"So how is the family of Aurum, eh?" The Alberdan soldier to Mona's left snickered. His weapon was trained on Mona as he walked. A tinge of joy was layered in his voice to all who heard it. Only Mona noticed the tinge of killing intent.

"So much for nobility. Looking down on the commoners without realizing who was the frog in the well..." The soldier's mouth ran freely, inspiring a few other soldiers nearby to jeer on.

"But serves their bloodline. To end with a mortal as the final descendant, one enslaved to another nation, is giving quite a lot of honor to your ancestors..." The soldier continued on, his remaining words providing entertainment for the soldiers guarding the entrance.

Reithar watched from a distance, shaking his head. Mona's Mortal Curse was the bane of his life. Those bruises he had would have easily been healed if he had the meridians of a proper Aura manipulator. Now he had to carry several kilos of iron as shackles along with his injuries, alone. It was a pitiful sight.

Mona caught up to Reithar and his group, waiting in line among the others. In front, several men with large frames were breaking off the old weights and clicking tight new cuffs for hands and feet. On those pieces of iron were several symbols. Clearly they were wearing a Creation. A Creation made for controlling human beings.

This was shown when another of Reithar's group attempted to dash away with the newly attached Creation on his wrists and ankles. One of the burly figures activated their Aura.

The dashing escapee watched as his hands were pulled to his back, his knees buckling. The momentum from running propelled him face first on the cold steel floor. Several teeth went flying from impact, blood dripping from his mouth.

Two sentries quickly appeared, activating their Auras as they held the linked cuffs on the figure's hands and feet.

"Agmar....!" Another of Reithar's party called out. Apparently, the two men were close.

The fellow named Agmar came to his senses, his gums visibly still bleeding. Suddenly, the cuffs around Agmar's hands and feet activated, giving off five flashes like a timer.

Each sound followed the last, each higher in pitch. Finally the two sets of cuffs linked, forcing Agmar into a ball. His breathing became labored, exertion visible on his face. Finally the cuff link system glowed a dark yellow, electrocuting Agmar with deadly volts of pale lightning.

Agmar's body lit up the dim entrance station for 3 seconds until the light died out. His breathing quieted to a halt. Agmar's limbs went limp, his body seeming ready to break at his stomach any moment.

The Creation had released several waves of lightning into his body, leaving grievous scars on veins where the lightning passed. No one was sure if he was still alive.

Eventually everyone including Mona were outfitted with similar links. The Creation fit to the size of the wearer, but all had the same signs inscribed. Once Auras were activated from an of the guards, the escapee would lose control of their limbs and then given electric shocks.

"I'd be careful if I was you." Mona's voice reached Reithar and his remaining two companions, who shuddered after hearing those words.

The prisoners at the Darkthorn Prison wasn't limited to former nobles, although they made up the majority. Among them were some civilians and some tradesmen. Their bodies looked malnourished, their rib cages visible from between the cell bars. Several of them were ill with disease. Chances were they would be put to death. The sickly were costly to take care of.

"I wonder where they took my sister..." Reithar whispered to Mona, his voice bleak. After the attack of Leafwind, survivors were made war captives and separated. He didn't know where his sister was taken; it was all hidden from him.

The two burly guards from earlier had led the new arrivals to a large room that functioned as a gathering area for all the prisoners. Here prisoners were recorded and their individual Creation were linked to a large cube.

The cube was a metallic black, with runes switching across its surface, each giving off a grey light. Each prisoner was brought in front of it in an orderly fashion, triggering a glow each time from the towering device. This was part of the Creation worn on the wrists and ankles of all the captives in the facility.

Creation were simply put devices created by special Aura manipulators called Tuners for various uses. Tuners were given classes based on skill similar to Aura manipulators, and had a variety of types, such as Mechanics, Blacksmiths, and so on.

For controlling war captives, the Alberdos Kingdom had spent several resources on buying a proper Creation, one that had such a Swarm capability. By Swarm, it meant it could control several hundred people at once with a single Auric activation. The cube served as the main control tower, and any guard upon using their Aura in a hidden manner would alert the system.

Depending on how far the escapee was from the guard, the greater the system would punish through electrocution. Of course, there was a downside. If the person escaping left the reach of the Main Creation, then they would no longer be affected by the cuffs.

Judging on the size of the runic cube before Mona, it's signal likely covered all of Blackthorn prison. Breaking out would be several levels harder with such a defense system. One would need to specialize in Tuning at a level high enough to read the runes. Chances were no one could, given that many persons in those cells had their Aura forcefully dissipated prior to arrival.

