"Get your hands off me!" Bao snapped, struggling as the two bouncers dragged him down the hallway.
Their grip was like iron.
No matter how much he twisted or kicked, they didn't even flinch. If anything, their fingers dug deeper into his arms, cutting off circulation.
He wasn't alone.
Ahead of him, Aika was being dragged the same way.
Her usually composed expression shaken.
Behind him, the shopkeeper was carried by three men—completely unconscious.
"Bao! What is happening?" Aika called out as they were pulled closer together.
"No idea," Bao muttered, breath strained.
"But I'm guessing we messed up."
The hallway stretched endlessly, dimly lit and far removed from the lively gala. No music reached this place.
No laughter.
Just the echo of footsteps and the quiet hum of something far more dangerous.
At the end of it stood a massive double door.
One of the bouncers didn't even hesitate—he kicked it open.
The doors slammed against the walls with a thunderous crack.
They were thrown inside.
Bao hit the ground hard, pain shooting through his body as electronic cuffs snapped shut around his wrists.
Aika landed beside him.
The shopkeeper, dropped like a sack of grain.
The room was… sterile.
Too clean. Too empty.
A desk. A chair. Nothing more.
And behind that desk—
Ning's father.
Leaning casually against it, as if he had been expecting them all along.
Ning himself sat in a chair nearby.
Turned toward them.
Eyes wide.
Frozen.
"Finally," his father said calmly, folding his arms.
"The whole team is here."
His gaze swept over them.
"Well… almost. I assume the last one is still hiding in your little Cortex channel."
A flick of his eyes was enough.
The bouncers moved instantly, blocking every exit.
"Quite bold of you, my son," he continued, walking around the desk. "Using my own information network against me… and expecting me not to notice."
He grabbed Ning's chair and spun it around to face the others.
"Did you really think I wouldn't find out it was you who helped Bao escape? Or that you conveniently placed these people into my staff for tonight's gala?"
Ning said nothing.
But his expression said everything.
"And you…" His father turned to Aika. "It was your duty—your family's duty—to keep my son out of trouble."
Aika lowered her head.
"Y-yes… sir."
Bao frowned.
He had never seen her like this.
Not even close.
"Father, she did nothing wrong!"
Ning burst out.
"I told her to do everything!"
"Did you?" his father replied coldly. "Did you also tell her to fall in love with you?"
Silence.
Ning's breath caught.
Bao's eyes widened.
"Oh yes," the father continued. "Love… such a fascinating weakness. Makes people reckless. Predictable."
"What did you do…?" Ning whispered.
The father didn't answer directly.
Instead, he turned away, speaking almost casually.
"You see, my son… one day you will understand. One day, you will inherit everything I built."
"I don't want your empire!" Ning shouted.
"What good is it if I lose everything that matters to me?!"
"You will lose it anyway!" his father snapped, slamming his hand on the desk.
The room trembled with the force of it.
"Why do you think I did all this? Why do you think?!"
Bao clenched his fists.
"For power?" Ning shot back. "For control? For magic?"
The father laughed.
"Power? I already have power." He gestured around the room. "I sacrificed everything for something far greater."
He stepped closer.
"N.W."
"New World."
His eyes locked onto Bao's.
"And do you know why we need a new one?"
Bao froze.
Fragments of news. Rumors. Things he had ignored.
Things he didn't want to believe.
But now—
It all made sense.
"Our planet…" Bao said quietly after realising.
"It's dying."
A heavy, crushing silence filled the room after his words.
For a moment, even the father said nothing. His sharp, calculating eyes rested on Bao as if measuring him anew—not as a test subject, but as someone who had finally begun to understand.
"…So you do have a brain," the father said at last, his voice calm again.
Ning clenched his fists."You're lying… you have to be lying…"
"I wish I were."
The father pushed himself off the desk and slowly walked toward the large window behind him. The night sky stretched endlessly outside, filled with artificial lights and distant traffic.
"Resource depletion. Atmospheric collapse. Ecosystem failure. We've delayed it for decades, maybe centuries… but the outcome is inevitable."
He turned around.
"Earth is already beyond saving."
Bao felt his stomach tighten.
Images flashed through his mind—his sister, the café, normal days he had taken for granted.
Gone.
All of it… eventually gone.
"That's why you created Nelenia…" Bao muttered.
"Not created," the father corrected sharply. "Found. A miracle in the void. A second chance for humanity."
"A second chance?!" Ning exploded. "You're talking about wiping out an entire planet!"
"They are primitives!" his father snapped back. "Medieval. Weak. Divided. They would not survive what is coming anyway!"
"They are PEOPLE!" Bao shouted.
The room trembled—not physically, but under the weight of the clash.
For a brief moment, Bao felt something flicker inside him.
A strange, familiar sensation.
[Passive Skill Activated: Berserker - LvL 2]
His fingers twitched.
His breathing grew heavier.
"You've seen it yourself," the father continued, now pointing directly at Bao. "You've fought them. Killed them. Used them. Don't pretend you suddenly grew a conscience now."
"That's different…"
"Is it?"
Bao froze.
Because… it wasn't.
Not entirely.
"I gave humanity a future," the father said, quieter now. "A way to transfer consciousness. A way to live on. Do you think history will remember me as a villain… or as the man who saved our species?"
"No," Ning said, shaking his head. "You're just a coward running away from the consequences of humanity's mistakes."
The father's expression hardened.
"And what would you do?"
"Find another way!"
"There is none."
"There HAS to be!"
"There isn't!" the father roared, slamming his hand onto the desk.
The impact echoed through the room.
Even the guards flinched.
Bao lowered his gaze.
His mind was racing.
If what the father said was true… then destroying Orbisterra didn't just stop a project.
It might have doomed humanity's only escape.
[David - Level 15]HP: 52/70MP: 0/0
The faint blue text flickered in the corner of his vision.
Still there.
Even here.
Even now.
A reminder that he stood between two worlds.
"…So that's it?" Bao said quietly. "Kill one world to save another?"
"Yes."
"No hesitation?"
"None."
Bao looked up again.
Their eyes met.
Two completely different convictions colliding.
"…Then I'll stop you again."
The room went still.
The father sighed.
"Such a waste."
He raised his hand slightly.
The guards behind them straightened.
Weapons ready.
"You had potential, Bao."
A faint mechanical hum filled the room.
"Take them away."
Bao tensed.
Not this time.
Not again.
[Skill Activated: Evasion - LvL 4][Skill Activated: Scuffle - LvL 5]
"NOW!" Bao shouted.
And everything exploded into motion.