The next night, inside the Nineteenth District, darkness swallowed everything. The sky was pitch black, not even a trace of the moon to be seen. From afar, the prison towers in the Nineteenth District stood tall and clearly visible. The sound of the guards’ footsteps echoed across the entire area. On the rooftop of one of the nearby buildings, Jevan stood beside Adam. His face was hidden behind a black mask. A small fabric bag hung over his shoulder, filled with playing cards marked with the symbols of the Authority of Miracles and the Authority of Law, along with several short daggers engraved with the same symbols. He lifted his gaze toward the prison, exhaled, and muttered: "For the Creator’s sake, how did they even build something this massive here, in the middle of the district?" Adam just cast him a sideways glance, saying nothing. His shadow rippled faintly around his feet. The two moved, slipping through the alleys until they reached the outer walls. They managed to slip past the guards easily thanks to Jevan’s mask, which concealed his presence, and Adam’s Shadow Authority, which allowed him to move unseen. Inside, rows of cells lined four circular floors, with a massive spiral staircase connecting the levels. The air was thick with the smell of dust and sweat, and the clatter of keys echoed in the hands of patrolling guards. There were dozens of them, moving with precision and discipline making reaching Diana’s cell nearly impossible. Jevan and Adam exchanged a quick look from behind a stone pillar before Jevan whispered quietly: "Looks like we’ve got ourselves a little problem." Jevan shrugged, pulling a few cards from his bag and smirking beneath the mask. "Ideas? Yeah. It’s called brute force." Adam didn’t object he replied with equal enthusiasm: "I’ll be the bait tonight. You go get the girl, got it?" Jevan raised his hand and tossed the cards into the air. They spun wildly, then shot forward toward a group of guards on the ground floor. The cards pierced through their bodies in an instant, dropping them to the ground. One of them let out a brief scream before collapsing. At that moment, Jevan stepped out from behind the pillar and called out: "Good evening, gentlemen. How’s everyone doing tonight?" Every guard turned toward him. Weapons were raised immediately. Meanwhile, behind them, Adam merged into the wall, slipping through the corridors in silence. One of the guards approached Jevan, and Jevan released another volley of cards toward them. They flew with lethal speed one guard fell, blood pouring from his neck, another dropped to his knees clutching his shoulder in agony. Jevan moved among them with sharp, agile motions, ducking and weaving with ease. One guard tried to stab him from behind, but Jevan twisted, caught his wrist, and drove his boot hard into the man’s stomach. He wasn’t trying to kill them all only to disable them long enough to clear a path. He wanted to conserve his strength for the escape after rescuing Diana. While fighting, he noticed one of the guards pulling a small slip of paper from his pocket, scribbling something quickly before crushing it in his fist. The paper ignited instantly and vanished into the air. "Damn it. They’ve called for backup." The sound of battle reached the upper floors. More guards charged down the spiral staircase. Jevan leaped over one guard, spun, and drove his short sword into another. Blood splattered across the wall. He flicked a single card forward it struck a man square in the forehead, and he dropped instantly. Meanwhile, Adam had reached the upper level, crawling quietly through the shadows as he searched for the cell where Diana was imprisoned. Back below, Jevan stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by corpses and guards converging on him from every direction. He bowed dramatically as the guards from the upper floors arrived and said: "Seems things are about to get more interesting." Jevan twirled a card between his fingers as dozens of guards formed a tight circle around him. Then he raised his hand and dashed forward. It took the guards only a few seconds to realize what had happened, and they rushed after him. Every time one got close, Jevan spun and threw a single card. It struck its target in the eye, dropping the man screaming to the floor. If another got too close, Jevan swung his short sword clean and fast separating the man’s head from his body in one fluid motion. But as their numbers grew and they began to close in, space around Jevan started to shrink. Soon, they cornered him with no exit in sight. That’s when Jevan pulled a large stack of cards from his bag and hurled them into the air. The cards spun into a vortex, then transformed into a massive swarm of black crows. The birds erupted into a sharp, shrill chorus as they dove toward the guards, clawing at their faces. Some fell, breaking apart midair before hitting the ground as plain cards again. The guards panicked some fell while trying to shield themselves, others lost balance under the relentless attacks. Jevan seized the chaos, slipping away from the cluster of men before raising his hand again. In a single instant, the crows transformed back into playing cards and rained down like a storm. They pierced into chests and limbs from every direction. Within seconds, the ground was carpeted with bodies riddled with cards. Jevan stopped in the middle of the hallway, lifted his mask slightly, revealing part of his face. He scratched the back of his head and said: "Well, that was easier than I expected. Looks rescue mission’s going to be short..." Before he could finish, something slammed violently through his chest. He looked down to see a massive metallic hand piercing straight through his body from behind. He turned his head slowly and standing behind him was a man in his mid forties. His right arm and left leg were entirely mechanical, built of gears, bolts, and steam pipes. The metallic hand that had pierced Jevan’s chest was pulling itself together with magnetized shards of steel. Meanwhile, Adam was moving through the corridors and upper floors. Most of the guards had rushed downstairs to join the fight against Jevan, leaving the passageways nearly empty. The few who remained were watching the battle from afar, unaware of what was happening behind them. Adam took advantage of it. He slipped past one of them unnoticed and entered a small room in the corner. The room was filled with old crates, and on a table hung several large keys. He grabbed them, then quietly slipped out. He continued sneaking through the corridors until he finally found the cell where Diana was held. The walls were cold and gray, the light dim, and silence hung heavy in the air. He inserted the key slowly into the lock until he heard a soft click. When he opened the door, he saw Diana sitting on a metal bed in the corner. Her hair was messy, falling over her shoulders, her face expressionless as she stared blankly at the ceiling. When she heard the door, she lifted her head. When she saw Adam standing at the doorway, she said: "Adam? What are you doing here?" Content orıginally comes from 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