I was furious—an anger that wouldn't stay contained no matter how much I tried to clamp it down,
and the moment I saw Vashir standing there with that irritating calm face, everything inside me twisted because I realized every single problem I had been drowning in was because of his manipulations,
and the rage just erupted out of me before I could stop it as I shouted, "You're the reason behind everything that's happening right now! Fine, forget that—just tell me, where am I? What is this place? Where have you brought me?"
and instead of answering like a normal damned person, he let out this sly little laugh that only made my blood boil hotter as he said, "Michael, after seeing how you handled them, I thought you were quite an impressive guy. But now I see I was wrong,"
and I snapped instantly, glaring at him, "What do you mean? Are you mocking me?" but he stayed annoyingly calm and said, "Mocking you? No. You still don't understand yourself,".
That confused me more than anything in this dark void because I didn't understand what the hell he was talking about until he continued, "This is your inner state, Michael. You're inside yourself," and for a moment everything in my head just froze because the idea itself sounded insane.
I stared around me in disbelief, the endless darkness stretching forever with no walls, no roof, no ground I could trust, and even though my face stayed blank,
I could feel something crawling under my skin, fear or maybe something worse, and he just looked at me and said, "What are you looking at, Michael? This is your mental state—boundless, filled only with anger, pain, revenge, and emptiness," and then he raised his left hand and an ancient-looking door appeared out of nowhere, something so old that it felt wrong just being seen, and I couldn't stop myself from asking, "What is that?" and he replied, "I don't know exactly. But I do sense one thing.
Something is there—something that could terrify the world—is waiting for the right moment to appear," and as I stared at that damned door, my heart started pounding and a sharp pain ripped through my skull like something was trying to split my head apart, and I cursed internally thinking, What is that door? Just looking at it is making my head explode! and I held my head in agony until Vashir used his mind chakra power to calm everything down,
and only when I could breathe normally again did he look at me and say, "Now you won't face any more problems, thanks to my power. It's connected to my Mind Chakra. As long as you have my assistance of power with you, nothing can harm you."
I glared at him and asked, "If I'm inside my own mind, then why are you here?" and he just gave a small laugh like everything was some game to him and said, "You have so many questions, Michael. Why I put you in this mess, what's really going on… Even in this mental state, you're still gripping me by the throat with your curiosity,"
and I didn't bother saying a word, I just stared, waiting, because he clearly wasn't done, and his tone changed, heavier, more serious than before as he asked, "Do you remember the time Victor asked you to retrieve some data for him? Have you ever wondered what that data was about?"
and I frowned because it sounded stupid and I said, "What kind of question is that? Obviously, it was for business," but he burst into that dark laugh again and said, "Business? What a fantastic hunting dog you've become," and even though I felt my jaw clench and anger flared, he didn't stop and continued, "That data… it contained everything about you—and your father. Who he really is," and when those words hit me, everything inside me froze for a second before the fury erupted like a volcano, the entire inner world around us reacting, the doors shaking violently, power swirling out like it wanted to tear Vashir apart right there, and he shouted, "Wait, boy! I'm not finished talking. Just wait!" but the rage wouldn't stop until he said it—quietly, too quietly—"Hammer Saint… that's your father."
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. I just stared at him, mind blank and burning at the same time, and he stepped closer and whispered, "When you meet him, tell him…" and leaned in to murmur something into my ear, something that didn't make sense yet, something that punched a hole in my chest,
and right after he said it, the entire space shattered, shadows pouring from the door like a living storm ready to consume everything, and Vashir raised his hand, pushed it back with his power, then shoved me out of the collapsing world with all his strength, his voice echoing as I faded out, "Hang on until then, kid."
And then I woke up with a violent jolt like someone had dragged me back from hell, my breath rough, my face twisted, and the first thing I felt was the disgusting stench of sewage hitting my nose, the dripping sound of filthy water flowing beneath me, rats scurrying around,
and I realized I was lying inside some old decaying prison buried god knows how deep, and I muttered, "Where am I?" as I checked my hands and found no restraints, nothing binding me, and memories rushed back—the arena, the fight, the man who knocked me out—and then the memory of Vashir blasted through my mind
and I clenched my teeth and whispered, "So all over the years you are the one I have been searching for," and right then the prison bars clashed loudly with a sharp metallic crack like two swords slicing each other, and I looked up to see the same man—the one who knocked me out—standing there with a smile like he was meeting an old friend.
I stared back and said dryly, "Well nice timing, I really needed someone to explain what's going on," and he chuckled and said, "Well you got real guts, which makes me start to think that maybe Hammer Saint's son,"
and my mind turned cold because he knew something, something tied to my father, something I needed, and I stood straighter and told him, "Even you accept it or not but I am," and I couldn't help the small smile that pulled at my lips, and his expression hardened as he unlocked the gate, opened it, and told me, "Follow me quietly and don't try to do anything funny," and I walked behind him, saying nothing, as we climbed the long spiral stone staircase, step after step, minute after minute, until it felt like an entire hour passed, showing just how deep the prison really was, and finally a faint beam of light appeared,
and when we emerged out of that underground pit, I saw it—a massive palace rising like a monument to arrogance and power, majestic and grand beyond anything I had ever seen, and all I could think was that every step forward was dragging me deeper into something far bigger than revenge.