Mash ran down the stairs. It was more like jumping down each section. He would then run across hallways and peek into every room as he passed. The building had many rooms, but they were all empty. Even if he could only partially see into every room, it was enough to know that no one had been in them recently. Mash was already going as fast as he could without doing any more damage to the building. He couldn’t find anything until he got to the final floor. He noticed that one of the doors didn’t lead into a room but another hallway. From its position, he knew that it led into the mountain itself.

He didn’t hesitate and pushed through the door. The door did not open in that direction, but he was moving fast enough that he was able to crash through it without slowing. The hinges of the door broke, and the entire door got pushed to the side as he ran through the new hallway. His feet froze when he recognized what he was looking at. It was a prison or dungeon, and there were around a hundred cells visible. The walls were made of stone and were not made smooth. Instead, it was clear that it was just a natural wall formed by the mountain itself. The grey stone was jagged and rough, even the floor was uneven. He also noticed that many of the cells seemed occupied and there was a gentle conversation echoing in the space. It died down to whispers quickly, but Mash had heard a dozen different conversations at the very least.

He turned his head, facing the cell directly to his right. It was the first cell, but the reason he looked inside was because of the person he sensed within. His domain easily encompassed the cell, and Mash saw Daniel chained to the wall. A metal shackle was round both of his hands and had bound him to the wall behind him. He was asleep or unconscious, but he didn’t have any major injuries on him. The only injury he could see was some blood on his knees as they were pressed into the uneven stone. Mash noticed that the people in the cells felt weak. Especially if he compared them to Jeral. Honestly, Daniel and the person across from him seemed to be the strongest.

“Daniel!”

Mash shouted the name which was enough to silence any of the whispers. He didn’t bother looking for a key, and just grabbed two of the metal bars with his hands. Assuming that they were somehow reinforced, he transformed his hands into their draconic form. He was confident that he could get through the metal bars. More than bending the bars, he just ended up tearing them from their foundation. Mash was a bit too earnest with his motion and he wound up pulling the bars out and flinging them into the ceiling. They pierced into the stone and dug into it. Well, they were out of the way, so it didn’t really matter. He was able to fit through without removing any more bars. The bars probably weren’t doing very much, he guessed the shackles were the more important part.

“Mash, what are you doing here? You need to leave, Jeral, the Sect, everything is just wrong.”

Hearing Daniel’s voice, Mash was relieved to hear that he sounded mostly fine. It didn’t sound like he was in pain, though his words were thick with worry. Mash wanting to reassure him responded hastily.

“No, we dealt with Jeral.”

Daniel’s eyes widened at Mash’s words, and Mash rushed to correct himself.

“Wait, no. He’s still alive. We captured him. Um, we wanted to ask you what we should do with him? And what’s up with all of the prisoners?”

Much to Mash’s surprise, Daniel looked extremely relieved to hear that his master was still alive. He would’ve imagined Daniel to want nothing more than Jeral’s death but that didn’t seem to be the case. It made him feel like he was missing something. There was definitely more to this story.

“What actually happened here?”

It was a question that Mash realized he didn’t have a proper answer to. Jeral had claimed responsibility and had been hostile, but it didn’t mean that he had actually done everything. Daniel started responding, his words taking a softer tone as Mash freed him from one of the shackles. It may as well as have been made of paper beneath his draconic fingers.

“It was fear. Simply people were more scared of you than each other. Once they realized that they could kill one another for the power from the otherworld, everything just went crazy. Masters killed their disciples. Some disciples united to kill their masters. However, most just killed their fellow members. Those who had returned from the otherworld were targeted.”

Mash sighed closing his eyes and turning his head upwards as he broke the last shackle around Daniel’s wrist. He had warned Jeral to stop them from killing people blindly. He didn’t think it would just cause them to redirect their attention elsewhere. It should’ve been obvious, but Mash had hoped that they would just return to their old ways. Nothing ever worked like that though. Once they had experienced a better way, there was little chance they wouldn’t seek it out again. Fast advancement was important to anyone. His own world’s callous attitude toward dungeons and one another was proof enough of that.

“It’s not your fault. We would’ve ended up in that situation either way. At least this way my people didn’t massacre another world first.”

Daniel’s voice slowly lost its energy. His final words seemed to be devoid of all emotion. It sounded like he was done like there was nothing left for him. Silence scratched at his neck, and he tried to fill it the best he could.

“Who are the others?”

