Prison

Daylight trickled in through the grandiose glass of the cathedral's windows. Usually, this light would be responsible for waking Perses, but today, he sat up, alert. Full of fatigue, he gazed listlessly at the closed door of his room, waiting.

As time trickled by, his patience appeared futile. Nobody would be visiting him. Instead, his attention was fixed on the looming memories of the previous night.

'What are people supposed to do when there's no one to tell them how to live.'

Uncertain about what to do, the hours slowly passed, and the door remained closed. Shut off from the capital, Perses could only reminisce on the few days he had lived. Inevitably, he ran out of things worth recalling.

'No, there's still that devil.'

The food-stealing demon was the only thing that could attain his attention. Like an idol of great reverence, the memory of the girl remained fixed in his mind, stubbornly refusing to leave.

'Machia told me to figure things out myself, but how should I know where to look.'

"I should find her."

Feeling convicted and somewhat sentimental, Perses failed to notice the slow opening of the bedroom door. Finally spotting the now visible hallway, Perses' head was assaulted by questions.

'When did'

By some inexplicable force, the door had opened without any indication of someone opening it. Entranced, Perses approached, Zealous at the possibility of his boredom being intruded upon. Something was finally happening.

Doing his best to hide this excitement, he inspected the door with a cautious but strict resolve. Yet he found nothing. By some miracle, Perses happened to have looked in the direction of the right wing of the hallway as something strange happened. Way off down the hallway, a far larger wooden door opened, and again, nothing suggested anyone had physically interfered.

It was as if divine intervention was guiding him out of the pits of despair. Spurred on by this thought, Perses walked down the long hallway and through the door.

Outside, the daylight revealed a hectic buzz of activity. Guards carrying varying levels of armour and weaponry dashed in and out of the nearest buildings. Many wore vain faces as the traffic mainly converged towards the nearest exit of the walls. After a short while, the intense bustle of the guards began to thin out. Some of those late to leave the vicinity even spotted Perses yet paid him no mind as their urgency drove them towards the walls.

Eventually, silence descended upon the grounds of what Perses could only assume were the barracks of the inner walls. This area was seemingly vapid of any points of interest, bar one. One enticing standalone structure stood a distance away from Perses. It was a large building only second to the cathedral and castle. Its construction was jarringly lopsided, as if it had been made hastily without a great deal of architectural integrity.

Like magic, a section of the dark birch wooden wall slowly slid open, revealing a dark, eerie interior. Following the divine guidance, he noticed the strange state of the courtyard's ground. The hardened mud was layered with devastating cracks that stretched in all directions, making it appear as if it could break at a moment's notice.

Carefully treading the ground, Perses wasted no time in pushing forward across the open area and towards the dubious structure in front of him. With an uncharacteristic determination, he walked through the building's new opening.

Thin trickles of light intruded into the structure and guided Perses inside. The wooden building was empty, for the most part. The only thing that drew his attention was a shoddily put-together staircase that seemed to creep out of the ground.

The staircase was blocked by a lone thick slab of oak wood too heavy for a child like him to lift alone. It was placed there haphazardly and without care as if the one responsible for putting it there had struggled with the weight themselves; because of this, the stairs remained visible.

Faced with a dilemma, Perses stared at the stairs with an infatuated curiosity. As if once more answering his prayers, the wood slab began to move.

This time, the process wasn't only slow. It ended in abject failure. It was as if whatever divine intervention was responsible for guiding him possessed a fragile, limited physical ability. Almost amused, Perses watched as it gave up after a few more tugs.

Feeling an uncomfortable sensation of pity, Perses walked over to the wooden slab, bending down to give an attempt of his own. Simultaneously, as if the divine intervention had rejuvenated its own efforts, the slab began to move with the combined efforts of the two.

After a minute of intense effort, the slab had remained mostly unperturbed by their actions. However, due to its previously apathetic position, just enough space had been formed for a child, at the very least, to pass through.

'What am I doing? There's no chance it won't be dangerous down there.'

