“Dawn?” Miles asked in shock. Coin too floated towards him and asked waiting for the answer.

“Yes, he is the evil that kidnapped all of us and did all those experiments on us,” John answered depressedly.

“It wasn’t a translation. John uttered the name in Coin’s coding language. He used the same characters he saw on the screen when Mercer showed them Stonehenge.” Miles said Coin in his mind. After all, they were using the language of the Shaman Race now, and the word Dawn could have a different meaning if John used that language, but in the middle of his speech, he suddenly changed his tone and used a foreign language. It was clear that John didn’t know what this language was. It was like speaking in french and then speaking a Japanese or Arabic name.

“That cannot be a coincidence. We had too many of them lately.” Coin answered. “When I first saw Stonehenge, I thought it was a coincidence. Although the place wasn’t as glorious as it was in the past, the character Dawn was clear as day. But now, I am sure this name is the same as the written form in the ancient lands of the Cross Empire.”

“Who is this Dawn?” Miles asked in curiosity. This could be the key to solving this puzzle.

“He is a total mystery. I have never seen anyone so capable. Despite not using energy, he was able to beat me, one of the strongest fighters in Gaia.” John shook his head. “I was the first. But no matter what, he couldn’t solve the cause of my immortality. He used many means and did all sorts of experiments, but he failed to find the source of my power. Then, he kidnapped others with similar powers to find out the differences in our ancient genes. He wanted to compare us to reach the conclusion. I don’t know if he managed to do it, but one day he suddenly disappeared.”

“How can you still live in F-Circle, despite being a mighty person with Crown-Rank power?” Miles asked again.

“My immortality allows me to heal so long as I have a breath in me. Although being in a lower-tier circle damages me every single second, my body heals me faster. Thus I live. This is a torture that lasted for hundreds of years. At some point, I was about to go mad, so in despair, I cut all my pain receptors.” John explained.

“I see.” Miles nodded. That was the most sensible thing to do. Being in pain could cause madness. It was a miracle for John to still live and talk.

“That is!” As Miles was pondering, he heard John’s gasp. He turned to look at what caused this immortal man to get surprised so much. There, at some corner of the laboratory, on a machine that was slowly spinning, stood a cube. Its material was a mystery to Miles. It looked like metal, but it also looked like wood. Although there was a stony texture to it, it seemed like plastic. It was dark blue in color and there were red circles on each surface.

“What is that?” Miles asked.

“That is the Cube of One. The supreme treasure of the Shaman Race.” John said in a heavy voice. “How can it be here? What happened to my tribe?”

‘There is no avoiding this.’ Miles sighed as he saw his piercing looks of John. “I am sorry to say that, John, but your stay here might be a lot longer than you thought. It has been thousands of years since the ancient races of Porta— Gaia had gone extinct.”

“What are you saying?” John asked in fury. “How can our races die? We were the rulers of lower-tier lands!”

“I don’t know the details. To tell you the truth, I am not from this world.” Miles shook his head.

“You don’t look like any of the six races.” John squinted. “Are you a monster?”

“I am from a planet outside of this universe. Tens of years ago, a portal appeared in the sky of our world and monsters poured out from within. At the time, my race was too weak, too powerless to battle against the weakest monsters. But as time went by, we gained more and more strength and pushed the monsters back. When we did so, an AI flew out and told us what this world was, and how we could fight back.”

“Which one? Was it Tribe of One of my race?” John asked in hope.

“No, it is Mama Hill,” Miles answered. He wanted to test his theory by checking John’s reaction.

“Lares! You do look like them, although there are some differences.” John said in a boisterous voice. “Sneaky bastards the Lares are.”

“Oh, are they nefarious?” Miles squinted.

“Most of them are not. They are compassionate, thoughtful, and lovely creatures. But almost all of them have ambitions, greed, and lust for power. They are easy to corrupt. The smallest hope of more power can make them madmen that can do anything to achieve their goals, and once they have it, they almost all the time abuse their powers.” John answered as he looked at Miles deeply. “Since that AI chose your race, you must be the same.”

“It is true that our race has the same qualities, I will not deny that, but we are also trying to control these bad emotions that drive us to the evil path.”

“Lares had failed, and so will you.” John shook his head. “I will prove it to you.”

“How?”

“Let me free and let me take the treasure of my race.” John grinned.

And as he predicted, Miles was unwilling. For several reasons really. First, he was the only person who entered this place, thus everything in there was rightfully his. And by saving this person from thousands of years of confinement, he was already doing him a favor. Why should he give him the treasure as well? Lastly, he didn’t know what this madman did to him once he was free. He couldn’t let that happen.

Seeing the hesitation Miles had, John laughed. “Typical. Kill me quick then.”

“I will not kill you. I will set you free. But you cannot expect me to trust you right? How can I make sure you won’t kill me to hide your secrets?” Miles asked.

“What is there to hide?” John asked back in anger.

“Firstly, you are a member of an ancient race. Your knowledge and existence are invaluable tools to every race. Secondly, your powers, which brought your downfall in the first place, are highly yearned after. Any person with strength would pay anything to get their hands on you.” Miles listed.

“True.” John nodded. “What do you want then?”

“I will try to free you without being around you. A time bomb or something like that maybe.” Miles held his chin as he said.

“Hah, as if that would work.” John sneered. “These glasses can take a punch or two with my full strength. As they are created with Null Elemental materials, they cancel all energy and superpowers. You cannot free me with force. You can only open them through the codes behind.”

“Then, I am sorry. I will try to find another way, but if I cannot do it from afar, then I can only leave you or kill you.” Miles answered.

“Then kill me quick. There is no way you can open these!” John lived for his race only. Now that he learned his tribe went extinct thousands of years ago, he had nothing to live for. He accepted his demise.

“Let me search the laboratory first. If all other paths fail, I will end you.” Miles sighed helplessly, “I will make it quick, I promise.”

After he said that, he walked towards the cube. Maybe it could help him to free John without risking his own life. But as he arrived there, a desk with different vials caught his attention, and as he saw what they were, he gasped in surprise.

“Mind and Body Serums!”