All Ed could hear was the whir of the wind as he fell within the darkness. Every breath he took was filled with the purple smoke, causing a harsh stinging sensation within his lungs. His entire body felt numb, as if there were thousands of needles being poked and prodded into it.

Several minutes passed. 'When's it going to end?' He wondered. He forcefully opened his eyes against the strong winds in an attempt to see. The purple smoke caused his eyes to burn and water. Everything surrounding him was dark, but far beneath him he could just barely make out a fiery purple glow. The glow grew larger and larger as he continued to fall.

Splash. Ed felt a freezing chill cover his body as he crashed into a body of water. He quickly swam to the surface and coughed repeatedly. His eyes widened in shock at the scene in front of him.

The underground cavern was brightly lit with rivers and lakes of purple lava flowing everywhere. The bright purple glow formed a sharp contrast to the dark waters he found himself in. There was an odd wall that ran straight down the middle of the cavern, dividing it in two. Crude shacks and huts decorated each side of the wall. On the left side of the wall were groups of men and on the right were groups of women. The men and women wore strange purple animal skins and leathers. With their athletic builds and primitive structures, Ed felt as if he had been transported to the ancient past.

"A newcomer?" A deep voice bellowed. Ed turned to the left and saw four large muscular men standing with their arms crossed. One was Black, one was White, one was Latino, and the last was Asian. They stood far apart while cautiously eyeing each other, ready to defend themselves if the need arose.

"Hey newbie. Want to come with us?" A high-pitched voice rung. Ed turned to the right and saw four tall muscular women. Just like the men, they were composed of four races, and they seemed to be very defensive against the others.

"Don't fall for their tricks, lad." The muscular white man said. "If you go with them then you'll be enslaved faster than you can unbutton your pants." He turned to look at the other three men. "This one's white, so he's ours."

The Asian man ignored him and spoke, "Our group is the minority here, so we accept all colors. You're welcome to join as long as you swear unwavering loyalty to the boss."

"Pfft!" The white man laughed. "Why would one of ours go and do something stupid like that?" He walked forward a few steps and reached a hand out towards Ed within the water. "You're with friends here, lad. On the surface, they don't appreciate the greatness of the master race. But down here, we're finally free to be ourselves."

Ed's eye twitched as he noticed a small swastika tattoo on the white man's neck. 'The warden wasn't kidding about the racist groups down here...'

The black man turned around to leave, retreating towards a shack built near the water. He waved as he headed inside. "If you're ever looking for protection, then give me a shout. We might be able to work something out."

The Latino man silently left towards another shack without saying anything.

Ed ignored the outreached hand of the white man and climbed out of the water by himself.

"A cripple?!" The white man replied in surprise when seeing Ed's missing arm. "You're going to have a hard time surviving down here like that."

"I doubt it." Ed lazily rubbed his neck while tilting his head. He felt no threat from these men. Not because they were weak, but because he was too strong. He walked past them towards the men's side of the cavern, opting to check things out for himself.

"Oy!" The white man grabbed ahold of Ed's arm to stop him. "You can't just enter the encampment without joining a side! If you're not going to join, then piss off to the ladies' side! A scrawny boy like you might fit in better over there anyways!"

Ed frowned. "Let go."

The man's grip tightened even further as he grinned, revealing a missing tooth. "And if I don't?"

Ed glanced at the Asian man. "What does the warden do to murderers down here?"

"Murderers?" He smiled. "They encourage it. There's no punishment for anything we do down here unless we fail to meet our quotas."

"Good." Ed nodded and glanced back at the white man. "Any last words?"

"YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME?!" The man roared as he tried to pull Ed forward. However, he stared in shock as he failed to make him budge.

Scales covered Ed's body as he threw a high kick with his right leg. A cracking sound rang out as his leg connected with the man's neck. The man's eyes bulged out as he quickly collapsed to the floor, dying instantly.

