The next morning came not with sunrise, but with **iron**.
Chains. Boots. Keys.
The cell door groaned open and the same armored guard from before entered, helmet tucked under one arm, expression unreadable beneath a bristled mustache and hardened jaw.
He didn't speak. Just tossed something onto the floor near Kye's feet.
**Clothes.**
Fresh—well, cleaner than the blood-stained silk rags Kye had worn until now. Dark gray linen tunic, simple black trousers, leather cords to bind the sleeves and ankles. Prison-issue, but not humiliating.
The guard stepped back.
"You'll be moved today," he said. "Tribunal preparations."
Kye stayed sitting against the wall, body still sore from yesterday's… *whatever that was*. The residual pulse from the **Ember Vein** still lingered like embers buried in ash.
"Moved where?" he asked cautiously.
The guard didn't answer. Instead, he turned and left, boots thudding down the corridor.
The door clanged shut.
Kye waited another moment before dragging the clothes toward himself.
His wrists still bore the manacles, though the chains were shorter now—just enough slack to let him dress. He slipped the tunic over his head, wincing as it brushed bruises along his back and ribs.
The material was rough but warm.
He tied the cords tight, tucked the medallion beneath the collar, and exhaled.
*Better than silk soaked in dried blood.*
As he adjusted the sleeves, a sudden tension crept up his arms.
A familiar hum.
> **\[Ember Vein available – Condition: Stable (86% Sync)]**
> *Do you wish to activate?*
Kye hesitated.
Last time, it hit like a freight train of heat and memory.
But now, it didn't feel as volatile. More like a **simmer**.
He looked down at his hands—calloused now, veins more visible than before.
"…Let's see how real you are."
> **\[Activating Ember Vein…]**
A pulse ran through his arms.
Not explosive. Not blinding.
Just **a quiet ignition**—like striking flint and catching kindling.
His senses sharpened. His hearing deepened. His joints felt lighter, like someone had taken out the rust. His heartbeat slowed—but each thump felt heavier. Firmer.
He stood.
No stumble. No tremor.
His balance was cleaner. The ache in his joints dimmed.
"Okay," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "Okay… this I can work with."
No dramatic aura. No flaming fists. But his body was **tuned**—and it felt **good**.
That was when he noticed it.
The **wall**.
More specifically, the **hairline crack** in the lower left corner of the cell wall, just beneath where the water always dripped.
He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, crouching.
The Ember Vein must've amplified his perception—because he'd missed it entirely before.
He reached out, pressing his palm to the stone.
The surface felt normal.
But as he listened closer… there was a faint sound behind it.
A *drip*.
Followed by a *groan*.
Like moving water. Pipes? No—too natural. A **stream?**
His lips curled into a slow, quiet grin.
*They put me in a cell above a water tunnel.*
Kye looked up, heart racing.
His fingers tightened. The idea was **insane**—but then again, so was getting executed in five days.
> **\[Cognitive Suggestion: Manual escape probability – 3.7%]**
> **\[Strategic delay preferred – Tribunal Exposure Imminent]**
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Kye muttered to the system.
But still… knowing there was **a way out**, no matter how impossible, made the cell feel less like a coffin and more like a cage with a weak bar.
He wasn't escaping yet.
But if he had to?
There was a **plan B** forming.
---
**Elsewhere, beneath the Imperial Archives…**
A figure moved through candlelight.
Tall, cloaked, feminine. Her steps were silent, robes gliding across the marble floor like smoke. Dozens of **glass eyes** lined the walls—ancient relics enchanted with detection spells—but they did not blink at her presence.
She passed them unseen.
She reached a small chamber. Inside, a low, circular table bore a single mirror, its surface rippling with reflected heat.
A projection shimmered into view.
The face of an older woman, regal and composed. Silver-threaded hair. Violet eyes like sharpened gems.
The **Empress**.
"Is it done?" she asked.
The cloaked figure lowered her hood—**Talia**.
She bowed slightly.
"Not yet," she said. "He's… different."
The Empress's gaze narrowed.
"He *shouldn't* be."
Talia met her eyes without flinching. "I've served Kael for years. I've seen his wrath. His pride. His violence. But this one? He doesn't carry the same shadow."
The mirror rippled. "Are you saying the possession was incomplete?"
"No. The soul anchor worked. He has the body… and now he has the flame."
The Empress's expression didn't change, but the light behind her shifted—as if something powerful stirred behind the veil.
"I need him alive. But not soft. The storm is coming, Talia. And I will not gamble the throne on a boy playing at virtue."
Talia bowed again. "I'll test him."
"Do so soon."
The mirror faded.
Talia stared at her own reflection in the now-still surface.
"Let's see what kind of Overlord you'll become," she whispered.
---
**Back in the cell…**
The Ember Vein burned quietly in Kye's chest.
He lay back on the cold stone, heart slowed, vision sharp.
The path ahead wasn't straight. There would be no easy system handouts, no friendly tutorial pop-ups, no overpowered cheat code.
But he had something now.
* A **weapon** (his body).
* A **guide** (even if she had secrets).
* And a **choice** in every direction.
For the first time since waking up in this world, Kye wasn't waiting to die.
He was **plotting to survive**.