About an hour had passed since the small hatch had been opened for the delivery of food.
Louie had already eaten. Physically, he felt a little stronger, but his mind was still a storm — filled with doubts, questions, broken memories… and relentless pain.
— Ugh… damn pain. — Louie sighed. — At least it's eased a little since I ate…
With a simple movement, Louie placed both palms on the floor and pushed his body forward.
Standing up, he began to walk slowly around the square cell.
— So now… how the hell do I get out of here? — Louie muttered, running his hands along the wall as he paced from one side to the other. — My whole body aches, my energy's drained, and I've got no clue how to escape this damned prison.
His head was at the limit. One question after another — with no real answers.
It felt like he wasn't just trapped physically, but cornered mentally as well.
What did that phrase Sethros said even mean?
Who was the "he" Sethros had mentioned?
That question wouldn't leave his mind.
It was like a thorn buried deep, stinging with every second. The more he tried to push it away, the deeper it sank.
Was it a reference to his former self?
Or was Sethros talking about someone else… someone Louie once knew?
Or worse — someone inside him, sharing the same body?
Even if the thought seemed absurd, it hit him with the force of a hammer pounding truth.
That sound followed him all the way to the cell door.
He stopped, leaning his forehead against the cold metal.
The silence of the cell screamed inside his head, so hollow and overwhelming that the only thing breaking it was his faltering voice.
— Prison, huh… — he whispered.
Suddenly, without warning, his eye narrowed, his heart raced, and veins bulged on his skin as if they were about to burst.
Louie's throat tightened, as though the air around him was being stolen away. His head pounded, each throb echoing like the grinding of a broken record.
Dragging with it the final screams and agony of all those slaughtered that fateful day.
And then, like a DVD on play, images began to appear.
In the middle of that hell, the question remained.
No… more than that.
The question seemed tied to the fractured, distorted memories of the day everything began.
The feared: Bloody Massacre.
But this time, the memories didn't come as disconnected flashes.
It was like a film rolling inside Louie's head.
And he… was nothing more than a spectator trapped in his own broken recollections.
His head spun.
It was like being pulled to another place… another world… another universe.
When Louie opened his eyes again, his vision was heavy… blurred.
Dizzy, yet in a rush, he tried to grasp where he had landed, looking around in desperation.
— W-where the hell am I?! I was in the cell just now… how the fuck did I end up here?! — he muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead.
But froze when he saw it.
— Wh-what the hell… my hand… it's transparent?! — he whispered, turning his hands over and over. — Is this… just a dream?
He looked around.
Bodies scattered on the floor, mutilated, unrecognizable.
And in the air, a black mist that grew thicker with each passing second… swallowing the space whole.
Every piece of it spawned new scenes.
Twisted scenes… heavy ones… far too real to be mere dreams of his limited imagination.
— "No… this feels too real… it can't just be a drea—"
Before he could finish the thought, he heard footsteps echoing.
Slow, steady… each step made Louie's head tremble, like a cursed melody playing just for him.
Tok…
A chill surged through the room, running up his spine.
Tok…
The world seemed to stop.
As though a divine presence walked among the fallen… a calamity carrying the stench of ruin.
Tok…
That was all.
In those seconds that stretched into eternity, only that sound persisted, vibrating and silencing everything else before it.
Louie's whole body froze at that visceral sound… all but his eyes.
His eyes darted wildly, searching for the source — restless, desperate…
Blue in one… red in the other… spinning endlessly behind the hunt…
Until finally… they found it.
In the middle of that sea of corpses, a silhouette made of pure shadow walked slowly.
Eyes glowing a deep crimson, hair white as snow.
He walked over the blood as if the ground were a red carpet, rolled out just for him.
Louie's heart hammered so hard it felt like it might burst from his chest.
His palms sweated, his hands trembled beyond control.
— "H-him… I-I've seen him before!" — Louie thought, screaming inside, chest tight, throat dry.
The sheer danger made his legs tremble.
Each step of that silhouette pounded in his skull, like a drum announcing a fallen one entering through the gates of hell.
Louie felt small… powerless… utterly vulnerable before that being.
— "That's who I saw when I awakened my powers! But… why is he here?! What does he have to do with this massacre?!"
Louie tried to move, but it was useless.
His body was completely frozen.
His eyes shook, as if they might fall out of his face.
And in that moment… they sank before the devilish smile — white, twisted, and empty — that the scarlet-eyed shadow wore.
Falling, Louie felt like a single drop of blood falling into a still blue ocean, bleeding red across the water.
The world around him shook.
Reality itself seemed to twist.
