The underground maintenance chamber looked like a slaughterhouse.
Black blood covered the flooded floor while Hollow corpses lay scattered everywhere beneath flickering emergency lights. The distorted creatures had attacked endlessly for several minutes—feral, relentless, monstrous.
And Kaien killed every single one of them.
He stood silently at the center of the chamber afterward while dark water slowly rippled around his boots. Vijaya rested calmly in his hand, its golden-black glow faintly illuminating the ruined underground structure.
Not a single Hollow remained alive.
Kaien's breathing stayed steady despite the battle.
But internally—
something felt strange now.
Every time he wielded Vijaya, the memories inside him became sharper.
More real.
Battle instincts no longer felt borrowed anymore. They flowed naturally through him now, like something his body remembered even if his mind still struggled to fully understand it.
He slowly looked down at the spear afterward.
"…what exactly are you?"
Of course, Vijaya gave no answer.
The weapon merely pulsed faintly in his hand before becoming quiet once more.
Kaien exhaled softly afterward before reattaching the spear behind his back.
Then he continued moving deeper beneath the prison district.
The prison facility stretched above him now.
Through cracked ceilings and exposed maintenance shafts, Kaien could occasionally hear footsteps from armed guards patrolling overhead. Voices echoed through ventilation systems while floodlights swept across ruined hallways somewhere nearby.
He had finally reached the central detention sectors.
The girls were close.
Kaien carefully climbed through one of the collapsed maintenance shafts afterward before emerging silently into a dark service corridor beneath the prison itself.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Unlike the ruined city outside, the prison still operated properly. Emergency power systems kept sections of the facility functional while armed Vesper soldiers guarded nearly every corridor intersection.
Kaien quietly observed from the shadows afterward while analyzing patrol routes carefully again.
Too many soldiers.
Too much surveillance.
One mistake would trigger lockdown instantly.
He slowly moved through the darkened corridors afterward while avoiding cameras and patrol routes with practiced precision.
Then eventually—
he found them.
A heavily reinforced containment sector near the prison's lowest level.
Six armed guards.
Automated turret systems.
Electronic locking mechanisms.
And behind thick reinforced glass—
two girls sat quietly inside the holding cell.
Kaien froze for half a second afterward.
Because the moment he truly saw them clearly—
his memories erupted violently.
Silver-black hair.
Golden eyes.
The same girls from his visions.
The same presence buried inside his soul since childhood.
And now—
the connection hit him completely.
Fragments flooded through his mind instantly.
Liora smiling beneath moonlight.
Her voice inside the distorted void between lives.
A promise.
A farewell.
Then another memory overlapped it.
The same soul splitting apart.
Two lights separating during rebirth.
Kaien's breathing stopped briefly afterward.
Not one soul.
Two fragments.
The twins.
That was why they felt familiar.
Why his soul reacted the moment he saw their photographs.
They weren't strangers.
They were pieces of her.
The realization nearly destabilized him for a moment.
But Kaien immediately forced the memories aside afterward.
Not now.
He couldn't lose focus here.
The mission came first.
Feelings later.
The silver-haired twin inside the cell suddenly lifted her head afterward slightly.
Her sharp golden eyes narrowed immediately.
Like she sensed something nearby.
The second twin looked up too afterward, quieter but equally alert.
Kaien quickly stepped deeper into the shadows before either could notice him fully.
Focus.
Escape first.
Questions later.
He quietly analyzed the guard positions again afterward while planning rapidly.
Direct assault would alert the entire prison instantly.
He needed a distraction.
Kaien's eyes shifted toward one of the nearby power conduits running through the corridor ceiling afterward.
Then toward the unstable Hollow warning systems displayed nearby.
An idea formed immediately.
Three minutes later—
the prison alarms exploded into chaos.
WARNING
BIOLOGICAL BREACH DETECTED
LOWER SECTOR COMPROMISED
Red emergency lights flooded the prison corridors instantly while automated containment doors began closing throughout multiple sectors.
The guards outside the twins' cell immediately reacted.
"What happened?!"
"Hollows breached the underground tunnels!"
"Move! Reinforcement teams are requesting immediate support!"
Kaien watched silently from above the corridor afterward while the confusion spread perfectly through the detention sector.
Exactly as planned.
Most of the guards rushed away immediately toward the reported breach zones while emergency response units redeployed across the facility.
Only one soldier remained behind guarding the twins' cell directly.
Kaien moved instantly afterward.
The lone guard barely noticed movement before Kaien dropped silently behind him.
One precise strike to the neck.
The soldier collapsed unconscious immediately.
Kaien caught the body before it hit the ground afterward before quickly dragging him aside into the shadows.
