Chapter 57: Images
"This b*tch's ice? What are you talking about?" Bach couldn't help but ask after hearing Kael's whisper. He stared at Kael and saw the man's eyes—cold as the ice on the ground.
Bach's experience as a former soldier, and as someone who had gone through a lot, allowed him to feel the intense killing intent radiating from Kael. It made his body shiver instinctively, and for the first time, he suddenly realized—Kael is a very dangerous person, someone who could go wild at any moment.
Quietly, Bach took a step back, shutting his mouth. His eyes, however, remained focused on his companion, who had gone silent—though the miner knew it was probably because the man was trying to suppress his anger.
Just from that reaction alone, Bach was sure this ice had something to do with Kael.
This was the place where he found the man—lying on the ground, surrounded by this seemingly unbreakable ice.
With the help of advanced mining machinery, one miner could excavate a lot of material. Bach was on a solo mining shift at the time. The giant chunks of ice around them actually came from other areas of the mine, and this was the place where they decided to store some of it.
Bach had visited this part of the decline dozens of times and was surprised when he once found one of the giant ice chunks shattered. And at the center of it was the person now standing beside him. He was supposed to head to another section and continue working with the machinery, but seeing someone lying in a place where regular people wouldn't even dare step into, Bach Ponce was torn—should he help the man, or report it to the higher-ups?
But the higher-ups were *ssholes. The kind of people who would take pleasure in the misfortune of others. They would exploit anyone as long as there was something to gain. Bach was one of the people they often tried to take advantage of—cutting his wages for the most unreasonable reasons, charging ridiculous, clearly illegal "taxes" they made up on the spot. The only thing notable about them was how good they were at pocketing money meant for the miners and the mine itself.
Bach even suspected that the reason this mine hadn't been shut down yet was because the higher-ups were trying to milk it for everything it was worth—delaying operations just to get more funds from the New One company, funds that would go straight into their own pockets.
These giant chunks of ice should've been sent to New One, but instead, the higher-ups hoarded them here. A very obvious act of corruption.
And in the face of this pathetic excuse of a 'struggle,' Bach had made his choice. He helped Kael—secretly brought him out of the mine. At the time, he thought it was just a whim, a gut feeling. Even if he didn't hate the higher-ups, he probably still would've helped the unconscious man.
As Bach recalled the moment he first saw Kael, the man was now staring at the ice with cold, dead eyes.
The raging killing intent inside Kael was threatening to burst. Seeing the ice that imprisoned him for at least a hundred years made him want to destroy every last piece of it. The image of the Pink Prime seemed to appear on each shard—broken, shattered, and still staring at him. The pink visor gleamed, the mocking gaze behind the helmet clearer than ever.
Kael could feel Pink's stare through the ice—especially the giant chunks towering over him. His mind replayed that final battle against the Pink Prime, the one where he had been effortlessly overpowered. He was like a chicken in a human's grip—no matter how much he struggled, there was nothing he could do but wait to be butchered.
Suddenly, the 'images' began laughing at him—their joy impossible to hide, as if they wanted to make it sting even more.
Kael clenched his fist, his teeth grinding against each other as the laughter of Pink echoed throughout the cave. But as he stared at the 'images' in the ice, he caught a glimpse of himself—wearing his Aegis Prime.
He didn't move, but the reflection of the White Prime in front of him raised a hand, pointed a finger in his direction, then clenched its fist.
Suddenly, the giant ice in front of him cracked. The sharp sound echoed through the cave, overpowering the mocking laughter of the Pink Prime.
In the next moment, the ice shattered into countless pieces, falling to the ground and sending shards flying in every direction.
The images disappeared, and Kael was pulled back to reality.
"Hey… are you okay?" Bach asked with concern, noticing the dazed look in Kael's eyes.
Kael shook his head before answering, "I'm alright. Just have too much on my mind."
"Oh, that's good," Bach let out a relieved sigh. "So this is the place? Do you want to look around? I can wait for you here."
