Escape

Somewhere in the west of the Undergarden.

Deep within the Inksworn region.

There was a colossal cave hidden beneath a massive mountain.

The cave belonged to a titan, a personal domain.

Inside, it was overgrown with dozens of mushrooms and other spore-spreading plants born of fungi. They spread everywhere, and the deeper one went, the more terrifying the scenery became. This cave hosted mushrooms of all kinds and sizes. The one who had grown them wasn't currently present. But someone the titan had brought into the cave long ago was still inside.

Descending deeper, thousands of large and small flowers would appear. Unlike the mushrooms above, these flowers looked pleasant but were wrapped in yellow spores. Though all different in size, they shared a single trait: their petals were closed, and each one harbored a monster within. Once, these monsters may have belonged to level 1, 2, 3, or even 4.

These sleepers floated in spore-filled liquid within the flowers, their minds being shredded, groaning, and losing their sense of self.

But today, one flower was different. The creature within was not groaning.

As it drifted in the spores, it was dreaming.

Ever since Yuel sacrificed his ability to speak, he couldn't talk even in dreams. He didn't know why, but he was sure that whoever he sacrificed it to was exceedingly greedy—they wouldn't even let him speak in dreams. Ah, but inner voice didn't count, and he could still whisper into others' minds using his blood inheritance. So, even though losing speech was a significant price, it had little practical impact on him—especially since he hadn't seen another human in over four years and didn't plan to for a long while. Right now, speech was the most expendable thing he had.

He remained in pitch-black emptiness. Since he'd turned off the recording, his silhouette wasn't in front of him. Instead, there was a small black owl before him. The owl seemed powerful enough to tear this void apart—its presence was like a god descending into the mortal realm. It felt as if the sky and earth were pulled toward the owl; the horizon formed a circle around it.

The owl flapped its wings quietly a few times and moved behind Yuel.

When Yuel turned around, it was gone.

He wanted to say, "Where did you go?" but since he couldn't speak, only silence escaped his mouth.

Then came another voice—a man's. Yuel was sure he was older than him, but not in his thirties. More like in his twenties. It was a warm, optimistic voice. If this man were a musician, Yuel believed people would love his music.

"Hello, heir. I don't think anyone else has the chance to talk to us, so I'd say you're quite lucky."

"…"

"It's ironic that you gave up your ability to speak just to talk to me… Actually, considering our situation, you're not that lucky."

"Seems like I'll be having a long, one-sided conversation with you…"

"First, don't question what I am. Learning that would kill you, so it's better not to know. As for your situation, stop trying to find me. Looking at me strains this place too much—we don't want you waking up too soon. You'll need to learn some things first."

"From now on, I'll do the thinking for you, so don't question my thoughts. Unlike me, you currently lack the ability to think. I can't help you in the physical world, but I can think for you and guide you. You're stuck in a loop that restarts every day. We don't know why—it's been erased from your memory. But that's not so important. You'll be getting out of here soon. You started forgetting what you said first, but I didn't. So don't you forget either. You encountered the guardian of the trap-fruit, a giant owl. You defeated it, but you weren't quiet enough, and another titan came. Even then, you didn't die. You fell into a dream. If you're dreaming, it means the titan might be feeding off your dream or trying to destroy your mind. So it likely has a sleep-based ability. Also, the memory manipulation it used on you was extraordinary. It's probably extremely skilled with memories because it's erased yours countless times, tampered with them, and took away your ability to think. That's why you can't even realize this yourself. Once you're out, you'll need to run immediately—whatever did this to you, you can't defeat it..."

"But for now, while you're asleep, you seem relatively safe. If you use your blood inheritance properly, you can make it out of here alive."

"I'll give you the knowledge to use it right. Normally, you can't use percentage abilities before reaching Stage 5 because if you do, I take the damage instead of you. What kind of idiot heir would let his legacy take damage just to get stronger? But don't worry. I'll do you that favor. Seems like we'll be talking for a long while. You sacrificing your voice to give me one… that touched me deeply. Right now, you have a percentage of 37.64%. It could've been better, but even this is a great stroke of luck. Instead of mana, you can use these percentages. But every time you use them, I get hurt—until you reach Stage 5. If it drops to 0, I die. So don't overuse them. Once you reach Stage 5, the damage goes to you instead, because then you'll be worth something. You're lucky I'm accepting the damage now. And another thing: once used, percentages never come back. They're not like mana. Use them sparingly. We're in a bad situation, and you'll likely die if you don't use them, so I'll accept the pain. By the way, giving up your voice just to talk to me… honestly, that was a cheap price. You're lucky…"

…

"You also have the Whisper bloodline. You're my heir—you don't need a mouth to speak. But since you're currently in Stage 6, you don't yet have a mana heart to produce your own mana… I won't push you now, but once you're out, you need to learn how to speak with mana. A Whisper bloodline heir should never be mute."

