Deep within the wilderness of the European continent, in the forsaken upper regions of Germany, a forest lays claim to an estimated 120,000 sq. Km of the old nation.

It's name, Das Jagdrevier des Rasenden. The Frenzied One’s Hunting Grounds.

As a forest named after a germanic variant of the old Norse god Odin and his famous berserker frenzies, the locals, as well as the rest of the world, only knew it as a death zone for those bellow A rank.

Evolved muta beasts stalked its undergrowth, hunting any poor soul who somehow might manage to find themselves within the primal territory.

As for how the forest came to earn its name, the seasonal ‘Blood Frenzy’ that transpires every shift in the seasons see’s all the beasts dwelling in the forest lose themselves in a bloodlust attacking whatever might be within their reach over an entire week. At times the Blood Frenzy would be brutal enough that the more vulnerable beasts might find themselves pushed out far enough to attack Cities over 100km away from the forest.

But as the years came and went, this cycle of bloodshed and carnage had culled all weaknesses allowing only the smartest and strongest of beasts to survive and evolve into the deadly creatures that make up the Frenzied One’s Hunting Grounds.

Now unknown to the rest of the world, hidden even from most advanced satellite imaging technology a Castle stood uncontested within this beastial land of Darwinism.

From afar one might mistake a particular lone ominous landmark as just that, a small hill of pure stone with the occasional trees or bushes. It was only once it was approached that the shape of a Castle would start to form within one's mind.

Made of pure Granite, the Castle looked like it had been molded from a single colossal lump of the tough substance, the imperfections of brick and mortar undetectable to even the most trained of eyes.

And such it should be for it was a gift/payment from a very powerful Terramancer to an old man who only those of the highest of echelons within the factions of the world are aware even exists. Although those of lesser status might on the rare occasion catch whispers of this myth of a man, his identity is shrouded in a fog thicker than oil.

Those fortunate enough, or in most cases unfortunate might learn of the Moniker given to the man.

Baron of Bastards.

…………………………

The screams echoed throughout the walls. Wails of anguish, suffering, and insanity were common down here in the dungeons of the Barons Castle. A man like him had many enemies as well as an assortment idiots who densely never learn from past failures.

Transgressions of any kind to him or his group will only be met with brutal repercussions.

The (A-) rank hero in cell 54 who raided one of the Baron's groups dealings by accident had come to truly understand this. The handlers/torturers of the cells were experimenting with a strange new species of worms that slowly ate the man alive starting from his intestines where it would then spread indiscriminately across the body. With a careful hand, as well as a Healer on stand by, the Hero who was known as an up and comer wasn’t even able to fall unconscious as the consumption of his flesh and innards tormented him for weeks on end. The sweet release of death the only thing he prayed during his every breathing moment.

It was a sad fate for an outside observer to learn that once the worms had completely left the man crippled, he would be unable to move even his own head. A perfect state to be sent back to the guild as a bloody example. He would not die, nor would he be able to kill himself once he regained his freedom. His life of suffering had only just begun as he was now destined to be trapped within a new prison — his own body.

“54’s almost at his limit. Should I inform Miss Judith?” A young man in his mid 20’s spoke in german, although not because it was his native tongue, but due to the eccentrics of the Baron. The old man was of the belief that speaking the language of a country you planned on visiting was a respectful gesture to be given, and since this place has been the home of the Baron for over a decade, he had made it mandatory to speak German on scheduled days to make sure everyone kept their fluency.

“Shes with the Boss at the moment. The Heiress is on one more mission before she goes dark.” Another young man responded easily, the screams and tortured souls not even a few feet from them unable to affect them what so ever.

“That's right! I heard about that, although nothing regarding exactly what she's being sent to do. It’s all hush-hush surrounding that info. I overheard that even Hans doesn’t know anything about her mission, and he’s in charge of the entire fucking Eastern Hemisphere!” The man's laugh was lost amongst the suffering drone of dozens.

“PLEASE, GOD IF YOU EXIST…….. KILL ME!!!!!” A particularly loud scream came from somewhere down the hall, but the two men didn’t even register it as they gossiped about the secret mission.

It was during a particularly detailed analysis of the Heiress’s ‘assets’ and the advantages they gave her that the sound of an electric motor and an oxygen tank silenced all the screams in the dungeon.

It wasn’t loud, nor was it announced, but every single soul within a dungeon could sense a presence approach, and it was all too familiar.

The two who had just been chattering watched as a decrepit old man who looked to have one foot in the grave already approached them on a wheelchair. A gorgeous short blonded woman in her late twenties close behind dragging a black box with wheels.

“SIR!”

“SIR!”

Without missing a beat the two mean saluted, their casual talk having been put on hold for the man in charge of it all.

“Gentlemen, relax. I’m just passing by. Although Judith here has told me the two of you managed to get some info out of prisoner 32. Very impressive considering no one else was able to get him to talk.” The old man's voice was scratchy, but it contained a profound strength rarely found in others.

The two men beamed brightly, as the pride within them swelled out, only surpassed by the unfathomably deep respect and admiration they held for the Baron.

“It was all Euctices idea, sir! While the prisoner could resist all the physical torture, his psyche wasn’t nearly as strong.”

“Nonsense Warton! It was thanks to your ability that we were able to get the info. The prisoner wasn’t strong enough to see his son tortured for hours on end, even if it was only an illusion!”

