And suddenly, I was awake, back in the horrid hole. The darkness was still leaning in on me, causing me to turn my head this way and that blindly to get a bearing of where I was.

I tugged again at the chains; only a faint clink echoed across the dungeon, signaling the fact that they wouldn’t break any time soon.

I tugged again, much harder this time.

Still, no response – the only evidence that the chains had moved was the burning I felt upon my wrists.

I hated it.

I absolutely despised this situation. I was powerless, and it made me feel like I was about to go insane.

My closest companion, who even rivaled Lin in terms of friendship, was losing his mind a wall away, and there was nothing I could do to get out of here.

No, Xiaoli! You will get out of here.

A tapping sound made me jerk back into the wall, hoping for some refuge against the source of the noise – which could be anything from a rat to a hidden bilge monster.

What I saw instead made me gasp in relief.

“Master!”