The carriage came to a halt at the end of the road.

A dry wasteland stretched out, devoid of a single tree. Without any shade to shield from the scorching sun, every living thing groaned in response to the relentless heat. In this barren land where even a mound of dirt seemed to shimmer with the oppressive warmth, a solitary sign marked the end of the road.

The two officers spotted the sign and knew they had reached their destination. It was time to begin their next task.

The officers split up. One approached the sign, while the other fiddled nervously with his retractable steel baton as he headed towards the back of the carriage.

The officer at the back of the carriage gripped his only weapon tightly, his hands slick with sweat. There was no time to worry about that, though.

Escort vehicles were typically used to transport criminals, and those bold enough to flout the law often seized every opportunity to cause trouble. The officer had previously subdued many with his baton and had always been satisfied with its effectiveness.

But today, for the first time since donning the insignia of the law, he worried that the baton might not be enough.

They had arrived at Tantalus, the Abyssal Prison—a place reserved for the most nefarious criminals who should never again see the light of day. Countless entered, but none ever left.

It was said that the inmates of Tantalus were more likely to be found in history books than in newspapers. The only reason they were imprisoned was because they were too dangerous to be killed. A wretched place where monsters, Beast Kings, and warriors capable of slaughtering entire armies wandered freely.

Today, the officers were delivering a new prisoner to this dreaded place.

"Damn. What kind of crime do you have to commit to get sent to Tantalus on your first offense?" one of them muttered.

I couldn't agree more. What had I done to be sent to Tantalus without even a trial? An innocent, honest man like me—there must have been some sort of mistake.

“Hey, wait. Sto—”

“Urk!”

The baton crashed into my stomach with brutal force. I emitted a muffled cry as the blow seared through to my bones, but the gag stifled my cries. The officer continued his assault, methodically striking me until he was satisfied with my reaction.

The officer, seemingly reassured that I was subdued, tugged at the belt of the straitjacket. My helpless body slammed against the wall and rolled on the floor. As he observed my pathetic state, a thought crossed his mind.

“Huh? I thought he was supposed to be a criminal bound for Tantalus. He seems no different from any lowlife thug.”

Reading the officer’s thoughts, I felt a pang of sorrow and frustration.

“Of course I’m not a criminal meant for Tantalus or some crazed terrorist. I haven’t done anything that would make it into history. I’m just a back-alley swindler with the ability to read minds!”

I was playing cards with a group of fools, convincing them to gamble their houses away as usual.

The notion that “gambling sucks” is a misconception. If you had money, power, or a special knack like mine, gambling was as easy as picking up loose change. There were always plenty of idiots eager to bet their life savings for a fleeting thrill. To them, I was like a priest in the confession booth, listening to their sordid desires. I just happened to take a cut of their money instead of a mere tithe.

It was just another day, swindling the gullible out of their homes, when suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.

The neighborhood granny, who always mooched off my winnings, signaled to us. The fool I was dealing with cleaned up the table, relieved at the distraction. Setting aside my dreams of buying my own house, I quickly hid the evidence and remained still as soldiers, ones I had seen before, burst into the room.

Soldiers on patrol and gamblers tidying up the scene were a familiar sight. As usual, I slipped a small bribe into the soldiers’ pockets.

But then, a soldier grabbed my wrist.

“In the name of the law, you are all under arrest.”

The guards stormed in, roughing up everyone present before making the arrests. The ‘State’ proved to be even more ruthless than I had anticipated. Despite my best efforts to defend myself, I was swiftly tossed aside, with no witnesses or evidence. In less than a day, I was branded a criminal. In a court devoid of a jury, I was sentenced to Tantalus without any opportunity to defend myself.

My mind-reading ability was of no use in court. The soldiers accused us of plotting treason under the guise of gambling, and the judge pounded his gavel with little regard for the lack of evidence.

– Thud, thud, thud.

Guilty. The symbol of justice bowed thrice to the floor, offering no apology for its injustice.

Logic? Fairness? If those concepts truly existed, the Military State would never have staged a coup.

I was thrown onto the cold, damp floor of a holding cell and then dragged off to the world’s worst prison—Tantalus.

