I glance first at the observatory windows, then at the open skylight above the colossal telescope, which crosses the ceiling like a spear aimed at the inverted ocean of Thirstfall’s sky.

For an instant, my brain genuinely calculates it.

’Maybe, if I throw myself out of there, my odds are better than standing between two monsters about to kill each other.’ 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The idea is ridiculous.

But not more ridiculous than staying still in the center of this room while two Rank Abyssal turn the entire environment into a bomb ready to detonate.

I try once again to communicate with Freya through eyes alone. Anything. A gesture. A signal. But before I can insist, Rae’s voice cuts across the observatory like a mocking blade.

"So, Rector Dean... how is this going to go? Want to test your luck?"

’Shut up, you bastard.’

He’s making everything worse on purpose.

Dean slowly extends his arms away from his body.

The air shifts.

It isn’t only pressure. It’s as if the environment itself begins rejecting our presence. Lightning is born from his fingers first, thin and violent, snaking across the dark skin of his arms. Then it comes to his feet. Then his entire body.

He starts to float.

Not like someone using mana to levitate.

It looks more like a natural phenomenon.

A storm taking human shape, or maybe a strange Tesla coil.

Lightning whips through the observatory at random. One of the bolts explodes beside my chair, burning the mahogany of the table in a dry crack. The smell of scorched OXI floods my nostrils instantly.

Another bolt strikes the floor near Freya.

She doesn’t move. She’s just... frozen.

Rae, on the other hand, remains in place with that irritating calm. The blue flames in his hand have already split into two—one enormous sphere in each palm. The fire pulses densely, compressed, like a small sun ready to go supernova.

’Think, Dryden. Think properly.’

Running isn’t an option anymore. Dean is literally hovering between me and any useful exit. If I try to run, I die before reaching the windows or the skylight.

If I accept becoming his pupil... my plans end here. Doesn’t matter if I survive. I become his property. A piece. A weapon on a leash. And my team needs me free.

Invoking Garen’s name would also be suicide. Those two would probably kill me together just to prevent any future political tie, with the convenient excuse that I died in the crossfire.

’Think...’

’Think...’

Then it comes.

The answer arrives so abruptly I almost laugh.

Ah... of course.

"STOP!"

My voice detonates across the observatory.

I rise from the chair so fast it scrapes backward across the floor. Both of them turn their faces toward me in the same instant.

And I know.

If I take more than two seconds to justify this, I die.

But I’m already prepared.

Because my hands are already holding the holographic contract before I even stand up.

"I have a contract with Rahul Sharma." I wave the virtual document in the air. "Are you both sure you want to kill me in this little game?"

It works immediately.

The abilities of both dissipate too fast. Fast enough to betray exactly how dangerous that name is.

The blue flames disappear from Rae’s hand. Dean’s lightning extinguishes itself in small sparks until the observatory plunges back into silence.

Real silence this time.

Heavy.

Calculating.

Both stare at me, waiting for a logical explanation as to why I’m still alive.

Rae speaks first. And, of course, he looks like the more composed of the two.

"Explain yourself, Dryden." His eyes narrow slightly behind the glasses. "What does Rahul Sharma have to do with this?"

I take a deep breath once before continuing.

"I have an open contract with him. A partnership." I raise the hologram again. "If I die here today... guess who he’s going to collect the debt from?"

I let that sink slowly into their heads.

"The crime king is not going to let a contract involving my own enslavement on default just vanish."

Unless he’s the one killing me, but I keep that part to myself.

"What???" Freya finally speaks.

It comes out so spontaneously I almost lose my composure. She seems genuinely shocked.

I don’t blame her.

Dean slowly descends back to the floor. The OXI around him no longer boils the way it did. His steps echo calmly across the observatory as he comes toward me.

Then he extends his hand.

Without saying a word.

I hand him the contract.

He examines the hologram for several seconds. The blue reflection partially lights his dreadlocks falling over his face.

Then, suddenly...

He laughs, not loudly, but enough to send a chill down my spine.

The shift in personality is so abrupt it feels like another man occupying the same body. All that aggression vanishes into something almost... amused.

Dean returns the contract to me and starts walking back toward his desk.

"Everyone out."

He pauses briefly before adding:

"You too, Freya."

I don’t think twice.

I start walking immediately toward the door before he changes his mind. Rae retreats too, although clearly frustrated at losing control of the situation.

In the end, Rae didn’t need to save me.

I didn’t need to sell my soul to Dean.

And most importantly...

I didn’t die.

Absolute victory.

"Sands."

Dean’s voice freezes my steps once again.

I turn slowly.

He’s seated behind the desk now, fingers crossed in front of his face exactly like before, but the gaze has shifted.

"You are a very bold madman." A small smile appears at the corner of his mouth. "I’ll be keeping an eye on you."

[Hadal Notoriety +25]

’Join the voyeurism line,’ I think immediately.

But I only nod and give a small wave before stepping out.

While walking out of the observatory, I notice something important.

More and more eyes are turning toward me.

Dean.

Rae.

Sharma.

Garen.

Probably others I haven’t even remembered yet, or don’t know about at all.

And that means my plan is finally starting to take shape.

I could have followed a discreet path. Grown silently. Evolved without drawing attention until I reached the top alone.

That method has its advantages, but it also takes time. Too much time.

If I played quiet, in two years I’d still be small, and I need to be big before then.

Because in two years...

Everything in Thirstfall is going to change.

I pass by Rae on the way out of the observatory and shoot him a look loaded with silent mockery.

A mute message.

’I know exactly what you intend to do in the future.’