You... a lowly creature... how dare you bind me?!' the officer shrieked. He thrashed and struggled with all his might, but it was entirely futile. The glowing white circle formed by the spatial cubes continued to constrict around him, tightening mercilessly until the intense pressure forced several mouthfuls of blood from his lips. Pip looked down at him with a chilling, detached gaze, as if staring at a mere insect beneath his boots. While focused on suppressing the officer, Pip suddenly felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Startled, he instinctively recoiled, leaping backward onto high alert. As the dust cleared, a tall, slender young man stepped into view. He possessed striking golden hair and eyes as deep and blue as the vast ocean. Pip froze for a few seconds, completely bewildered as to how this stranger had appeared out of thin air. The young man broke the silence, offering a calm greeting: 'Hello! Who are you, and where do you come from?' Pip stared blankly, unable to comprehend the words. He shook his head, gesturing that he didn't want to answer. The stranger immediately recognized Pip's distinct traits. Unlike the hostile crowd, he remained perfectly composed, adjusting his voice and speaking once more in a different dialect: 'Hello... where are you from?' To Pip's absolute shock, he understood the words perfectly this time. He instantly replied, 'I come from the Crescent Moon Island of Kazuna. My name is Pip!' The man's eyes softened with understanding. 'My name is Locus. I am a protector of the King, often referred to by the people as a Royal Guard.' Realizing the stranger meant no harm, a burning question arose in Pip's mind. 'How do you know the language of our people? I thought the Upo clan never passed our language down to outsiders.' Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, Locus let out a soft sigh and decided to share his past. Locus had been born and raised in a destitute family within the slums of the human city. From early childhood, his life was a living hell defined by domestic violence. His mother had abandoned him the day he was born, leaving him at the mercy of a severely alcoholic father who beat him relentlessly. When Locus was just five years old, his father launched into an exceptionally brutal assault. For a child that young, it was a waking nightmare. But mid-swing, the father suddenly froze. His eyes rolled back into his head, blood coughed from his mouth, and his heavy body collapsed instantly to the floor. Embedded deep in his torso was a dagger crafted from a rare stone found only on the Upo island. The man who had executed his father slowly stepped out from the shadows. He wore a pitch-black cloak that covered him from head to toe, and his face was concealed behind a mask shaped like a crow's beak. When he spoke, his voice carried a low, deathly rasp: 'Kid... how long have you endured this?' A dead silence filled the room. Receiving no answer, the cloaked man grabbed Locus's hand and led him away. As they walked, Locus noticed the man's hands were stained with fresh blood—perhaps from his abusive father, or perhaps from someone else. After a long, silent journey, Locus was brought to a hidden village. A woman stepped out from one of the houses, and the mysterious masked man introduced her: 'This woman will raise you until you are grown.' 'Y-Yes...' Locus had whispered. The Upo woman treated Locus with immense kindness. She nurtured him, protected him, and carefully taught him the sacred language of the Upo clan. Because of her warmth, Locus grew to deeply love and respect the Upo people. Years later, when he had grown into a strong young man, he hugged his foster mother tightly before leaving. 'Thank you, Mother... I truly consider you my real mother.'
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The Upo woman had softly replied: 'Go, my dear child.'
With her blessing, Locus had set off for the human city. Within a few short years of working in the government, his exceptional talents propelled him through the ranks, earning him the title of Royal Guard—an extraordinary achievement rarely attained by anyone, especially someone who had just turned eighteen.
After listening to the story and understanding the sequence of events, Pip realized that not every human in this vast world was evil; perhaps he simply hadn't met the right ones yet. Deciding to trust him, Pip walked alongside Locus. As they traveled, they conversed, and Pip began to recount his own childhood and the harrowing tragedy that had struck two years ago, when the warm, peaceful Kazuna Island was reduced to barren ruins.
Locus was completely paralyzed with shock upon hearing the news. His heart shattered even further when he learned that apart from Pip, almost everyone else had perished. Overwhelmed with grief, tears began to stream down Locus's face. Witnessing this scene cut deep into Pip's heart. It vividly reminded him of the moment his own mother sacrificed herself for him—back then, he had felt the exact same agonizing, soul-crushing despair that Locus was experiencing now.
After a while, Locus managed to stabilize his emotions. He turned to Pip, his voice trembling: 'I am deeply devastated to hear that my foster mother has passed away. But I must thank you. If you hadn't broken the news to me, returning to find an empty, ruined village later on would have destroyed me completely.'
'It's fine, you don't need to feel so indebted,' Pip replied softly.
However, right after Pip finished speaking, Locus uttered a sentence that instantly struck terror into the boy's heart, freezing him dead in his tracks.
'Because you have trespassed into human territory without any identification documents or legal registration, you must be detained in the dungeon for a period of time. But please do not worry, I will do everything in my power to get you out.'
Panic surged through Pip. The mere thought of a dungeon conjured images of ruthless, dangerous criminals, and absolute dread consumed him. He desperately pleaded: 'NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO PRISON!'
'You must stay there for just a short while. It will be fine!' Locus insisted firmly.
'I DON'T WANT TO!!!' Pip screamed.
Despite his desperate resistance, Pip was ultimately locked away in the dungeon. He was assigned to share a cell with another inmate. At first, Pip furiously slammed against the bars, screaming at the top of his lungs to be let out.
Seeing this, his cellmate finally spoke up: 'Screaming like that isn't going to get you out of here, kid.'
Pip fell silent for a moment before asking cautiously, '...Then what am I supposed to do?'
The cellmate, who had been lying down, slowly sat up. He turned his body around, his gaze gradually meeting Pip's.
Pip gasped, completely stunned and breathless. He stared in absolute disbelief, because he never could have imagined that his cellmate was also a fellow Upo.