The three of them stood at the sturdy iron wall. The wall is at least twenty feet tall and it looks very old. It's rusty and has spider's web all over it. There's wind blowing making the dust visible. The place is dim and only lightened by glitching lamps from each side. They stood silently for awhile until a dark and ominous aura suddenly slips through the gaps below the gate. Kazuki was frozen in fear and seems like all the blood on her face was drained. She's shaking and she bit her lower lip to stop it from shaking. Larkin held her hand and looked at her and his eyes told her that it will be alright. She seems to calm down a bit but traces of fear and anxiety is still drawn in her face.
Zoi stood there his eyes are dread. At that moment he stood there stiffly but he looks like he's unconscious. His body is still there but his mind is wandering off somewhere. He heard voices that whispered to him that gives him chill. It's as if death had spoken to him.
'Did you really think that you're worthy of something?'
'A son of a mere prostitute?'
'And here he thought he could be a king?!'
'A disgrace!'
'Oh? That's right! He let his friend almost die!'
'Yeah right! He should be the one to die!'
He heard those eerie voices and although he's gotten used to hear those words, but at this moment it had a bad effect at him. He felt that he should be blaming himself and a deep feeling of remorse.
'You felt sorry for that girl, right?'
'Why don't you kill her so she won't suffer anymore?'
'No!' Zoi replied. The voice laughed.
'No, huh? Aren't you used to it?' the voice mocked him.
'What are you saying?!' Zoi said pissed off.
'Playing dumb aren't we? Aren't you the one who killed your mother?!' the voice echoed loudly in his head. His eyes widened and pictures from the past has flooded in his eyes.
The flashes of memories were so fast and it was blinding that made Zoi shut his eyes. As soon as he felt that the flashes had died down, he slowly opened his eyes. He felt something hot had touched his skin and a blinding white light. He found it strange though. Earlier, he was in a cold and dim place but now he is in a messy, smelly and dirty slums. When he realized where he is, he suddenly felt nostalgia and memories from his childhood came back to him. He let out a bittersweet smile and roamed around.
He passed by at the place where it was used to be their playground. While looking at it, he can see himself and Larkin fighting whether the sun is a girl or boy, and Kazuki in a corner reading a tattered book that she had found in the garbage. Their place is a garbage dumpsite. Aside from running an illegal things, you can only find a food by rummaging the garbage. These garbage were from the nobles and middle class people in Amane. But for them, it is treasure.
They live in a place forgotten by the country but they were happy back then. Contented with seeing the sun and counting the stars. All they think is how to survive day after day and that ambitions are nowhere in their minds.
But Kazuki was different. She had an ambition back then. She once met a noble boy who was same age as her and taught her to read the basic alphabet. Those days with the noble boy were short-lived however. Then she decided to have and ambition. She wanted to go to the capital and learn new things and teach them to the people here. She shared it with Zoi and Larkin but they just laughed and told her to stop dreaming. Kazuki wasn't discouraged and read every papers and books she would find. The two saw the determination in her eyes until they'd asked her what she knows beyond the slums.
She told them everything she knows hypothetically since she hasn't been there herself. This affected Zoi's decisions in life.
Zoi sighed at those memories as he roamed around. He was wondering if he's dreaming because he's seeing the same people in the slums.
"Zoi!' suddenly a sweet voice called his name. His eyes widened and with much delight, he turned around to see who called him.
"Mother!" he exclaimed like a child and run to her mother. He hugged her and tears were running down his cheek. He's gotten taller that his mother's face is in chest. They let go of each other. Her mother hasn't changed. She still have those baby blue eyes and a dark brown hair and a fair skin.
"Zoi." His mother said and cupped his face with her palms.
"Mother! I've been longing to see you again!" Zoi can't help but cried. He sobbed like a child.
"Me too, Zoi. After you left me, there's no such day that I had forgotten about you."
"W-W-What are you talking about?! It's you who left me! You left me alone!" cried Zoi.
"Yes. I left you. After you've killed me!" suddenly his mother's voice changed into that voice who talked to him before he went into this place.
"Mother….?" Zoi whispered and looked at his mother. Suddenly, the place had changed. The sun's brightness had turned into a dark scarlet red color. The look on his mother's face had been shifting into bones and her lifeless face.
"Why have you killed me Zoi?!" her mother said although her voice is totally different.
"Mother… I don't--."
"Shut up!" suddenly her mother's eyes ha vanished and it left a black hole.
"Mother what are you doing?!" Zoi said when her mother groped his neck and tightened her grip. Zoi choked and held onto her wrist trying to move it away but to no avail. Her grip is unusually strong.
"Mother….stop." Zoi begged between his breath and sometimes he coughed. Her mother suddenly grinned evilly.
"Mother!" Zoi yelled and suddenly something had changed again.
When Zoi looked at his mother again, it's no longer her mother but what he saw is Faia. He was frozen and he didn't know what to say but just her name.
"Faia…." He whispered and tears flooded even more from his eyes.
