Novitch kept looking at his uncle Nikola, who was sitting beside him, his eyes gleaming with sorrow before tears streamed down at the sight of his uncle, who appeared weak and exhausted. Then he began carefully wiping the wounds on his body.
Despite that, Nikola smiled and said in a faint voice, "Don't worry, Novitch… Edison promised me that he would get us out, if I manage to repair the gate."
Then the sadness returned to his face as he added, "If I had the blueprint paper, I would have fixed the gate long ago… but it burned in the explosion."
Novitch looked at his uncle reassuringly. "Don't worry, uncle. I will find a way to get out of this cage."
Novitch began examining the iron cage, trying to unlock it. He spent a long time attempting, but he did not succeed.
At that point, Novitch sat beside his uncle, frustrated, with clear signs of disappointment on his face.
Nikola suddenly laughed—a laugh mixed with pain and astonishment—then said, "Do you remember why we made these restraints? This cage? We made it to imprison the creatures we feared… and now, here we are trapped inside it. What an irony of fate"
He fell silent for a moment, then added in a low voice, as if the words weighed heavily on his heart:
"Sometimes… a prison is kinder than the freedom that comes with being let down."
Then he murmured poetic lines in a hoarse voice:
"I abandoned some of my loved ones willingly because… I saw their hearts incline toward my departure.
Yes, I miss… but I placed my dignity above my longing."
Novitch looked at his uncle and said with displeasure, "Do you still remember them? After they abandoned you?"
Nikola sighed deeply, and a look of longing appeared in his eyes. "How could I forget? I have missed the village we used to live in… I wonder, how are they now? Do they still remember us?"
While Nikola was speaking, an idea flashed in Novitch's mind. Quickly, he pulled out a small device from his pocket, distinguished by its complex design.
Nikola looked at it in surprise. "This… is this the control device for the bird 'Aden'?"
Novitch nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, it is!"
Novitch pressed the power button, and the small screen on the device lit up, beginning to emit rapidly flashing colored lights.
The view shifted to what the mechanical bird's eyes were transmitting, as the lenses of its eyes functioned as two cameras directly connected to the control device in Novitch's hand. The bird moved, and its eyes glowed with a bright blue color.
Novitch felt joy flood his heart as he whispered, "The bird has finally responded."
Novitch watched it closely as it made its way through his room, then the advisor's room, until it reached the tunnel leading to the burned laboratory, where the metal cage holding him and Nikola was located.
Novitch began controlling the bird, which managed to find the keys with the help of its precise cameras. It used its metal claws to pick up the keys from the table, then delivered them to him.
With skill, Novitch managed to free himself from his restraints, and soon after, he freed his uncle Nikola.
Nikola stood looking at him with pride, then said with a calm smile, "You did it, my boy."
The two moved cautiously until they reached the room where Edison usually took his naps.
Nikola whispered, "Edison always takes his nap here… in the box room."
Novitch approached, placed his hand on the doorknob, and slowly opened it, avoiding making any sound.
Inside, Edison was sitting on a chair, his head tilted, immersed in a deep sleep.
Novitch and Nikola exchanged determined looks, then quickly moved, grabbing his hands and feet and binding him tightly.
Edison opened his eyes in confusion, shocked when he saw the restraints around his wrists and ankles.
He stared at them in disbelief, then raised his gaze to Novitch and Nikola, saying in astonishment:
"What is happening here?! How did you get here?!"
Novitch replied in a firm voice filled with confidence:
"It's over for you, Edison… you will pay for what you have done."
Edison tried to beg and negotiate, but Novitch's gaze was cold, carrying not a single trace of sympathy.
Without looking back at him, Novitch and Nikola left the room, leaving Edison behind the door, bound, helpless, his eyes following them in shock and disbelief.