As James stepped past the dungeon gate, the world around him dimmed, swallowed by the echo of his own footsteps.
At that same moment, Dani's phone buzzed.
The screen flashed with a notification:
"HeyFriend ID: Leon Fischer."
His eyes froze.
Leon Fischer; an agent from the Fellowship of the Ring, declared dead a decade ago.
A chill crept down Dani's spine.
This stirred even more confusion.
Why and how did he know a dead man's ID?
And of all IDs… why one linked to the Lindberg Family Tragedy?
The name alone was a wound history refused to close.
---
The Next Morning: Inside the Car, En Route to the Press Con
"Hey, Dani! Dani! Are you listening?"
The voice dragged him back from his thoughts.
For the first time in his life, Dani wasn't attentive. His gaze drifted past the window, to the blurred skyline of Cebu City rushing by like a half-remembered dream.
His father, Geoffrey, the Mayor, turned to him, brows furrowed in concern.
He'd seen his son composed through chaos, calm even in crisis. But today, Dani looked… distant.
"Are you still thinking about last night?" Geoffrey asked, his tone a mix of warmth and worry.
"You don't have to worry about the dungeon… it's ours."
He smiled, confident, reassuring, the kind of smile that once made crowds believe everything was under control.
But Dani didn't smile back.
His reaction was cold… nervous… yet eerily calm, the kind of calm that came before a storm.
His father noticed. "Are you okay? This isn't like you."
Dani exhaled, eyes still fixed on the moving horizon.
"Dad," he said quietly, "how many people do you know who can take on a continental mage?"
The father stood still questioning Dani's question.
He continued with a low voice, thoughtful, heavy with meaning.
"If the Dungeon Expedition goes out of control… Do you think the Americans?
Will they send their continental mages?"
For a moment, Geoffrey was silent, puzzled by the sudden depth of the question.
Then, a small, almost wistful smile crossed his lips.
My son is human after all, he thought.
The atmosphere stood still, no one dared to talk.
As they arrived at the press-con venue, the crowd outside hummed with anticipation, flashes from cameras scattering like sparks across the marble steps.
Dani reached out and grabbed his father's coat, his voice low but firm.
"Don't forget the plan, Father."
The words made Geoffrey pause, memories flickering behind his eyes. From those days in the sewer, shoulder to shoulder, scraping through survival… to now, a Mayor and Region Island King standing before the world.
A proud smile crept across his face.
"Of course," he said softly. "It's you and I, together. Without us, there is no plan."
Dani's chest eased; his father's words rekindled the promise they made long ago and that is to rise together, no matter where they began and seek justice to those who did them wrong.
As the Mayor stepped onto the foothold, reporters' lights bathed him in gold and white. He raised his hand with the confidence of a man who had conquered his past.
"We would like to take custody of this Dungeon Tower," he declared, his voice echoing through the hall.
"Our mages from Cebu City were the ones who saved this city… and it is only right that the tower's wealth returns to the people. We will use it for good governance, free medical care, support for small businesses, free transport, and education for all."
The crowd erupted in cheers for the Mayor, chanting his name;
"For President! For President!"
Flashes from cameras painted the stage in bursts of light. Then, cutting through the noise, a reporter from PhilNation Media raised her mic.
"Mayor," Anna asked sharply, "how exactly are you going to convince the government to bend the law for you?"
The question struck like thunder.
The crowd fell silent, whispers rippling through the air. Many believed that was it… the end of the Mayor's request.
But the father and son had long anticipated this. With practiced subtlety, Geoffrey adjusted his microphone, a silent signal to one of the paid crowd members planted in the audience. Instantly, tension thickened as murmurs began to rise, the edge of an uproar forming, a storm was about to break.
Before it could, Dani's gaze turned sharp. He locked eyes with the agitator and gave a single, cold signal, stop.
Taking the mic, his calm voice cut through the air.
"We will not go against the government's will. We abide by the law. Everyone, regardless of position, must submit to it."
His main goal from what he said, was to go against the plan to make sure that Cebu City would not be granted the request. At the same time, he would not mind if permission for the Dungeon Expedition was approved, but his first and strongest choice was still denial.
What he felt the night before lingered heavily in his chest. It was as if he had stood alone against the entire world. Because of that fear, he could not bring himself to share this information with his father, terrified that doing so would only lead to…
The words froze the crowd. The paid agitators wavered, uncertain whether to proceed or stand down. Geoffrey stared at his son, stunned as decades of planning unraveled in seconds.
But then, from the genuine supporters, a new cheer rose, louder, purer.
Momentum shifted. Geoffrey caught on and nodded slightly.
And just like that, even the paid crowd, confused yet compelled, followed the chant of the real believers.
His charisma backfired and the crowd adored his authenticity.
Despite his power, Dani wasn't seen as a man of greed or arrogance.
To them, he stood for honor.
And soon, chants began to echo;
"Magnifico! Magnifico!"
It left Dani momentarily stunned. A faint, ironic smile crossed his face.
"I'm suffering from my own success," he muttered under his breath, smiling toward the crowd.
But inside, unease coiled in his chest. He knew that James was watching.
And he had no idea how James would react.
Cutting the press-con short, Dani excused himself and followed his father back to the Mayor's building.
The moment the doors closed behind them, a sharp slap echoed through the hall.
"Why?" Dani asked in confusion, his cheek stinging.
Geoffrey's voice thundered, "Are you planning to ruin everything we built? The plan we spent decades on?"
He raised his hand again and Dani closed his eyes bracing for another strike.
But instead, warmth enveloped him.
A hug.
"Since last evening, you've been acting differently," Geoffrey said softly. "What happened down there… in that dungeon?"
Dani froze, moved by the sudden shift. His respect for his father deepened, yet hesitation tugged at him.
He couldn't tell him. Not yet. Not about the danger that awaited them.
So he forced a calm smile and said,
"Let's call the top Battle Mages and Magic Knights of Cebu City. We'll start planning the Dungeon Expedition and hope the President approves our request."
---
4 Days After the Request
PhilNation Media: Live Broadcast
Anna stood before the camera, microphone in hand, her smile bright under the studio lights.
"Good morning, everyone! And for today's 'bideow' hehe," she chuckled, earning laughter from the crew behind the scenes.
"I'd like to congratulate the people of Cebu City! The President has officially signed the authority, granting our local government full control over the upcoming dungeon expedition."
She paused, her tone shifting as the headline appeared behind her.
"However…" she continued, "the level of this dungeon remains unknown."
The screen flashed with its ominous title:
'BRINIGAN: The Dungeon of Ruins.'