Lightning ripped the sky, each strike weeping for the loss of its color.
His eyes, crashing against the ground and lit by the blinding glow, shifted their view.
It was like he was someone else now, watching the same memory from outside.
From above the tall corridors, he saw the court below, a wasteland of corpses.
No control over his body, vision clouded by the black mist, Louie noticed six more silhouettes, shadows stained, gathered around the white-haired man.
With a twisted ease, the man laughed.
His laughter locked the whole scene.
Until… it cut off.
For an instant, the man's lips moved — words without sound, existing but inaudible to Louie.
Then, he raised his hand toward Louie, forming his fingers like a gun.
And, aiming with flesh itself, those crimson eyes locked onto Louie's own.
With the man's final silent words…
BAM!
Louie's eyes spiraled with the sound of the "shot."
His body convulsed, as though every muscle had been shocked alive.
Air left him in an instant, a strange chill crawling up his spine, freezing him in place.
His hands clawed at the ground, clinging to the only thing tethering him to reality.
His head spun, throbbed… his heart racing to escape his chest.
And in that moment—
As if reality itself shattered like glass, Louie was thrown back into his normal consciousness, inside the strange, solitary dark cell.
Still leaning his forehead against the cold metal, gasping as though he'd run a marathon.
Breathing hard.
Frustrated, chest tight, he slammed his fist against the cell door.
Doubts ate away at him, like rust consuming an old nail.
He knew nothing.
— D-damn you… who… are you?! — Louie muttered, still panting, the image of that white-haired, scarlet-eyed figure burned into his corrupted memory.
— "Calm down, Louie. Breathe." — he sighed, trying to steady his nerves. — "If I had to name what I just saw… I'd say it was a memory of the massacre."
Louie pulled away from the wall, still panting, but calmer.
— "Seprus (Sethros) must know what really happened there… I need to get out and make him talk." — But how the hell could he escape?
At that moment, Louie had no one.
No familiar face. No hand reaching for him. Nothing.
Except… Kael.
The memory of him — that sarcastic gaze that somehow radiated security — flashed like a ray of light in the cell's darkness.
Louie didn't even know who Kael truly was — or why he felt such safety around him — but something about his jokes, his teasing, carried a strange reassurance.
It was more than sympathy.
It was like his gaze bore a sense of responsibility, something Louie couldn't explain, but leaned on.
Maybe it was a tie to his former self…
Or maybe even older than that…
— Kael, huh… He looked ridiculously strong… — Louie let out a short laugh. — Could he beat Seprus in a fight?
He sighed, his head too crowded to think straight.
— Then again, I don't even know if Seprus is that strong… But that look of his… it gave me chills! — he shivered, body trembling. — Like an ostrich with snake eyes and a forked tongue…
— … — he muttered, grimacing at the thought of such a thing.
— Gross… disgusting… — he whispered, comparing the two in his mind.
— Well, not that it matters what kind of animal Seprus looks like right now… — he said, slowly placing a hand on the door. — I just… hope Emi and Nina made it safely to Áurea.
With a sharp gaze, filled with focus and determination, Louie clenched his fist against the door.
— And that's why… I have to get out of here. No matter what.
⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟
While Louie was scheming his escape, Kael was elsewhere — in a white, silent room, stained with dried blood and surrounded by instruments of torture.
In front of him stood the prisoner he had captured in the ambush just hours earlier.
A man of living metallic skin, broken, missing both arms — yet with his pride still intact.
— I'll ask again — Kael said, his voice laced with menace. — Who are you people? And what do you want with Louie, Nina, and Emi?
The man panted, spitting blood, yet managed a crooked smile, almost mocking Kael.
— Torture me all you want… — he muttered, his words cut by pain, but with an irritatingly bold defiance. — I'd rather die than talk.
Kael leaned forward, his eyes burning with restrained fury.
— I swear… I hate doing this… — he murmured, impatient. — But you're leaving me no choice.
He stepped slowly toward a blue case in the corner, the metallic scrape of his hand brushing against it echoing through the room.
— Let's see if you'll still be this brave when we really start. — Kael calmly opened the case, pulling out blades, nails, and other cruel instruments.
The prisoner swallowed hard, breathing heavy, every muscle taut.
It was unclear if he was resisting… or drowning in despair.
⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟
Hours later, the room looked like a nightmare made flesh.
Tools scattered across the floor, all drenched in blood. Bones shattered. Toenails ripped out one by one.
The man of metal no longer resembled anything human — he was just a heap of pain, flesh, and steel, still breathing.
Kael approached slowly, his voice hoarse, drained, stripped of patience.