"That's right! I should've died! I should've suffered more than you! I should've done everything!" he cried and there's silence after his voice echoed around.
"I'm sorry mother… Faia…. I wasn't able to protect you! I'm sorry I was so weak I couldn't run to you when you needed me! I'm sorry! Larkin, Kazuki, Granma Fey, Lord Bal…. everyone, I'm sorry!" he fell down to the ground and cried and slamming his fist on the ground.
"Father… I'm sorry!" he whispered because he felt that his throat could not haul up everything his feeling.
"Zoi!" suddenly another familiar voice have spoke again.
"Stop it! I don't want to listen anymore!" Zoi yelled because he thought that if he talk to another voice, it would just hurt even more.
"Zoi!" the voice still called to him and even touched his shoulder.
"Father?" he uttered as he felt the familiar warmth on his shoulder.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw a light and a shadow of a shoulder-length man. He closed his eyes once again opened it again but instead of seeing his father, what he saw were Larkin and Kazuki.
"Zoi! Hey idiot, wake up!" he heard Zoi yelled and his voice echoed.
"Larkin…" Zoi whispered.
"Thanks goodness!" Kazuki sighed in relief.
"What happened to me?" Zoi asked and slowly get up from lying.
"I don't know. You suddenly fainted." Larkin said.
"Did you saw things?" Kazuki asked and he knows what she's talking about. He then came into conclusion that this might be the reason why Kazuki had changed.
"Yeah, I did. It was terrible." Zoi said panting as he remembered the things he had seen. "What was that?" he asked.
"Well, the answers lies beyond this iron gate." Kazuki said.
"How did you know tho? That there's someone inside?" Larkin asked.
"What you haven't met him Larkin? I thought you and Kazuki saw him already." Zoi asked as confusion arises.
"No, I didn't. We separated ways during the battle to look for Faia and then I found her here lying on the ground. When I woke her up she suddenly started crying. Oop! I'm sorry." Larkin said while Kazuki cleared her throat.
"During your sleep for three days, I sometimes dropped by here and fortunately, I manage to gather courage to open this gate which I found strangely easy to open." Kazuki explained looking at the iron gate.
"And what have you seen?" Zoi asked.
"Well, then. You'll know when we're inside." She said. She walked near the gate.
"Voila Paha!" she shouted.
Larkin snorted as he found those words silly and weird. Zoi almost laughed as well. However, rumbling and shaking of the place were felt.
"What's happening?"
"An earthquake?!"
"Wait a minute! We're not safe here! Come on get out!" Larkin and Zoi said simultaneously as they panicked but Kazuki stayed still.
After a few moments, the iron gate sudden disintegrated into four quadrants and slid in every corner and the gate was opened. Zoi and Larkin were shocked and were stoned in their feet.
A skinny, half-naked man had his hands chained in both sides of the wall. Although he's sitting on the floor. He got long dry white hair and his body is full of bruises. His face showed a lot of scratches and his eyes are dead pale grey. When Zoi saw his eyes, he felt as though every bit of life force in him was sucked out. All he feel is a dense and unpleasant aura that's much worse than what he had felt earlier.
"You've came back, woman." The man spoke nonchalantly with his raspy and deep voice. "And with guests, I guess." The man added.
Kazuki just clenched her fist and bit the insides of her lip. Larkin just looked at the man closely.
"Kazuki? Who is he?" Zoi said.
"You must be a royal." The man said to Zoi. Zoi raised his eyebrow trying to hide his reluctance.
"That's futile, young man. Acting brave won't work. I can definitely see what's in your head." The man said.
"How did you know I am a royal?" Zoi asked though he's a half royal only given that her mother is from the slums.
"That's not even a question. As I've told you, I can see through your mind." The man replied.
"I am surprised to find you here again, woman. Most of the people who came in contact with me once, either had gone insane or even committed suicide." The man said to Kazuki. Kazuki did not looked at him but she replied.
"I don't have any intentions of having you kill me. I still have yet to accomplish something." She replied fiercely.
"Oh? And what is that?" the man asked although his voice is monotone, he's awkwardly trying to sound playful.
"Cut the crap! I thought you could see through everything!" Kazuki yelled.
"Well, yeah." The man said and turned to look at his third guest.
"Those eyes…." He whispered as if surprised but he actually is. His voice just got in the way.
"It's futile. All you can see in my mind---."
"Is a world full of woman." The man said.
"Yeah right!" Larkin said proudly.
"Now that you mention it, Larkin did not seem to experience what we experienced." Zoi said and Kazuki was surprised.
"That's right! But why?" Kazuki asked and her hands on her chin.
"Oh yeah!" Kazuki exclaimed as she remembered something.
"Did… did you happened to fight someone with an astral body?" suddenly the man asked. Zoi's eyes widened and looked at him.
"Why? Do you know them?" Zoi asked.
"Damn right, I do. I am one of them." The man said and fell asleep.
The three of them stood shocked but at the same time, interested.