Before them stood a double iron door, with a lever on each side.

  It looked... surprisingly ordinary.

  “This is what’s been keeping you trapped here?” Revan asked, skepticism dripping from his voice.

  The man just smiled and walked over to one of the levers, placing both hands on it.

  “Whenever you’re ready.”

  Revan exhaled slowly, approaching the opposite lever. It was mounted a little too high for his reach.

  “Ready?” the man asked.

  “Yep,” Revan muttered, bending his knees, preparing to jump.

  “Three… two… now.”

  Revan jumped, grabbing the lever mid-air while the man pulled his own.

  A deep clunk echoed behind the walls, followed by the sound of grinding gears.

  Moments later, the iron doors creaked open.

  Beyond them lay a stone staircase winding upward, and from above, a faint glow of Ether light spilled down, warm and inviting.

  “This dungeon doesn’t exactly scream ‘impenetrable fortress,’” Revan muttered.

  “This used to be an Imperial base,” the man replied. “Back then, it would’ve been crawling with guards.”

  “Well now, there’s just one.” Revan smirked. “Didn’t they think two prisoners might be able to figure something out?”

  “That’s the thing about arrogant people,” the man said as he stepped onto the stairs. “They underestimate others. In this case... they underestimated you.”

  Revan narrowed his eyes slightly, watching the man with growing curiosity.

  “You know a lot for a prisoner.”

  The man let out a low chuckle. “You Vaelgrim never stop watching, do you?”

  He started up the stairs ahead of Revan, without looking back.

  Revan waited a beat, then jogged after him, falling into step behind.

  “You know who I am,” Revan said. “So what do I call you?”

  The man glanced over his shoulder, offering a grin.

  “You can call me Oliver.”

  Silence settled between them again, only broken by the sound of their footsteps echoing off stone as they climbed toward the stairs.

  At the top of the stairs, they emerged into the grand hall.

  The first thing Revan saw was the cracked wall across the room—the very spot where he had been thrown by Lord Cervarin. Directly opposite stood the balcony, with a towering ornate door behind it, gleaming faintly in the ambient light.

  In front of them was an open, doorless archway leading into the dining hall.

  Revan’s eyes scanned the space, tension creeping into his posture. He remembered this place all too well. This was where he had been defeated—easily—by Lord Cervarin.

  “There,” Oliver said, pointing toward the grand door atop the balcony. “That’s the way out.”

  Revan glanced down at the metal cuff still clamped around his wrist. “We’ll need to remove these first, won’t we?”

  “You’re right,” Oliver replied. “Follow me.”

  He led Revan to the wall just beneath the balcony, pressing his palm flat against the stone. Then he began feeling along the surface, running his fingers across its texture and leaning in to press his ear to it.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Revan raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

  “Hold on,” Oliver muttered.

  After a few moments of scanning, his hand stopped at a spot near the base of the staircase, slightly recessed.

  “Here it is,” he said with a grin, pressing firmly.

  A quiet click sounded, and part of the wall shifted inward. A hidden staircase revealed itself, leading down into the depths.

  Without hesitation, Oliver began descending.

  “Wait,” Revan said. “I need to get my friend.”

  “You’re not alone?”

  “No.”

  Oliver paused. “What happened?”

  “Long story short,” Revan said, “they were after her. I got caught in the middle. Then we got… teleported here.”

  Oliver chuckled. “Yeah… that is the short version.”

  “We have to find her.”

  “We will,” Oliver said, holding up his cuffed wrist and giving it a shake. “But first—this.”

  Revan nodded and followed him down the hidden stairwell.

  At the bottom, they entered a brightly lit chamber. Strange mechanical devices lined the room, many of them powered by scattered Ether Stones glowing softly across the workbenches.

  The stone walls were etched with runes, their meanings unknown.

  Oliver moved to a nearby table cluttered with documents, flipping through them quickly before setting them aside.

  Revan scanned the room, wide-eyed. He’d never seen anything like this. In one corner, he noticed half-built mechanical beasts, some scorched, some in pieces—like experiments abandoned mid-process.

  His eyes landed on something sitting on a workbench: a key, carved entirely from Ether Stone.

  He picked it up and instinctively pressed it into the lock on his wrist. With a low click, the metal cuff released and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

  Revan rubbed his wrist, the skin beneath slightly red and sore.

  On the other side of the room, Oliver was still scanning the documents. He pulled a few aside, folded them carefully, and tucked them into the inside pocket of his coat.

  “Hey,” Revan called out.

  Oliver looked up just as Revan tossed him the Ether Stone key.

  He caught it with ease, unlocked the metal cuff from his wrist, and placed the key down on the table with a soft clink.

  “Appreciate it,” he said, flexing his wrist briefly.

  Then he gave the scattered papers one last glance, as if committing them to memory, before turning back to Revan with a sharp nod.

  “Let’s go get your friend.”

  Revan’s expression sharpened. “You know where she is?”

  “Of course,” Oliver replied, patting the inside pocket of his coat where the folded papers were tucked.

  “Those papers—did they say something about her?” Revan asked, eyes narrowing.

  Oliver simply smiled. “Follow me.”

  He offered no answer, ignoring the question entirely as he turned and headed back toward the grand hall, Revan trailing close behind.

  Before them loomed the familiar cracked wall, a reminder of Revan’s earlier defeat. To the right of it stood the archway leading down to the dungeon. On the left, another archway opened into the dining hall.

  But just beside the dungeon archway, almost hidden in plain sight, was a narrow door blended into the stonework.

  Without hesitation, Oliver approached it and gave it a gentle push. It swung open easily.

  To their right, a corridor stretched out, leading toward a larger room at the end.

  From the distance, they could make out that the space was divided by a glass wall, with a glass door in the center. Inside, the room resembled an observation chamber, dimly lit by Ether Lanterns. Several hooded figures stood at the far end, gathered near the glass, focused on whatever lay beyond it.

  Oliver moved quietly toward the chamber, stopping just before the threshold. He leaned casually against the corridor wall, watching.

  Revan joined him, pressing his back to the opposite wall, directly across from him.

  “Let’s observe for now,” Oliver said in a low voice.

  “I can’t see anything from here,” Revan whispered.

  Oliver didn’t respond. His eyes stayed fixed beyond the glass.

  Revan followed his gaze.

  At the far end of the chamber, a large stone table stood beneath a floating golden sheet of parchment, glowing faintly with etched runes.

  A raised circular platform sat in the center of the room beyond, shaped like a plate, with four curved pillars rising from its edges. The pillars weren’t upright—they arched inward, all glowing with the pale white light of Ether Stones.

  Suspended above the center of the platform was a young girl with golden hair—Luna.

  She hovered, unconscious, her body limp.

  She wasn’t alone.

  Standing near a console of strange instruments was Lord Cervarin, flanked by a pair of individuals in long white coats. They moved quickly, adjusting dials and studying data as glowing symbols shifted on the panels.

  “Ah,” Oliver murmured. “I see now.”

  “What do you see?” Revan asked urgently.

  “They’re trying to extract your friend’s power.”

  “WHAT?!”

  Revan’s voice cracked the silence.

  The figures inside the chamber turned—every head snapping in their direction. Then, all at once, the hooded figures reached for their weapons.

  Revan’s eyes widened.

  They’d been spotted.