A day had passed. Conrad, Duncan, and Ethan were finally untied. Exhausted and drained, they immediately fell asleep.
"So, what's your name?" John asked Conrad while eating a piece of bread.
"My name is Conrad. This is Ethan, and that's Duncan," Conrad replied, gesturing to the others.
"Here, have this." John handed each of them a loaf of plain bread. "I know it tastes bad, but unfortunately this is what we all have."
"Oh, no. We're grateful," Conrad said quickly. "You're the one giving us food, after all."
"Thank you… really," Duncan added, already munching. "Bread — people forget how important it is. It fed entire generations. You're giving us more than just food."
John nodded and stood up. "Well, get comfortable. This place takes time for people like you to adapt to. The first time I was here, it felt so damn uncomfortable. Now? It feels exactly like my bed at home."
The three of them laughed softly as John walked away.
"Dude, are we really gonna join these people?" Ethan whispered to Conrad once John was gone.
"No. That entire story was made up," Conrad said coldly. "I'm surprised you idiots didn't mess it up. And don't call me 'dude', because I'm not your 'dude'."
Duncan's eyes widened in shock. "No fucking way! You made that shit up?!"
Conrad smacked his lips, clearly annoyed. "Just shut up."
"So you can just cry on command? That's weirdly cool!" Ethan said, impressed.
"Shut up!" Conrad snapped. "We could try to escape right now, but that would be the wrong move. What we should be doing is gathering as much information about these people as possible."
"What if we sneak up on them and kill them?" Duncan suggested. "First we take out the unpowered ones, then we all jump Hannah and John."
"No. Duncan and I could probably take Hannah if we team up. We just need to separate her from the rest," Ethan added.
"Sure, that might work," Conrad groaned, "but only if John wasn't with them. It's a shame to admit, but John is more than capable of taking all of us out at once."
"That's bullshit, dude!" Duncan protested. "You guys are on par with each other. You nearly beat him — he's just slightly stronger than you."
Conrad clenched his jaw in shame. "He… he was holding back. That's what helped me sell that fake sob story. During the fight, I realized John doesn't like killing people. It became even clearer when he was crying before we were about to be executed."
Duncan blinked in confusion. "Wait, so John was holding back… and you still lost?"
"Shut up! You're talking like you could even scratch me at the very least!" Conrad growled. "Yeah… I lost to him while he was holding back. That's why your idea of taking them out one by one won't work."
"But he's extraordinary. Nothing like I've ever seen before," Conrad continued, both fascinated and terrified. "I can literally sense his power growing stronger every single day. It's slow, but it never stops. He could probably beat me even faster than he did yesterday."
"I'm surprised you can admit something like that," Ethan said.
Conrad huffed. "Whatever. My point is, trying to attack them while John is around is basically suicide."
"So we attack when John isn't around?" Ethan asked.
"No," Conrad replied. "If we kill them, we'll get killed even faster than they would."
---
Knox got into the car. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere. Trust me, you'll like it," Nixon said with a smile.
The car shot into the sky. Nixon was driving. "You think you've seen everything. But no, not at all, my brother."
Knox scoffed. "You think?"
"Definitely. The only things you've seen are brutal and gruesome. They mean nothing to you now because you've seen them too many times."
"Being human is about feeling emotions," Nixon continued. "Your whole life you've been sad, scared, angry. You've never truly been happy, Knox."
"I guess you're right…" Knox muttered as old memories flashed through his mind. He really had never felt true happiness.
"Alright, we're here," Nixon said, stepping out of the car.
Knox's jaw tightened as he realized where they were. It was a theme park.
"Come on, Knox. Let me show you what it feels like to be happy," Nixon insisted.
"Fuck no. How old do you think I am? Four?" Knox snapped.
He gave a sardonic chuckle. "This place isn't for me, Nixon. I get what you're trying to do, but it's useless. I won't feel anything except annoyance."
"Oh yeah? And how do you know that?" Nixon asked. "You've never been here. You've never experienced a single second of this place. This is the food, Knox. It's waiting for you to taste it."
Knox paused, narrowing his eyes.
"Fine."
They walked through the theme park. Nixon led the way, clearly excited.
"Let's start with this one. Come on, bro!" Nixon hurried toward the entrance line. Knox groaned but followed.