Then he approached the cell.
The twins immediately stood cautiously afterward.
Both looked exhausted.
Bruised.
Tired.
But alive.
Kaien activated the cell controls immediately afterward while whispering quietly,
"Don't make noise."
The reinforced locks disengaged with a soft mechanical hiss afterward.
The cell door slowly opened.
For the first time—
the twins saw him clearly.
And both froze instantly.
Not because of the combat gear.
Not because of Vijaya.
Because of recognition.
Real recognition.
The silver-haired girl stared at him almost breathlessly afterward.
"…you…"
The quieter twin beside her widened her eyes too.
Kaien ignored the reaction for now.
"We need to leave."
The silver-haired twin quickly recovered afterward while narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Who sent you?"
"Dominion command."
That answer immediately shifted their expressions afterward.
The quieter twin finally spoke softly.
"…uncle sent someone?"
Kaien nodded once.
"No time. Move."
Thankfully, they obeyed immediately afterward.
The three of them moved quickly through the darkened corridors while emergency alarms still echoed throughout the prison facility.
For several minutes, everything actually went according to plan.
Too smoothly.
Kaien should have known better.
The moment they reached one of the eastern maintenance exits—
gunfire erupted.
"THERE!"
A Vesper patrol squad rounded the corridor instantly afterward while floodlights illuminated them completely.
Someone had discovered the unconscious guard earlier than expected.
Kaien reacted immediately.
"Get behind me!"
Pulse rounds exploded toward them instantly afterward.
Kaien grabbed both girls before pulling them sideways behind collapsed support structures while energy blasts tore apart the corridor around them violently.
More soldiers appeared from adjoining hallways afterward.
Too many.
The prison lockdown had fully activated now.
Escape routes were closing rapidly.
The silver-haired twin looked toward him sharply afterward.
"There's too many!"
Kaien calmly drew Vijaya from behind his back afterward.
Golden-black energy instantly illuminated the corridor.
The twins froze.
Every soldier present hesitated too.
Because the spear didn't look human.
It looked ancient.
Terrifying.
Kaien stepped forward afterward.
Then the fight began.
The corridor became chaos.
Pulse rounds filled the air while Vesper soldiers attempted to overwhelm him through sheer numbers.
But Kaien moved unnaturally fast now.
Every motion flowed perfectly beside Vijaya.
Energy blasts missed him by inches while the spear tore through armored soldiers effortlessly. Sparks and blood scattered across ruined prison walls while emergency lights flickered violently overhead.
The twins watched in shock from behind cover afterward.
Because this wasn't normal combat anymore.
Kaien fought like someone born for battle itself.
No hesitation.
No wasted movement.
Just absolute control.
One soldier attempted firing from above afterward.
Kaien twisted Vijaya once.
Space distorted briefly.
The pulse round changed direction midair before striking another Vesper soldier instead.
The twins' eyes widened instantly.
"What the hell…" the silver-haired girl whispered.
Kaien ignored everything except survival.
More enemies flooded into the corridor afterward.
Too many to keep fighting directly.
They needed escape immediately.
Kaien grabbed the twins afterward before sprinting toward the collapsing eastern maintenance sector.
Gunfire followed them relentlessly while prison alarms screamed endlessly throughout the facility.
The corridors blurred afterward into pure survival.
Sharp turns.
Explosions.
Collapsing pathways.
At one point Kaien physically shielded the quieter twin from incoming debris while using Vijaya to destroy an automated turret blocking their escape route.
Then finally—
they reached the outer drainage tunnels again.
Cold rainwater rushed through the underground channels while distant Hollow screams echoed deeper within the darkness.
Kaien immediately turned afterward before collapsing part of the tunnel entrance behind them using one precise strike from Vijaya.
The explosion sealed the pursuing soldiers away temporarily.
Silence followed afterward except for distant alarms and heavy breathing.
The twins stared at him afterward while trying to process everything that just happened.
Kaien finally looked toward them fully now beneath the dim tunnel lights.
Up close—
the resemblance hit even harder.
Not physically.
Soulfully.
The same warmth.
The same presence.
Fragments of Liora existed within both of them.
The quieter twin suddenly stepped closer afterward while staring directly into his eyes.
"…it really was you."
Kaien frowned slightly.
"What?"
The silver-haired twin answered softly afterward.
"We've been seeing someone in our dreams for years."
Kaien's heartbeat slowed.
The quieter twin continued almost breathlessly,
"A boy standing in fire and light…"
The silver-haired girl stared at him intensely afterward before finishing the sentence at the exact same time as her sister.
"You're the one I was dreaming about."