in front of the door and looked at me coldly. His icy blue eyes were visible through the narrow slit under his helmet.
Turn. Click.
The cell door opened, leaving the knight facing Nox directly.
'Damn it, I don't have my power, and this guy looks strong.'
While Nox tensed, expecting an attack, the knight slowly raised his hand and pointed at Nox.
"Prisoner number 43. You have been transferred from solitary confinement to a shared cell. This decision came after reviewing your voluntary surrender and your unconditional cooperation during the investigation. The commanders decided to let you spend your final days among people, rather than alone and miserable."
'Wait... I surrendered myself?'
While Nox was still confused, the knight stepped forward, grabbed his arms, cuffed them with steel shackles, then dragged him outside.
I looked around as I passed through many cells. The knight took me up a long set of stairs. It seemed I was in the lowest and most heavily secured part of the prison.
'Makes sense, considering what I did.'
The prison level changed as they went higher — fewer guards, less reinforcement on the cells. Finally, the knight stopped at a large barred gate.
Inside were five people: two women in their late twenties, two men — one middle-aged, the other slightly older than Nox — and the fifth was a boy around thirteen. He had bruises on his face and small body, as if he had been beaten recently, either by the prisoners or the guards.
The knight turned to me and spoke in a rough, deep voice:
"This is your new place. Everyone here has been sentenced to death. Their executions will take place on the same day as yours."
He opened the gate, removed my shackles, shoved me inside, then slammed the door.
"No trouble here. Understand? Especially you, boy. I'd rather not have to beat you again."
The knight stared at the small boy, who clicked his tongue in annoyance.
'Well, now it's obvious who beat him. But couldn't he at least be less of a jerk?'
[ Says the one who killed children younger than him? ]
I heard the ghost's voice in my ear, more like a whisper. I quickly looked around but found nothing.
'That bastard. I'll kill him once I get out of this damned labyrinth.'
One of the women looked at me and smiled kindly.
"Welcome. I'm Katie. Seems you're sentenced to death too. What would someone handsome like you do to deserve execution? What a waste of beauty."
'Is she trying to flirt with me?'
I looked at her coldly and shrugged.
"I killed an entire orphanage. Twenty children and seven adults."
Katie trembled when she heard my words. Everyone looked at me in fear and stepped away as far as they could.
"Damn it, are the guards trying to kill us? Who thought it was a good idea to put a psychopath with us?"
The boy spoke in disbelief, shaking where he stood.
"Stop. I have no intention of killing any of you. I surrendered myself, which is why I'm allowed to be here. I don't plan to commit another murder. But if any of you crosses the line, you'll have no one to blame but yourselves."
Saying that, I walked to the wall and sat down quietly, leaning against the cold stone.
The others gathered in the far corner, trying to stay away from me, as if I carried some plague.
'This is extremely annoying. Do I really have to spend four days in this rotten place?'
I complained in irritation, then closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall, surrendering myself to sleep.
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