Josh opened the doorway to reveal a group of more than ten Fallen militia waiting for them. There were men and women among them, and they were all of the uniform height, a head taller than Noah. They each had metal serpents wrapping their exposed arms. Bruce, the pilot, stepped to the front to confront the group.

"Make way! We are transporting a high-profile prisoner. The serpent guard does not have the authority to delay us," Bruce said.

"Oh, we know who you have. We've been waiting for you. Take a look. We even brought guests," the leader of the serpent guard spoke.

The large man stepped aside, gesturing to a scene of horror behind him as his companions snickered at his morbid joke. Behind him was a pair of blanks carrying a corpse to add to a massive stack of bodies. Wayde stiffened beside Noah.

"They're all members of the resistance!" Wayde shouted in horror.

"That they are. You're lucky. The Tyrant wishes to speak with the likes of you. He has an offer that I suggest you take. Don't think too much about that trash behind you. They're only blanks," the serpent guard said.

"Fuck his offer!" Wayde shouted hatefully. He spat in the serpent guard's face.

"I hope that you'd say that, traitor. Take them!" The serpent guard replied as he wiped spittle from his cheek.

Glancing at his hand, the serpent guard wiped it clean on Wayde's armour. Red-lifeforce appeared on the surface of Wayde's hands as he prepared to activate his [Lightning Bolt] ability. Before he could, he was tackled to the floor from behind by two equally large men. They wrestled a pair of shackles identical to Noah's onto his wrists.

Noah watched as Josh obediently offered his hands. Bruce hesitated for a moment before reluctantly copying his actions. Noah looked indifferently at the mocking faces of the serpent guards in front of him, simply raising his manacled hands and shaking them, rattling the chains between them. The serpent guard grunted in amusement before being interrupted by a blank.

"What is it, trash?" The serpent guard snapped impatiently.

"Ahem, we've finished piling the bodies, lord," the blank said meekly.

"Then what are you standing around for? Fuck off and do your job!" The serpent guard shouted as he savagely kicked the man to the floor.

A starved-looking man with a grim expression, wearing protective clothing, approached the carelessly piled corpses. Red-lifeforce blanketed the stack, causing the stack to collapse inward into a pile of goop. In the centre of the sickening scene was an enormous pile of neatly stacked grade-one rations. Workers rushed to scoop the goop into wheelbarrows and mop the floor. A pair of muscular men carried over an unlocked chest then began to load in the rations.

"It's time to take you to see the Tyrant. No more dawdling," The serpent guard commanded.

A serpent guard was assigned to either side of the prisoners. The pair beside Noah gripped each of his arms and dragged him in the direction of a wide, manually operated service elevator on the side of the room. The chest filled with rations was loaded onto the platform with them. Once everyone was on, a team of workers began to wind the winch to raise the platform.

They passed multiple floors with crowds of people travelling about their business. The elevator stopped once they arrived at the surface level. They were in what looked like a market district. There were stalls filled with assorted items salvaged from among the wreckage of boats and cities.

Next to the elevator exit, a booth had a long line of people in front. The people crammed together, all looking starved and desperate. Noah could see that a coughing old man was handed a ration at the front of the line. He realized that this was where they distributed the rations when the pair of men accompanying them with the ration chest was met by an ability-user. The ability-user led them through the crowd to the booth. The ability-user gave the serpent guards a fearful glance before shouting at the gathered crowd.

"Get out of the way, you useless trash! The serpent guard needs to pass through!" the ability-user shouted.

Multiple survivors fled the area at a run while the people crammed to the sides of the narrow walkway. Noah looked up. He saw curious onlookers leaning over the bridge rails overhead to watch the spectacle. He was only given a moment to investigate their surroundings before his captors shoved him forward.

"Stop gawking. Get a move on," Noah's escort grumbled.

Noah realized that one of the serpent guards assigned to him was a woman. She was of equal height and physique to the rest of her peers. They passed through the crowd until they reached a ramp that had a complacent looking Fallen militia sitting on a stool beside it. He became alert and quickly stood at attention when he noticed the serpent guard approaching.