Gazing at the enticing hole created by the culmination of his own efforts, Perses couldn't help but sigh at his own foolishness.

'Machia told me curiosity killed the cat, whoever that was, but wasn't I supposed to find my own strength...'

Reminded of the absence of the one closest to him, Perses couldn't help but spiral into various lonesome thoughts. Before he had regained his composure, he was already squeezing through the tight hole of the staircase, legs first. After his head finally fit through the gap, his vision was quickly shrouded by darkness.

The stairs creaked with every step as he descended. His vision remained mostly incapacitated even after his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Relying on the tight width of the stair's walls, he could stay upright with holds on both his right and left sides. Using this leverage, he placed his dominant foot onto the preceding step, testing its integrity before his left followed.

Minutes had passed, and far fewer steps than that were achieved. It was not the incapacitating darkness that harmed his progression but instead an overwhelming sensation.

Nostalgia echoed throughout the small body of Perses as he tiptoed into the ensuing abyss. Perses and darkness had a strange relationship; on the one hand, it frightened him. Right now, he was vulnerable and enraptured by that innate fearful sensation. On the other hand, however, it shielded him from any sight but also thoughts and concerns of the ground above. As if deranged within a fake fantasy, Perses reminisced about something he could not quite remember.

This comforting sensation would continue until it no longer did. Perses had arrived.

Noticing his steps were no longer descending. He pursued the hidden structure of the floor with his right foot only to find the foundation had levelled entirely out. Finding himself on flat ground, a second change had taken place. The tight walls of the structure had ended. The room opened on a shocking scale, revealing what could only be described as a grand hall crafted entirely of stone.

The absence of torches left the history and mysteries of the room to be greatly desired. Perses, however, was not interested in such things as something stole his gaze and any modicum of attention he had to spare.

There, a short distance in front of him, the devil girl stood. Facing away from him, the girl gazed at the endless ensuing darkness of the room. Her state was almost transparent and reminded him of the ghostly supernatural light of the torches adorning Circe's office.

'AGHH'

Crouched down on the floor, Perses clutched his head with his arms as a painful sensation twitched deep within his head. Prying his arms away and ignoring the pain, he watched in real-time as the girl's translucent figure took tangible shape. Suddenly, a brief flash encased his vision. What he saw was a familiar bench and a reminiscent small seated figure.

Perses had no time to feel anything before his gaze was unwillingly dragged above the seated devil girl. Above her, a tiny swirl of red light chased itself in a circular motion, and another small red light soon joined it. Eventually, the two red lights grew exponentially and spiralled further, forming two spheric red dots that stared at Perses intensely.

The vision of the girl sitting delicately on the bench reverted back to the real standing figure in the grand hall. Only this time, she faced Perses. Her small red pupils looked at him with fear, longing and sorrow. The giant red spheres above her also remained, dwarfing the girl's shining pupils. Their radiance now illuminated the great hall.

This light conjured a shadow of immense proportions, smothering Perses and the girl with its darkness. It also gave shape to the terrifying creature that loomed over the small girl.

Overwhelmed by his own instincts, the giant ruby pupils of the enormous beast froze him in place as he cowered beneath it.

'What is that.'

Speechless Perses stared aimlessly at the creature as its shoulders arose. Climbing to its feat, the massive muscular frame of the beast continued to climb higher as the ground around them quaked.

The girl did not turn to face the creature; however, her expression revealed she was deathly aware of its presence. A look of desperation slowly wore away at her as she captured Perses within her gaze. There was nothing beautiful or sentimental about her fearful, frozen figure. She reminded him of himself, infinitely curious, careless, but most of all, terrified.

As the beast continued to arise, the intense quaking pressure around them increased. Finally, a disruption to the ensuing devastation occurred. That disruption was a slight, weak, tiny voice that miraculously reached the ears of Perses amidst the destruction.

"Help me."

The voice's soft sensation caused Perses to face his head up, his back straightening, and his feet moved forward. With a tenacious devotion, an intangible instinct, Perses defiantly approached the beast.