Supreme Magus novel Chapter 2174

'There's nothing for us to learn here.' Kalla said. 'Based on what the undead said, those on the first floor have yet to be bent to Thrud's will. They aren't allowed to move freely and they have been here for too short a time to have heard anything useful.'

While they moved around the floor, waiting for the stairs mark to appear on the map, Lith noticed how the cells were devoid of anything that the inmates could use to hurt themselves.

There was a mattress and a pillow but no bedsheets. Each cell had a sink, a toilet, and just enough space to exercise. Most prisoners were so bored that they either practiced Accumulation or trained with chore magic.

'This is weird. Why don't they talk among themselves?' Vladion wondered after noticing that there was no ongoing conversation despite the open bars.

'Because they can't.' Kalla said while sharing the readings of the Eyes. 'Each cell is not only Hushed, but also blinded. They can only see the space immediately in front of their cells, making it no different from solitary confinement.'

'It's inhumane but makes perfect sense.' The Firstborn replied. 'Isolation makes it much more easy to break someone's will. On top of that, even if a prisoner becomes suicidal, they can't ask the others to kill them.'

Lith had just found the exit when the worst happened.

The trio felt a foreign energy signature invading their bodies and immediately turned toward its source.

"Hello, sweetie. Don't be shy. Come out and play." The voice belonged to a man and judging by how creepy his tone was, he hadn't been sane even before his imprisonment. "Guards have no need to hide nor are they undead."

'Dammit, this guy must be a genius.' Lith thought. 'He has already learned how to use Invigoration to scan his surroundings. What do we do?'

'Ignore him.' Kalla said. 'Judging from his tone, he's this close to losing his mind. The guards will never-' _{ƒreewebηoveℓ.com}

"I stand corrected." The man thought out loud, cutting her short. "An Emperor Beast, a full red blood core, and… What the heck is a black sphere? I'll have to ask my instructors during the morning training."

'Fuck me sideways!' The trio thought in unison. 'No one would have ever listened to the paranoid ramblings about generic intruders. Yet with so many details, there's no way they won't believe his story.'

"There you are. Was it so hard?" The prisoner said when Vladion stepped inside the area visible from his cell.

He was an average-looking man, with brown eyes and hair, no older than thirty. Under any other circumstances, the Firstborn would have mistaken him for a meek farmer or a clerk stuck with a menial job.

Now, however, with no reason to hide his real nature and the creeping madness from the prolonged isolation, Vladion needed but a glance to recognize a monster whose appearance was the only human thing about him.

His smile went from one ear to another and his eyes were feverish, giving the prisoner the look of a rabid beast.