Escape(1)

"Do you want to escape from this place?"

"Kid... Don't joke around-"

"I'll make it happen."

"..."

Bola was stumped by Ares's eyes that showed the utmost resoluteness however he quickly shook it off and began to set forth his uncertainties'.

"You do realize the person holding this slave port is likely a 3rd Layer individual, right? Someone with most likely a decade of experience. Whereas, you, a child too young to even go to preschool plan to fight him and somehow win? I admit, you're smarter than someone your age should ever be, but in front of absolute power, intelligence means nothing."

"Boba."

Ares began circulating lilac-like energy around his body which continuously expanded and condensed as if it was self-conscious.

"I'll make it happen. Please trust me. What I want to ask you is do you wish to escape with me?"

"..."

Bola was too stunned to speak but soon articulated a response.

"Before I give my answer, I want to ask you a question."

"Yes?"

"Why not go by yourself? You know damn well I'm not a fighter, plus I'm also old as hell. If anything, I'm more of a burden than some kind of support."

"That may be true, however, I wish for you to join me on my journey."

"A journey to where?"

"A journey to find a purpose."

"And why do you wish for me to join you?"

"Because I'm weak."

"You? Weak? Is that some kind of joke? Most adults would give up on life if they experienced what you did, don't you dare call yourself weak."

"But-"

"No buts. How about this, I'll join you on your journey under a certain condition."

"That is?"

"Understand yourself."

"How do I do that?"

"That's for you to discern. Either way, I'm going to sleep and as for your request about if I want to escape with you, I do. However, if there comes a moment when either of us has to die, save yourself first. I'm not sure if I will be able to live the rest of my life knowing that a child sacrificed himself for me."

"Ok... Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

'There will be a lot of risks.'

Ares thought as he deliberately touched his forehead where a single nebulous-like black dot lay.

Then he glanced at the sleeping figure of Bola and an unwitting smile formed on his face.

'Understand myself.'

****

Torture Room

*WHACK* *WHACK*

"Oh? You're especially quiet today, how about we turn things up a notch?"

Then suddenly Vernee began channeling blue-like energy over her hand which soon turned into a blazing coral flame. Then she grabbed one of the metal rods and began heating it until it shone with a bright yellow hue.

However, just as Vensee was about to close in on Ares, lilac-like energy began to seep into her body causing her senses to become dull and causing a nosebleed.

"What...?" feeling this sudden dizziness hit her, Vensee tried to move away towards the wall to lean on for support. Ares's obsidian reptile-like tail shot towards her, and before she could react,...

"As much as I would like to torture the ever-living shit out of you, I also have plans that I need to set in motion."

*SLICE*

...cut off her head.

Right after finishing Vensee off, Ares moved his tail—which began to be coated in a deep lilac hue—to the chains that held him and sliced through them like butter.

*SLICE**SLICE*

"Hoo... I never tested this on something as hard as iron but looks like it worked just as I'd expected."

During the nearly 2 years of being a slave at the slave port, Ares learned much about his body. The most paramount detail he found was a lilac energy he unconsciously created inside his body and he had found many uses for this energy; in fact, Ares's ability [Fragments] is what it is due to this alien energy.

However, currently, Ares has only managed to identify 3 abilities, outside of [Fragments], that the foreign energy can carry out. Still, Ares, almost instinctively, felt the energy had an unnumberable of uses that he wasn't seeing right now.

One of these abilities is [Wither], which—as of now—dulls the senses of those he wishes to target. This was also the ability Ares used on Vensee for her to be caught off guard and be so easily killed. The conditions for the ability to properly work, however, is that the target must be in a 1-meter(3.28 ft) radius of Ares.

Ares touched Vensee's body and began injecting his energy into her body which soon turned her body into tiny purple particles. Then all the particles seeped into the nebulous-like dot on Ares's forehead until nothing was left.

The second ability Ares identified was [Extract], he remembered using the ability when he was born but at that time it was out of pure instinct. Now, he can use the ability to fit his wants, however, this ability is still by far the most mysterious as Ares hasn't been able to experiment on others so he can only try to understand from experience.

Still, Ares has managed to gather what the ability could do and that is to steal others' techniques. 

Suddenly, Ares began gathering cobalt-like energy, similar to Vensee's, around his hand which soon turned into...

blue flames.

'This is odd. Vensee's flames were red but why are mine blue? Is it due to some effects from my energy or is it something else entirely?' however Ares quickly shook off the self-inquiries and began to identify all the tools that Vensee had in her room.

'2 metal rods, 1 dagger, and a sharp whip, that's it huh.'

Although there were more tools in the room, they weren't made for fighting but for torture.

"Let's begin." saying so Ares left the torture room.

****

'This is a problem.'

Right now Ares was walking to his cell with a guard behind him exactly like his routine. However, an unexpected problem occurred as a team leader was currently also walking down the hallway right behind them.

Unlike the regular guards who each are in the 1st Layer, a team leader not only has the power to call a set of guards but is a 2nd Layer individual.

'If it was two 1st Layers I would have no trouble but both a 1st and 2nd Layer with the potential of backup is too much to handle.'