The man's armour was ordinary, without any decoration aside from a pink plume on top of his helmet. Noah suspected that his job was to ensure that only people permitted could ascend to the higher levels.

Blanks must be restricted to the lowest levels of the citadel and its underbelly except with special permission. Or else the narrow walkways wouldn't be so crammed full of people compared to the bridges above.

Noah watched the man stumble backward in his rush to get out of the way. He clumsily tripped over his stool, landing on his back with a clang of metal. The crowd of blanks snickered but quickly became silent as the serpent guards glared at the gathered onlookers, marking the people who failed to stifle their laughter.

The lead serpent guard reached down to grip the flustered ability-user by the wrist and haul him to his feet. He then dusted off the back of the man's armour before patting him on the shoulder. He then turned to the crowd.

"How dare trash like you laugh at your betters? Even these traitors are worth more than blanks. Kneel or die!" the serpent guard commanded.

The flustered ability-user puffed out his chest with pride as he straightened his back. The confused crowd looked at each other while hesitating. The leader of the serpent guard gestured to his troops. One of the guards abandoned Noah and each of his companions to push into the crowd. The female serpent guard assigned to Noah returned, dragging a terrified woman. She struggled as the large guard pulled her by the hair to throw her to the ground in a heap beside five equally anxious blanks. The woman tried to stand but was pushed roughly back to her knees by the female guard.

"This is what happens when you forget your place! Execute them!" the leader of the serpent guard ordered.

"No!" an elderly man shouted. He was one of the six blanks kneeling.

The serpent guards drew their swords and mercilessly chopped down before the blanks could resist. Five heads rolled to a stop in front of the silent onlookers. The elderly man had managed to get to his feet in an attempt to flee. The serpent guard behind him struck a glancing blow to the side of his neck.

He lay in a pool of his blood, clutching at his bleeding throat in terror. He made a gurgling sound as he attempted to beg for his life. The serpent guard mercilessly swung his sword a second time, removing the man's head from his shoulders. It rolled to a stop beside the others. A small girl crouched down to stare into his empty eyes curiously.

"That was poorly done, Soldier. You will be punished after we complete our assignment," the lead serpent guard reprimanded his subordinate.

"Yes, sir! The first round's on me, sir!" the chastened guard replied as he suppressed a smirk. It seemed that the punishment would only be a slap on the wrist.

"That sounds appropriate. Resume march!" the lead serpent guard ordered.

He received the six blank origin crystals belonging to the executed onlookers from a pair of serpent guards. The guards returned to their assigned places, ignoring the carnage they caused to shove their prisoners up the ramp to ascend to the higher levels. Noah's face tightened with barely controlled anger. He couldn't look away as he stared at the mutilated corpses. The serpent guards were forced to drag him after their commander.

They travelled through a maze of bridges and ramps with the occasional staircase toward the domed building in the centre. They were currently on a bridge crossing, about six floors above the cramped walkways below. Noah could see four men surrounding a pile of neatly stacked metal sheets in the distance in a recently added extension to the fortress. While he watched, the men glowed with lifeforce as they activated various abilities.

In a matter of moments, a new tower about five floors high was erected from the stack of metal sheets. Noah halted his steps in amazement at what he witnessed. The sheets flew upward in sequence as they settled into place before being welded together by an unknown ability.

That explains how the citadel has expanded and changed so quickly. No wonder I haven't seen anyone building on the surface before now if that's as long as it takes using abilities.

"Keep walking!" the female guard ordered him.

Noah was interrupted from his thoughts by an open-handed cuff to the back of his head. He didn't get to see the ability-users complete their project and connect it to the neighbouring buildings. They lost sight of the construction site after passing through an arched walkway onto another bridge. Ahead of them was the imposing domed palace. It was now that Noah felt the familiar feeling of being watched by a predator. He smiled.