As I lay bound and reminisced about the past, the officer showed no sympathy, dragging me across the ground. With every pull, gravel and sand ground against my back.

“O Dear Mother Earth, your skin is indeed quite rough. Perhaps it needs moisturizing.”

As I silently prayed this blasphemous prayer, the officer who had been waiting by the sign spoke to the one dragging me.

“Inspector, is this really necessary?”

“What’s the problem? He’s a criminal,” the inspector snapped.

“No, I mean, he’s destined for Tantalus. Are we sure this is safe? What if he escapes and—”

“We’ve had him blindfolded from the start. He doesn’t know my face or name.”

The inspector heaved me up and slammed me onto the ground again. The impact shook my entire body, and I gritted my teeth against the pain.

‘I can read minds, you know that? Dear Inspector Evian of Edelphite, I’ll be sure to take my revenge on you when I get out.’

“And how could he possibly escape from Tantalus? Stop worrying and send the telegraph.”

“I’m concerned for you, sir. Have you heard the rumors about incidents at Tantalus? If this guy breaks out…”

“If he could escape from Tantalus, he would have broken out of our escort by now. Stop wasting time. Let’s hand him over and head back. Even one trip here is too many.”

“I’ve sent the telegraph. If we just wait for the reply…”

At that moment, the white arrow painted on the metal sign began to shake. The two officers and I tensed as the arrow, which should have been just a simple painting, rattled as if disturbed by an earthquake. We stared in stunned silence as the arrow continued to tremor and then spun around until it pointed straight down.

Clank.

The sound of something shattering echoed through the air.

The officers stared in disbelief as the once ordinary wasteland transformed into an endless, bottomless abyss. It was so vast and deep it defied belief—neither an artificial trap nor a natural formation.

The officers and I, after glimpsing their thoughts, questioned if it was a hallucination. But the oppressive darkness that only a true void could produce confirmed its reality. The officers gazed into the abyss, speechless.

As they pondered if they were dreaming...

「Verified.」

A monotonous voice emanated from the sign. The officers recoiled at the eerie voice, and the sign continued in a mechanical tone.

「Mission Monitored. Please complete the task by handing the prisoner over to us.」

The officers saluted the sign, a nearly comical sight, but their fear was palpable—they seemed to believe the sign was responsible for the abyss before them.

“I—I am Inspector Evian of Edelphite. Where should I lead the prisoner?”

「Your task is to escort the prisoner to Tantalus.」

Tantalus.

The prison of the abyss created by the gods to seal the titans.

Though it clearly borrowed its name from myth, I wouldn’t have doubted that the darkness before me was genuine. The officer swallowed hard as he peered into the bottomless pit.

“D-Do we need to go down with him?”

「There is no need for you to accompany him. I leave the method of transport to your discretion.」

‘Hold on, sign.’

The officer's face lit up with a grin. No need to accompany me meant he could finally fulfill his long-held desire to toss me into the abyss. The sign had merely provided legal justification for his plan.

“Hey, grab his legs.”

The other officer hesitated but eventually grasped my ankles.

“I-Is this really okay? There’s no way he’d survive the fall…”

“Who cares? He’s being tossed into Tantalus because he’s an irredeemable piece of trash. What does it matter if he dies?”

‘Wait, sir. Please. Calm down. I swear I’ll behave. I’ll read fewer minds and swindle less. Just lower me with a rope or—’

“Even so…”

“Do you want to carry him down there yourself?”

The other officer was too terrified to argue. He hoisted me by my legs. I struggled in vain against my tight restraints.

They synchronized their breathing, swinging me side to side. One, two, one, two. On the third swing, I reached the apex. They let go, and a profound sense of freedom enveloped me.

…Oh.

And so, I plummeted into the bottomless abyss.

TLN: The prison is named ‘Tantalus,’ a figure from Tartarus, despite being described like Tartarus itself. Tantalus, punished by Zeus for attempting to serve his son to the gods, was imprisoned in Tartarus. The choice of Tantalus rather than Tartarus reflects the protagonist's fate, mirroring Tantalus's own punishment. Though other names from Tartarus could have been used, Tantalus was chosen for its symbolic resonance and similarity in sound.