When I i am conscious again, the elevator has stopped in the dark. The metal door helplessly opens and closes again.
Beyond the door is a cell in dead silence.
The bump on my head is throbbing with pain, but I have no time to waste. Trying to remember Nightingale's last instructions, I start to act.
'The elevator will take you to the Bureau's real restricted area. Turn right after exiting the elevator. Get to the end of the third corridor and go down two floors.'
Technically I had no reason to rush but the situation above me, with Nightingale... It made me want to run.
The smooth reflective surface caught my eye and I paid more attention to the reflection.
'Avoid anyone who is not a prison guard. If you hear anyone, hide in the nearest cell under the blanket. That woman has removed all restraints, so the cell doors will be open.'
'You want to get to the middle section of Area B-3, where you will find the only prisoner who voluntarily stays in the cage. Find her. Her number is...'
"This way! This way, Sir!" A teenagers voice interrupted my mental replay of the instructions. "A-are you the new guard? I... I'm Hella." She introduced.
"I'm not like those baddies. See? I didn't cause any trouble, nor did I try to escape."
I know I had "doubt" all over my face as I glanced at the cell.
"But I'm scared... Those baddies are so scary. They... they wanted to kill me! They said they would come back to kill me later!" She spoke. 'Why would the prisoners kill a fellow prisoner?' I wondered.
"Sir, can you let me out, please?"
A Twisted smile curled on my lips. 'If you really wanted out you could have gotten out or gotten a prisoner to help you...'
Then I stopped. 'Is she the person I'm looking for?'
I stepped back to back to survey this cell.
In doing so I noticed the lock on the cell door has clearly been damaged violently by a blunt object. The warning "Unlock Failed" flashes on the smashed screen—and a bent steel pipe is hidden at the young girl's feet.
'Th-those baddies smashed it. I didn't do it. Trust me, Sir. Please let me out. I..." She hesitated. I tried to hide my laugh at her story falling apart.
"I've begged you so many times! Are you gonna let me out or not?!!"
The young girl reveals her true fierce self. Her hand reaches out of the cell and yanks me by the collar towards her. She is incredibly strong, hitting you against the glass and trapping your neck from behind with the cold steel pipe.
Once is odd, twice is a coincidence, three times is a cliche I rolled my eyes. "Oh for the love of -"
Observing with great difficulty, I can see sparks splash onto her pale, almost white arm and create a burn, which, however, heals immediately.
"Don't go against me, little guard... My power isn't to be messed with, and Sinners aren't prisoners you can trap."
"I don't have time to play with you. Before I count to five, open the door, or I'll strangle you!" Hella threatened.
"4----
3------" she started.
I chuckled. "You're counting down not to," I pointed out ,"
"Aaahhh-!!" She shrieked.
A shadow suddenly dashed out before my eyes, then Hella screamed behind me and the pipe fell to the ground with a clang.
"...You bastard!" She cried.
I ignored her, squinting in the darkness. The cell door directly across from you two is wide open. The silent shadow creeps slowly, giving off an ominous aura.
In the middle of the shadow sits a slim figure against the wall.
"...Come back." Her voice, quiet and seemingly resigned, spoke.
The shadow immediately leaves Hella, passes you, and returns to the young girl before merging with the darkness.
"Chief, a forbidden power lies dormant in the depth of this jail. It's more dangerous and powerful than our enemies.' Nightingale's voice spoke in my head.
'Is she the forbidden power?'
'You want to get to the middle section of Area B-3, where you will find the only prisoner who voluntarily stays in the cage. Find her. Her number is...'
"S-019?" I asked.
"...Did Nightingale send you here? ...Are there new orders?"
"... You could say that," I said. There isn't a hint of emotion in her voice, as if I'm conversing with the dark wall itself. I walked forward until I was well past the doorway of the cell.
"...Nightingale said you would become my power."
"...I see." The girl spoke. "You're the new "Chief."
"There is only Chief's order. Will you follow?" I asked forgetting I was depending on her for help.