Even with his knowledge, Mona couldn't decode the runes for their deactivation mechanisms. His gaze flitted across the Creation on his wrists, unable to discern anything useful. Weapons in hand, the guards threatened Mona, Reithar, and the two other fellows into the same cell. None of them tried to resist, allowing Mona to get used to his surroundings.

The cell was rather small, with only two beds. The walls were a gritty silver, made from some kind of solidified material. There was no window, and ventilation was only through the gaps between the cell bars. The bedding was a single cloth, there were no blankets, and the pillows were nonexistent. As for a bathroom, Mona could not be bribed to get near that small hole near the corner of the cell. It reeked as if it had not been cleaned since the prison was first closed.

Reithar quickly opted to sleep next to Mona, the other two fellows not dissenting at all. The men, introducing themselves as Aeron and Mithal, fell into slumber after trading pleasantries. Snoring echoed within the cell.

"To think they came from the capital." Reithar uttered to Mona, looking at the back of Aeron. Both of them were seated on the edge of the bed side to side, Mona looking beyond the gaps of the cell bars. From afar, he could make out the Main Creation and its runic coating.

"We can't escape, Reithar. The moment we try, these devices will be the end of us." Mona broke the silence, nibbling on his thin piece of bread. One moment prior, the guards gave each cell a single loaf of dry bread they called "Lunch." Reithar saved half a loaf for the two fellows in deep sleep.

Honestly, the bread had no taste, and was barely edible. It was tough compared to even the homemade bread of commoners, to Reithar's displeasure. Judging from the portions, this was why the prison cells they passed by had malnourished prisoners. The bread was only meant to fight hunger, with no nourishing value at all.

"The only way we can get out is if we leave in those three testing periods." Mona continued, his portion of bread halfway consumed. "If we could only train Aura, but sadly we can't. These Creation will alert the guards, and I... have my curse."

Reithar was about to speak, but then hesitated. Instead he chewed another bite of his bread, swallowing his words with it.

"What is it?" Mona probed Reithar. He saw Reithar was about to speak, but then suddenly stopped.

After a few more chews, Reithar spoke. "We can train Aura, but only to the peak of the Mortal realm. Aeron told me the devices would absorb any more and alert the guards. In fact, the guards want us to be at the peak. Only then would we be worth a high price." His face revealed his disgust for the Alberdan army. This was fattening pigs for the slaughter.

"At best I can train in those shoddy methods of theirs. It would help fight off the hunger. But, Mona..." His gaze turned back to Mona, a trace of sadness in his gaze. Even if this friendship was in part due to Signorus Aurum pulling strings, he and Mona were than friends in name.

"Don't worry about me. Whichever of us can survive matters now. Besides..." Mona thought back to that strange situation in the manor. "It wouldn't hurt to try anyway."

Back then, when the moonlight fell upon him as he wore the Aurum ceremonial robes, what was that strange feeling of ease in his chest? Perhaps..I need to examine my body thoroughly. As if something deep within him had changed. It felt minute, yet significant.

"Sigh. Alright then." Reithar replied back, depressed. How many moons before he could see the light of day, free to live his way? And where was his sister? Those thoughts plagued his mind. He got onto the bed and slowly went to sleep.

Mona looked back to the moon in the sky. Tonight featured a crescent moon. The stars twinkled freely, not a single cloud hiding their shine. Can I, one day, be among the stars? He shook his head, trying to remember where did he get such absurd ideas from. Surfing the stars? Only a fool could come up with it.

His hands traced along the cuffs on his ankles, their coolness felt on his fingers. Enchained. Now he had to break from those chains.

Mona finished the remaining portion of his bread. Night had already fallen, but the guards were still patrolling the area. Not knowing if they enforced a curfew, his body quickly feigned a sleeping young adult.

He needed to find if his Mortal Curse was unbreakable...and a way to salvage his life. Who else would repay the Alberdos Kingdom? Valence and Oscar? They were probably captured elsewhere or running for their lives.

His thoughts lingered back to his family from when he was young. When the flowers had a scent. When the rivers were not grey but blue. When joy awakened him from bed and contentment followed him after. From before he tried to find a cure for the ailments of his mother, his mind perplexed by the complexities...a lone tear fell from his eye at this thought.

His bruises were largely gone, healed by the Alberdan Army to hide "broken goods." The cure, however, was not humane; compared to the chill felt by open wounds, it was equivalent to being charred in an inferno. His body jerked at the thought.

Slowly sleep descended on Mona, his frail body adapting to the chilliness of the desert night. Silently inside his body, changes were occurring a bit each passing moment, transforming him from within.