No more words were exchanged. The boy assisted the girl inside the trapdoor, walked behind her along the stairs, and opened the door of their cell. It was more of a house than an actual prison. A spacious room with two wardrobes on the right, and a narrow space for a bathtub on the left. Separated by a glass wall that shattered whenever someone made contact with it.

“hold this”

The girl dumped her clothes on the boy’s face and sat at the edge of the bathtub. Only a black undergarment covered her hips, while the rest of her petite body hid under the black hair falling from the sides of her angelic face.

“what’s with that look?” the boy asked, leering at the girl’s smug smile.

“go ahead” she said. “let me see your pathetic body”

Despite the urge to dunk a wooden pail on her head, the boy stripped down to his undergarments and opened the faucet. “there, happy now?”

“ugh, all fluff no muscle”

He tossed a green bottle on her lap. “sorry, my genes only kicked in after a reached twenty”

“that’s late even for a late bloomer”

“don’t rub salt on my wounds”

She drew close and ordered him to turn. After a few rinses, she applied fragrant oil on her hands and massaged his head. “don’t be too down, I still love your hair”

“really? How come?”

“I love how strange it is"

He grunted. “white and wavy. Yeah, very strange indeed”

She pinched his cheek. “stop being so defensive, that’s not what I meant”

“then what?”

“it’s so soft” she stroked his head with surprising gentleness. “I want to pull it until it straightens, then watch it coil back once I let go”

He chuckled. “you’ve done that already have you?”

“a couple of times. When you’re actually sleeping silently”

“hey, I’m a quiet sleeper”

“says the one who cried again last night”

He blinked. “I did?”

“you screamed her name, repeatedly”

“so that’s why you pressed a pillow on my face, huh?”

She dunked the pail on his head. “what do you want me to do? Pacify you with my lips?”

He switched places with her and poured water on her head. “a woman’s comfort is always a welcomed thing”

She combed away her hair and exposed her smooth back. “touch my breasts and your dead. Got it?”

“they don’t even exist”

Murderous eyes glanced above her shoulders. “pardon?”

He poked her cheek away and got to work. “your birthday is next month right?”

“yes, do you have plans for me?”

“if you tell me your age, then maybe”

“three hundred and thirty two”

“hey, you’re not supposed to give in easily”

She chuckled. “I’ve already showed you all of me, what else should I hide?”

He rinsed her head and scrubbed her body. “fine, state the request. Your wish is my command”

“let’s date”

“a date? You want a tour around the wall or something?”

“I don’t care where we go. I want you to treat me like how you’ll treat her”

He smirked. “ho? So you want me to love you? Don’t tell me you’ve finally fallen for me?”

She shook her head. “I already finished the book Marcellus gave. I’m curious. I want to experience this romance thing”

Despite the dangers of the request, the boy could not bring himself to refuse. He understood where she was coming from. So regardless if it was forced or not, genuine or false, he will do his best not to disappoint.

“are you alright?” the girl asked. “you don’t have to say yes if you’re not up for it”

“aw” he rubbed the towel on her face. “look at you, acting so cute and unsure all of a sudden”

She pinched his hand. “is it a yes or a no?”

Before the boy could answer, the girl bolted up and walked out of the tub. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide. As if she was witnessing something only she could see.

The boy turned off the faucet. “he’s awake?”

With the girl’s nod, both of them rushed to their wardrobes and put on the loose black clothes provided by their captors. Neither cared of what they saw and what was seen from them. The only thing that mattered was their guest, and how they could prevent him from doing something foolish.

They swung the door open, and climb the stairs in a flash, but when they reached the top, no word of caution escaped their mouths. Their guest did not cry, scream, nor tear out his throat like they imagined. He was seated at the edge of the wall with slouched shoulders, watching the underworld’s sun emerge from the horizon.

“so you’re finally awake!” The girl said with forced enthusiasm. “it took you long enough, but it’s fine. We’re patient people”

“I was awake when you left” the man said.

