After finishing the miserable meal in the mess hall, Wren makes his way back through the dimly lit corridors, finally stepping back inside the cold enclosure of his cell.
?He drops onto the edge of his stone cot, staring blankly at the floor.
?"Envy..." Wren calls out quietly.
?"Hmm? What is it?" the spectral owl responds, materializing in a soft flash of ghostly light.
?"I’ve been getting this really weird feeling..."
?"Hmm, I feel it too," Envy mutters, its feathers ruffling as it narrows its eyes. "But what can we do about it? We’re stuck in this dump."
?"Right... that actually just reminded me," Wren says, his brow furrowing as a sudden thought strikes him. "What was that girl’s name again? Lilia, right?"
?"Ah... that cheeky brat," Envy replies, tilting its head. "What about her?"
?"Yeah, exactly... why haven’t I seen her anywhere since that day?"
?"How am I supposed to know, kid?"
?"Weren’t you the one floating around everywhere? And yet you still haven’t seen her?"
?"Envy, let’s get serious..." Wren presses, standing up as his expression turns dark. "Envy..."
?"Yeah, I hear you," Envy snaps back, dropping its casual tone as the realization hits home. "Now that I really think about it... I haven’t seen that girl anywhere in this prison ever since that day either."
?Wren freezes, his breath catching in his throat.
?"What are you saying...?"
Wren’s expression darkened.
"Don’t tell me..."
He clenched his fists, his mind immediately returning to the little girl who had stayed beside him while he was unconscious.
Lilia had been frightened of the guards. He remembered the way she had hesitated before leaving his cell, repeatedly asking whether she could return after lunch.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it.
Now, however, that memory made his chest tighten.
"Envy, can you sense her presence?"
The spectral owl closed its eyes.
A few seconds passed.
Then another.
"...No."
Wren’s heart sank.
"What do you mean, no? Can’t you sense the people around us?"
"Usually, yes. But this prison is strange. There are places where my senses become unreliable, and I can’t pinpoint every person inside this building."
Envy opened its eyes and looked directly at Wren.
"But there’s something else bothering me."
"What?"
"Remember what I told you about this place’s energy?"
Wren nodded.
Most people in Norhera possessed a strange energy that resembled mana, yet wasn’t quite the same. His current body, on the other hand, had possessed almost none of it before the woman gave him that mysterious green liquid.
"What about it?"
"That energy is everywhere in this prison. In the guards, the prisoners, even the walls themselves." Envy paused, its expression growing increasingly serious. "But whenever I try to sense the area where that little girl used to be, something feels... wrong."
Wren stared at the owl.
"Wrong how?"
"I don’t know. It’s as if something is interfering with my senses."
"...And you’re only telling me this now?"
"Because I didn’t notice it before!"
Envy spread its wings in irritation.
"Do you think I enjoy being trapped in this miserable place with you? If I could figure everything out, don’t you think I’d have done it already?"
Wren ignored the complaint.
His thoughts were racing.
Lilia had been afraid of returning to the quarters. She had looked genuinely terrified when the prison officer came to collect her.
And now, she was nowhere to be found.
A terrible possibility crept into his mind.
"Envy."
"Hmm?"
"What if something happened to her?"
The owl fell silent.
For once, it had no sarcastic remark ready.
Wren slowly rose from the stone cot.
"I need to find her."
"Oh, absolutely not."
Wren stopped.
Envy hovered directly in front of his face, its golden eyes narrowed.
"Have you completely lost your mind? You barely survived a fight against Hudson, and then you spent ten days unable to move. Even after that strange liquid boosted your attributes, you still have almost no combat experience."
"So?"
"So, rushing blindly into an unfamiliar prison because you’re worried about some little girl is an excellent way to get yourself killed!"
Wren’s expression remained unchanged.
"Then I’ll just have to be careful."
"THAT’S NOT WHAT I—!"
"Envy."
The owl froze.
Wren lowered his gaze, staring at his trembling hands.
"...She stayed beside me when she didn’t have to."
His voice was quiet.
"When I woke up, she was there. She even worried about whether I’d be alone after she left."
He slowly clenched his fists.
"I don’t know why she was so afraid of those guards. I don’t know why she was locked up here, or what this prison is really doing."
