Jake and John finally made it out of the ruin. They walked out of the compound the same way they entered. The sun had gone past the center of the sky, meaning it was past noon already.

"I'll go meet with our higher-ups about the egg, and I'll tell you what they say or the conclusion," John said.

"That's fine, but I want to know about that man we saw in the tower. His mouth was stitched for some reason—I want to know why," Jake said.

"Oh yeah, that's something to ask about. You can ask Peter about that," John said.

"Peter?" Jake asked.

"Oh yeah, the kid you saw yesterday night—that's him. He should know some things in regard to that issue," John said. "He should still be inside the cellar."

"Thank you then, I'll be on my way," Jake said. They went their separate ways. He headed back to the bar.

Jake arrived back at the bar. He pushed the door open and walked in. The bar had a lot of customers now, unlike in the morning—people drinking and chatting.

Jake overheard some of the chats as he walked past. Most were talking about the trials and all that had happened.

He got to the bar and saw Rogen along with Ophelia. She was helping him out behind the counter.

"Jake," she said in a happy tone, a bright smile on her face.

"Seems you got a job after I was gone," Jake said.

"The girl's pretty good with her hands, and she listens very well," Rogen said and patted her head. She smiled.

Jake looked at the two ogres standing there and unsummoned them. "I'll be heading downstairs to meet Peter," Jake said.

"Alright, kid," Rogen said.

Jake waved at Ophelia before he walked through the door and went to the cellar. When he entered, he saw Lucas sleeping the same way as before, and Peter was at the back near a bookshelf reading.

Petra was not around this time. Jake walked past Lucas and got to Peter. He stood in front of him. "Hey, good afternoon," he greeted.

Peter looked up for a brief moment before turning back to his book. "Whatever it is that John sent you to tell me, I'm not interested," Peter said.

"I need your help for something," Jake said, not caring what Peter had just said.

"What part of 'not interested' did you not understand?" Peter asked.

"I know you aren't, but it's important. It's about the Abyss Church," Jake said.

The moment he called the Abyss Church, Peter paused. He closed the book and placed it on the table.

"Tell me," he said.

"We ran into someone from the Abyss Church," Jake said and pulled out the crystal. "And his mouth was threaded closed," Jake said.

"Threaded? Are you certain about that?" Peter asked.

"Yes, that's the reason I came here. John said you know about stuff like this," Jake said.

"Sigh... Yes, I do. Wait a moment," Peter said. He got up and walked to one shelf, pulling out a large book.

He placed the book on the table and started flipping through the pages until he got to a page and stopped.

There was the drawing of a man whose eyes had been threaded closed.

"This is a Disciple of Silence for the Church of the Abyss. They are sworn to a life of never speaking, and as such, they can be told secrets that no one else in the church is told," Peter said.

"So they never speak?" Jake asked.

"Never. Right from birth, they are trained in the art of keeping silent, indoctrinated entirely. And when they finally turn eighteen, their lips are threaded to show that they have become Disciples of Silence," Peter explained.

"So they never had a choice as to what they were to become?" Jake asked.

"Not ever. The moment a disciple-in-training tries to break free, they are killed—seen as faulty.

"Now tell me, where is the disciple? They are very rare, and so when you see one, you know they are on a special mission for the church," Peter said.

"Well, he kind of exploded when we caught him," Jake said.

"Mana self-destruct. Destroys everything, making sure no more information can be left," Peter said. He let out a sigh and looked down at the book. "That should be expected. They would never allow themselves to be captured.

"What I can say is that whatever you guys found in the place where this disciple was is very important," Peter said.

"We found a tainted egg," Jake said.

"A tainted egg? What do you mean by that?"

"An egg laid by a tainted," Jake said.

"Tainted can't reproduce," Peter said.

"Well, it seems something has changed, because now they can—or maybe the one we met can," Jake said.

"If a tainted actually laid an egg, then that is something worth the attention. I'm guessing John went to show this to the highest-ups, right?" Peter asked.

"Yes."

"Nah, I have to take a look at it before he gives it to those assholes. This is something that hasn't happened before," Peter said and got up. He put all the books back onto the shelves, adjusted his robes, and got up.

"Come with me, let's go," he said. Jake followed behind him, and they left the cellar into the bar upstairs. Jake thought about putting guards for Ophelia again, but as he looked at her with Rogen, he decided not to.

He followed Peter out of the bar. Peter immediately hailed a carriage. "Take us to the Vermillion Auction House," Peter said and got in. Jake followed behind, and the carriage moved.

"An auction house?" Jake asked.

"Yes. The Vermillion Auction House is spread across the entire kingdom, creating a massive network for us. And since it attracts people from all around, it doesn't seem weird when certain things and people come there," Peter explained.

The carriage driver hastened his pace, and after five to ten minutes, they finally arrived at the auction house.

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