Chapter 2240: Run...? "The two of you have a history together, correct? Why don’t you catch up?" Sharnoth chuckled as she glanced at Vexarion. Then, she turned towards Ythric and— "Toy two, take toy one away and put him in a cell. I can’t have him run away again." She ordered, and Ythric moved, not even caring about the fact that the man he was about to capture was his previous master. "!!!" Vexarion’s eyes widened, his body trembled as he used all his might to try and move but... his body had given out. All his limbs were attacked and bruised in such a manner that they could no longer be used, at least not until he was reborn. And even if those limbs of his could move, it wouldn’t change anything since Vexarion’s mind itself had collapsed. Even though he wanted to run, wanting and actually being able to do it were two entirely different things. Not to mention that with Sharnoth here, it was pretty much impossible for him to leave. So even as Ythric walked towards him, prepared to throw him inside a prison where he would be tortured whenever this crazy woman wanted for eternity, the only thing Vexarion could do was tremble, while his eyes showed different emotions. Anger. Fear, intense fear, and— Plea. A desperate plea, literal begging to be let go, in any way possible, even if it meant true death. Yes, Vexarion stared at the man who was once his subordinate, then at Sharnoth, then at the women standing behind her and begged from them all— But... None of them cared. Sharnoth just grinned at him as she turned around, walking towards the rest of the women. As for the said women, they didn’t seem to care about him one bit. To him, he was just... a source of entertainment. As for Ythric... The man walked toward him with dead eyes that showed no reaction even when he called him hundreds of times. Ythric did not even acknowledge his existence, almost as if his memories had been wiped out and he was turned into a clean slate that only followed orders. In the end, the puppet picked his previous master. The weak Vexarion, who had lost the ability to move his limbs, couldn’t resist. "Keep good care of him, I don’t want any mistakes." Sharnoth gave her order as she raised her hand without turning back toward the two, almost as if saying goodbye. And Ythric, who from the beginning hadn’t said a word even when his previous master called him multiple times— "As you command, Lady Sharnoth." He nodded calmly, his voice so subservient that even Vexarion was somewhat taken aback. He looked at the man with a betrayed look on his face, but Ythric didn’t care. To him, Vexarion was just an order. He picked the man and started moving in a specific manner despite Vexarion’s weak struggles. This continued for a good fifteen minutes. By now, Vexarion himself had given up on escaping. His body was too weak to resist Ythric, his mind had collapsed to the point he couldn’t even use his Aura to suppress him. Heck, he didn’t even have enough strength to kill himself. He was nothing more than a living dead body, a body that could only tremble... helplessly. Until... "Kill yourself." Until suddenly, Vexarion heard a voice. "W-Wha...?" He asked as he looked around, trying to see where the voice came from and... It was Ythric. And as if Ythric knew Vexarion did not quite register his words, he repeated himself, but this time, his tone was far clearer than before. "Lord Vexarion, you need to kill yourself, hurry!" His words, however, only confused Vexarion even further. Lord Vexarion...? This was what Ythric called him back in Aurendor, when he was loyal to him, but... Why was he doing it now...? Especially after ignoring him while he desperately begged for help...? And as if Ythric knew what he was thinking, he began to explain. "You need to run! You are the only one who can!" He raised his voice, but only a little, as if he was afraid someone else would hear them. The way he continuously looked around while talking made it clear that Ythric did not want that to happen. "R-Run...?" Vexarion stuttered. Those words made his entire body shudder. Run...? Could he run away...? Was that possible...? "Yes!" Ythric nodded. "You need to kill yourself so you can rebuild your body, regaining all your energy so you can run." "B-But you..." Weren’t you together with that monster? Why are you helping me? Vexarion wanted to ask, but he didn’t dare to. His mind had already collapsed to the point that even asking questions from a man who was once his subordinate made him... hesitant and fearful. His worry that something might go wrong and the torture might continue again broke him. But Ythric knew what he was thinking, and he did not disappoint his Lord. "She was too focused on you, so much that when she was brainwashing us, she made some mistakes, letting me find a loophole. All this time, I was only pretending to be her puppet, like the others she had brainwashed had become. I was waiting for an opportunity to run but I didn’t get anything. There are many here stronger than me. If I disappear, they will find me and might reperform the brainwashing, this time without letting me find a loophole. I would truly lose myself then, and I cannot allow it to happen. So I need help and..." Ythric looked at Vexarion with desperate eyes and— "You are the only one who can help me." He declared. "You are stronger and faster than me. If given the chance, you definitely have what it takes to get away from this darned place and inform the Supreme World of Light about it and save us, save me." "..." Ythric poured all his intense emotions out and Vexarion... He stayed silent. He was different from Ythric. He had managed to escape once and he was caught. This place was absurdly large. He had been flying for months maybe and he still couldn’t find a way out. In the end, in his desperate state, he fell for a trick so obvious and... went to that crazy woman on his own. It was a stupid moment that had imprinted itself in his mind permanently, constantly reminding him how... foolish he was. And after the constant reminders for... who knows how long— Vexarion was done. He had no intentions of running away. This wasn’t a place he could escape from. Many must have tried, but they all failed. He wouldn’t be any different. That was how Vexarion convinced himself but— "Please, Lord Vexarion, Please do it for us. For the sake of your people." Ythric begged. Then, as if he wanted to make his offer even more tempting, he took out a piece of paper from his inventory and— "This! Maybe you can use this!" He spoke as he placed the paper on the ground in front of Vexarion. It was a map. A map that Vexarion did not recognize but... for some reason, he found the pattern inside it very familiar. His mind began to work as the memories replayed themselves. He traced back the path he had taken when he ran away and finally— He noticed something. The path he had taken... it was one of the paths shown in the map. "Sharnoth gave it to me because she wanted me to run an errand for her. Never took it back since she had already ordered me not to show it to anyone. I have seen her puppets killing themselves just because she ordered them to, so I am assuming she never thought I, another one of her ’puppets’, would be the same and follow her orders to the very end. She never knew I was pretending." Ythric spoke, and Vexarion... he was staring at him in disbelief. And once again— The Aurendor Progenitor saw it. Hope. Light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. "A-Are you saying you have been pretending to follow her orders just so you could find me and get my help...?" He asked, still in disbelief. "Yes." Ythric nodded, but Vexarion— "T-That monster wouldn’t make such a mistake." He had his doubts. But Ythric had a perfect answer. "All her attention was on you ever since the beginning. Even when you left, she and her people were busy looking for you, instead of focusing on other hostages. Maybe that’s why she made a mistake. But I do not think I can pretend for long. A few of those women around her are quite thorough. Some already look at me with suspicious eyes; they just haven’t said anything yet." "So you are saying I do not have much time." Vexarion muttered as he narrowed his eyes. And Ythric turned towards his Lord with a solemn look on his face— "There is no time. This is the only opportunity you have. Once you are locked inside their prison, escaping is impossible." He answered, telling him just how serious this matter actually was. Vexarion still had many questions, but in the end, since he understood he was pressed for time— "What is your plan?" He asked directly. Ythric pointed at a certain point in the map without waiting and— "I believe this is the exit from this place." He muttered, and hearing the word ’exit’ instantly made Vexarion react and turn towards Ythric. Ythric too turned back at Vexarion and— "I want you to get to the exit and escape. Then return with reinforcements to get rid of both the Anomaly and the Chaos Heir."