A sharp, piercing sound suddenly forced Shaan awake. His eyes slowly scanned the surroundings, and he quickly realized that he stood inside a room that felt strangely familiar. For some reason, he immediately suspected that the mysterious figure from earlier had brought him here.

"This... this is Dr. Marshal’s lab, isn’t it?" Shaan stood frozen for a moment. "What’s really going on? How did I end up here?"

He slowly pushed himself up, but a sharp sting suddenly pierced through his right hand. He turned his head and noticed an infusion needle in his hand. It was connected to an infusion bag filled with a strange-looking liquid.

"Wh-what is it?"

A golden-yellow fluid flowed through the tube, unsettling Shaan. How could it not? It was the first time he’d seen such an odd-colored fluid, and to make matters worse, it had already entered his body. He had absolutely no idea whether this fluid would have a beneficial or harmful effect on his body.

Shaan pulled out the needle quickly. "Ah, that’s much better." Shaan moved his hand, trying to stretch his slightly stiff arm muscles. "Now, I have to get out of here and find Theo and the others."

Just as Shaan was about to walk out of the room, the door in front of him slowly opened. A mysterious man appeared, opening the door while carrying a tray with several brown bottles and a glass of the same color as the bottles.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The mysterious man fell silent, noticing that Shaan was dangling the needle from his hand. "The medicine hasn’t fully taken effect yet. Why did you remove it, Shaan?"

Shaan fell silent for a moment when the mysterious figure called his name. ’W-wait, how does he know my name?’

"Now, sit over there and I’ll—"

"Who are you?" Shaan narrowed his eyes and tried to make out the face hidden behind the protective mask covering the man’s features. "Tell me where my friends are."

The mysterious man stayed quiet for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. He walked over and placed the tray on top of a nearby table. Shaan frowned at the man’s strange behavior. He couldn’t understand what the stranger wanted, and part of him suspected the man simply mocked him.

"Hey, answer me already." Shaan glared at him with suspicion. "You’re a member of the Resistance... aren’t you?"

The man didn’t answer Shaan right away. Instead, he reached for his protective mask and removed it. The moment Shaan saw the face behind the mask, his eyes widened in shock. Honestly, he never expected the mysterious man to be someone he actually knew.

"Sebastian?" Shaan rubbed his eyes several times, his expression growing tense. "W-Wait... how are you—"

Suddenly, Shaan’s vision spun wildly, causing him to lose his balance. Fortunately, Sebastian noticed immediately and quickly caught Shaan before he hit the floor.

"Careful, Shaan." Sebastian steadied his body. "The healing potion still hasn’t fully taken effect yet. You need more rest."

Shaan nooded slowly. "Alright... I understand."

Sebastian slowly guided Shaan back toward one of the chairs nearby. He carefully helped Shaan sit down, then let him rest while he walked toward the table and grabbed something from it.

"Sebastian... what exactly happened?" Shaan rubbed his forehead. "Argh... my head..."

"Resistance," Sebastian replied while opening one of the brown bottles and pouring its contents into a glass. "They managed to break through Twilight Sanctum’s defenses using a rather cunning method."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Resistance took advantage of the Lunaris Revia festival because they knew most Daemonists would leave to strengthen themselves, which weakened Twilight Sanctum’s security," Sebastian explained. "What made their plan even smarter was the way they attacked. They didn’t launch a direct assault. Instead, they hid this pink gas inside the fireworks used during the Lunaris Revia celebration."

Sebastian tightened his jaw slightly before continuing."At first, nobody suspected anything because people always light fireworks during Lunaris Revia. But little by little, the pink gas spread everywhere and easily incapacitated everyone."

"Damn..." Shaan’s expression darkened. "I didn’t notice anything at all. They were incredibly clever."

Shaan fell silent for a moment, tension filling his face. "B-But how did they even manage that? Twilight Sanctum has extremely tight security. Something like this shouldn’t have slipped through so easily."

"That’s true," Sebastian replied. "But one of the Resistance members disguised himself as a staff member responsible for lighting the fireworks." He paused briefly before speaking again. "Honestly, I still don’t fully understand how they managed it, but I suspect a traitor exists inside Twilight Sanctum. Someone has been monitoring everything happening here from the inside." He then handed the glass to Shaan." Drink this. It’ll restore your energy faster."

"Alright... I understand." Shaan nodded and drank the liquid without hesitation. "Thank you. I already feel much better now."

Sebastian smiled faintly. "I’m glad to hear that."

"Then what about the other Daemonists? What about my friends?" Curiosity filled Shaan’s face. "Have you seen them?"

Sebastian raised his shoulders. "Honestly, I have no idea. Once the pink gas spread through the Sanctum, chaos erupted everywhere." He paused briefly before continuing. "However, I suspect the Resistance managed to capture several Daemonists... including your friends. They’re probably holding them somewhere inside the Sanctum."

He folded his arms and sighed. "As long as this pink gas remains inside Twilight Sanctum, finding the others will become extremely difficult."

’Damn it...’ Shaan frowned deeply. ’Looks like the Resistance captured Theo and the others.’ He clenched his fists tightly, tension hardening his jaw. ’We need to get rid of this damn pink gas as fast as possible. Once the gas disappears, everyone can fight back against the Resistance more easily.’

’But how? What should we even do now?’

"But, calm down." Sebastian patted Shaan’s shoulder encouragingly. "Some of the faction leaders and daemonists who escaped have gathered in the living room right now. They all seem to be devising a plan to turn the situation around."

"That’s good to hear." Shaan let out a long breath as the tension in his shoulders slowly eased. "At least that’s some good news."

"I also heard that they’re planning to attack all the members of the resistance inside the Twilight Sanctum." Sebastian fell suddenly silent. He started avoiding eye contact."However..."

The faint smile on Shaan’s face instantly disappeared when he noticed Sebastian’s expression suddenly change."Sebastian... however, what?"

"However, the meeting doesn’t seem to be going as smoothly as I expected."