Naturally, Hoolay found this outcome just as unacceptable. After the Luofu captured him, he was sent back to Aha's Fragmentum Factory once again.
Thinking it over, aside from his first defeat, when the previous High Elder had killed him in a surprise attack, he had survived every subsequent attempt. Yet each time, he had been sent to the Factory, that dreadful place worse than death, where body and mind alike suffered devastating harm.
"Look, you've failed again," Tir Anders said, his voice lingering in Hoolay's ears. "Even if you can't remember what caused your previous failures, your feral instincts still warned you. But clearly, instinct alone cannot help you avoid every factor that leads to failure.
"This escape attempt comes with many restrictions. I can tell you plainly that even if you suppress your bestial nature and act cautiously, you still cannot escape. That outcome was settled from the very beginning.
"Ah, my apologies. You probably won't believe that. After all, this isn't the first time I've said it. Every time, you insist on going your own way and ultimately suffer a crushing defeat, regardless of whether we impose strict restrictions on you along the way."
Tir Anders's voice gradually faded, and Hoolay abruptly came to his senses.
He was still in that little courtyard...
As far as he remembered, everything had proceeded normally up to this point in the plan. His chances of escaping were still quite good.
Yet for some unknown reason, Hoolay felt utterly exhausted, body and soul.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before, a weariness... as though he had died and come back to life countless times. His stiff body and withered soul could no longer accommodate each other, leaving his heart as cold as ashes.
Glancing at the captive Foxian beside him,