The thought that Cecilia had knowingly abandoned him here twisted like a knife in Baines's gut.
'…She mentioned Plan B before everything went dark. Is this it?'
He couldn't understand.
How could she do this to me—knock me out and leave me here without a word?
After all their misfortunes, Cecilia never smiled again. Her face had settled into something cold and calculating, every thought bent on keeping what remained of their family alive.
It was understandable, considering no one was there to assist her.
Their mother lay trapped in endless sleep.
Their trusted advisor had revealed himself to be a traitor.
And Baines… he had been nothing more than a helpless crybaby.
He had always known his own weakness. His helplessness.
But he never imagined she would go this far.
She knocked him out without his consent and threw him in the middle of a dangerous environment without any directives.
'What will I do now?' Panic crept under his skin. He had already tried escaping once—only to choke in the airless void beyond the statues. If that wasn't bad enough, he couldn't even see without the strange mechanical voice in his head.
That meant he was trapped here. Indefinitely.
'Mother…' Tears slid down his cheeks. He dug his nails into his arms, the sting barely registering. That was the only person he could think of.
He was cut off from the only family he had left, and he didn't know what to do.
Rather, he could do nothing about it.
Will I rot here forever?
What if Mother wakes, and I can't see her because I am trapped here?
The thought ignited fury in him. Just the thought of it was maddening.
Who will look after my family if I am trapped here?
Is my life over? Just like that?
"No," he whispered fiercely. "It can't end here."
He rejected the idea. He couldn't stand it. He remembered the days like yesterday. The way his family fell apart was like broken glass.
And now, another misfortune was about to befall him.
At this rate, he would become helpless while constantly remembering it all.
That was something he couldn't accept. That couldn't just be the end of their story.
His body began to tremble.
The thin air stirred.
Unknowingly, a crimson energy colored the darkness and flickered across his shoulders, dancing in his eyes like living flame.
Its size was visibly larger than the last time. Strange heat wafted through his body, and crimson cracks appeared around his eyes.
Unfortunately, this time, there was no one present to snap him out or a nearby plant to ease his mind.
Then—
Growl… Growl
Crack…
Shaaa…
The beasts across the pond snarled louder. Stone grated as statues shifted. Water rippled.
For a fleeting moment, the cavern felt alive again. Like presence had returned to the air.
That wasn't until
[CRISIS DETECTED: DANGER APPROACHING]
The mechanical voice cut through with urgency.
"Huh?"
Baines snapped out of it. Clarity returned to his eyes, slight steam sizzled out of his body, and the crimson faded instantly.
"Danger… where?" he whispered, scanning the shadows on guard.
"…Who is it?"
Nothing moved.
However, what he didn't notice was the silent, tendril of black energy that snaked in, swallowing the lingering residual red energy in the air in a heartbeat.
It happened in a split second, and in the next, there was nothing.
[NO THREAT DETECTED]
The danger had passed.
Baines's brows slightly furrowed. 'Is it toying with me?'
"What are you?" he asked the darkness. This strange voice had helped him without knowing its identity.
He didn't bother looking around because, as strange as it sounded, the answer would come from within.
'Is it the cause of this burning feeling I feel?'
['EYE' 0912221 OF BATCH 20111 – ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CREATED BY THE BAEK INSTITUTION, YEAR 3025]
"What?" His movements stilled as he processed the words.
"Eye…?"
Then, like a sledgehammer, realization struck him. His eyes widened, his fingers trembled as they reached for his right eye and covered it.
However, it was still the same darkness. But when he switched to the left eye—
The glowing outlines vanished, and pitch black swallowed everything.
He uncovered it, and his vision returned.
He nodded.
"S-So, Eye... Advanced technology?" Confusion laced his voice.
Then, another name caught his attention. "Baek? That's my family name." The feeling that this was related to plan B was becoming more certain.
"And what's with this year?" He frowned. "3025? That sounds ridiculous."
[FUTURE YEAR 3025 – YEAR OF PRODUCTION OF 'EYE']
"Future?" His mind spun. How had his sister acquired something like this?
Before he could process it,
[PERMISSION TO TRANSFER THE USER MANUAL]
"Manual? Yes—"
Pain instantly exploded in his skull, and knowledge flooded in.
He clutched his head, staggering.
'Is…this-'
[TRANSFERRING INTRODUCTORY MANUAL TO USER]
[STABILIZING USER CONSCIOUSNESS]
The world blurred.
Pain lanced through his skull, like a sharp headache.
He stumbled, clutching his head, and winced.
'Is…this-'
The advanced technology directly transferred the manual of its use to his brain, and due to the volume of the information, his consciousness trickled in and out.
…
Thirty minutes later, it was done.
Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, but unlike before, his face now shone with understanding.
"The All-seeing eyes?" he whispered in awe. His heart trembled at the name of a legend he had only heard within his family. The truth was that he knew of the existence of this object in him.
What was strange was its true nature.
What he knew it as, or rather, what everyone knew it as, was different.
'The All-Seeing eye'
It was the most extraordinary artifact in the possession of the Baek merchant family. It was brought into the family by the founding ancestor, beginning the generational competitions. No one had ever witnessed the true extent of its abilities, as the family was a merchant family, not a warrior, but all that was known about it was that it was said to see the world in its rawest form.
The second strange part was its appearance.
It was known to be in the shape of an eyeball.
'Wait.' He gingerly caressed his eye with mixed emotions. 'That all-seeing eye is inside me now? How?'
How had Cecilia gotten her hands on it?
He then remembered those fleeting words he heard before he awoke in this darkness.
Open it.
Ready for implantation.
'That plan B? This has to be it.' He further confirmed his suspicions as cold fragments echoed in his mind.
'…So Cecilia… you planned this.'
He exhaled slowly, steadying the whirlwind in his mind. He decided not to wallow too long and adjust to his newly gained knowledge.
"So you can do all this?" He muttered in amazement.
[USER IS CORRECT.]
The user manual contained details on its actual nature.
The all-seeing eye is an advanced support system and not a sentient being, meaning it does not think, feel, or desire. It only observes, calculates, and advises.
As soon as it became integrated with Baines, it exists to interpret his condition and surroundings, summarize relevant data, and present optimal courses of action, and when choices arise, Eye doesn't decide for him. It ranks probabilities, risks, and outcomes, leaving the final judgment to him.
That wasn't all.
It was a record archive.
It could store information, analysis, and retrieve it for use anytime he wanted.
Finally, it provided real-time functions that could help in various situations. The night vision was an example. It helped him see better in this darkness.
He asked in excitement.
"What else can you do?"
But,
[CURRENT FUNCTIONS ARE LIMITED DUE TO PROGRESSION RATE]
"…W-What?" He stammered. "What do you mean?"
[USER'S BODY SYNCHRONY TO EYE IS 1%]