“always wear this when you’re cold okay?” Knox said as he wrapped a red scarf around Bel’s neck. It was the only thing he promised to give two days ago, but now that they were about to part ways, it was just the first item on the list. Aside from silk tunics and black cloaks that blended well with the underworld, he also provided a box of jewelries, tools only Marcellus understood, and a white sack that remained small no matter how many items were stuffed inside it.

“are you done?” Sef asked, pointing at the thin light tracing the horizon. “I don’t want our stroll to last till midnight”

Bel tiptoed and hugged the old man. “thank you grampa, take care of yourself”

The two shared another minute of parental bond before Sef and Erze pulled them apart. There was no more time wasted. With Marcellus leading the way, they took one last glance at their wall and began their descent to the eastern sea's staircase.

The first hour was total silence, the second was a series of forced conversations, and the third was chorus of groans and complaints straight from the mouths of those who have not fully recovered yet.

“is this a dream?” Sef asked. “or are we really not making progress?”

Erze leered at Marcellus. “are sure you’re following the right path, boy?”

Marcellus kept walking. “I know its dark, but as you can see, this staircase is only a straight way down. You two should just shut your mouth and reserve your energy instead”

“why you---”

“kid” Sef tightened his hold on Erze’s mouth “there’s something wrong here isn’t it? Spill it out”

Marcellus knelt before Bel with a warm smile. “can I ask you a question?”

Bel nodded stiffly. “yes”

“can you say out loud what you see?”

Sef followed the long finger pointed upwards and blinked at the blanket of darkness obstructing his vision since the start of their journey. At first, he dismissed it as a mere product of the underworld’s unnaturally bleak nights. But now, on closer inspection, its true nature became clear.

“I see gray clouds” Bel said.

“clouds?” Erze's face soured. “what are you talking about?”

Marcellus pointed to the left. “how about there?”

Bel rubbed her eyes. “I see water and um, stars?”

“so we’re the problem?” Erze asked.

Sef made her look up. “steady your eyes and you’ll see”

“see what? It’s just darkness”

“does it come from inside or outside?” he asked.

“are you insulting my intellect? Of course it’s coming from the... wait...”

Sef nodded. “it’s from inside. We’re blind”

Erze poked his cheek. “but I can see your face, touch it even”

Marcellus cleared his throat. “I really want to get off this stairs as fast as possible, but I guess I have to explain it now”

“oh please do” Erze said with folded arms.

“wait...” Marcellus rummaged the magical sack on his shoulder and pulled out a one-eyed lens tied to a wrinkled brown book. “page four, section six... there. And I quote, with all the observations listed above, I Aquina conclude that the four chambers hold a certain degree of sovereignty to its subjects. Anyone who defies this is stripped down of most of his or her senses and cognitive abilities. This discourages travel from one sea to another, but at the same time maintains a certain balance in regards of population and thus, resources. End quote"

Erze scratched her head. “what does that mean?”

Marcellus slammed the book on his face and gestured at Sef. “please do the honors"

“it means...”

A sinking sensation bloomed in Sef’s chest as he gagged for the knowledge he was so confident on sharing seconds ago. He understood every word, and at the same time he did not. As if a lock was placed in his brain, preventing him from accessing the information.

“Sef?” Marcellus peeked his eyes above the book. “don’t tell me you didn’t get it too?”

“I did!” Sef said. “I understand what you said, I just... I just don’t understand it!”

“huh?”

“um...” Bel tugged Sef’s cloak. “I, I can tell you if you want”

The three adults blinked at each other and answered with a unified nod, making the child bounce to her feet as she delivered an explanation that was both simple yet enlightening.

“Sef and Erze belong to the bottom sea. Now that you are in the right sea, the bottom sea is jealous. It took your eyes and ears and brain so you won’t fall in love with the right sea”

“I see” Sef said. “so we’re basically idiots when it comes to things not related to the south wall”

“it’s not just that” Marcellus flipped a few pages. “according to this book, your physical abilities will be dulled as well. That means one kilometer of walk for us is equivalent of seven for you, thirty minutes of work for us will be seven for you”

Erze turned to Bel. “what did he say?”