As pleasant as the owl's voice was, it was quite talkative. Even though what it said was right, it was clearly speaking too much… After all that, the owl gracefully landed on Yuel's left shoulder and whispered something in his ear—words spoken so fast and complex they sounded like runes, incomprehensible to Yuel.

Then he woke up.

He had exited the loop. But what greeted him was far from pleasant.

He was inside a yellow fluid, with slimy, algae-like tendrils touching his skin, trying to latch onto him. They had failed while he slept, and still couldn't now. A brilliant white flame burned around Yuel—one that seemed like it would never extinguish. Luo must have created this. What had happened to him? Was he nearby? He could think again now, and that alone was relieving. He couldn't show it while in the dream, but the owl's words had sent chills down his spine.

Whatever had done this to him was a terrifying being—one he could not face at his current level. Worse still, the memories stolen hadn't returned. It was as if they were erased forever.

Yuel struck the algae with all his might, breaking free with a single blow—it wasn't even firm. The yellow fluid dispersed. Most of his clothes had dissolved, though likely most of the damage happened before, during the fight with the creature that did this to him.

He now understood the situation. This was undoubtedly the den of a level 5 titan—one strong enough to be considered elite for its tier.

Its abilities included memory erasure, mental manipulation, sleep, and most terrifying of all: Infection. The whole cave was filled with its fungal spores. Just like it placed Yuel inside one of these flowers, it had done the same to countless other beings—possibly even other titans. Those whose minds were completely shattered had become its servants or soldiers.

Level 5 titans claimed regions and became territorial. The power balance among Dhunes was somewhat stable, but titans were a different story—each level up made them exponentially more dangerous. A single elite level 5 titan could possess power surpassing dozens or even hundreds of level 4s. On top of that, the Inksworn Depths were still classified as highly dangerous to humanity, meaning the titans here were extra deadly.

Looking around, Yuel saw hundreds of flowers. There were surely others like him, whose minds and bodies had been targeted.

There were undoubtedly Dhunes and perhaps titans under this one's command. How could he escape unnoticed? Worse, since he emerged from one of the flowers, someone may have noticed. Even if not, the titan would soon realize he'd escaped.

Yuel was looking for a way out… when he heard a voice.

"Come on, Yuel. Don't fall for the illusion that you're alone on this path. I'm here too, and you can consult me. I know more about your powers than you do."

"Alright then, what should I do? And what should I call you—don't you have a name?"

Yuel remained alert while keeping the communication open.

"You can call me Null. I do have a name, but telling you would be bad—so just call me 'Nameless'. It's more accurate. As for what to do, I'll use 0.05% of your percentage to whisper into the minds of every creature within 10 kilometers. Don't worry, they won't know where it's coming from. That way, we'll pinpoint all their positions, and you'll sneak past them."

"Alright, do it quickly—this place is terrifying. I feel like I could die at any moment. The groaning from every direction—"

"Alright shut up, it's done. Let me show you like this..."

Yuel found himself in darkness again. Null, in owl form, perched on his left shoulder. Below, a 3D map appeared. Colorless, but accurate. Creatures were marked with dots. Squares for the asleep, circles for the awake. All color-coded by level.

Bad news: the level 5 titan was within 10 km—8 km away, in another tunnel underground. The tunnels stretched endlessly. Good news: it seemed busy trying to put another level 4 titan to sleep.

The tunnels were crawling with Dhunes and titans. Within the 10 km radius were:

4 exits

3 level 5 titans

6 level 4 titans

200+ level 3s

300+ level 2s

500+ level 1s

The rooms only housed the flower-like eggs; no one guarded them. The guarded areas were corridors, stairwells, and especially the exits. The entire place was overgrown with mushrooms and spore-spewing flowers.

Also, all the creatures counted were only the awake ones. The true number, including the sleeping, was likely several times higher.

"Hey, this shows I can't escape. Leaving this room is a death sentence."

"No. There's a way. Among the four exits, three are guarded by level 5 titans. The original owner of this cave is near one of them and would definitely stop you. But the last exit isn't guarded by a level 5—it's our best shot. I'll guide you to it."

"But even if no level 5s are there, I'll still die on the way. I'm too weak for level 4s—or even 3s. How will I reach the exit alive?"

"That's where I'll use another 0.3% of your percentage to drive every being in the tunnel to the brink of madness. The whispers will disorient them, mess with their perception and thoughts. They won't be able to move or act. They'll just try to block out the whispers. Except the level 5 titans—avoid them at all costs. Got it?"

"Got it. But… if we can do that, why not use all the percentage and just kill all the titans?"

"You idiot. You don't know anything about percentages, do you? Once spent, they're gone forever. Not like mana. You only get a set amount when you inherit the bloodline. That's all you can use. If you spend them all now, you'll be helpless later. Ideally, most of it should go toward crafting a powerful weapon. That's why we're only using 0.3%—which is already a huge number considering it's meant to last your entire life."

"Then what do I do now? Are you starting right away?"

"It's already started. You need to run. I'll guide you. You have 5 minutes—if you're not out by then, you die. Run for your life!"