The summit of the Monolith, Somna’s office, was eerily tranquil.

  The countless data streams floating in the air continued to flow in their fixed orbits, and the magnificent holograms glowed as if nothing had changed, indifferent to their master’s absence.

  It was the very role and method of the Monolith—to perfectly maintain and perpetuate the luxury and existence of the wealthy, even in their departure.

  Adin stood before the gargantuan tank in the center of the room, looking down at Somna, who slept as if preserved in stasis. Her body, submerged in a preservative fluid shimmering with a faint pink hue, appeared outwardly as alive as ever.

  Yet, the true end of the ruler who once controlled every second of Ivory and turned the agony of the underground into a pastime was, ultimately, the abyss of a self-chosen, perpetual dream.

  The rage that had once burned toward her had long since cooled into a frozen stillness. Adin found he could not even bring himself to hate her. Instead, a bittersweet compassion for a human who had fled from reality, calling it hell, pricked at a corner of his heart.

  "So, was this the final depth you wished to reach?" Adin whispered lowly, bowing his head for a moment.

  It was not the arrogance of a victor, but a minimum of courtesy toward a soul that had lost its way in a twisted world.

  The heavy silence was broken by the clear, harmonic chime of an alarm from the terminal. It was a signal from the independent security system that Somna had cherished and managed like an extension of herself.

  An unfamiliar phrase flickered across the screen:

  [NOTIFICATION: Heritage Garden - 'Auri' #092 Newborn. Vitals: Stable.]

  Rhea entered the room with hurried footsteps. As soon as she confirmed the alarm message on the screen, she let out a deep breath and approached Adin.

  "It’s finally born," she said, her voice calm yet trembling minutely. "Somna had been waiting for this moment for so long..."

  Adin turned to her, pointing at the screen. "Rhea, what exactly is an 'Auri'? Why did Somna go to such lengths to build a separate system just to manage them?"

  Rhea gazed at Adin with a complex expression before answering.

  "They are noble, spiritual creatures that have existed since before Ivory and Ebony were divided—back when we lived as 'one world.' They aren't just simple animals, Adin. They were once the closest companions to the ancient nobility, mystical beings that protected their masters by sensing even the finest vibrations and sounds."

  "But what makes them truly special," she continued, guiding Adin toward the elevator, "is their anatomy."

  "An Auri’s massive ears aren't just auditory organs; they are like 'wings' that catch the airflow to overcome gravity. They possess hypersensory hearing, capable of discerning a faint heartbeat from kilometers away. Somna created this 'Heritage Garden' to preserve that vanishing ancient purity. Come, let’s go. You’ll understand once you see them."

  The elevator arrived at the deepest core of the Monolith, a special floor completely isolated from the outside world. The moment the heavy metal doors slid open, Adin could only gasp and freeze in his tracks.

  What lay before his eyes was not the cold metallic walls of the Monolith. It was an ancient wilderness of shockingly surreal beauty.

  A pristine, transparent emerald sky stretched out endlessly, and crystalline waterfalls flowed like the Milky Way between islands that floated in the air, defying gravity.

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  Beneath his feet, bioluminescent moss was spread like silk, and the air exhaled by the gargantuan ancient trees was sweet and pure. Just breathing in felt as if his lungs, tainted by the stagnant air of the underground, were being purified.

  A non-realistic paradise of primary colors was there, making one forget every law of reality. And in the center of that forest, the Auri took flight.

  They possessed delicate faces with luminous black eyes, as if the brightest stars of the night sky had been embedded within them. But what truly astonished Adin were their ears.

  Massive ears, large enough to softly envelop their entire bodies, were spread wide on either side. Soft decorative plumes trailing from the tips of their ears sliced through the air, fluttering like the wings of a butterfly.

  "My god... they’re like butterflies," Adin murmured, captivated.

  The Auri swam gracefully through the air around him, perhaps sensing his heartbeat as a joyful song. Their smooth black-and-white coats exuded an elegance that looked like billowing white silk with every movement. Their lush, plumed tails swayed like soft brushes casting magic into the air.

  At that moment, newborn #092 stepped onto the ground from between its mother’s wing-ears and let out a tiny tremor from its ears. Though fragile, the sight of the small creature walking with its head held high evoked the grace of a prince from a small kingdom.

  As the beauty of the paradise reached its zenith, Adin’s eyes shook deeply. In his mind, a memory of Ebony rose, cruelly contrasting with this dazzling scene.

  "Rhea... I’ve actually seen this creature in Ebony before."

  Adin’s voice sank low. Rhea looked at him with a bewildered expression. "That’s impossible, Adin. Auri cannot survive outside of Ivory. The atmosphere and noise there are lethal to them."

  "No, I’ve seen them," Adin insisted. "It was a pitiful creature kept bound in the basement of the drunkard who lived next door to me. We called it 'SORI.'"

  Adin pointed at the Auri’s wing-beats with a trembling hand.

  "SORI couldn't fly. The man had ruthlessly sheared those magnificent ears with scissors so it couldn't escape. Pus always seeped from the mutilated ears, and SORI could only shiver in the corner, unable to even make a sound."

  "People thought it was just a pathetic creature born deformed," he continued, recalling the chill of the damp basement. "But it wasn't a monster. It was an angel fallen into hell, stripped of its wings."

  "On nights when the drunkard owner passed out, I used to climb over the wall with scraps of bread hidden in my clothes. SORI would wait for me, its clipped ears trembling. When I silently unfastened its iron collar, we walked through the fishy alleys of Ebony together."

  "I whispered stories to SORI that I couldn't tell anyone else. That poor thing was my only comfort. We endured those horrific times leaning on each other’s warmth."

  Rhea paused, then operated the terminal to bring up a holographic screen. A dusty search record appeared. She pointed to a photograph with a trembling finger.

  "Adin, look at this. This is an Auri who went missing during an Ebony scouting mission long ago. [ID: AR-047]... I think 'SORI' is this very child."

  The Auri in the photograph was gracefully fluttering its wings in an emerald forest. Adin looked back and forth between the image and the memory of SORI shivering in the basement, and clenched his fists tight.

  Adin made his decision. He had to save his true friend, who was still groaning alone in that cold, dark basement.

  He returned straight to Somna’s room and began packing. He stuffed high-tech security bypass devices and emergency rations into his backpack.

  Falling from Ivory to Ebony was easy, but 'reversing' the path from the summit of power to the abandoned land was an entirely different matter.

  "No, Adin! This is too dangerous," Rhea’s voice called out urgently. "The upper-level security systems are merciless toward reverse-entry intruders. The further you go down, the more you’ll face gravity pressure and lethal traps. You could really die!"

  Rhea’s eyes were filled with fear, but Adin did not stop. He tightened the straps of his backpack and turned to her.

  "I know, Rhea. But SORI has been waiting there his whole life, without wings. If I don't go, no one will ever go to save him."

  Leaving Rhea behind, Adin stood before the descent gate where a cold darkness surged.

  The descent map was filled with dozens of security sectors and lethal traps designed to pulverize intruders. The mechanical sentries guarding each floor would block his path like the gatekeepers of hell.

  It was a brutal journey that required him to break through layers of death traps one by one. Adin adjusted his pack and threw himself into the vast darkness beyond the gate.

  "Wait for me, SORI. I’m coming."

  The deeper he descended, the sharper the system’s blades would become and the heavier the gravity would press upon his soul, but his eyes shone with more determination than ever before.

  The prologue to the long journey toward hell had begun.

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