They boarded the ride. Knox still felt nothing, while Nixon was laughing with anticipation.
"Here, wear this." Nixon handed him a VR headset.
"I'm not wearing this bullshit." Knox refused.
"Just do it, man. You'll like it." Nixon insisted.
Knox groaned but ultimately put it on.
The room suddenly expanded into a massive jungle filled with bright green trees and lush grass.
"Welcome to the Nightmare's Cradle!" a floating robot head announced cheerfully.
"Well, let's get things straight because…" the robot looked around frantically, "we don't have much time!"
"I need you to grab the Gem of Stability at the end of that bridge! But of course, it's not that easy. There will be creatures trying to stop you. They're called 'Keystone Leeches'. Their power is fed by the gem, so if you remove it from the mountain, all the leeches will perish!" the robot explained in an oddly cheerful yet dark tone.
Knox immediately tried to fly toward the end of the bridge, but he only managed a small jump.
"Looks like we can't use our powers here!" Nixon laughed.
"Snap your fingers to view inventory," a voice instructed.
They snapped. Three holographic weapons appeared: a gun, a sword, and a fist.
Knox chose the fist. Nixon picked the gun. They started across the long bridge. A Keystone Leech suddenly leaped at Knox. Nixon shot it dead with the gun.
"This is about to get crazy…" Nixon chuckled.
"Is this what you said would make me happy? Pathetic," Knox scoffed.
---
"Go, girl, go!" Emma patted Aya's back, encouraging her. "Confess your feelings to John already."
"Hey, Hannah," John called out.
"Yeah, what's up?" Hannah walked over and sat in front of him.
"I got you something."
"Really? How nice of you!" Hannah said, clearly happy and curious.
"While I was in the lab stealing the gear, I found shelves full of Compound V. I wanted to take some for the others, but I knew they'd reject it because it goes against their morals," John explained.
Hannah leaned in, listening intently. "Uh huh."
"But I took one dose. I know you're constantly outclassed by the executives, so I got you the same enhanced version they use." John handed her the vial. "This way, you can finally defend yourself against monsters like Knox."
Hannah stared at the dose, then back at John. Without a word, she jumped forward and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you so much! How thoughtful of you!" she said, squeezing even harder.
John laughed and hugged her back. "You're welcome. You should take it now!"
From a distance, Aya watched the entire scene. Tears welled up in her eyes. She turned away and walked off so John wouldn't see her crying.
"Aya, dear, I'm so sorry… I'm sure he was just—"
"Just shut up!" Aya snapped, tears streaming down her face. "Stop feeding me false hope! He doesn't like me. He likes Hannah! And that's okay… I'm fine with it!"
Emma didn't know what to say. She simply pulled Aya into a tight hug.
---
Three men entered Sovereign's room, dragging a woman with a bag over her head. "Sir, we caught this asshole secretly helping the disgusting maggots!" one of the men said, holding her firmly.
"You three, leave," Sovereign ordered.
The men bowed and exited immediately.
Sovereign removed the bag. "What's your name?"
"B-Blair…" she stuttered in fear.
"What do you see in them, Blair?" Sovereign asked calmly.
"I see humans in them, not maggots. Just like how you see your own people as humans. I'm doing what's right — treating them equally."
Sovereign sighed. "I see my own people as hollow shells, Blair. But I still don't understand the point of helping them."
He looked at her with empty eyes. "You don't amuse me in the slightest. Come at me. If you manage to hurt me even slightly, I'll work for you."
Blair's eyes widened in shock at the sudden offer. She knew Sovereign was far stronger than anyone else, but she still believed that even he couldn't take a full-power punch to the face without feeling at least some pain.
She gathered every ounce of strength, speed, and power into her right fist. Sovereign simply stood still, staring at her with no emotion.
The punch landed. A powerful shockwave exploded through the room.
Sovereign didn't move an inch. He remained completely unharmed.
Blair smiled bitterly, already knowing her fate. "So that's how strong you are, huh?"
In the next instant, Sovereign appeared behind her. His hand was covered in blood. Blair's head slowly slid off her neck and fell to the floor.
Ashley hadn't even registered what happened due to Sovereign's blinding speed.
He turned to Ashley. "Clean this up."