The boy restrained his partner’s fists and covered her mouth. “it sounds like you already know why you’re here”

“your wife’s soul revealed everything to me. You find me as interesting, correct?”

The girl peeled the boy’s hand and locked it with hers. “first of all, I’m nobody’s wife. And second, yes, you are the most entertaining man we’ve had in a long time”

“that’s why...” the boy wrestled with the girl’s grip, but surrendered after she tightened it. “that’s why we delayed your death. We want to atleast give you a good exit”

The man let out a dry laugh. “I just led my men and my son to their deaths. There’s no such thing as a good exit for me”

“there is” the girl pointed at the boy. “believe me, this fool can do it”

Skeptical eyes focused on the boy. “and how will you do it? Turn me into a song like you did with your wife?”

“I told you I’m not his---”

“I’ll bring you to the Hallow king” the boy said. “if you swear allegiance to him, he’ll take all your guilt away”

The man returned his gaze to the horizon. “I’m sorry, but Reon is the only king I’ll bow to”

“ha!” the girl scoffed. “thirty minutes from now, he won’t be your king anymore”

“who will be?”

The boy walked back to the door and drew the wine bottle he inserted on its cracks. “an eye for an eye lieutenant. Answer all our questions, we’ll answer all of yours”

For a second, the man grew so still that he seemed dead. The girl wanted to throw the bottle at him to find out, but before she could rip it from the boy’s hands, the man faced them with child-like curiosity.

“who goes first?” he asked.

The girl snatched the bottle and uncorked it, filling one of the small cups strapped around its neck. “tell us why soldiers like you keep on coming here”

The man blinked. “you don’t know?”

“we don’t” the boy filled a cup for himself and tossed the bottle to the man. “it’s been ages since we’ve been on the surface, let alone seen it”

“may I ask why?”

“we’re prisoners” the girl said. “it’s been for fifty years now, so we’re really clueless on things”

“what’s your crime?”

The boy coughed. “you haven’t answered us yet, lieutenant”

“right” the man filled his glass and drained it in one swig. “thirty years ago, at the peak of the war between the four kingdoms, a horde of mosnters came to our world and took all of us by surprise. They were stronger, faster and more durable than the best of our warrirors. So to survive, the four kings forged an alliance to defeat the common enemy. At the expense of many lives, we discovered the hole where they came from and managed to force them back here”

“I see” the boy took a sip. “so you and those previous ones go here to keep them at bay, correct?”

“no, even if we don’t go here, the monster’s already stopped coming along time ago”

“then why come here?” the girl asked.

The man tightened his grip on his cup “to recover from our respective losses, every kingdom agreed to pay taxes that scaled inversely with their contribution in the war. The more men or resources a kingdom sacrificed, the least it had to pay”

“let me guess” the girl said. “your kingdom had the largest tax, hm?”

“yes, but not because we sacrificed the least, but because our new king made a foolish decision”

The boy took another sip. “what did he do?”

“he married the neighbor kingdom’s daughter and placed the burden of their taxes on us, his own people”

“if that’s the case...” the girl gulped her wine. “why waste your men here? Why not focus your strengths growing crops instead?”

“three years from now, the kingdoms plan to storm this place. In order to contribute more and sacrifice less, we began to study the monsters, hoping we can find a more efficient ways to kill them”

“like the spirit treasures?” the boy asked.

The man drained another cup. “so that’s what they’re called...”

“who taught you how to use them?” the girl asked.

“about a month ago, an old man appeared in our training grounds and began talking about ways to fight the monsters. I was the only one who took him seriously so he ended up leaving”

“that’s the hallow king’s servant, fool” the girl said. “you should’ve listened”

Rage crumpled the man’s face. “I did! I followed his instructions and taught my men how to do it! And now... now there gone!”

“easy lieutenant” the boy said. “don’t let the wine get into you head”

The man exhaled. “my apologies...”

