"Take him away," the old man said in disgust, "I really hate them when they get revealed," he spat on the ground while the guards carried the helpless body of Arthur away.
"He resisted, counselor," one of the guards who got hold of Arthur said while pointing to the side of his neck, "and he even hit me here."
"Then confine him inside the deepest cell," the old man said with no interest, "lock him in a place without light, let him rot there forever."
And that guard simply smirked before carrying Arthur's body with the help of two others towards the location of the prison.
"Sigh, I should have warned him earlier so he could be more prepared," Lim blamed himself while watching Arthur's limp body being taken away.
"Tick."
"Tick."
"Tick."
Just as Arthur started to slowly regain his consciousness, that sound of the falling drops of water was the first to ring in his ears.
"Tick."
"Tick."
"Tick."
"Just stop it!" he shouted before finally opening his eyes and was shocked by the scene he found. "Damn it… they really locked me in a prison!!"
He found himself in a narrow room with one side made entirely of iron bars. The walls were made entirely of bare rocks.
The rocks were damped by the effect of being so deep in the ground. While that annoying voice came from the gathering of the water running under earth and formed small drops that kept falling on the ground.
And a small pond was formed there at the place of their fall.
"Tick."
"Tick."
"Tick."
Under the effect of the regular falling of water droplets, his mind finally remembered what happened just before he lost his consciousness.
"Dammit!" he couldn't be settled with such fate and the next moment he threw his body off the cold and bare ground and held the bars with his hands.
"I'm inn… Ahh!"
The moment he touched the bars he felt a strange stingy feeling like thousands of sharp needles were inserted on his skin. That made him scream all of sudden in inhuman pain.
He fell over the ground while twitching out of deep pain and extreme frustration.
"Just drop it," suddenly a helpless voice came from a corner, "this place has no one living around to hear your screams."
Arthur found hope in that stranger's voice. He instantly moved, enduring deep pain and stuck his body towards the damp rocky walls of that prison, at the direction that sound came from.
"Who are you? Where am I?" he instantly asked, "I'm innocent, I've got a system… I swear with everything I held dear that I have one."
"Then make it help you get out of here," the man sneered before laughing in a very desperate tone, "this place is designated for those who don't have systems and acted violently towards the guard forces… you resisted them, ain't you?"
That sudden question startled Arthur who went into silence and didn't know what to say. "I'm John by the way," the man said, "and I've been here for… Sigh, I even forgot the count of years inside this damned place."
"For that long?" The sudden realization hit Arthur and drove intense panic inside him. Arthur felt lightheaded as the walls closed in. "B- but they said prison will be only for a limited time."
"You resisted them," John said, "and those folks are very arrogant in dealing with people like us. Just accept your fate, two meals a day and never seeing the people you love again. Give up even seeing the clear blue sky ever in your life. All there is going to be for the rest of your life is darkness."
Arthur was deeply shocked and instantly all his disappointment and sadness turned into extreme rage. "How dare they meddle with my test? I was already recognized by that f*cked up apple as a system holder!"
"No one can meddle with that thing bud," John said like it was an absolute fact of life, "and as you are here that means you are without a system. You don't argue with simple facts or rules of the world, boy."
"But I already have one!" Arthur shouted in rage as he got fed up with the man and him ignoring his words.
"Hey, I'm not your enemy y'know," John said as he was annoyed with Arthur's last shout, "and if you really have a system then let it help you and free yourself and me as well."
"I'll use it," Arthur clenched his fists before returning to the center of this narrow cell, "I promise you I will."
"Humph, I hope you can," John sneered, "after all I'm not without a system like you but a prisoner of war."
"Then use your system and get us out of here," Arthur returned the mockery back double, "or wait… you don't have a system so you are a scumbag like me and others."
Arthur's comment and laugh managed to enrage John who instantly shouted, "I once had a system before being confined to this shitty prison! My system was sealed up by those bastards!"
"Sealed up… can they do that?" Arthur suddenly found a ray of hope, "tell me more, please do."
"What's the gain in it for me?" John sneered before adding in more mockery, "and what gives you the impression you are that special for anyone to use that nasty thing over you? Oh wait, you might have enraged someone and they decided to deeply torture you."
Arthur realized this neighbour locked up in the next cell mistook his words. He didn't mean these people here but he was speaking about what happened to him during his ascension.
And yet he didn't volunteer to correct John or say anything related to his real problems.
"Just don't mind about my reasons," Arthur hurriedly said, "and I promise when getting out from here to take you with me."
"Are you serious?" John asked without any speck of hope, and Arthur just nodded.
"I need to hear your answer buddy."
"I'll take you out with me, that's my promise to you… Just tell me all you know about this spell and how to break it."
"Well as you like," John said, "after all I've been locked up all alone here for years now and lacked any neighbor to add some fun to my boring days."
Arthur ignored the sarcasm and despair in his tone and remained silent, waiting with all the hope in the world to hear something that would reignite his beacon of hope.
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