Mash looked toward the cell across from Daniel. A single person was in that cell as well. It was a girl whom he didn’t recognize. She was similar to Daniel in appearance but had long straight hair. It was a plain brown, that was slightly dirty, and it covered part of her face. She wore a white robe that covered her entirely. It was matched by Daniel’s clothing, and Mash guessed it was meant for prisoners. Both had white robe-like clothing, though hers was designed more like a long dress, whereas Daniel had s shirt and pants.

“My sister. Peria. Please help her. All the people here refused to go to the otherworld but tried to stop the violence when it started. Jeral put some in here for their own protection, but we were put here for opposing him. He had been the one to kill the other masters.”

Mash started walking to the other cell, listening to Daniel’s explanation as they moved. The way Daniel was describing the situation made him wonder why Jeral had acted the way he did. He had been downright villainous when they met him earlier, but maybe he was just mad at Mash in particular. If that was the case, Mash truly didn’t know what to do. It made the situation even more complicated than it already was.

“Why did he attack us?”

He wanted to know the answer even if it made him feel worse. Daniel was more focused on his sister at this point. It made his response automatic, and he didn’t bother with sugar coating his words.

“I think he hates you, blames you for everything. To him, it was your arrival which did this to his sect.”

Mash felt a chill rush through his body and something in his chest felt like it dropped. Daniel sounded certain. It made Mash’s steps slow a little. The gesture did not go unnoticed either. Daniel seemed to realize what he had just said.

“Though it also has to do with the nature of his Ki. A person who follows a virtuous path gets corrupted by the more evil actions they commit. Taking a life is highly unorthodox. Normally we would only hunt dangerous monsters or fight for defense. I think the sect had been corrupted since the first instance with the portal. Back when we first ventured into the portal and killed those people.”

Daniel was obviously trying to console Mash, but his words had the opposite effect. It was like he shoved the blame in his face. The words stuck in Mash like a dagger, his words cutting deeply. It had framed the root cause of everything, and Mash saw himself as the source. The fact that Daniel was trying to make him feel better made the truth more brutal. Mash tried to push it out of his mind but couldn’t stop thinking about Jeral. Realizing that it wasn’t something he could avoid, he tried to shift the focus slightly.

“How does Jeral’s ability work? He can copy a random skill?”

Daniel raised an eyebrow but shook his head slowly. He probably realized that Mash was trying to change the subject and let the conversation get dragged that way.

“Close. His primary path is known as the Path of the Bargainer. As far as I know, it only has a single technique in it. If someone accepts a gift from him, he is able to copy one of their techniques. That is all I know. Sorry. His second path is the metal robe he wears. I think it’s similar to what you have.”

Mash quickly responded. His hands were already grasping the bars of the cell. This time he was more careful and didn’t chuck the bars into the sealing. It was a small victory. They still came out easily, and just dropped them on the ground. They clattered, bouncing a little as they slowed to a stop.

“That explains why he didn’t have anything from Luke. Wait, how many skills does he have?”

The thought popped into his mind, and his gaze shifted upward. The full implication of what Daniel was said slowly churned in his mind. There was no way he had revealed everything. Mash used his connection to send a signal to the others. He wanted Red and Luke to be on alert, and he wanted Jill to head back. If the three were together, he would feel a lot more comfortable. Mash wished they had a better way to detain the man. Staring at Daniel’s sister, he realized there might be.

“Do those shackles block Ki?”

Daniel nodded once.

“Can you get them off?”

Another nod and Daniel moved beside his sister in a single fluid motion. She had been trapped in a similar manner to her brother. Daniel brushed aside his sister’s hair and woke her. Daniel was to her side, so the first thing she saw was Mash. Who still had the arms of a dragon? Daniel’s sister screamed. It was the primal scream of someone who had just woken to find a spider crawling on their face.

He flinched and took an involuntary step backward. His immediate reaction afterward was to look around and be grateful for the fact that he was alone. Daniel’s sister was short, and probably only made it up to Mash’s chest. He had flinched because of the scream of such a girl. It was embarrassing, but the only one who had seen his reaction was the one that caused it. And he didn’t think that she was going to make fun of him as she was very distracted. To scream like that would take a lot of focus. Her brother shifted so that their eyes would meet, after which he hugged her. Mash felt like continuing to look would be both creepy and uncomfortable, so he made the gesture of turning his head. It didn’t change what he saw as they were well within the range of his domain, but it certainly looked less awkward.