The air suddenly grew heavy.
The surroundings were silent.
Alpha Core carried Ajina over his shoulder, rushing forward at full speed. Soon, he reached the gate of the fort.
The gate was open… and the entire fort was illuminated.
Without stopping, Alpha moved ahead and stepped onto the main ground instead of circling the entire fort.
As he ran across the ground, his eyes shifted—
In the east, the sun still lingered…
while the west seemed swallowed by the fading earth.
For a moment, Alpha thought to himself,
"Looks like the whole day has passed in this hunt… we need to hurry, or we might lose our great warrior."
Without wasting another second, Alpha raised one hand near his mouth.
Joining his thumb and index finger into a gesture, he whispered softly—
"Sweet chamber."
In the next instant, both Alpha and Ajina began to break apart into shimmering particles…
And within moments—
they completely vanished into the air.
Jeron arrived at the ground,
the same man—whose mask Ajina had cut—resting across his back.
The moment Jeron noticed the earth around him,
he wasted no time.
Raising his hand near his mouth,
he joined his thumb and index finger together, forming a gesture.
Then, in a low voice, he said—
"Sweet chamber."
In the next instant, Jeron and the man began to dissolve into shimmering particles…
And vanished.
Silence fell over the area.
Moments later, a man in a black coat came rushing in—
it was Torisa.
Mara and Yunsa were draped over his shoulders,
while behind him, Maya, Lina, and Artha ran as fast as they could.
Torisa stopped at the ground and turned back, shouting loudly—
"Hurry up, all of you!"
Then, in his mind, he muttered,
"Thank goodness… both of them are still breathing."
Soon, the others reached him.
Torisa glanced at Artha and asked,
"Hey, where is that chubby boy?"
Just then, a voice echoed from behind—
"Wait!"
Everyone turned toward the sound.
A boy was running toward them at full speed.
As he stepped into the light, his face became clear.
Artha sighed in relief and said,
"Don't worry… Vikar is here."
Torisa shouted at the top of his lungs—
"Hurry up, boy! Or everything will be over!"
Torisa thought to himself,
"I have to protect these children… they are the future."
At the same time, Maya thought,
"Why is Vikar so slow? If I were in sir's place, I would've punished him by now…"
Just then, Vikar came running toward them at full speed,
carrying Pasito tightly over his shoulder.
Torisa looked at everyone and said,
"First, look at the ground carefully. Then copy the gesture I make."
Vikar frowned and replied,
"What will that do? Can't we just say 'Sweet Chamber' directly?"
Torisa shook his head and said,
"This gesture… is a form of focus. Through it, we can reach any place we wish to go."
He then looked toward the ground,
and turning to Vikar, he added,
"Whatever I say, you must repeat it exactly. And after saying it, don't speak a single word. Understood?"
Artha stepped forward and asked,
"Why? And how will we all reach the same place together?"
Torisa didn't respond.
Instead, he slowly raised his hand near his mouth.
Artha thought to himself,
"Looks like sir wants me to stay quiet…"
In the stillness of the moment,
Torisa joined his thumb and index finger together.
After a brief pause, he spoke softly—
"Gyan Mudra… Sweet Chamber."
One by one, everyone repeated the same words.
Then—
Silence.
For a moment, nothing happened.
And suddenly—
All of them began to break apart into shimmering particles…
Until, one by one,
they completely vanished into the air.
A vast room stretched endlessly,
filled with rows of beds.
Suddenly—
Shimmering particles appeared in the air.
Moments later, several people dressed in white entered the room.
They looked like healers, calm and focused.
The glowing particles slowly began to gather…
merging together, piece by piece—
Until they took form.
Torisa.
Maya.
Artha.
Vikar.
Lina.
Pasito.
Mara.
Yunsa.
Torisa quickly placed Mara onto one of the beds,
then gently laid Yunsa beside him.
Right next to them, Vikar carefully placed Pasito down on another bed.
Torisa then turned toward Vikar, Lina, Artha, and Maya and said,
"You all are now in the ashram. I'll show you your rooms… you should rest. Your training begins tomorrow."
Vikar scratched his head and said,
"I don't really know how to study… even my handwriting looks like a puzzle…"
Ignoring him, Maya, Lina, and Artha walked out of the chamber.
For a moment, Vikar looked around—
And suddenly realized…
They were gone.
Confused,
he rushed out of the room to follow them.
As Vikar stepped outside, he froze in shock.
A railing stood right in front of him.
He slowly moved closer and looked down—
The ground was far, far below.
"How high are we from the ground…?" he whispered.
Just then, he glanced to his side—
—and froze again.
Torisa and Artha were standing at a distance.
Suddenly, Artha started running toward them.
Torisa's voice rang out sharply,
"Don't you understand? Do not run here—
or you'll be punished immediately."
Hearing this, Vikar went silent.
Artha then asked,
"By the way, sir… where is our room?"
Torisa led Artha and Vikar down to the ground floor.
Stopping in front of a door, he pointed toward it and said,
"Artha, this is your room."
He handed him the key.
Artha unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The room looked clean… calm… and well-arranged.
Vikar peeked in and said,
"Can I sleep here with him?"
Artha looked at him in surprise.
Torisa, however, glared at Vikar and said,
"If I let you stay here, you'll create chaos… I know you well enough."
Artha blinked in confusion and muttered,
"Does sir… actually know Vikar?"
Vikar frowned and asked,
"Where is my room?"
Torisa didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed him by the arm, pulled him away from Artha's room, and handed him the key to another door before walking off.
Artha, curious, glanced toward that room—
—and froze in shock.
"What is this…?"
The room looked filthy.
The bedsheets were stained and messy,
as if no one had cleaned it for ages.
Confused and slightly disturbed, Artha stepped outside,
about to call Torisa—
But the moment he looked ahead—
He froze.