Ed entered a large guest room that Tai had assigned to him. Unlike the tacky bright colors outside the mansion, the room was rather normal, though the decorations were ornate. The dresser, wardrobe, and other furniture appeared to be made of some type of expensive mahogany. The bed was big enough for at least four or five people, and it faced a large window that overlooked the backyard garden.

'Guess I'll get changed...' He decided as he looked down at his clothes. He had gotten in the habit of using his powers to clean himself, and because of it, he still wore the purple leather armor that was common in the cage. Even in the brightly colored Fire Dragon Sect, he and the other prisoners looked pretty ridiculous. 'It's good Tai has extra outfits for guests.' He opened the dresser, hoping to find some jeans, a casual shirt, and undergarments. However, he only found boxers and socks inside. He took a pair of each and walked over to the wardrobe. As he opened it, his eyes widened in shock.

"You've got to be kidding me." He sighed aloud while facepalming. 'Does Tai really expect me to wear this?' In front of him were several sets of robes similar to what Tai liked to wear. They looked expensive and difficult to wear. It was made even worse by the fact that all of them were bright orange and red. They were even more colorful than his brightly colored purple leather armor.

'There's got to be something better than this.' He thought as he searched the room. The closet was mostly empty, with nothing resembling clothing. In desperation, he searched for something he could use to alter the color with his powers. He at least wanted to make the outfit an ordinary black or blue color. Unfortunately, the room was mostly bare. He considered using the white sheets to modify the outfit, but he didn't really like the idea of wearing pure white either. Giving up, he begrudgingly changed into the robe and walked over to the dresser to view himself in the mirror.

Now 17 years old and standing at 1.85 meters tall, he had grown a lot during his time in the cage. His pale skin was very clean, not a blemish in sight. Not a single scar or burn remained from his many fights over the past two years. His dark curly hair had been cut short. He rubbed his hair, wishing it was longer so he could use it with his powers to make the hideous robes black. The orange and red robes looked gaudy, like something a stage performer might wear. Orange was the primary color, with red lines appearing like flames dancing along the edges.

Suddenly, a knocking pounded on the door. "Excuse me, esteemed guest." A feminine voice called. "Young Master Long has called you for dinner."

"I'll be right there." He replied, taking one final look at the ridiculous getup in the mirror. Heading downstairs and turning to the left, he entered a large dining hall. A long dining table awaited him, with multiple golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The hardwood floors matched nicely with the brown trim on the white walls.

Tai, Flair, Haru, and Hina already sat at the table, with Tao lying down nearby. Ed's eyes widened in surprise when he saw them. It seemed Tai's favorite color was purple, as he still wore the same types of robes as before. However, the others wore robes similar to his own, and they were ordinary in color! Hina wore dark green robes, which was an interesting look when matched with her green skin. Flair wore sky blue robes, seemingly delighted with them as she kept playing with the long sleeves. Haru wore plain black robes, much like how Ed had originally wanted for himself.

"Ed!" Tai called happily while raising a glass of wine. "I didn't think you'd like flashy colors like those. I figured you'd wear darker colors like Haru."

"Not like I had choice." He grumbled as he pulled back a chair and sat down. Much to his dissatisfaction, he had a glass of wine in front of him instead of rum or other harder alcohols. He picked it up and gulped it down in one go, the fruity flavor lingering in his mouth. A moment later, multiple servants entered while carrying trays of expensive looking food.

An unfamiliar looking cooked bird was placed in front of Ed. Starving and wishing to relieve his frustration, he grabbed the thigh right off it and took a bite. His mouth salivated as he quickly devoured the meal. Before he knew it, he had finished it in one go. He looked back up and saw the others had barely got started. "That was pretty good." He commented.

"I'm glad you like it." Tai smiled. "That bird was domesticated from mutants over ten years at the request of my father. It's considered an expensive delicacy within the sect. Of course, I can have it whenever I want."

"Rich bastard." Ed jokingly replied as he started eating some side dishes, albeit more slowly than before.

