** "Darkness..." **

"Yes, darkness... That is all he had seen for countless nights and days."

*The sound of chains echoes softly.*

In the center of the tangled chains, white hair gleamed, shimmering like a beacon where no light could reach. The boy's breathing was labored, each breath a desperate gasp as though he were pulling air from a suffocating void. Slowly, his eyes opened, revealing irises the color of blood, crimson like ripe cherries. His skin was as pale as death, and his body frail, a mere shadow of what it once was.

*The chains clinked louder.*

"How long has it been since they cast you away?" a voice whispered in the abyss. "Ah... death... if only death would claim your soul. But even the reaper seems to have forsaken you, denying you the peace of an end."

*Clank*

His pupils widened like blooming flowers as a mysterious sound of bells echoed through the darkness, drawing closer. Behind the shadows, a faint glow appeared, the warmth of heat flickering in the distance. Confusion etched itself onto the boy's pale face as he listened.

Footsteps echoed, growing louder, closer.

A figure emerged—a woman's shadow slowly coming into focus as the footsteps approached, steady but cautious.

*G-gasp*

"Who... who's there!?" the girl cried out, her voice trembling as she raised a torch, its dim light slowly revealing her face. Fear and confusion danced in her wide eyes.

The boy's expression froze, shock rippling across his pale features. His eyes trembled, reflecting disbelief.

"A... human?" he murmured, his face softening but clouded with confusion. "Or... is this an illusion? A hallucination?"

The girl, trembling, her voice shaking with fear, stammered, "A-are you the demon of this abandoned tower?"

"Demon?" The boy's lips curled into a faint, bitter smile—far from joy, more akin to disappointment.

"That's the first word I hear after finally seeing another living soul... I suppose that's what your people call me now—a demon?"

Suddenly, a sound erupted from him, a sharp, jarring laugh, spiraling out of control. It was a wild, broken laughter, full of pain—each sound dripping with bitterness and madness. It echoed through the tower's hollow chambers, growing louder with each breath, as though his very soul were cracking with it.

"Hah... Demon...!" he laughed again, choking on the sound, the torment clear in his eyes. "What a joke...!" The laughter carried on, a cruel and twisted sound that seemed to reverberate through the air, long after his voice had fallen silent.

The boy sighed deeply, his head bowed. His silver hair fell like a curtain, veiling the haunted sorrow etched upon his face.