"Hmm." Kael nodded at the miner and started walking toward the ice. He didn't borrow the flashlight—this cave had a few lightbulbs scattered around, faintly illuminating the area.
Bach watched Kael's back for a moment, his eyes glinting in thought. Then he went off to find a place to sit.
…
Kael approached the giant ice, placing his hand against its cold surface. The chill seeped into his skin, bringing back the memories—but this time, he didn't let them consume him.
He was searching for something. Something that might give him a clue to everything.
Bach said he didn't find anything beside Kael's sleeping body, and Kael didn't doubt him. After scanning the mine as soon as they entered, Kael had already concluded that the entire M0001 had ice buried underneath—though scattered in different areas.
But when he was sealed in that giant ice by the Pink Prime, the ice was whole, intact. It shouldn't be in pieces all over the mine… not if this was truly where he appeared a hundred years ago.
Kael thought for a moment, then a theory formed in his mind.
Pink's teleportation cube must have sent him directly beneath the ground—which would later become the city's first mine. And when that happened, the sudden appearance of the massive ice clashed with the natural order. Two different existences occupying the same space—the result was destruction.
The ice hadn't been resisted during teleportation. It only shattered once it fully materialized and the 'ground' pushed back. That was why Pink's ice ended up scattered in shards throughout the M0001 mine.
But to Kael, the ice that sealed him no longer mattered. It was simply the strongest form of ice—practically unbreakable. Only time could wear it down, unless someone had the strength to rival the Pink Aegis Primeval. And Kael, even as the White Prime, couldn't match that power.
It took a hundred years for Pink's ice to finally weaken—just enough for Kael to break free. The ice had also been dense, preventing anyone from seeing what was inside.
Still, even if the ice didn't matter anymore, Kael wanted to understand everything.
He already knew how he got here. But he still didn't know why here? Why this planet, at the very edge of the Draknos Expanse? And why didn't she just kill him?
These were the kinds of questions Kael knew he wouldn't get answers to—at least, not yet.
But there was one question he might be able to answer soon:
Where is his suit?
Kael already expected that he wasn't going to find much. If the answers were just lying in front of him, then Pink wouldn't deserve the title of one of the Aegis Primeval. All her efforts to vanish him would be in vain if she left behind too many clues he could easily find.
However, even though Kael already knew it was useless to investigate the ice, he still did it. Besides, he hadn't come here just for this—his real intention was to find his suit. Once he was done and didn't find anything useful in the ice, he returned to Bach's side.
"Are you done?" Bach asked, seeing Kael walking toward him.
"Not yet," Kael replied.
"Oh, then wh—"
"I'm asking one last time—are you sure you only found me here? Just the ice and me, right?" Kael asked.
"Yes," Bach nodded. "Only you and the ice. If I found something else, I would've taken it with me, and you'd know. But even if there was something, this place has been around for years—someone else would've found it already."
"I see." Kael nodded, one hand under his chin as his mind wandered.
Bach stood quietly for a moment before he couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore. "Kael… I have a question. Don't answer if you're not comfortable. When I found you, you were just in—"
"Yes, I was inside that ice," Kael said, cutting him off before he could finish.
Bach's eyes widened in surprise. "R-really? So you came out of one of those ice?"
"Yes," Kael nodded. He didn't hide anything—he didn't think it was necessary. If something bad happened because people found out he was inside one of those ices for a hundred years, then he'd deal with it using his fists. Still, he doubted the miner would run his mouth.
"You… you're not joking, right?" Bach asked skeptically, struggling to believe it.
"You asked, and I answered. Whether you believe me or not is up to you." Kael smirked, then his face turned serious. "Can you show me the rest of this mine? I need to find something."
"I'm still shocked…" Bach muttered, then became serious too. "Let's go. I still have a lot of questions that need answers."
"Me too, me too," Kael muttered as he followed the miner—though inside, he was deep in thought.
So… the New One, huh?If I don't find anything here, I should pay them a visit, Kael decided.