Metallic noises echoed across the white space as a leashed man bowed before Sef. He wore a ragged tunic, torn trousers, and a gentle smile that seemed to be carved straight from Bel's face.

“I'm Belfred" he said, extending a hand without straightening his posture. “thank you for accepting us"

Sef pocketed his hands and stepped back. “don't thank me yet, we still need to see if this really works"

Belfred withdrew his hand and straightened up, his golden hair falling gracefully on his shoulders. “right, harmony first"

Sef narrowed his eyes. “you seem to know a lot about the soul. How about we start there?”

“if you can make the monster wait, then I'll tell you"

“trust me, my partner will buy us time"

“so you're really going to trust a sleeping weapon?”

Sef sat. “still better than trusting someone I don't know"

The reluctance on Belfred's face turned into a mixture of amazement and irritation. He nodded stiffly and obliged to Sef’s demand, sitting in front of him with his eyes locked on to his hands.

“I first knew about the cult when I performed in the king's palace. That time, my career as I musician was at its highest, but my relationship with Elise was the opposite. We were having trouble conceiving a child and it resulted in the two of us become distant to each other. I already tried everything. I prayed to our gods endlessly, sacrificed half of my lambs, but still, none of my pleas were answered. So when the cultist revealed himself to me, my faith wavered immediately. I drank the elixir and convinced my wife to do the same, not knowing it would separate us for good"

Sef averted his eyes, unwilling to gaze at the familiar anguish etched on the man's face. “I see, so she became the host"

Belfred burried his face on his palms. “it was a very cold night when it happened. I woke up to the sound of Elise's lullaby, and found her soaked in blood. Her stomach was ripped open and her beautiful black hair has turned white. I didn't accept it, I still tried to get help---”

“but she stopped you...” Sef said with a nostalgic smile. “you still wanted to fight for her, but she already cradled the enemy in her arms, looking at it with loving eyes"

“how did you know that?”

“your daughter was a baby when she came out. I was a lover when I did"

“I'm... I...” Belfred fumbled his words like a drunkard. Thankfully for him, Sef was already on his feet, extending the same invitation he denied earlier.

“I heard enough" he said. “I accept you as my final piece"

Belfred blinked. “but we haven't done anything yet, I haven't showed you what our souls can do yet!”

“don't worry, I already saw it up close"

“but...”

Like a puzzle assembled piece by piece, Belfred's sour face slowly turned into the smile of excitement. He bolted up to his feet, fixed his posture and grabbed Sef's hand with two of his own.

“please take care of my daughter's eyes"

Sef raised an eyebrow. “just those?”

Belfred grinned proudly. “they're the only ones she got from her mother. The rest was all me"

In a flash, the white void reverted back into the top of the Cainon road. The clouds, the breeze, everything was how Sef last saw them except for one thing. Seven feet away from him was Erze sprawled on the floor, pinned in place by an improved version of the black monster he loved to hate.

It had a ten feet human body and the head of a male lion. A sight that was not supposed to intimidate him, if not for the additional bat wings and scorpion tail that now whipped menacingly behind it.

“ugh” Sef frowned at his partner’s limp body. “she’s definitely going to hurt me after this”

“but she’s dead” Bel said.

“no, she’s ju---”

A ball of acidic goo whizzed above Sef’s head. It was hard to tell wether it was a warning or an actual miss, but regardless, it brought Sef’s focus to the right place. He reassured his stance, and locked his eyes on his opponent, studying every flap of its wings and every whip its tail.

“snare needle”

Obedient chains responded to his command and dragged the monster by the neck. It fell on its knees but quickly returned to its feet, only to be pierced from behind by Erze’s spear.

Sef whistled. “not bad”

The guardian pulled the weapon protruding from its chest and catapulted towards Sef with a single flap of its wings. Every inch of him pleaded to avoid it, but the dark melody inside his head brought out a twisted excitement that anchored him in place.

“snare"

Another set of chains latched unto the monster and halted its advance. Some coiled around the wings while others snaked across the legs and arms. All  firm and unwilling to succumb to their captive’s rage-filled struggles.

“Bel” Sef whispered.

“yes?” the girl asked.

Despite knowing Bel’s bodiless state, Sef still peeked above his shoulders. “how are you?”

“It’s like I’m underwater again. But I’m okay, I can still breath this time”

“this time?”

“yes. Whenever papa borrows my body, I feel like I’m sinking into an ocean. It’s dark and suffocating, but now, it’s fine, I can see everything, and I can breath like I do when papa is asleep”

Sef grinned. “be ready, I’ll merge your soul with Erze now okay?”

Bel inhaled. “I’ll do my best!”

After a quick glance at their restrained opponent, Sef closed his eyes and soaked his own soul with the two songs clashing inside his ears. It was not a challenge earlier since he alternated from one soul to another. But now that he payed attention to both, the struggle became immediate and intense.

It was as if a storm raged inside him, blessing his soul with immense power, but at the same time cursing it with urges that commanded him to trample everything under his feet.

“don’t worry... we’ll fix this... we’ll fix this...”

One reassurance after another, he reduced the chaos to a whisper. From a glass filled to the brim, he became a tight-sealed container. Still plagued by the same weaknesses, still occupied by same vile emotions, but now completely in control.

“are you okay?” Bel asked.

“yes, how about you?” he asked back.

“I don’t understand what happened, but this is amazing! I want to play! Please let me play!”

Sef stared at the monster and weighed the scales. He could play safe and release only what he could handle, or go all out and see the ceiling of new found toy. Neither was wrong, and both were alluring, but in the end, it was curiosity that won over.

“coffin”

As soon as the command left his lips, chains with hooked tips sprang from all sides and wrapped the monster inside a cocoon. Inch by inch, it tightened its hold, breaking the monster’s bones, crushing its flesh and squeezing its blood until the entire prison was dyed black.

After the music reached its crescendo, Sef unlocked his hands and ordered the weapons to return to their human forms. One of them appeared on his lap still wearing the pain of a dissolved shoulder, while the other leaned against his back murmuring like a toddler.

“good job you two” he positioned them side by side, wrapped their arms around each other, and paused to admire his work. Once satisfied, he sat at the edge of the platform and dipped his feet in the clouds, eyes staring to the distance, mind wandering to a place his body could not reach.

“my, they look really exhausted. It looks like I have time to visit an old friend”