[ VOLUME 2 ] ✣ Whispers of the Wind ✣ 風のささやき ✣ King Of The Weak Arc ✣

3» A Chain of Heart

Eye to eye, they both greet each other with exchanging stares. A rush of tension churns in Lanoudez's chest when Minsaki pauses in his tracks. He turns to face his left to reveal a vacant cell, his fingers caressing the rusted metal bars. "Leave him here." He ordered, a voice towering over hers with authority, 

with a gulp in her throat, she obeyed and reluctantly placed the unconscious demon inside of the cell before hearing the lock tightening to ensure his imprisonment. "Stay here while I call the honors. If you move–" Minsaki paused before his hand approaches her neck, "I'll kill you. That is to be understood." He didn't bother entertaining her questions and left the dungeons with soft yet loud, overwhelming steps.

Sweat runs down Lanoudez's neck as her heart pumps quicker with caution.

As soon as the doors closed, Minsaki sighed to himself. The thickness of the air around him continues to suffocate him with thoughts of suspicion about the demon he just imprisoned, and how he's going to approach the situation. He turned his heel and made his way down the hall, sitting comfortably on the throne no one else but him owned.

Alone in his dark, empty world, he stood there.

It wasn't a secret to the honors that his internal world is a lake in which time had paused, the raining blood is stuck midair, there was no limits, no walls, no boundaries in his internal world. It was an infinite gray space. The deafening silence drove him insane that it hurts his ears to have nothing crossing in it.

Minsaki swiped his cape open and proceeded onwards, his eyes piercing through the single tree he saw from a distance. "So naive..." he grumbled after arriving at his destination. A tree and a grass covered island in the middle of the lake, watching as leaves wither and fall on the ground one by one motionlessly. "Nothing you can do, hm?"

The entity standing in front of Minsaki was nothing but a duplicate of himself. But the only difference between them– The trapped entity was only a helpless boy, and Minsaki, was of a higher power. Though both of them share the same body– their souls do not.

"Don't waste your breath."

He purred, lifting the boy's unconscious chin, "As soon as all of these leaves wither and fall, your soul is mine." A devilish grin is planted on his face, as he watches his hopeless duplicate awaken with no hope left in his eyes. The glimmer had been long gone the moment his body had been taken over by a monster.

"Just give me... An answer..." He pleaded with desperation, his flimsy, trembling hand reaching to grab onto the prince who smacked his hand away, in sync with a few more leaves withering. "It's not fun if I say it now, Minsaki. You sealed a deal," Added the prince, his thumb and index finger clasping the boy's chin,

"And you sealed it with a demon." Those were his very last words until he snapped out of his internal world, waking up back at his lone throne. A once soft, ocean hued-eyes now turned into a deep space of hatred for humans, but a question still remains in his mind, letting him close his eyes and think, 'Is this... What I really want?' 

–Soon, after having confronted his train of thoughts, he hurriedly fast-paced walks in the corridors leading downwards, just enough until he arrived at the same vacant cell. His eyes glance at the unconscious demon, whose name claims to be 'Iru'.

"Is he still not awake?" Frustration is buried in his voice, striding in the dimly lit corridor to let others imprisoned to acknowledge his presence. A thick air of unsettledness clouds the atmosphere when Minsaki stops to watch the demon slowly stir from his unconsciousness. "He's w-waking up now, my lord." Lanoudez remarked, flinching when she saw the glare in his eyes.

As for the demon, Iru slowly opened his eyes, his voice raspy from the whole ordeal, "ugh..."

Minsaki gave her another look to leave, leaving the entire dungeons to themselves. A dangerous glint is hinted in his eyes when he looks down at the demon within the metal bars as he opens the lock and steps inside, "Your name?"

A pair of emerald-colored eyes flickered to meet his condescending gaze, "Iru," he responded as his voice echoed through the damp stone walls of the dungeons,

Slight intrigue quickly shifted into lips, his smirk widening, "Leaf demon aren't you? I've heard tales about your kind," he circled around him, as if to taunt him momentarily before pausing to lift his chin with his index finger, "though, this is my first time seeing one. Where are you from?"

Iru knew better than to submit to the provocations of his captor despite his unsteady breaths. He remained unresponsive for the time being, his jaw set in defiance. Minsaki's smirk faded slightly, replaced by a cold, calculating expression. "I'm asking–"

A blade unsheathes, reflecting the light emanating from the lamp nearby. "–you a question." his presence thickens and pushes through the air both the men breathed, between captor and captive– both refused to surrender to submission.

Minsaki's patience wore thin as each second passed, "I... I won't tell you." to conceal the truth of his amnesia, even Iru was cautious not to anger the prince further than he already was.

"Honors," the prince's voice stiffens with menace and authority, "leave him. We'll see how long your resolve will last." Minsaki wrapped a blindfold tight around his eye before he motioned the three of them to follow him, an impression of disdain left on his face. The prince shot a glance at the imprisoned demon one last time until both heard the door clanged shut.

Days passed in agonizing uncertainty. Iru lost track of time, his senses disoriented by the unending darkness. Hunger gnawed at his insides, his muscles beginning to numb from sitting for hours on end. A relentless torment that drove him to the brink of madness. He salivated constantly, his mind playing cruel tricks, making him believe he was throwing up, but there was nothing but dry heaves and desperation.

–Gradually, time became obscure behind the blindfolds, his clothing has surely gotten filthy by now. A pang of hope strikes in the imprisoned, "How... How long has it b-been..?" The black fabric was stripped off of him, returning his vision– though blurry.

Even after listening to his inquiry, he did not entertain it. Minsaki arrived late on purpose and twirled the blindfold in his slender fingers, "I'm surprised you're alive. Thank Lanoudez for reminding me you were still here.." He remarked with a gentle grin, though sarcasm is evident that he doesn't really care whether he rotted to death or not. With the slight noise of the clinkering from the key pushing inside its lock, the metal bars creak open slowly, an unpleasant shriek from the rusted texture.

"Now, get up. I'm not done with you yet."