Soon, everyone had finished their meals. Tai wiped his mouth with a napkin, somehow managing to make the mundane activity look noble in appearance. He stood up from the table. "Everyone, feel free to return to your rooms for the night or explore the house. If you wish to go into the city, please ask one of my servants to accompany you." He turned to Ed. "Ready to meet the Sect Master?"

Just as he was about to answer, Haru interrupted him. "Wait! I need to talk to Master privately first!"

"Master?!" Ed and Tai both replied simultaneously, looking at each other and wondering when the other had taken Haru on as a disciple.

Haru cleared up the confusion by staring at Ed, his eyes deadly serious.

Speechless for a moment, Ed finally replied. "Brat, when did I become your master? I said I'd introduce you to somebody as most."

"Ah, it was just a slip of speech." Haru said seriously, not seeming bothered by the lack of recognition. "I really need to talk to you in private before you go. It's important."

"Fine..." He sighed while standing from the table. He gave Tai an apologetic look. "Sorry, just give me a few minutes."

Ed and Haru exited the dining room and went upstairs to Ed's room. "Alright, what is it, brat?" Ed questioned as he sat on the bed.

"Ah, well it probably isn't that important actually..." Haru said nervously.

"Out with it." He replied. "We're already here, so just tell me."

Haru looked around the room nervously before spotting the wardrobe. He walked over to it and opened it, pulling out one of the sets of gaudy orange and red robes. He carried it over and reached inside the robe, tugging at it. Soon, he pulled it completely inside out.

Ed's eyes widened in shock as he watched what was happening.

"The robes are reversible..." Haru whispered. The robe that he had reversed was black in color, just like the one he was already wearing.

Curious, Ed reached for the collar of his own robe and opened it to look inside. The lighting in the room was fairly dark, so he had to position himself by the window to see properly. Sure enough, his own robe was dark green, matching the one that Hina had worn downstairs. "I'm the only one that didn't notice it..." He muttered aloud, disbelieving that he had made such a mistake.

"It's something that's easy to miss..." Haru attempted to console him.

"Forget it." Ed sighed while shaking his head. "Get out so I can get changed."

"Sure..." Haru set the robe down and hurriedly left the room.

"FUCK!!!" Ed shouted in rage as soon as he was alone, hurriedly pulling off his robe and throwing it against the bed. 'I'm a fucking dumbass! An idiot! To think I was on the verge of wearing that hideous atrocity while going outside to meet the Sect Leader! I swear to god, if Tai wasn't my friend, I'd kill him!'

Still fuming mad, he changed into the black robe that Haru had pulled out for him. When finished, he looked far more imposing. It was as if he changed from being a wannabe performer to an educated business man. If before, Ed didn't believe in the idea that the clothes make the man, then by now he was a firm believer.

Leaving the room, he spotted Haru quietly waiting outside for him. "Thanks." He nodded towards him. "I owe you a favor."

"Really?!" Haru replied excitedly. "Then make me your student! No, make me your disciple!"

"..." Ed stared at the kid, feeling exasperated. "Didn't I already promise to introduce you to OP Baldy?" He questioned.

"Yeah, but I've never met him." Haru replied. "Besides, they say you should never meet your heroes or you'll be disappointed. But I've already met you and know what you're like, so I should just choose what I already know!"

"Know?" Ed smirked. "Brat, I've killed a lot of people. I've tortured them and experimented on them. To further my own goals, I've purposefully caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Maybe more. To meet my future goals, I'll likely cause the deaths of millions. So, you tell me, do you really think you know me?"

"Mm." Haru nodded. "At first, I didn't recognize you, but I've heard of Forge a long time ago."

"Forge?!" His eyes widened in surprise. "Where the hell did you hear about that?"

"A lot of people know about it." Haru smiled. "There was a strange storyteller that used to visit us before the Water Nightmare came, and he told stories from around the world. One such story was about a boy named Forge and his organization called Harmony. He told us that Forge had successfully taken over an entire state in America before being stopped by the President and thrown into prison."

"And what did this storyteller look like?" Ed questioned.