Twisted words with a tone unfit for their context left the mouths of the two men, but no one present saw anything wrong with them.

The old man smiled and nodded as the blonde woman next to him looked around impatiently, annoyance discernable by the tapping of her heels.

“Judith here’s a little impatient waiting to speak to her little sister, so please do excuse us, gentlemen. You’ll also find that I gave you two the next week off as a reward. If you want to go out though ask Leonardo to teleport you to one of our outposts. I recommend the one in Fiji this time of year.” A hint of affection could be detected in the old man's voice as he bid farewell to the two young men and continued to make his way down the Castle to its deepest parts with his daughter.

“Warton! Let's finish the week's work! Then it's straight to Fiji!!!” In total agreement, his partner joined him in increasing their 'efforts.'

The screams in block 3 of the dungeon ended up being especially loud that particular day.

……………………….

The old man had arrived before a large titanium door that exuded the feeling of impenetrable. Of course, that was almost impossible to achieve with the wide array of strange powers that existed in the world. Still, the door did its job, keeping out the majority of those who might otherwise enter this sanctity of the old man.

“Judith if you help your poor father out?” Turning to the blonde wearing a miniskirt and what looked like a doctors coat, the man indicated towards the vault-like door.

“Really, Father? The door scans everyone's biosignature. You could just add a button to your wheelchair!” The lady moped but the old man just continued to smile his knowing smile.

“Sigh… Not everything has to be done old school..” Reluctantly the short Judith put her eye to the door where a small scanner came down from the ceiling to inspect her iris to confirm her identity.

The door accepted the input and started spitting steam out the corners as the air pressure inside changed to match the outside.

“Nothing beats the classics, daughter.” Choosing to move on before his daughter started her complaining once again, the man entered his sanctum.

A modified Silent Room, unlike any you might find out in the world.

Now as for what a Silent Room is, and what makes this one so unique we have to go talk about its inventor Huey Iliad.

Tired of all the strange abilities that made hiding any sort of secret or wealth next to impossible without a huge security team to guard it this this wealthy powered individual still riding the waves of riches once the Decade of Anarchy had ended hired a bunch of other individuals with spacial abilities from teleportation to those who could make small spaces to store items.

After a few years, and deaths they had achieved their goal of creating a pocket space separated from the rest of the world from all directions besides the entrance, which is why titanium was used since it was discovered to have an effect on scattering abilities that were used to detect and search. The room also had the amazing ability to erase the effects of another's powers that might persist on your person.

It all had to do choosing the size of the room you wanted to make and hardening its spacial edges, creating a cell wall-like structure. What made this room special compared to others was that it could connect to the outside through a unique method only known to the Baron, his daughters and a certain engineer who had long since met their end.

The only connections allowed through the titanium gold alloy wire were from a small device that could be attached to any cellphone that had been isolated from the grid.

Though this time they would be making more than just a call.

Entering the 10x5 meter room, one would be greeted with the sight of brass, gold, and beautiful mahogany. A room full of half-finished grandfather clocks, and pocket watches littered around made for a strange scene.

“Connect the gate to the exit wire.” Judith moved without a word, unlike her attitude a few moments before and quickly took out the large circular metallic plate object from the box and connected it to the cable attached to the wall, where it rested on a bench littered with small gears.

This gate was tech that had recently been at the forefront of the science community, with the difference of being a lot more quite with the spacial distortions it gave off. His Castle was supposed to remain hidden, so unlike natural teleporters who left distortions too small to be detected from satellites, this little device would be like letting a drop of water strike a calm lake, sending ripples in all directions allowing the source to be traced.

It was a lot better than the metaphorical bolder dunked by the gate used to raid Camp Sparta though. Nevertheless, it was still traceable, which is why the Silent Room was being used to make a certain delivery undetectable.

Of course, they could have had any of the seven teleporters in the Baron's faction perform the delivery, but since the Baron's daughter was trying to distance herself from any important members to reduce risk of her coming undercover mission this was the only option left to them.

The device whirred to life as the chrome cables above the plate started to glow, the large amount of energy pushing the metal close to its melting point.

A beautiful pocket watch with a thin silver chain appeared between the old mans boney fingers, dangling over the plate.

“First things first, let's make sure she gets her gift. I’m sure it’ll be plenty useful for her when facing the dangers of that infernal academy.” The gate would send the pocket watch to a predetermined coordinate, but unlike the Castle, it didn't matter if it left a few ripples since it would take upwards of an hour before anyone of importance could be sent to see what was going on.

With a psychedelic shimmer of colors, the watch blinked out of existence, instantly transported over to the recipient.

The old man leaned back on his chair, happy that the delivery had finally been made. He could rest easy knowing his daughter was a multitude of time's safer now that she had the pocket watch.

The phone connected to the wall rang its sharp ring remnant of phones from the turn of the century.

“She’s not going to be all too happy you know that, right?” Judith looked at her father, the sorrow encroaching her eyes as she remembered exactly what it had cost her father to make that pocket watch.

“What's a few years of my life for my daughter’s future?” There was no regret in his voice, only love.

“Knowing how soon we'll lose you doesn’t make us look forward to the future.” She tenderly hugged her father from behind as they picked up the phone.

“YOU STUPID OLD MAN.” Laced with anger and fear the voice loudly reverberated in the room isolated from the world.

“I love you too Amelia.” Was all the old man could say to his enraged daughter.