The moon hung over Norrington City like a pale witness, its light washing the streets in silver. Midnight had come and gone, leaving the world wrapped in that particular silence that only exists in the dead hours between days.

Inside the Central Detention facility, fluorescent lights hummed overhead while police officers made their rounds through the corridors.

The building stood tall and narrow, five stories of reinforced concrete and steel bars, with detention rooms stacked vertically rather than spread wide.

Deep in one of those rooms, a man hung by his wrists.

Ming’s body was a canvas of bruises and cuts, fresh blood mixing with dried.

Aura suppression cuffs wrapped around both wrists, cutting him off from his core completely. His head hung forward, dark hair matted with sweat and blood.

Four police officers stood around him, all C rank awakeners, holding various implements.

One had a baton, another held pliers, the third kept spinning a knife between his fingers and the fourth just cracked his knuckles repeatedly, his hands already stained with Ming’s blood.

The one with the baton swung.

CRACK

"Mmph!"

Ming’s ribs took the hit. He grunted but didn’t scream... He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

The one with pliers grabbed his hand, squeezing fingers that were already broken.

"Where are your friends?" The officer with the knife pressed the blade against Ming’s shoulder. "Who’s running your little gang?"

Ming said nothing, just hung there, breathing through the pain.

There was a fifth man standing at the back, arms crossed, watching with cold calculation.

Officer Davies was B rank and clearly in charge of this interrogation. He’d been doing this for years and knew exactly how much a body could take before it broke completely.

He raised his hand.

The four officers stepped back immediately, lowering their weapons.

Davies walked forward, his boots echoing on the concrete floor. He grabbed Ming’s hair and yanked his head up, forcing eye contact.

"Let’s try this again."

His voice was professional and almost bored.

"Which organization do you belong to? Why are you killing innocent men in my city?"

Ming’s split lip curved into a smile. Blood leaked between his teeth as he laughed, the sound wet and painful.

Then he spat, the bloody saliva hitting the floor near Davies’s boot.

"Innocent men?"

His voice came out rough but carried genuine amusement.

"Hehe... sure officer. You and I both know how innocent those men really are."

Davies’s expression didn’t change.

Ming’s smile widened despite the pain it caused.

"You’re one of them, aren’t you?"

CRACK

Davies’s hand shot out, slapping Ming hard enough to snap his head sideways. He grabbed Ming’s hair again, yanking him close.

"I’m the one who asks questions here... Not you."

Ming didn’t even seem to register the pain. He just kept smiling through the blood.

"My face was seen by Shadow Council operatives."

He let that statement hang in the air, the implication crystal clear.

His face had been seen only by SC members during their raid. And somehow, within days, a police officer had arrested him specifically.

Davies’s jaw clenched. His hand tightened in Ming’s hair as he delivered another slap, then another, the sound echoing off the concrete walls.

"Shut your fucking mouth."

SMACK

"You don’t know what you’re talking about."

SMACK

"You’re just a criminal who got caught."

SMACK

Ming’s head rocked with each blow, but he never stopped smiling.

Davies finally released him and stepped back, breathing slightly harder than before. He looked at the four officers and jerked his head toward the door.

CLANG

They filed out without a word, the heavy door closing behind them with a heavy clang.

The moment they were alone, Davies dropped the act.

His professional mask fell away, replaced by cold calculation. He walked closer, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

"Tell me about your organization... Tell me how many of you there are, who’s in charge and where you operate from."

He leaned in, his face inches from Ming’s.

"Give me that and I’ll make sure to let you escape... The Shadow Council doesn’t need to know... Your life gets spared and you disappear quietly."

Ming lifted his head slowly, his bloodied face catching the harsh fluorescent light. When he met Davies’s eyes, there was no fear there.

Just pity.

"You have no idea how fucked you are, officer."

His voice was quiet but carried absolute certainty.

"You’re already marked."

Davies snickered, the sound carrying genuine amusement now.

"Bold of you to assume that a mere criminal organization with no name will dare come after me. I’m a police officer. I have the law behind me. I have connections and I have protection."

He straightened up, looking down at Ming with contempt.

"Your little gang of vigilantes won’t–"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Something felt wrong.

The air had shifted in a way he couldn’t quite define. The room looked the same, the walls were in the same place and the door was still closed...

But everything felt different.

Like reality had tilted slightly without moving.

"Henry?"

Davies called out toward the door, his voice carrying an edge now.

"McKgallen?"

But there was no response.

"Thompson? Is anyone out there?"

Nothing.

Just silence pressing in from all sides.

"Hehe...hehehahaHAHAHA!"

Ming started laughing.

It began as a chuckle, then built into full laughter that made his whole body shake despite the pain it must have caused.

Blood sprayed from his mouth as he laughed, the sound echoing off the walls in a way that made Davies’s skin crawl.

"Why the fuck are you laughing?"

Davies grabbed Ming’s hair again, yanking his head back hard enough to strain the neck.

"What’s so goddamn funny?"

Ming’s eyes were bright with manic joy despite the torture he’d endured.

"Oh officer..."

His voice came out between gasps of laughter.

"You don’t even realize you’re inside a domain now."

Davies’s blood went cold. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"And you were trying to find my organization, right?"

Ming’s smile was all teeth and blood.

"They are here."

"..."

Some time passed with both of them just looking at each other.

Then, Davies released him and stepped back, his hand already moving to his pocket. He pulled out a small remote and a metallic bracelet, his movements quick and practiced.

He snapped the bracelet onto his wrist.

His thumb found the button on the remote and he pressed it.