"That..." Haru hesitated a moment. "He looked like an ugly old man wearing a black robe... but I followed him once out of curiosity and watched him transform into a teenager with spiky white hair. He must've been an esper."

"Tsk." Ed clicked his tongue. 'What game is Dupe playing? Spreading stories of me around other countries... Does he want to watch similar uprisings happen so that he can sit back and enjoy the show?' Shaking his head, he looked back to Haru. "Look, we don't have disciples in America. I don't have any techniques to give you nor any sagely advice. I'm mostly just fumbling around on my own. If you really want to follow me, I won't stop you. Just know ahead of time that you're wasting your time."

"Got it." Haru nodded seriously. "I won't let you down, Master!"

'I'm going to regret this..." Ed groaned to himself as he walked down the stairs. "Tai, ready to roll?" He yelled towards the dining room.

"Coming." Tai shouted back. Exiting the dining room, he frowned when he saw Ed. "You changed your robes? A pity. My father really likes those that wear the sect colors. After all, he's the one that decides all these things." He looked at Haru, who was standing on the staircase nearby. "Oh... matching robes?" He grinned. "I see. So you accepted Haru as your first student. Congratulations!"

"Let's just go." Ed frowned as he grabbed Tai by the arm and dragged him towards the door.

"We'll be back later!" Tai shouted towards the house. "Don't worry if we're gone a couple days!"

Back on the Fire Dragon Sect campus, the duo walked for nearly twenty minutes before reaching an ordinary looking building. Other than the bright colors, nothing seemed special about it. It wasn't even large, only being about the size of a small office building.

"This is the place?" Ed questioned curiously.

"Ah, one of them." Tai nodded as he entered inside.

'One of them? Can the Sect Master be in multiple places at once like Dupe or something?' He wondered as he followed Tai inside. Contrary to what he was expecting, there were only two things in the small building. A short middle-aged Chinese woman sat behind a large mahogany desk, and behind her there was a giant hole in the floor. Confused, he glanced at Tai, but it seemed that he had been expecting this.

"Hello." Tai smiled. "I'm here to meet with my father."

The woman looked up, and upon seeing who it was, she hurriedly stood up and bowed. "Young Master Long! It's an honor to see you again!"

"Haha, no need to be so formal." Tai nonchalantly waved his hand.

"I still remember when the young master was just a little toddler..." The short woman sighed while rubbing a tear from her eye. "You were so cute the way you use to always run around and cause trouble. I was just a young woman when you snuck into the women's bath-"

"AHEM!" Tai coughed into his fist. "Please excuse me! We're in a bit of a rush." He hurriedly grabbed Ed by the arm and dragged him towards the hole. He didn't hesitate at all as he jumped inside.

Similar to the time Ed had entered the cage, the duo fell for a long time. The wind roared past them as they dropped like rocks. After nearly ten minutes, Tai shot strong blasts of flames downwards, slowing their descent. Not really understanding what was happening, Ed copied him using his silver flames.

The duo softly landed on hard ground thanks to their powers. In front of them was a maze of caverns with reddish-orange lava flowing throughout them. The smell of sulfur was suffocating, and the heat singed their skin. Even for powerful espers, it was extremely hot. Much hotter than an underground volcano should be.

Ed glanced at Tai, waiting for an explanation.

"My father meditates down here most of the time. That's why there are multiple entrances since the caverns cover the entire city." Tai explained. "He has a tendency to heat things up, so it isn't good if he does it above ground. You'll see what I mean soon. Follow me."

The duo walked along the winding paths. They occasionally passed lakes of lava, and Ed couldn't help but reminisce about the cage. It had only been a short while since he escaped, but he missed it in some odd ways. At the very least, things had always been relatively simple and straightforward down there.

After nearly an hour of walking, they stopped in front of a pair of large obsidian doors. The doors towered over a hundred meters in height and glowed an eerie red color. The heat radiating off them was so strong that Ed's skin turned red while sweat covered his body. 'Just how strong is this heat?' He wondered. 'For it to affect me despite my chimera body and my mastery over a path of fire...'

"We're here." Tai said seriously as he looked to Ed.