His golden eyes hardened.
"But I know she was scared."
Wren looked up.
"And if she’s in trouble, I’m not going to sit here and pretend I don’t care."
For several seconds, Envy stared at him.
Then the owl let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"...You’re an idiot."
"Yeah, you’ve mentioned that."
"No, seriously. An absolute, hopeless idiot."
Envy rubbed its face with one wing.
"Fine. If you’re determined to get yourself killed, at least let me help you do it properly."
Wren blinked.
"Is that your way of saying you’ll help me?"
"Don’t make me regret it."
A faint smile appeared on Wren’s face.
"Thanks, Envy."
"Save your gratitude. We haven’t even figured out where to start looking."
The owl floated toward the cell door and peered through the narrow gap between the iron bars.
"First, we need information. We can’t simply wander around asking every guard if they’ve seen a little girl named Lilia. Especially when that suspicious officer already seems to have a problem with you."
Wren nodded.
"Then we find someone who knows what’s happening in this prison."
"Precisely."
Envy turned back toward him.
"And preferably someone who won’t immediately try to stab you."
"Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Nope."
"...You’re useless."
"AND YOU’RE WELCOME!"
?Wren stands in silence, completely in the dark, with no one around to give him answers.
?He stands up from his cot and walks slowly toward the heavy iron bars of his cell.
?"Wren, where are you going?" Envy asks, floating anxiously behind him.
?Wren doesn’t answer. Instead, he steps right up to the iron door and extends both of his hands forward, pressing his palms close to the cold metal bars.
?He closes his eyes and waits, holding his breath.
?A strange, pulsing sensation begins to spread through his hands—a deep, resonant hum unlike anything he has ever felt before.
?It’s working. He is certain of it. Now that his Intelligence and Spirit stats have drastically increased, his connection to raw energy has completely changed.
?Suddenly, a brilliant flash of crimson fire erupts from his palms, instantly weaving together with streaks of crackling blue lightning. The twin elements coil around each other, slowly spreading over the surface of his hands.
?"Hey, what are you doing?! Control that!" Envy screeches, flapping its wings in panic.
?"Shut up... just focus," Wren mutters to himself.
?This is his very first time attempting something like this.
?Focus, Wren. Focus.
?He forces his breathing to steady, channeling his heightened mental fortitude to rein in the volatile energy. Slowly, meticulously, he begins to bend the sensation to his will.
?Yes... it’s working.
?The moment his control solidifies, the thick iron bars in front of him begin to glow white-hot. A second later, they violently hiss and start to melt away into glowing liquid slag, completely dissolving until the entire front of his cell vanishes into nothingness.
?Wren lowers his hands, the flames fading into thin air. He turns his head, looking back at Envy with a sharp, confident grin stretching across his face.
?Without wasting a single second, he steps out of the ruined cell and heads straight into the corridor.
?As Wren steps out into the hallway, he sees rows of other cells stretching on both sides. The prisoners inside are staring at him like he is some kind of monster.
?They had seen everything. They watched him melt the iron bars of his cell with his bare hands, and they remembered how he survived Hudson’s brutal punch a week ago.
?Unlike the usual chaos and shouting when the guards walk by, the hallway is completely silent. None of them even open their mouths.
?Wren feels a rush of adrenaline. This is the exact feeling he has been craving.
?He wants everyone to look at him with envy. That is the true power he desires.
?[ Tattoo of Envy is reacting to host’s emotion. ]
?When Wren sees the system message flash in his vision, a dark smirk spreads across his face.
?This really is what he wanted. Right now, he feels like a primordial embodiment of envy itself. He has no idea what will happen in the future, but one thing is certain: he has the power to change everything.
?Suddenly, Envy’s voice cuts through his thoughts, snapping him back to reality.
?"Wren, stop."
?"What is it?" Wren asks mentally.
?"Look in front of you."
?Wren snaps his eyes forward.
?Unlike the rest of the silent, terrified prisoners, a massive figure is standing right in his path.
?It is Hudson.
?The giant crosses his arms, looking down at Wren with a heavy, intense gaze.
?"Hey, brat," Hudson says, his deep voice echoing in the quiet corridor. "Where do you think you’re going?"