The little girl hid behind Marcellus. “it means that you’re weaker than the two of us”

“what?!” Erze pointed at Bel and Marcellus. “this isn’t fair! How come only the two of us are like this?! Aren’t you from the south wall too?!”

“I’m from Pandora” Bel said.

“and I’m from Overworld Quirinus” Marcellus said.

“but you’re a hallower of the south wall” Sef said. “doesn’t that make you like us?”

Marcellus returned the book in the sack. “I’m there out of duty, not as a punishment. Unlike you, I’m not tied to any sea”

Erze hugged Sef jokingly. “just when I thought we were finally free...”

“keep faith, partner...” Sef hugged back. “it’s going to be fine, we still have each other”

Marcellus took Bel’s hand and resumed the walk. “stop fooling around you two, the rain is about to fall”

Erze broke away and leered at Sef’s hand. “hey, aren’t you going to grab my hand?”

“and why would we do that?” Sef asked.

“I’m hurting right now, fool. You should comfort me”

“there’s no point being insecure with those two, you know. It’s fine, we can’t be the superior ones all the time”

“but it’s so frustrating...”

“fine” Sef took her hand and dragged her along a surprise sprint. He knew it was useless, there was no way they could overtake the young ones at the moment. But he was also aware of Erze’s self-pitying tendencies, a weakness they could not afford to endure right now.

As promised, their punishment reared its ugly head immediately. It did not make their steps heavy, not their energies low, but the harder they ran, the farther Bel and Marcellus became.

Soon enough the images they chased vanished from their sights, and killed their ember of hope with a bucket of cold reality. Sef slowed his strides, but Erze stopped completely, looking down at her feet with misty eyes.

“why are we always being punished?”

“hey” Sef poked her forhead. “use your head, you’re being emotional right now”

“I’m just...” Erze gritted her teeth. “I’m tired of being a prisoner”

“that’s why we’re doing this remember? Here’s the deal, I’ll listen to you as long as you want, but we need to finish these steps first”

“shields”

Sef blinked. “what?”

Erze raised her head and blinked back. “I didn’t say anything”

“quick!”

This time the voice called close enough to be recognized. It was Marcellus running towards them, with fear etched on his face and Bel strapped on his back. “we need shields!”

“what’s happening?” Sef asked.

“just do it!”

With a raised eyebrow, Sef synched his soul with the kid and summoned his soul. “come forth”

Marcellus’ body vanished and his meticulous sounding soul leaked into the atmosphere, leaving Bel on the ground with a pale face and eyes glued at whatever it was that came towards them.

“shields” Sef said, and a number of rectangular glass sheets materialized around them. They merged into walls that pushed Bel back to their side, and formed a cube that served as a fortress against the unseen enemies.

“phew, that was close” Marcellus said.

“what was?” Sef asked while poking the glass wall.

Marcellus materialized his body and patted Bel’s head. “believe it or not, an entire hell hound pack is surrounding us now”

“wait” Erze’s stern eyes went from the wall to Marcellus. “how can you be a wall and a human at the same time?”

“I’m not cursed. I don’t have any of the restrictions you three have”

Sef ignored Erze’s grumblings and stared at the blank world outside. “so these puppies, how many are they?”

“who are you?”

“huh?” Sef spun and blinked at Marcellus, but their gaze did not meet. The kid’s eyes were focused to his left, as if someone else was standing next to him.

“I ask again” Marcellus shielded Bel. “who are you? Tell me now before I force it out of your mouth!”

“there’s someone else here?” Erze asked.

Bel nodded. “it’s a skinny man with a lot of hair in his face”

“like Knox?” Sef asked.

“grampa looks kind, this one just looks hungry”

“my, that hurts sweetheart”

Starting from the head down to the black slippers, a man on a green tunic appeared before their eyes. He was an inch taller than Marcellus, but was even more unimpressive on the physical side. His face was sunken, his silver beard was unkept, and his chest was lined with the marks of his ribs, giving him a skeletal appearance reminiscent of Bel’s void form.

“my name is Vanaker, and I believe you need me”

Sef whistled. “that’s quite a claim. Prove it”

The man pulled out a knife from his tunic and slashed his wrist, drawing black blood and feminine screams in the process. “I hear you have trouble seeing things yes? If you take in some of this, then you’ll be fixed”