Detention Area C, Foundation Headquarters, Paris, France:

Anatole still seems unable to escape from the thoughts of what happened, still very vague, not able to think of much. At least he still wants to escape from this place of confinement, each hour must have passed by long ago. Has he ever thought that one day he will be able to leave this place, escape from the binding work that the Foundation has tied him to all his life? However, "the Storm" will sweep him away and will he still exist in the streams of History? Who will remember the traitor?

In the unconscious, free will has always had its starting point from the beginning when our ancestors were just taking their first steps, walking turned into walking fast, walking fast then running, humans ran from one era to another, from one place to another and then jumped up the branches and mountains. Running and jumping is nature, and that nature comes from vague concepts such as exploration, infinite curiosity to urge someone to stand up and run, run far away so that no one can catch up, run far away to keep the soul from invisible things that want to capture it.

He had always been harboring something, something that the interrogator could almost see, it was a hope that urged him to think of a way to escape this place, he did not want to be imprisoned, he had nothing to lose, that face was engraved with the determination to survive. There were many worries in his life, if he had not tasted them, it would be a long time before he could settle down in this grave!

After a few days of observing and checking the room, he noticed that the window frame seemed to be poorly reinforced, which was a good opportunity. He waited until the prison guard finished patrol and changed shifts, then he jumped up and grabbed onto the window frame, shaking it with all his might. Sure enough, the iron frame had not been reinforced recently. He saw an opportunity, but even so, the iron frame was still very hard, so he had to think of a way.

Unlike other prisoners, he was locked in a solitary confinement cell, the only way he could escape was through the door. He didn't know how to live in that 2 square meter room, he couldn't go out into the yard or anywhere, he just stayed there, and then on the day of the trial they took him away, and he knew for sure that he wouldn't have any freedom at all. If he was tried, he would have to stay here for the rest of his life. So no matter what, he still tried to pry open the iron door frame with the fork he was given. It was a metal object hard enough for him to pry open the rivets that had rusted over time. The narrow room, which seemed cramped, was actually a great advantage as he could easily spread his legs to climb up to the window.

Besides, the guards did not seem to care much about him because this solitary confinement cell was almost impossible for anyone to escape from, and he was only a detainee awaiting trial, so he was not paid attention like other serious criminals who were detained for a long time. There was nothing to worry about. This showed him that the chance of escaping was very high, but the time was only counted on the fingers. He had to hurry.

Two days before the trial:

He could have completely opened the window, but he couldn't escape right away, partly because of the 24/7 guards and even a famous surveillance system that was difficult for anyone to escape. These were things he learned from his previous collaboration with experts from Zeno (Zeno Armaments Engineering & Technology Academy).

So he calculated to find a route that would have the least chance of encountering the prison guards, taking advantage of the time when no one was paying attention to escape outside even though he didn't know what was waiting for him out there. However, his 2 years as a field agent had given him a reaction speed that he thought was a bit faster than normal people, if he used all his strength he could still escape.

One advantage he considered to escape was: After the death of the leader of the Manus Vindictae - Arcana, the Foundation was almost relieved of all its burdens. So the security seemed to have been loosened a bit, the jailers would no longer have to worry about the captured Manus Vindictae, they would often escort them with only a handcuff or a loose rope and a few people following them. Even abusing or intimidating other prisoners, something that was almost allowed by any guard here and was also the entertainment of many other prisoners.

They thought that when the leader was gone, the Manus Vindictae would fall apart? The truth was no, they were all still quietly rebuilding everything, once again threatening the Foundation and regaining the terror they had once spread throughout the world, just not now...

The day before the trial:

"Hurry up! You slowpoke!" [Guard]

"OUR LADY ARCANA WILL RESURRECT! OUR LADY WILL RESURRECT! YOU WILL FACE TERRIBLE WRATH FOR DARE TO SLANDER US!..." [Manus Member]

"Tsk, you guys are really stubborn! Are you that stubborn?" [Guard]

"Hey you guys! Here comes another Manus Vindictae! Haha!"

[Prisoner]

"How long do you think he'll last here? Or will he just go crazy today?" [Prisoner]

They cheered at the beating. Some were insulting and cursing, others were laughing. It was not an uncommon sight.

The sound of beatings echoed through the corridors of the detention area, it was like a threat, a threat that any stubborn person, no matter how stubborn, here would have to engrave deeply into every fiber of their flesh. The sound of screaming was like a barbaric song of merciless cruelty to those who had never seen each other as human beings, that was what prison was like.

The sound of beatings reached Anatole's ears, he also looked up, looked at the people he had previously considered enemies who were suffering because of what he had done. He should have been like the other prisoners, they all laughed and slandered that guy, but he did not think so. At that time, he and he were no different, both were considered enemies of the foundation, both were in this suffocating prison situation. If he resisted, the outcome would not be much different from. He looked at guy desperate struggles but a little jealousy appeared in his heart, he had spent his whole life serving his ideals, he was loyal until the last moment even though his friends or enemies were all cruel people who were just taking advantage of him or making him suffer, that was the steel will that he had to acknowledge from his enemies, the ones he had faced hundreds of times. In the end he still felt sympathy, which was always forbidden for an enemy, he saw him as a victim of this damned new era, taken advantage of and ultimately met with a miserable end.

"Enemy, even though I don't know who you are, I won't let your pain be in vain, you've suffered long enough, merci (thank you)..." [Anatole]

While everyone was paying attention to the person being beaten, without delay, he quickly climbed up and removed the door frame, dislocated his left arm so that he could slip through and jump out without anyone noticing, then he quickly dislocated his arm again.

When for a whole month someone was allowed to go outside, even if it was just a small area within the headquarters, but it was real grass, it was exposed to the sunlight. Bright, soft grass, bright flowers, green trees with leaves. Why was the landscape that was usually boring now so beautiful, so beautiful? As if he had crossed the boundary between that hopeless darkness and true freedom.

He ran as fast as he could on the ground, even though he was not yet free, this always attracted him strangely, it urged him to escape from this place, the place that had imprisoned him almost his whole life. This was the first time in his life that he felt so happy, why was happiness so simple? He made up his mind to himself that he would definitely escape from this place, would go far away so that he would not have to serve anyone or anything that he did not want, because he was himself, his soul was always his.