I'm Trapped in the Block

Iron Fish came up behind Magnetar and watched him dig endlessly through the soil.

"Are you looking for something? Need some help?" Iron Fish asked eagerly.

Magnetar, long accustomed to solitude, froze for a moment, only now realizing someone else was with him.

"Help me look for a piece of red cloth. It’s in the soil somewhere around here."

"Okay!" Iron Fish immediately joined the treasure hunt.

But after scouring the area, the two of them still couldn’t find the red headband. Magnetar checked the box again; it was perfectly intact, with no signs of having been opened.

But the red headband had simply vanished into thin air.

’Could someone have stolen it?’

Magnetar tried to recall any tracks around the tombstone, but he hadn’t paid any attention before, and now he couldn’t remember a thing.

He froze, at a complete loss. A terrible thought surfaced: someone might have taken that red headband to cause chaos.

This was bad. He himself had only ever worn the red headband, never using its power. Magnetar had no idea what it would actually do.

Iron Fish was still happily digging around. Seeing that Magnetar had stopped moving, he asked, "Why’d you stop digging?"

Magnetar stared blankly at the box for a long time before shaking his head.

"It’s nothing. If we can’t find it, let’s just forget it. It’s not important."

After putting the ground around the tombstone back in order, Magnetar led Iron Fish back to his home.

Iron Fish was still very curious about everything around him. To Magnetar, he was just like the newborns from his own past civilization.

’They’re all just a bunch of little troublemakers.’

Iron Fish accidentally knocked a hole in Magnetar’s wall. Realizing his mistake, he secretly patched the gap with a red crystal and glanced back at Magnetar.

Of course, Magnetar saw the whole thing, but he didn’t say a word.

Seeing no reaction from Magnetar, Iron Fish went back to exploring the house.

"I want to build a house too. Can you teach me?"

Hearing those words, Magnetar felt as if he were listening to the little tagalongs who used to pester him in the past.

For a moment, the shadows of his people seemed to overlap with Iron Fish.

"Come on, I’ll teach you..."

Soon, more and more Abnormal Vein Patients came to this place, spontaneously beginning to build a village.

Most of these Abnormal Vein Patients were newborns from the various mineral veins, though a few were older, having been transformed later in life.

Despite their different ages and origins, they had all only recently gained emotions and new abilities, and they were fascinated by everything around them.

Magnetar also noticed how he differed from them. He lacked the feeling of his own material composition having been altered.

So, he used his magnetite abilities to mix some metal into the surface of his body, which could confuse the senses of the Mineral Race.

As he came into contact with more and more Abnormal Vein Patients, he gradually began to develop the ability to read the magnetic fields of their bodies.

By this time, the number of Abnormal Vein Patients in the village had grown. Since they all knew Magnetar, they pushed him into the position of village chief.

After somehow becoming the village chief, Magnetar didn’t pay it much mind, continuing his mission to investigate the source of the disaster while also handling the village’s reception duties.

The busyness made him feel alive.

"Are you looking for something? Need some help?" Iron Fish was behind Magnetar again, looking as energetic as ever.

Except this time, a crowd of curious villagers trailed behind Iron Fish.

Magnetar didn’t know how to break the news about the great earthquake, so he had them help him with his research all over the Thorn Stone Forest instead.

He had the villagers assist him in collecting information, which also helped them reacquaint themselves with the world.

Soon, the villagers were able to start exploring on their own.

Next came the beginning of an archaeological movement. The ruins of the previous civilization, and even the signal that spurred them on, were all discovered by the villagers.

Magnetar slowly began to feel like he had a home again.

"Magnetar! Add some magnetite to this Stone Ball and carry it on a circuit through the Thorn Stone Forest! We need to see where the signal is strongest!"

Iron Fish burst into Magnetar’s home—which had been modified beyond all recognition—and shouted excitedly.

"Oh, okay."

...

As his story came to an end, Magnetar slumped to the ground, a smile unexpectedly gracing his lips.

However, cracks began to slowly spread across his body, as if he were about to shatter from within.

Mo Ling noticed what Magnetar was doing but was powerless to help.

Just in the nick of time, a red figure shot down from the tunnel entrance, interrupting Magnetar’s suicide attempt.

"Magnetar! What are you doing here? Are you hurt?"

Noticing something was wrong with Magnetar, the red figure rushed over, staring at him anxiously.

"Why aren’t you healing? What’s going on?"

The red figure reached out, wanting to help him up, but didn’t know how. His hands just trembled in mid-air.

A series of emotions flickered across Magnetar’s face, a clear sign of his inner turmoil.

"Iron Fish, do you want to be the village chief?"

As he frantically tried to help Magnetar, Iron Fish grumbled, "What are you talking about? I don’t want the job. You’re the only one in this village who can be chief."

"It’s just a receptionist’s job, isn’t it? Anyone can do it." Magnetar looked at Iron Fish, his expression dead serious.

Iron Fish was stunned for a moment before retorting angrily, "It’s not a receptionist! It’s the most important position in the village!"

He started counting on his fingers for Magnetar’s benefit. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"The village chief has to guide lost companions inside, know how to comfort people, explain the details of the Abnormal Vein condition, and introduce the village."

"You have to show newcomers all around Neon Village, telling them the dos and don’ts."

"You have to tell new arrivals where they can build their houses, how to reinforce them, and how to do it without affecting the surrounding structures."

"You have to lead everyone in building public facilities for Neon Village, repair the broken lights, clear the damaged roads... The reconstruction after this earthquake is going to take a long time, too."

"And you have to keep researching the Thorn Stone Forest! There’s still so much we don’t understand, and even when we do figure it all out, you have to lead everyone out of the Stone Forest and explore the entire abyss!"

...

Iron Fish rattled on and on about the chief’s duties, covering every detail big and small, and even threw in a lot of unrealistic ideas that made Magnetar laugh.

He shook his head and said to Iron Fish, "Anyone could do all that."

"No, it has to be you!" Iron Fish shot back decisively. "Can anyone else carry a Stone Ball all over the Thorn Stone Forest?"

Magnetar was stumped by this question. He just sat there, smiling and shaking his head, not knowing how to answer.

As if knowing he couldn’t win the argument, Magnetar’s gaze grew distant again.

His gaze traveled past Iron Fish to the giant carving of the Mineral Race on the ruins behind him. After a moment of silence, he asked:

"Iron Fish, do you believe in gods?"

Iron Fish thought about it seriously for a long time. He turned to look at the ancient carving, then turned back, his gaze firm as he looked at Magnetar.

"I believe in you."