"Revenge is not the answer"
At this utterance, Ezra's body glowed white, and he began to levitate.
Back to the manifested ego…
'Revenge is not the answer'
This phrase echoed repeatedly.
It was of wisdom Ezra didn't know he had.
Revenge held the biggest part of his dark side, and as it dissolved, so did a large portion of the corruption, because they were mixed now.
But it had yet to end, the ego pushed further.
If he'd been chasing the wrong things, then, what were the right things?
No, firstly, him letting go of his revenge was also him parting ways with his identity as a knight.
That left a burrowing hole and the question…Who was he?
The question was both deep yet light.
It was an existential question. The answer would be a core attribute to his being.
So, the question echoed.
'Who am I?'
The more it echoed, the harder the answer seemed.
So, deduction began from where it was easiest.
'Who am I not?'
Surprisingly, the answer popped like popcorn near lava.
He was not an orphan. He was not poor. He was not a lowly peasant. He was not the one betrayed. He was not weak. He was not miserable. He was no magician. He was not a fraudster. He was not a thief. He served no one. He was not a martial artist…
Time passed as Ezra listed everything he was not.
When that was done, the question 'Who am I' was asked once more.
This time, the ego had no qualms on answering.
He was a knight. He was a prince. He was healthy and wealthy. He was the son of a loving mother. He was the son of Niton's Emperor. He was blessed. He was strong. He was honest. He was the one who came back in time. He was the one who trained for seven years…
With each attribute discovered, each answer given, the glow around his body dimmed, and it began falling from its levitating position.
Without noticing, the corruption dissolved with each attribute given until the dark and the white part matched perfectly.
Balanced, as all things should be.
After which the ego began engendering features.
First Ezra's general outline, then the not so general outlines.
The jaw line, the chin, the wrists, the eyebrows, the knuckles, the toes, the finger, until finally, the most complex details were complete.
At that moment, the air around Ezra's body rose in pressure, a presence emerged pressing down on all the prison's inmates.
"Ack!"
"My…body!"
"Such pressure!"
Even the head warden was forced to kneel. Most fell face flat on the ground.
Today seemed to be the worst ordeal as the head warden stared at which the pressure emanated.
The pressure overwhelmed their capabilities so much that their bodily response was enduring, for resistance seemed like a fool's gamble.
Worse, the pressure gradually built up, pressing them down even more.
Suddenly, the pressure was taken back, sucked back to its source.
Not a sound was made nor did any move.
Thirty seconds passed, the situation seemed to pass, and then…BOOM
A massive soundwave was released, blasting everything afar, smashing the guards against walls and cell doors while the inmates against the walls of their cells.
Moreover, the impenetrable fortress made to contain Ezra was split apart, part flew in every relevant direction.
The soundwave was so massive, everyone in Arcadia was knocked out.
The strongest few regained consciousness first, scrambling to their feet.
The head warden slowly removed himself from the wall he was lodged into, while clearing his eyes of blood flowing from his forehead.
For the first time in a long time, he got reminded of the higher echelons of power that roamed Orion.
Moreover, it seemed he'd just witnessed the birth of one.
His senses came one by one as he scanned for his people-the squad leaders and promptly began helping them up.
Firstly, he realized that the surroundings were pitch dark, the soundwave from earlier must've messed with the lights.
At his level of power, it wasn't a hindrance.
Lodging the squad leaders out of the walls, he found Valentine bleeding on the ground after dislodging a large shard of metal in the wall right above her head.
'How lucky'
She escaped death by a few breaths.
Others were not so lucky. He found one of the female squad leaders impaled to the wall, another male squad leader had his head squashed.
All in all, he found three dead, the rest injured, but with good healing potions and a lot of rest, they might just live on.
But when he looked in the direction of the cell, he couldn't make out anyone.
That was concerning.
Right then…
*Kang*
Something hit a metal door loudly.
*Kang*
And did it again.
'Oh no!'
The head warden realized.
'Someone's trying to escape'
The door were supposed to hold on any situation, but there was no telling how the soundwave must have affected the
It wouldn't have been too bad if they weren't on the third floor filled with master-rank , and all the squad leaders weren't in critical condition.
'I need to get them out of here'
He was in shape to fight, but his subordinates weren't. So, he got up to get away.
*Boom!*
Too late.
With the sound of the door sent flying, clearly reverberating, the situation had turned for the worst.
The head warden would be struck down if the enemy caught him fleeing, and he knew so too.
So he had one choice.
Stand and fight.
With heavy steps, a figure walked out of the cell, shirtless with a bulky physique and broad chest. His voice booming.
"Finally. I'm free!"
Moreover, the presence of demonic energy identified which inmate had escaped.
That made little difference. The warden was confident in taking anybody short of Grandmasters, after all, he was a great master.
Having decided to fight, the head warden had no qualms engaging the opponent.
From the corner of his eye, the demon saw something glinting.
Sha!
The head warden's rapier came to light, cutting deep across the demon worshipper's face.
"Get back in your cell!" the head warden spoke.
Bashing his fists, the demon worshipper replied, "Make me"
Clash!
The battle commenced.
"Gah!"
The inmate quickly found himself on the losing side.
Cuts appeared on his body faster than he could heal, and in less than two minutes, he was about to be defeated.
He regarded the head warden highly because he knew he was tough, but apparently, he'd been underestimating the old man.
Now, he was paying for it.
Being the head of Niton's greatest prison yard, the head warden saw it as his duty to find out as much as possible about his inmates, just as insurance for the possibility of the current situation.
He knew the weaknesses of each inmate by heart.
The demon worshipper in front of him was no different.
The head warden closed him down to prevent him from gaining range to release attacks, and then kept the pressure persistent.
The demon worshipper was a mage, if allowed time and distance, he wouldn't be able to guarantee the safety of his unconscious subordinates.
So, with precise aim, the head warden shredded the demon worshipper, decorating him with lacerations, deep ones.
At one point, the demon worshipper's arm was cut off.
But in that exchange, the demon worshipper released a beam, not at the head warden in front, but behind him, and a loud explosion rang the second time.
The demon worshipper backtracked while under attack from the unrelenting head warden.
Until at a point, he stopped.
Already cut down to a near death state, the demon worshipper smiled, unnerving the head warden, who only then realized the plot.
The metal sound was the door to another cell!
Another inmate had been freed!
With quick pace, he aimed to end the demon worshipper by beheading, but the blade was swerved off course by an external force.
"Tsk" the head warden clicked his tongue.
The demon worshipper had used the brief interruption to gain distance.
"Head warden" a voice called. "Why don't we make a deal?" it said.
"I help you catch him, and you'll let me go"
"What?!" the demon worshipper was aghast.
But then…
"Shut up" the head warden shook his blade to get rid of the blood on it, his voice loud. "There will be no deals. Both of you are going back in your cells"
"Tch, tch, tch. How unwise."
The new enemy came into view, donning black robes on his thin musculature with a bald head, was Shatin the plague.
A martial artist chased out of Ruwain and discovered a technique along the way, which led to him killing hundreds of people.
A drop of sweat slipped down the head warden's face.
'This will not be easy'
Nothing ever was. He engaged them without a second to lose, and a three-way battle ensued.
At that time, the squad leaders began to wake up.
While no one noticed, another cell door was slowly being loosened.
Most importantly, they all seemed to have forgotten about the main cause of the incident, with his presence masterfully hidden.
Things were far from over.
