Deep within Operations Command—
The tactical display still showed a vacant space where Aldric's signal had once existed. Silence ruled the room.
No one sat. No one spoke. Clara slowly folded her hands behind her back.
"...Confirm again."
A technician swallowed. "Chief Marune's resonance..." He hesitated.
"...cannot be located anywhere inside reality."
Another operator broke the silence. "Chamber Twelve's cameras are gone. There's nothing to retrieve."
Clara nodded once.
"Retrieve every surviving recording. I want every frame."
Another officer looked up.
"...Sir."
"What about Chief Aldric?"
The room fell quiet again. After several long seconds—
"He isn't dead." Helden spoke with complete certainty.
"If Captain Marune were dead... our emergency archive would already know."
Everyone understood what he meant.
Every Investigation Captain carried a soul-linked archive seal.
Death activated it immediately. Nothing had activated.
Which meant—somewhere... Aldric Marune still existed.
...
Back in the ruined courtyard—
Zekai stood motionless. His hand instinctively rested against the crystal pendant hidden inside his coat.
The tiny figure within remained perfectly still. Yet he knew... Aldric Marune was watching.
The crimson interface had already vanished. His body suddenly felt impossibly heavy. His knees trembled.
"...Tch..."
A sharp pain exploded behind his eyes. His vision blurred. The ruined courtyard doubled before slowly returning to one image.
"So..."
"So this is the price..."
His breathing became uneven. Each heartbeat echoed painfully through his chest.
'Whatever the Fool had done... It had not come without cost.'
Several containment officers cautiously approached. None came too close.
The veteran among them slowly removed his helmet.
"...He's exhausted."
Another shook his head.
"No."
"Look at his eyes."
"He's still alert."
Nobody reached for their weapons. Nobody reached for restraints either.
The silence itself had become heavier than protocol.
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Sebastian emerged from the shattered corridor, one arm draped over another officer's shoulder.
His clothes were soaked with blood. Even standing appeared painful. Yet his gaze immediately found Zekai.
"...Everyone..." His tired voice carried surprising authority. "Stand down."
Several officers exchanged confused looks.
"Captain..."
"He's still the primary suspect."
"I know." Sebastian closed his eyes briefly. "And he's also the reason we're still alive."
No one argued. Not after everything they had witnessed.
Medical teams rushed past them toward the collapsed interrogation chamber. Stretchers rolled across broken concrete.
Barrier specialists began reconstructing fractured walls with layers of dark resonance.
Entire sections of Headquarters returned to order with astonishing efficiency. Yet one thing couldn't be repaired.
No amount of resonance could restore what had been taken.
Chief Aldric Marune was gone.
...
A medic approached Zekai cautiously.
"We need to examine your injuries."
"No."
"You've lost too much blood."
"I'm fine."
"You are absolutely not fine."
For a moment—neither moved. Then Sebastian sighed.
"He's right."
Zekai looked at him.
Sebastian continued, "If you collapse now... you won't be helping anyone."
A long silence followed. Finally—Zekai sat. The motion alone exhausted him.
A medic carefully cleaned the wound across his forearm. Another wrapped fresh bandages around his hand. Surprisingly...
No one attempted to restrain him.
One young medic quietly whispered while treating him.
"...Thank you."
Zekai looked up. The young woman smiled weakly.
"My brother... works in Containment. He was in Chamber Twelve when the attack started. He came back." Her eyes lowered.
"I heard... you protected Iris... and Captain Sebastian. So... thank you."
She returned to her work before he could answer.
Zekai looked away.
"...I couldn't protect everyone." The words escaped before he realized he had spoken them aloud.
Nobody replied. There was nothing anyone could say.
...
A medic carefully wrapped the bandage around Zekai's forearm before stepping away. The ruined courtyard remained unusually quiet.
Sebastian slowly approached him, one hand pressed against his injured ribs. His gaze dropped to Zekai's coat.
"...The pendant."
Zekai looked at him. Without hesitation—he reached into his pocket.
The crystal pendant rested quietly in his palm.
Inside—a tiny Aldric Marune stood with both hands behind his back, looking exactly as composed as he had moments before being sealed.
Several nearby officers froze, instinctively straightened their posture.
"...Chief..." One officer's voice trembled.
Another instinctively stepped closer.
"...He's..."
Medical staff stopped what they were doing. Containment officers slowly gathered around the crystal, none of them daring to touch it.
Even Iris, barely able to stand, stared silently at the pendant.
"...Chief..." Her eyes slowly filled with relief. "You really are alive..." Her voice was barely a whisper.
No response. Silence claimed the courtyard.
Five long seconds passed. Only the distant sound of reconstruction echoed through Headquarters.
Sebastian stepped closer. His injured hand rested lightly against the crystal.
"...Chief?"
Nothing. Ten more seconds. Nobody breathed. Nobody moved.
Inside the pendant—the miniature Aldric slowly opened his eyes.
He calmly looked around at every face surrounding the pendant. His expression remained exactly the same as always.
"...Good." His tiny voice somehow carried clearly from inside the crystal.
"I only have a few moments. The relic is adapting." His voice remained calm.
"So everyone can hear me."
The entire courtyard froze. One officer nearly dropped the medical case in his hands.
"He... talked."
One officer nearly dropped the medical case in his hands.
Another whispered, "...How is that possible?"
Aldric ignored the reactions. His gaze settled on Zekai.
"...Don't break the crystal."
"The prison isn't made of glass."
"It's made of law."
Silence. Zekai frowned.
"Can I open it?"
"Yes." Aldric answered immediately.
"But breaking it and opening it are two entirely different things."
Sebastian's expression sharpened. "...Explain."
"The crystal isn't a container. It's a localized dimensional seal. If the shell is physically destroyed..." A brief pause.
"...everything sealed inside is erased along with it."
A chill passed through everyone present. One of the Containment officers instinctively took a step backward.
Sebastian slowly folded his arms.
"...So conventional recovery methods are impossible."
"Correct." Aldric nodded once.
"The Relic Collector doesn't imprison bodies. He imprisons existence itself."
No one spoke after that.
For the first time... every officer understood why Investigation Head Aldric Marune had vanished from every resonance scanner.
He hadn't disappeared. He had been removed from reality.
...
Far above Greyhaven—
Beyond the clouds—
The black helicopter flew toward an unknown destination.
Inside the cargo bay—the Relic Collector quietly cleaned the blood from the corner of his mouth.
The woman who had ordered the extraction sat opposite him.
Her face remained hidden beneath a smooth porcelain mask.
She folded her hands.
"You failed."
"I completed my assignment."
"You lost that devil."
The Collector looked toward the empty pendant on his belt.
"...Temporarily."
She remained silent.
"The boy?"
The Collector closed his emerald eye. Then opened it again.
"...He's changing faster than expected."
The woman slowly tilted her head. "And?"
A faint smile returned to his face.
"...I'm looking forward to hunting him again."
The masked woman pressed a finger against a black communication device.
"The target has awakened."
A distorted voice answered immediately.
"...Confirmed. Proceed phase two."
The transmission ended. Neither of them spoke again.
Outside—the helicopter vanished into the endless sea of clouds.
Far below—Greyhaven continued its ordinary day.
Cars crossed intersections.
Children walked to school.
Coffee shops opened their doors.
No one looked toward the hidden underground headquarters.
No one knew how close their world had come to changing forever.
And somewhere, just beyond reality... Something ancient and primordial slowly opened one burning eye.
✦ Chapter 42 — The Prison of Existence ✦