Adam exhaled and lowered his hand.
His frown deepened, lines carving into his face.
He didn't miss it...
The feeling of that gaze still lingering sowhere distant.
Those prying eyes definitely belonged to that dark-blue-haired guy!
Adam glanced toward Cael, who stood unsteadily, like soone waking from a long, disorienting dream.
"How long has that guy been watching us?"
Adam asked, voice low but firm.
Cael blinked again, startled by the sudden question... as if his mind was still lagging behind reality.
"Ah...?"
He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the fog, before pushing himself fully upright.
"Not for long... Ever since we got out of the third floor, he's been watching us."
Cael muttered, voice rough, like he hadn't spoken properly in hours.
Adam's frown tightened even further.
His mind raced.
'Does that an he saw use my abilities…?'
The thought dug into Adam like a thorn he couldn't pull out.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling a cold tension at the back of his mind.
'It should be fine...'
He told himself.
'The number of abilities I can copy is too large... Even if he noticed, he wouldn't be able to guess everything.'
Reassured for now, Adam took a slow breath, letting the weight in his chest settle.
Without a word, he activated [Crimson Dominion].
Blood seeped from his arms, flowing in thick strands before hardening into glinting crimson blades.
They hovered in the air like a nest of vipers, aid directly at Cael.
The swampy air crackled with pressure.
"I value your talents and your potential to beco a strong Stream Hunter."
Adam said, voice low and sharp.
The blood blades pulsed slightly, inching closer toward Cael's neck.
"But..."
Adam continued coldly.
"I will not risk my own life just to keep you alive."
Cael's eyes widened in panic. He stumbled a step backward, arms raised defensively.
"W-Wait! Calm down, man! Calm down!"
Cael stamred, waving his hands frantically.
"I'll explain! I'll explain!"
Adam said nothing, his expression unreadable as the blades remained suspended in the air.
Cael took a shaky breath, sweat dripping down his temple.
"Elaric has my sister!"
He blurted out.
For a mont, there was a stunned silence.
Kristoff blinked, lowering his shield slightly.
"You have a sister?!"
Leila, equally dumbfounded, stared at Cael like he had grown another head.
Adam's gaze didn't waver.
His voice cut through the noise like a knife.
"Explain."
He ordered.
Cael gulped and nodded quickly, trying to steady himself.
"You should already know about Celestia..."
Cael said, his voice hoarse.
"The rumors about her... kidnapping newcors."
Adam didn't respond, only giving the faintest nod, signaling for him to continue.
Cael grimaced.
His hands curled into fists, nails digging into his palms.
" and my sister..."
He said quietly.
"We were victims of it."
He paused, gathering his thoughts, his face darkening with the weight of mory.
"We awakened at the sa ti... We planned to stay on the first floor. Just live normal lives. The governnt was already reconstructing the first floor back then... turning it into a safe zone for people who didn't want to climb the Tower."
"For a while... it seed possible."
Cael said, his voice growing distant.
"But when we arrived, a governnt official told us we needed a second inspection before we could be registered as first-floor citizens."
He let out a bitter laugh, sharp and hollow.
"I was a fool to believe it... We had already been inspected outside the Tower. Why would they need to do it again?"
Cael shook his head, his voice rough with anger... and sothing else.
Sha.
"When we entered the inspection area... it wasn't a checkpoint. It was a trap."
Adam remained still, listening.
Kristoff and Leila exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing.
Cael took another breath, forcing himself to go on.
"The place was covered in strange green symbols."
He said.
"They were everywhere... on the walls, the floor, the ceiling."
"And before we knew it... we weren't on the first floor anymore."
His voice dropped to a whisper, as if saying it aloud might drag him back to that mont.
"It was a place of eternal darkness. And above us, hanging from the ceiling of a castle... were hundreds of people."
A shudder ran through him.
"They were all hanging in the air..."
Cael said, his voice dropping to a low tone,
Adam's blood blades remained hovering, but his eyes sharpened, reading every inch of Cael's body language.
"And sitting on the throne was woman."
"Long black hair... a crown... and a smile that didn't reach her eyes."
"That was most likely Celestia..."
Cael said, his voice barely audible now.
"But..."
He looked up at Adam, expression grim.
"Elaric told that it was not her true body."
The revelation hung heavy in the air, but Cael wasn't finished.
"Before Celestia could hang us up like the others..."
He continued, his hands trembling slightly at his sides.
"Elaric appeared. He pulled us out of that castle."
For a mont, a bitter, self-mocking smile crossed his face.
"I thought we had been saved."
His hands curled into fists, nails digging deep into his palms.
"But that bastard... he tricked us too."
Cael's voice sharpened with anger and self-loathing.
"He acted so damn friendly. Always smiling, answering every question we asked. He told us we were on the tenth floor of the Tower, and even explained who Celestia was... told us the basics about how the Tower worked."
A harsh laugh escaped him.
"At the ti, I was so damn grateful. I thought we were fucking saved."
His fists shook.
"I told him about us... about and my sister. I thought if we were honest, if we trusted him, maybe we'd survive."
"Fuck..."
Cael muttered under his breath, his face twisting with regret.
"How the hell could I have known? The more he learned about us... the easier it beca for him to control us."
The sha in his voice was palpable.
"We couldn't fight back. We couldn't do anything."
His voice dropped again, bitter and broken.
"He took my sister away... and sent back to the first floor."
Cael gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw tight.
"He said that as long as I helped him find Celestia's true body... he'd give her back."
The blood blades around him pulsed nacingly, responding to the tension radiating off Adam, but Cael didn't even flinch.
"When I got teleported back... I couldn't stop blaming myself."
He exhaled sharply, like he was trying to force the guilt out of his lungs.
"I tried asking for help. I tried everything. But when I got back to the first floor... I was suddenly wanted by the fucking governnt."
His voice rose in frustration, eyes burning.
"Those bastards said I skipped my 'therapy' sessions!"
Cael spat the word like poison.
"Even though my psych evaluations were average! Nothing wrong! And still they made a fucking criminal!"
Adam's brows furrowed.
'So the rumor about him getting an extrely low psychological evaluation and escaping was a lie?'
He thought, now unsure of what happened to Cael when he caused a massacre in his last life...
The veins in his neck stood out as he struggled to calm down.
"Fuck... it's definitely that woman. The one who tricked us about the inspection."
Adam's eyes narrowed sharply.
"A woman?"
His voice was cold, sharp as a blade.
"Which governnt official is working with Celestia?"
This was crucial.
If he could identify the rat that was providing help to that sinister woman, then Adam could do sothing about it...
Cael closed his eyes, digging through the chaos of his mories.
"I think her na was..."
He opened his eyes again, voice low but steady.
"Evelyn."
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