“it’s fine” the girl said. “we don’t really expect a dying man to be that nice”

“speaking of dying...” the boy finished his cup and poured another one. “you’re borrowed time’s about to run out, lieutenant. It’s time to make a decision”

“this isn’t hard” the girl said. “bow to our king, your soul is saved. Cling to your king, then you’ll become the pawn of the one residing here”

The man stared at his cup. “can I ask my questions first?”

“go ahead” the boy said.

“who and what are you?”

The boy pointed at himself. “I’m Sef. A prisoner of Pandora’s wall”

“and I'm Erze” the girl said “another prisoner of Pandora’s wall”

The man looked up at the fading stars. “so this place is called Pandora. It sounds familiar”

Sef chuckled. “that’s because you already heard of it. Just in a different name”

“what do you mean?”

Erze spread her hands. “underworld, hell, sheol, void, this place is called a lot of things, but the meaning remains the same. It’s the kingdom of the Pandorion, the king of voids”

“so your prisoners of him?”

Sef spun his cup. “we’re prisoners of the people who fight him”

“who are they?”

“hallowers” Erze said. “like the old man who you visited you in your training grounds”

The man threw his cup and drank directly at the bottle. “so if I don’t surrender, I become a monster. And if I do, I become a weapon?”

“you become free” Erze said.

“I’m sorry, but what does a prisoner know about freedom?”

“everyone is a prisoner, leiutentant” Sef said. “your king is a prisoner of love, his citizens are a prisoner of his taxes, you are a prisoner of guilt, but we, though bound to this world are free from anything else”

“end your hesitation now” Erze said. “surrender your chains and be free”

The man stared down at the bottle. “what’s his name again?”

“Pandorion” Sef said.

“no” the man returned his gaze at the boy, this time not with doubtfulness but with acceptance. “I’m referring to the one your boasting of. What’s his name?”

Erze made a face that was even rarer than a hell flower. A smile sweet and sincere, free of her usual smugness and mischief. “I’m sorry lieutenant, but we’re not worthy to speak it. If you want to know, you have to hear it from the hallow king himself"

“will he really accept a failure like me?”

Sef grinned. “trust me, he doesn’t accept anything else”

The man smiled and spun back towards the bright horizon. No longer as the defeated man carrying death on his shoulders, but as an expectant victor waiting for his reward. “I surrender”

With his head bowed, Sef locked his hands and released the tranquil melody of his soul. It turned the air cold and lulled the man’s soul out of its defiled body, causing the head to drop and the hands to go limp.

“the end!” Sef said, stretching his hands as he stood.

Erze yawned. “my, I feel tired all of a sudden”

Sef placed his foot on the corpse’s back. “wanna sleep together? I make for a comfortable pillow, you know”

“no thanks. I’d rather have my own pillows”

“come on, we both went through an emotional high. We’ll both feel depressed if we don’t comfort each other”

“will you cook?”

“only if I get to hug you”

Erze rolled her eyes. “deal”

Like a child promised with a new toy, Sef kicked the corpse off the wall and rushed inside the door with the girl in his arms. He skipped over multiple steps and ignored the protest screamed by his knees, but when he reached the door, all the excitement coursing through his veins turned into confusion.

“aren’t these..” Erze did not finish her sentence, but her message was unmistakably clear. No matter how strange their world was, the clothes wrapped around the corpse they just threw off the wall should not be sprawled on their doorstep, yet alone in their cell.

“don’t strike immediately” Sef whispered, clasping the door’s handle while Erze's soul and spear hovered above his head. In one motion devoid of fear nor bravery, he swung the door open and braced for ugliest abomination his mind could imagine.

“huh?”

“huh?”

She was something entirely. Not a monster nor a flesh puppet, but a girl about seven years of age, with hair as white as snow, eyes as red as blood, and smile as ancient as himself.

“hello Sef, Erze. It’s nice to finally meet you”