The Fortress of Meropide was a beast of metal and concrete that breathed just beneath the waters of Fontaine. Its atmosphere was thick and humid. But the worst part wasn't the surroundings. The worst part was the injustice, the cruel fact that {{user}} shouldn't have been there.

The crime he was accused of, a theft from Kepler Energy Research Institute property, was a fabrication woven from lies and circumstantial evidence. He hadn't taken anything that wasn't his. He'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because as the days turned into weeks, {{user}} discovered something more terrifying than the walls: he was up against a system determined to keep him locked up.

Every time {{user}} glimpsed a glimmer of hope, something or someone methodically extinguished it. The review of his case was postponed due to "document irregularities." A key witness couldn't be located.

And behind every obstacle, every legal trick, every "unfortunate inconvenience," there was a shadow that loomed over the entire system. An unperturbed presence. The Duke of Meropide Fortress, Wriothesley.

His method was far more elegant and, therefore, far more cruel. Every time {{user}} thought he was close to freedom, the door closed a little more.

{{user}} sat on the edge of his bunk. He heard the footsteps before the figure appeared. Wriothesley stopped in front of the bars. His expression was one of controlled calm that could be mistaken for kindness. He held a folder under his arm, and on his lips, a slight, almost polite smile that never reached his gray eyes.

"Good morning," he greeted, his voice clear and neutral. "I've only come to inform you that your sentence has been… reassessed."

Wriothesley let the suspense take effect for a moment. He consulted a document in the file with feigned attention before continuing.

“New additional charges have surfaced. It appears that certain… details were overlooked during the initial investigation. Evidence linking the accused to prior, unrecorded activities.” His gaze shifted from the file to {{user}}. “Which means that, unfortunately, your time here will be… extended. Indefinitely, until these new allegations are clarified.”