Behind me, Hella made a noise of surprise. "Let me out! Bastard! Let me kill him! I'll kill him!" She raged banging on the glass.
I felt a vein throb in irritation. 'This kid...'
"Cut that out you look small enough to kick into the corner somewhere," I said bluntly before I could think about it.
The shadow at the young girl's feet shudders and wriggles forward.
I soon hear the chilling cracking sound behind me. Hella's scream halts even before it escapes her mouth. I don't turn to look and see what is happening.
"Keep quiet... Or it'll be your neck next time..." The prisoner numbered S-019 remarked. Her voice remained emotionless, but I understood the threat. And so did Hella
I bit back a smile,
I watched the young girl across the room stand up, leave the darkness along with the flowing shadows at her feet, and walk towards me.
When I notice it, the shadow has already wrapped around my limbs. The chills seep into my veins and into my bones. They did not appreciate this either and I shuddered.
"Don't move... It hates when prey struggles." The girl warned.
"Are you really who I'm looking for?" I asked.
"No. S-019, A-level Sinner. My ability is... the curse of nightmare."
'Sinner? I should know that shouldn't I?' I wondered.
"Unlike those people outside, I... " She hesitated "We are the real criminals in this place."
"And the person who binds and traps us with the "shackles" is the Chief of this cage."
"Chief", have you... found the shackles?" She asked.
I blinked. She stares right into my eyes. The shadow has a grip on my throat. Its bone-chilling desire to kill irritates every single nerve in my body.
The order from Nightingale is..." I started to ask, remembering her question from earlier.
"I don't need her order anymore."she interrupted.
"Chief, yours will be the only ones that matter," her voice is almost a persuading whisper.
She lifts your hand and presses it lightly against her collarbone, then everything falls into darkness.
In the darkness, all I can see is this young girl in front of me. Under her icy gaze, a series of obscure words crawl into my body, crashing my head, screaming to tear my soul apart.
Before I can react to the pain, she commands me "Stop it, or get killed." I tensed.
"You know what to do..." She spoke softly.
"That's your power. Awaken it. I'm sure you can control it." I heard Nightingale in my head and remembered the situation I left her in. My voe to come back.
"Like hell I'm dying here. I made a promise. I keep my promises"
"Find your shackles and bind me. Follow your instincts. This is why you exist." The prisoner spoke.
'Don't think about BDSM,' I thought, hiding a smile.
My hand starts to move uncontrollably and strangles the girl's neck. Before I can feel bad about this, a scorching pain follows, while some crimson pattern surfaces on my skin.
The scorching pattern spreads to the young girl's skin, then stretches greedily beyond, piercing through the darkness and spreading through the entire space.
"No! Stay away from me! No!!!" Hella protested and honestly I forgot about her. Maybe a bit of payback for roughing me up...
The crimson pattern creeps up Hella and binds her entire body like burning shackles, making it impossible for her to break free.
And the young girl who calls herself S-019 stares intently into my eyes in the same spot.
For a moment, I have grabbed hold of some strong power, like a glimpse of some insane madness...
I come back to my senses. When I finally turn back again, the door of Hella's cell is already broken.
She collapses to the floor in agony.
"Bastard... Bastard... I'll kill you as soon as I get the chance..." She seethes as the red pattern slowly fades.
"She can't." S-019 interrupted.
I deadpanned.
S-019 looks at me. The shadow next to her is now clear in my eyes. This is the real form of that horrible nightmare, which will no longer terrify me.
"Any Sinners branded with the shackles are at your disposal." S-019 informs me.
"I'm the one in control huh," I muttered.
As she speaks, she turns her gaze toward the other side of the corridor. The rioters are here. The commotion here draws their attention, and they are now shouting and rushing over.
The noise must have attracted them.
"Don't scream so loud Hella, you know there's no real honor among prisoners," I remarked cynically.
"Now I have to do crowd control. As if there's a spectacle to even watch," I shrugged.
"You are now an actual Chief. Please give me orders. From now on, I only follow your orders."
"We're returning to Nightingale but they're in our way. Clear them." I ordered.
"Copy that." The girl smiled.