— Enough of this shit… Answer what I asked, or we start over. Again and again.
The prisoner gagged, choking on blood. His voice weak, broken. That damned pride… finally shattered into countless pieces.
— N-no… please… just… just kill me already…
Kael narrowed his eyes, his tone dropping low — even more threatening than before.
— Just answer me… and I'll end this pain.
The man hesitated, breathing hard, as if battling himself, not knowing which path to take.
Kael smirked faintly, sarcastically, reaching for the tools again.
— Fine then… looks like we'll keep going.
— N-no… no… — the prisoner's voice cracked, barely above a whisper. — I… I'll talk.
He coughed violently, spraying blood across the floor. Each word nearly made him collapse.
— Sacr— cough, cough, cough — Sacrificium Sanguinis… we call ourselves… Sacrificium… Sanguinis…
The sound of that name sent a chill down Kael's spine.
He had never heard it before — not even ten years ago, when he'd faced this organization directly.
It wasn't just another criminal cell.
It was bigger. Far more complex, and shrouded in secrecy.
So many involved… and yet no records. No names. No motives.
None of it made sense to Kael.
It was like stumbling into a bottomless pit — one that hid something far worse than he could imagine.
And then, the door creaked open.
— Kael! — an agent rushed in. — What… what happened here…?
He froze, staring at the blood-stained room and the mutilated tools scattered across it.
— Nothing happened here. — Kael replied coldly, grabbing a white cloth to wipe the blood from his hands. — Speak.
— R-right… — the agent stammered, forcing himself to focus. — We found one of the kidnapped victims.
Kael's gaze snapped toward him, almost breaking his composure — but he steadied his breath and answered calmly.
— Continue. Explain in detail.
The agent swallowed hard, clutching his trembling notebook before opening it.
— Y-yes… — he said, fumbling for his pen. — Vigilante Lila scouted the isolated locations in Porto Alegre, as ordered.
He flipped through the notes quickly, eyes darting until he landed on a marked entry.
— She discovered an abandoned building in the southern district, with suspicious movement. — he continued, glancing up briefly before writing again. — While infiltrating, she fought guards with Kaelum powers… and found a girl, around 10 years old.
He closed the notebook slowly, pressing it shut between his fingers.
— Matches the exact description of Nina Kaede.
Kael straightened, urgency flashing in his eyes.
— Understood… — he strode to the door. — Send word to Lila, rally the other Vigilantes. We're going after Louie and Emi.
— Yes, sir! — the agent saluted sharply.
— And you… — Kael's gaze shifted back to the mutilated prisoner. — Stay put. We'll… continue our conversation later.
But before Kael could step out, the bloodied man grinned, whispering through broken teeth:
— Hahaha… poor fool… You have no idea what you're walking into…
Kael halted, turning his head sharply.
— What do you mean?
— The boy… if you want advice… don't go after him. — His body tensed against the chains, pupils shrinking. — Maybe then… maybe… you'll survive a little longer… The first fall has already happened…
— Boy? Fall? — Kael pressed. — Do you mean the Península School massacre?
The man didn't answer — at least not with words. Instead, he broke into hysterical laughter.
— The boy… he's just a puppet! A pawn of something much greater! The one who will bring the original chaos upon mortals and immortals alike! The vessel of Calamity and Final Judgment! Lu—
SPLAT!
Without warning, his head exploded. Fragments of skull and blood splattered across the room.
The stench of burnt metal and gore thickened in the air.
Behind Kael, the agent trembled violently at the grotesque scene. His stomach turned, and he vomited on the floor.
Kael, spattered in blood and flesh, wiped his face with disdain.
— A self-destruction device? No… if he had one, he'd have used it earlier. He didn't even know it was there.
Kael approached the corpse, his eyes cold, fixed on the remains.
— Could it be a Kaelum power triggered from afar? Maybe… What kind of organization does this to their own men?
He clenched his fists, the weight of unanswered questions pressing down on him.
— If the first fall was the Península massacre… then will there be more? And what was that last word he tried to say? Luci…?
Grinding his teeth, Kael exhaled hard.
— No use. He's dead. Thinking won't change that now.
After a long silence, he turned toward the door, muttering under his breath:
— Hold on, Louie, Emi. I swear I'll save you. No matter what it takes.
⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟
A little before Nina was rescued by Lila…
In another building — neither Louie's nor Nina's — Sethros sat before a wall of surveillance monitors.
On one screen, Louie was locked in a pitch-dark cell, filmed by a hidden micro-camera.
On another, Nina sat on the floor of a bare room, distractedly folding and releasing a paper airplane.