"Would you look at that." Ed smiled. "I've been here less than five minutes and I already earned a mana-core." He reached down, preparing to crush the man's head and retrieve the mana-core.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Asian man interrupted.

"Oh?" Ed rose a questioning eyebrow. 'This man might be useful. Snowball's chance in hell I'll swear my loyalty to his boss, but at least he's shown some goodwill.'

"Back up and watch." The man said as he pulled out a chain-sickle. He hurled the blade forward, stabbing it into the dead man's head. Then he yanked backwards, slicing the head open.

A reddish-green mana-core was exposed to the world. It began to shine brightly. Boom! It exploded, spreading flames to the surroundings. The flames only lasted a brief moment before vanishing, but they had completely incinerated the body within that time.

Ed's eyes widened in surprise. "Is it because of the purple smoke?" He questioned.

"Right." The Asian man nodded. "Traditional mana-core harvesting is impossible down here. However, there are certain other resources that are even more valuable. Unfortunately, the warden takes the vast majority of these resources."

"Is that so." Ed nodded. "Thanks for letting me know." He stood up and prepared to walk towards the men's side.

"You're welcome to come meet the boss anytime." The Asian man called behind him. "Don't underestimate people here because of us. Only the weakest members get sent to the hole to try recruiting newbies."

Ed waved without looking back, continuing to walk forward. He eyed the surroundings curiously. 'Why does everyone wear the same purple skins and leathers?' He wondered as he glanced down as his own clothing, which was still black and ordinary.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of a hammer echoed. Ed turned to look at the source of the sound and saw a white man wielding a large black hammer. The man had a strange dragon tattoo on his forehead.

The hammer-wielding man struck down repeatedly on a square block of metal that looked like coal. He occasionally took the metal off the anvil and dunked it in a nearby pool of purple lava. Then he repeated the hammering. Soon, the coal-colored block was shaped into a sharp black short sword. The blacksmith dunked it in water, causing steam to rise into the air. Then he nonchalantly threw it into a nearby barrel filled with similar swords. He glanced up and frowned. "Buying something or not, kid?"

"Not right now." He shook his head as he walked away. As he studied people in detail, he slowly realized that everybody here had one of four tattoo types. A swastika, a fist, a bull, and a dragon. The swastika represented the white supremacist, which seemed to be the majority of espers here. The black fist represented the black supremacist. The bull was the symbol the Latinos had adopted. Last was the dragon, which belonged to the Asians. However, there were small numbers of others that had joined the Asian group, likely because it was such a small group to begin with.

'Maybe I should start my own group?' Ed wondered as he judged the various espers. 'I could scorch the eye of anyone that joins? We could be the scorched eyes? Or maybe the cyclops?'

He soon stopped in front of a food stall that was serving meat skewers. They gave off a tempting smell, causing his stomach to rumble. The other espers purchasing were using small chunks of manullium ore, treating the ore as if it was coin.

'Guess I'm going to have to go mining later.' Ed sighed and whirled around, preparing to find somewhere he could gather more information.

"That's the guy." A deep voice echoed.

Ed glanced back and saw five white men walking towards him, each wearing a swastika tattoo.

"You've got some nerve killing our recruiter!" The front man said while pummeling his fist into his hand. The other four men quickly encircled Ed, leaving him no way to escape. "Die!" The front man yelled as he threw a fist forward.

Scales quickly covered Ed's body as he hurriedly caught the fist. His eyes widened in surprise as he was pushed back slightly. This man was actually stronger than his chimera form! Not only that, but he was also only a lackey of their boss! 'Why are the espers here so strong? That pilot too. It makes no sense. Phantom was one of the original espers, but he was only comparable to these guys in strength?'

"Oh? This one's pretty strong." The man grinned. The four other men moved forward, preparing to take Ed's life.

"That's enough of that." A confident voice called. A slender Asian man walked forward, his hands folded together within his sleeves. He wore fancy purple robes lined with golden threads. His long straight black hair and androgynous looks made him look like someone of noble birth. He could easily pass as a woman, and he seemed completely out of place when compared to the surroundings.

