"Aldrus, now!" Cedric’s voice cut through the air.

Without wasting a beat, Aldrus lunged through the settling dust and out of the shattered cell. He grabbed Alice by the shoulders and gave her a rough shake. They could not afford to lose a single second.

"Ughh..."

"Wake up! Wake up, Alice! We’re out!" he shouted, hoisting her onto his back. "Cedric, do you see anything?!"

"No, this side is blocked! I’ll follow you, hurry!"

Let’s go, then.

[Visione].

Aldrus plunged his mind into the future, searching for any path that would lead them to Aiden.

Come on, come on! Ten minutes should be enough... Where are you?!

Within his mind, he saw himself running, mapping out every inch of the corridor. Finally, his future self found a staircase leading upward, capped by a single wooden trapdoor.

There!

Cancel.

"Gaahh... I’m back..." He gasped for air, still struggling to get used to the strain of [Freezing] his sight. "Cedric! This way!"

A second later, the blond boy fell into step beside him as they sprinted toward the exit.

"Ahg... A-Aldrus, I’m awake! I’m awake now, let me down!" Alice stammered, bouncing uncomfortably against his back. He released his grip, and she quickly found her footing, matching their frantic pace.

Without a word, the three of them tore through the darkness, guided solely by the memories of Aldrus’s vision. Barely twenty seconds had passed since they broke through the iron cage, and soon, they reached their first objective.

Cedric cleared the highest steps of the ladder in an absurd leap, then smashed through the trapdoor with a single punch. He peeked through the wreckage, scanning the room before nodding down to them. It was safe. Alice scrambled up right after him, with Aldrus climbing up last.

Above, they found themselves inside what looked like an old wooden cabin. It almost looked like a witch’s hut that you’d only see in books. From the floorboards to the ceiling, everything was crafted out of rotting, ancient timber.

The only source of lighting came from the thin shafts of moonlight streaming through the cracks upon the walls, yet that was enough to sting their strained eyes, which had grown accustomed to the pitch-black world below.

"Hey, I’ll look for Aiden. You two just cover me, it won’t take long," Aldrus said, swiftly using [Visione] once more.

Alice nodded and took the lead, gently taking her roommate’s hand to guide his blind steps. Cedric brought up the rear, making sure to check every corner just in case.

Surrounded by the noisy floorboard creaks and the musty scent of ancient wood, they pressed on in search of Aiden.

Every second spent without Aldrus’s active guidance felt like an eternity of agonizing suspense. None of them knew when someone might step out of the shadows. Worse still, they were in no condition to fight.

The two boys were severely sleep-deprived and badly beaten with injuries that wouldn’t just vanish after a couple of days. To make matters worse, they had been cut off from their powers for far too long, making any attempt to use them for recovery completely impossible.

On her end, Alice was in a much better position... physically, at least.

Destroying a fragment artifact was no small feat, even if it only took a single strike. Object or not, since the artifact was of the same rank as her, shattering it to pieces was just as mentally exhausting as winning a duel against one of their classmates.

The blonde girl was already beginning to show the early signs of Burnout. If she overexerted herself now, the headache and the fever would only get much worse.

Aldrus knew this. That was why it was absolutely critical for him to bear the burden and lead with [Visione]. No matter how different and complex the process was for him, his abnormal Perspective gave them an undeniable edge.

Before long, Aldrus squeezed Alice’s hand, letting the girl know he was back. "Ufff... Haahhh..."

"Aldrus! Did you find him?"

"...Haahh, no... Something’s wrong. I couldn’t see anyone. We won’t cross paths with that guy anywhere—at least not for the next twenty minutes," he said, sweat already pooling on his brow. "But I found a path to a larger area. It’s right through there, to the right."

He pointed toward an opening that gave way to a long corridor lined with shattered windows.

"Let’s move. We can’t leave without him," Cedric said.

The blond boy was right. Escaping without Aiden couldn’t be called a victory. Who knew what their captors intended to do with him?

As they dashed down the corridor, the chilling night breeze rushed through the broken windows. Normally, such a cold-inducing force of nature would’ve made them shudder and seek cover. But right now, its refreshing touch felt like plunging down a frost-covered river, healing their heavy, injured bodies.

Nevertheless, they gritted their teeth and kept pushing forward. Once there, they turned right just as Aldrus had pointed out. They maintained their pace until a heavy door blocked their path, stopping them dead in their tracks.

"What now?" Cedric asked, biting his lip.

"L-Let me see..." Aldrus peered into the future once again.

He saw Cedric throwing the door open. He saw the three of them slipping inside after confirming the coast was clear. He saw himself shoving a fallen bookshelf out of the way. He saw Alice trip, her uniform catching on a rusty flush ring raised from the floor.

That’s...! Another trapdoor! He might be down there!

Driven by a desperate sense of pressure, Aldrus tried to push his vision further, but the moment he tried, an unnatural resistance blocked his gaze.

H-Huh?!

Though he was certain his power could peer hours into the future, the moment he tried to look past the discovery of the trapdoor, his power faltered, preventing him from seeing more.

Cancel.

"Haahhh... N-No... Why?"

"Aldrus! What’s wrong?! What’s in there?"

"I... I don’t know. I found another trapdoor, but..." Aldrus grew pale. "T-There’s something down there; it stopped me from taking a look."

Alice and Cedric exchanged a concerned glance. Then, the blond boy asked, "...Was there anyone inside that you could see?"

Aldrus shook his head. "N-No... Just the room and the trapdoor."

The three of them hesitated for a moment, feeling their stomachs drop. But with no other choices left, they steeled themselves and ultimately stepped through the door.

Aiden... Please be there...