And on yet another, Emi was chained to an iron bar, motionless, her gaze lost in emptiness.
Sethros lounged lazily in his chair, fiddling with a communicator. He twisted its dials and tapped his fingers on the table, as if keeping rhythm to a song only he could hear.
A metallic voice crackled from the device, distorted, almost unrecognizable:
— Sethros… you weren't supposed to capture Louie yet. And Aurea is already searching for them.
Static burst, followed by continuation:
— Everything is prepared for where the Second Fall will occur. Your mission was only to retrieve the lost shell, the one we had lost contact with.
The voice was strange, impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman.
Sethros smirked, leaning back like a spoiled child:
— Oh, but how boring would it be to just bring her back!
He chuckled, rocking his chair.
— Relax… I'm only going to play a little treasure hunt with Aurea's people, then I'll take the Second Shell to the main base.
His eyes wandered across the screens, analyzing every detail.
— I even split them up into three different buildings, just to make the treasure hunt more entertaining.
A short laugh slipped out.
— I want to understand why he was so interested in this shell, to the point of changing every plan just to keep her.
The communicator replied quickly:
— There are things we, mere inferior mortals, will never comprehend. Perhaps it's better to give up trying to understand the will of a higher being.
— Yeah, yeah, I know… — Sethros muttered — but there's nothing to worry about. Even if my little game went wrong, and in the worst-case scenario the Second Shell ended up in Aurea's custody along with Louie, it wouldn't change the plan. She'd be useless until the Second Fall is carried out and the engine is fueled.
— I don't see a problem with that either, but still… be careful. Lila is one of the best investigators alive. And Kael… perhaps even you couldn't face him head-on.
Sethros reclined, folding his arms:
— Fine, fine. I'll just have some fun, then head back.
— As long as you don't alter the original plan, do what you want. — The communicator crackled again. — But tell me more about the Second Shell.
Sethros turned toward the girl with deep violet eyes and coal-black hair, standing still beneath a dark mantle.
— I've found her. She's under our control once again.
He paused briefly before adding:
— But something unexpected happened. After the blood sacrifice, she apparently lost all her memories — just like Louie.
His gaze narrowed.
— They were the only ones among the Shells to forget everything, not just the massacre. So I put her under the effect of my "Mental Dominion."
— I see… Louie's memory loss I can understand, but why her too?
— Perhaps… — Sethros sighed lightly, staring at the girl — it's because of the Fallen that dwells within her.
He tilted his head slightly.
— Among all the Shells, she was the most compatible. So maybe it's just a side effect of fusing more deeply than the others — even if the sacrifice was incomplete in her case.
The communicator hissed again:
— That's possible. By the way, she wasn't on the survivor list released to the public. Was she declared dead?
— Yes… — Sethros muttered, glancing away at the girl, still motionless like a puppet.
The device crackled once more:
— Better that way. Forneus already has his hands full forging families for all the other Shells, just to cover up their origins and disappearances after the massacre.
— Ughhh, even hearing that lunatic Forneus's name disgusts me.
— We already told you to end that feud of yours. Besides, you're not much better than him. — the voice retorted.
Sethros's expression shifted from disgust to pure irritation with each word.
— Don't compare me to that bastard. — He rubbed his forehead, groaning. — Damn it… you've ruined my mood. Thanks for the misery… Apostle of Mammon.
— No need to thank me… — the metallic voice replied, dripping sarcasm.
— Fine, whatever. That's my report for now. If there's nothing else, I'll shut this off…
One final burst of static.
— Very well. Just don't push things too far and… enjoy yourself. Because once this is over, we'll be lying low for a long while.
— Oh, I'll enjoy every second of it… — Sethros whispered with a sly grin, eyes fixed on Nina and Emi's images across the screens.
⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟EXTRA⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟⋰⋞⋆⋟
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
TRIVIA 1:
Louie has a deep fear of ostriches.
And it's not "a little fear" — it's genuine terror.
It all started when Emi took him and Nina to the zoo. Everything was fine… until the boy tripped and fell straight into the ostrich enclosure.
As a result, Louie ran desperately, with the bird chasing after him as if it had some personal grudge.
Since that day, just hearing the word "ostrich" — or imagining one — makes him shiver all over.
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
TRIVIA 2:
When Louie was captured and "interrogated" by Sethros, he had such a splitting headache that he couldn't quite hear the man's name.
That's when the confusion began — Louie has since firmly believed his name is actually "Seprus."
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
TRIVIA 3:
Because of his memory loss, Louie, despite having the age, body, and some mindset of a teenager, can shift emotions very quickly.
It's like a child switching from tears to laughter in a matter of seconds.