First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess-Chapter 402: First Day in Prison

The figure stayed where they were for a moment, then stepped fully into view, stopping between the two rooms where both Xavier and Rin could see them clearly.

"My name is Director Hale," they said. "I oversee this facility and everything that happens inside it."

Rin shifted slightly in his chair. "Are you going to explain what this place actually is, or are we supposed to guess?"

Hale didn’t react to the tone. "This is a high-security correctional complex," they said. "Independent jurisdiction. Off-world authority. Designed to hold assets and offenders that standard planetary systems can’t manage. Containment, monitoring, and long-term detention all happen here."

Xavier listened without interrupting.

"You were brought here," Hale continued, "because you committed multiple violations under interplanetary law. Destruction of registered infrastructure. Unauthorized use of force. Loss of life during a sanctioned operation. The fact that the facility you destroyed belonged to Blackwood Industries is secondary."

Xavier tilted his head slightly. "If the owner doesn’t file a complaint, that usually ends the conversation. Lucian Blackwood isn’t exactly known for letting things go."

Hale looked at him steadily. "Lucian Blackwood’s authority ends at Earth’s jurisdictional boundary. He has influence, not legal reach. Out here, corporate ownership doesn’t override statute."

Rin let out a short breath. "Figures."

Xavier leaned back against the wall of his cell. "Then let’s simplify it. I cover the damages. Equipment. Personnel. Whatever numbers you want to attach to it. We walk out."

Hale didn’t answer right away. He studied Xavier for a moment, then nodded once. "That option isn’t off the table," He said. "It will be reviewed."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "That’s it. No dramatic refusal."

"We don’t deal in drama here," Hale said. "We deal in outcomes."

He shifted their attention slightly. "One more issue. We recovered no valid identification from either of you. No travel authorization, no registry tags, no recognized passes."

Xavier shrugged. "Place was coming apart. A lot of things got destroyed."

Hale watched him carefully, as if weighing whether that answer was ignorance or intent. "Perhaps," He said. "Or perhaps you didn’t have any to begin with."

"How would that be possible?" Xavier played dumb.

"Hmm..." Hale let out a sigh. "Everyone knows that the Blackwood tower on Earth has collapsed. Perhaps, you two used the teleportation gate to come to Jupiter? That would also explain how and why the Blackwood facility was destroyed from inside."

Xavier didn’t respond.

"For now," Hale continued, "you will remain here. This is a holding status, not a sentence. If someone contacts this facility to claim responsibility for you, jurisdiction will be reassessed. Until then, you stay."

Rin frowned. "And if nobody does."

"Then you stay longer," Hale replied. "Time works differently out here, or at least the inmates feel like so."

Hale turned and walked away without another word. The wall slid back into place behind them, sealing the second chamber and leaving Xavier and Rin alone again.

A few minutes passed in silence.

Then the restraints released.

Rin flexed his wrists as the locks disengaged, wincing as blood flow returned. "That was polite," he said. "In a disturbing way."

Xavier stood, testing his own freedom. The cell allowed movement. No cuffs. No immediate pressure.

"They’re waiting," he said. "Seeing who blinks first."

Rin looked around the cell. "High-tech prison. No bars between us. No guards breathing down our necks."

Xavier nodded. "Means they think the room itself is enough."

Rin glanced at him. "Is it."

Xavier didn’t answer right away. He looked at the walls, the ceiling, the seams he could already pick out.

"We’ll find out," he said.

Time passed without any clear marker. The light stayed the same, the air stayed still, and nothing in the cell gave away how long they had been left alone. Xavier remained near the wall, watching the seams and panels, while Rin sat on the edge of the bench, testing his shoulder and jaw every few minutes.

Then the change came.

A low alarm rolled through the cell, not loud enough to panic anyone, but impossible to ignore. The hum that had been holding the space together cut out abruptly, and the pressure in the air shifted. The transparent field that had been sealing the front of the cell flickered once and vanished.

The door slid open immediately after.

Down the corridor, the same thing happened again and again. Fields dropped. Doors opened. Cells released their occupants in a steady sequence, metal sliding back as alarms echoed through the block.

People stepped out.

Men and women dressed in dark prison-issued clothing filled the corridor, some moving cautiously, others already walking like they knew exactly where to go. No guards appeared. No weapons lowered from the ceiling. The system didn’t rush them. It simply opened everything and waited.

Rin stood up slowly. "Alright," he said under his breath. "What’s going on."

Xavier stepped out of the cell and glanced both ways, his eyes following the flow of inmates moving down the corridor. He looked calm, but his brow tightened slightly as he took it in.

Rin noticed and frowned. "You look confused," he said. "That’s not helping."

Xavier turned toward him. "You’ve never been in a prison before."

Rin blinked. "No."

Xavier stared at him for a moment, genuinely surprised. "Not even once."

Rin hissed. "No. Not even close."

Xavier looked back toward the corridor, watching the inmates fall into an unspoken rhythm as they moved. "Huh."

Rin followed his gaze. "You’re going to explain that reaction."

"They’re letting everyone out," Xavier said. "It means it’s a scheduled release," Xavier replied. "Probably a communal cycle. Food, movement, or whatever passes for a break here."

Rin frowned. "You’re guessing."

"Educated guess," Xavier said. "Most places don’t lock this many people down nonstop. Doesn’t matter how advanced the facility is. You still have to let the pressure out somewhere."

Rin looked at the crowd again, then back at Xavier. "You’re saying this is normal."

"I’m saying it looks normal enough," Xavier said. "Lunch break, exercise window, circulation period. They’ll have a name for it."

"And you’re just fine walking out there with them."

Xavier shrugged. "Standing alone in an empty cell draws more attention."

Rin exhaled slowly and stepped forward. "I really don’t like how casual you sound about this."

Xavier glanced at him. "You’ll like it less if we stay behind."

They merged into the flow of inmates moving down the corridor, alarms still echoing faintly as the prison opened itself up, one section at a time.