The five white men froze when they saw the man. "Mr. Long." The front man's voice trembled as he took several steps back, cold sweat covering his body.

"I'm in a good mood today, so scram." The Asian man glared at them.

The five white men wasted no time in fleeing, not even bothering to look back once.

The Asian man smiled towards Ed. "Hello. My subordinate informed me that a rather interesting esper arrived today, and I just had to meet you. You may call me Mr. Long." He reached out his slender hand, revealing a dragon tattoo that covered it and likely travelled up the rest of his arm.

Ed rose an eyebrow as he shook the man's hand.

"So interesting." Mr. Long smiled as he examined the scales on Ed's body. "Is that your natural power? I've never met an esper that managed to use their powers down here before. Can you give others similar scales? I think they're quite suited for the Fire Dragon Clan."

"The Fire Dragon Clan?" Ed questioned.

"Ah, excuse me." He let go of Ed's hand. "I'm the boss of the Fire Dragon Clan." He said while waving his hand and pointing at the tattoo. "Any interest in joining? We treat our members quite well."

"I'll pass." Ed shook his head. "I don't serve anyone. More importantly, I'm not tattooing a dragon on my face."

"A pity." He sighed while shaking his head. "Well, feel free to find me if you ever change your mind. It's rare for someone new to not join a group, so you're probably lacking in information." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a thin book. "We give these to our new members. Consider it a small token of goodwill."

Ed took the book and glanced at it. It seemed to be a fairly simple guidebook. "Thanks." He nodded while turning around to leave. He walked away from the crowded areas and crouched behind a small hut.

'Let's see.' He opened the book and began reading.

'Welcome, new member! As you may have already guessed, the cage is not what most people expect it to be. There are no bars, confinement, or anything of the sort. However, you'll soon come to realize just how dangerous this place is. Roughly half of all newbies die in the first week, so you better prepare yourself!'

Ed skimmed through the introduction and skipped towards the quota section.

'Every prisoner is required to deliver a certain amount of resources to the Warden each month. These resources include only two things. Manullium and purple mana-cores. Manullium is easier to gather, but you'll have to work nonstop to gather enough of it to meet the quota. Purple mana-cores are more convenient, as you only need a single one to meet your monthly quota! Unfortunately, these mana-cores are not so easily earned. The danger in acquiring one is great, and other espers will do everything they can to take your harvest. Fortunately, the Fire Dragon Clan is here to help safeguard...'

Ed stopped reading and frowned. 'Purple mana-cores? What the hell is that?' He had worked on hundreds of mana-cores within living people and had collected thousands of mana-cores over time. Not once had he ever seen the slightest trace of purple within a mana-core.

He skimmed through the rest of the book, which was much less interesting. It included basic pricing information on food, clothes, and shelter. There were also some rules to follow within the clan, but that didn't apply to himself. There was some information on slaves. Apparently, the men's side and women's side had some slave trades going on with each other to meet their members' lustful needs. Neither side had ever been able to conquer the others, for the female espers were just as strong as the men. Lastly, there was a section on punishment.

'Punishment within the cage typically only occurs when an esper fails to meet their quota for the month. The first occurrence will result in castration. The second will result in your tendons being severed. The third... well no one ever makes it that far. You're going to die down here after getting your tendons cut. Whatever you do, you must never miss submitting your quota. Also, beware of corrupt guards. While the guards rarely visit the encampment, they absolutely cannot be trusted. Many good men lost their family jewels when they failed to heed this advice.'

"Castration?!" Ed exclaimed in shock. "What the fuck kind of prison is this?" He frowned as he glanced back down at the book. 'Wait, the due date for the quota is at the end of each month? That's in three days!' A shiver went down his spine as he stood up. 'I've lost enough limbs, and I'll be damned if I lose that too. I need to hurry up and get a purple mana-core.'