The two Marked moved quickly through the winding corridors of the Colosseum, their hurried footsteps echoing faintly against the stone walls. Drake took the lead, running at full speed without looking back, while Steven followed closely behind, his breathing steady despite the pace.
They maintained that speed for several minutes until they finally reached a massive metal wall. It was once a reinforced door used by guards to access the Prison sector directly, thick and scorched from years of use and abuse.
Drake skidded to a halt in front of it and turned to Steven, his chest rising and falling.
"I don't think I can get through that," Drake confessed honestly, his eyes tracing the door's heavy frame.
Steven did not bother to hide anything. Stepping forward and past Drake, he stretched out his hand, fingers splayed, and activated his skill.
Rampage Blast.
A large beam of condensed energy erupted from his palm, crashing into the metal door with terrifying intensity. The force screamed through the corridor as the beam burned straight through the reinforced alloy, molten metal dripping and hissing as it collapsed inward. Within seconds, a gaping hole formed, wide enough for two grown men to pass through.
Steven stopped once the opening was sufficient and immediately checked his status.
{Mana 5/10}
If there was going to be a fight ahead and he knew there would be, he wouldn't be able to rely much on his Mana reserves after this.
Turning back to Drake, Steven noticed the man's expression. Shock was clear, but it was restrained, buried beneath careful observation. Drake hesitated, then finally looked at Steven fully.
"That ability… isn't that the Dreadling's?"
Steven paused. There was no reason to lie now, not after what Drake had seen.
"Yes, it is."
"But it's stronger?" Drake added, his brows arching with genuine curiosity.
Steven only nodded this time. He hunched his shoulders slightly and took the lead, passing through the melted opening first. Avoiding further questions was easier than answering them. Just as Drake carefully hid his own secrets, Steven preferred to keep his buried as well.
They continued onward, the air growing colder and heavier as they descended deeper. Soon enough, they reached the Prison.
As they moved through the rows of cages, Steven noticed a phenomenon too disturbing to ignore. Most of the cells were empty—or rather, they weren't empty at all. They were filled with bones. Human skeletons lay slumped against iron bars, some still bearing patches of decayed flesh clinging stubbornly to bone, while others were completely bare.
'The effects of the Sea Deity are still wearing off… and since they were over two hundred years old, their age finally caught up to them?' Steven thought grimly. It was a disturbing theory, but it was the only one that fit what he was seeing.
Not everyone had died yet. A few prisoners still clung to life, though barely, their eyes dull and bodies frail.
Soon, they reached the first cage—Favour's.
The young woman sat inside with her head tucked tightly between her knees, her shoulders trembling as quiet sobs escaped her. Drake immediately hurried toward the cage, gripping two of the iron bars with both hands. With a grunt, he pulled with all his strength. The metal screeched loudly before bending apart just enough to create an opening.
The sound drew Favour's attention.
She slowly lifted her head, sad blue eyes glistening as hope flickered across her face. She rose unsteadily to her feet.
Drake stepped aside after forcing the bars open, rubbing his left forearm from the strain.
"Let's go, Favour."
Steven stood to the side, nodding once, his gaze deliberately drifting away. He didn't trust himself to look too closely.
What happened next snapped him back to reality.
Favour burst out of the cage and threw herself against Steven, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his ribs. Warm tears soaked into his clothes as her body shook.
Steven frowned instinctively, his hands lifting as if to push her away—but he stopped himself. He let her cry, standing stiffly as she clung to him. Turning his head slightly toward Drake, he spoke evenly.
"Go find Lin."
Drake nodded without complaint and disappeared into one of the darker sections of the prison.
With Drake gone, the atmosphere shifted. It wasn't awkward for Steven—but it clearly was for Favour. She eventually stopped crying but didn't pull away, simply holding onto him as if afraid he might vanish.
After a while, Steven let out a low groan. "Are you going to stay like this forever?"
Favour shook her head quickly and pulled back, her face flushing red.
"Thank you."
"For what?!" Steven snapped, more startled than angry.
"For being my tissue… sorry," she said, forcing a wrinkled, embarrassed smile.
Steven sighed, glancing down at his wet clothes. He didn't respond, slipping back into his thoughts as he often did. Judging from her state, she must have been terrified—likely by her former cellmate, who was now nothing more than a pile of bones.
Favour had always been kind-hearted, never suited for the life of a Marked. She felt like someone raised in luxury, shielded from fear and blood. Just like Drake… and probably Lin.
People Steven usually despised for having such easy lives.
Yet, he didn't hate Favour as much. Thinking back to the Colosseum battles they had fought together, she had never once treated him poorly.
"Steven," Favour called softly, pulling him from his thoughts. Her gaze drifted uneasily over the surrounding cages and corpses. "Do you know what happened here?"
Steven nodded, "But it would be better if Drake explains when Lin arrives."
Silence followed. Favour attempted small talk, but Steven shut each attempt down with quiet indifference.
Eventually, Drake returned—with Lin.
After the brief reunion of the Cohort, Drake explained everything from beginning to end, sparing no detail.
During the explanation, the girls' attention repeatedly drifted toward Steven. He stood apart from them, wearing what could only be described as a glorified frown, silently mocking the group in his own head.
Once Drake finished, Steven stepped forward and cut in sharply.
"Now that we're done with the shitty explanation, we have to find one more idiot if we're going to leave this place."
The Cohort exchanged confused glances. Who was he talking about? Another Marked? Someone Steven knew that had helped him complete the second condition?
Their curiosity lingered.
A few minutes later, it was answered—though not quite satisfactorily.
They stopped at a cell near the prison wall. Inside was a man hunched over, malnourished and sickly. His skin clung tightly to his bones, making him barely distinguishable from a skeleton.
Steven kicked the bars hard, the sound echoing.
"Stand the hell up, Scribe!"
The man slowly turned. When his eyes met Steven's, he grinned crookedly and rose as much as his frail body allowed, shuffling toward the obsidian bars.
"So this is your escape plan, you sketchy bastard," Scribe taunted.
Seeing the man up close, Drake exchanged uneasy glances with the girls. He wasn't sure Steven knew what he was doing—but given everything Steven had already accomplished, trusting him seemed like the only option.
Steven smiled faintly and stepped closer to the cell.
"We free you. You get us out of the Colosseum. Do we have a deal?"
Scribe nodded without hesitation.
It was a win-win arrangement.
Why would he refuse?
//Author's note//
Thanks for the support. Still waiting for a Book review.
Character image of Ark'shaRin: I'll paragraph comment it to this sentence, so view and like.