Shen Yuan closes his eyes, and begins to shiver as the cold of a cave or -- more accurately -- a stone dungeon sinks into his bones. The air takes on a acidic tinge. When he opens his eyes again, he is not surprised to find himself facing an all too familiar wreck of a human being, hanging from the ceiling by a metal ring around his waist. The man so suspended has no arms or legs, only poorly-closed stumps, and his face could belong to Shen Yuan's own brother. Shen Yuan waits a moment, to see if he will open his tongueless mouth to let out a death rattle as in the book, but the man is still and silent. He may not even be breathing.

It's at this point that Shen Yuan realizes that Viktor is standing next to him, still holding his hand. "I apologize," Shen Yuan says quietly, reluctant to break the eerie silence that hangs over the cell. Even the acid waterfall has been turned off, and he's not sure if that's a good thing or bad. "I would have warned you, if I'd known this was where we'd have to begin."