Soul Sealer

North

On the northeastern side of Stroveria, laid a small territory unlike any other. It was by far the smallest division in the country and it didn't have much to offer. Unlike the bright city of Luminia or the modern Milos, Hollow Vaults was made up of nothing but six constructions that settled miles away from each other, the rest of the place was nothing but rocky grounds and cliffs everywhere. The constructions were all different in shape, size, and main objective. However, they shared a common trait: they were all prisons. Hollow Vaults was a division, a remote piece of land created with the sole purpose of retaining Stroveria's criminals, or those who could potentially become one. From beginning to end, Hollow Vaults was filled with top-notch security systems, surveillance devices, drones, lasers, guards, police officers, weapons, and the military. Only criminals and guards inhabited the area.

The first prison was called Styx and it was a penitentiary for young criminals, troublesome youngsters, and those minors that were deemed as harmful to society. It was a dome-like construction with the mildest security out of the six. The second prison was called Phlegethon and it was a prison built for those adult criminals who committed crimes that didn't gravely injure third parties. This prison was made out of rock, and sludge, with a square shape. The third prison was called Lethe. This place was small in height, but large in width, made out of concrete, and meant for those who gravely injured third parties unconsciously. For instance, those who were killed by accident, or were extorted to commit crimes.

Up to the third prison, the captives were allowed some freedom, but starting from the fourth prison, the difficulty began to greatly increase. Acheron is what it was called, the fourth prison. Meant for those humans that committed crimes on repeated occasions. This place was almost like an open field, except for the fact that it had pointy spines all around. It would be impossible to freely move from Acheron without stepping on the sharp ground, and getting stabbed by the thousands of rocks that encircled it. The prisoners of Acheron most likely had all been through one or two of the other three before reaching the fourth one. Then, there was the fifth prison, Cocytos, which was created for the most despicable assaulters. Cocytus was an underground location with the full pressure of the ground above, very dim light, and no one was allowed to exit for any reason. It was perpetually freezing cold, hence why many of the prisoners suffered from hypothermia and died. Instead of inflicting capital punishments, the most unscrupulous individuals were sent to Cocytus. Those were the five prisons that made up the territory known as Hollow Vaults.

Unbeknownst to most, there was a sixth prison. A place hidden by the council that ruled Stroveria with the facade of a military stronghold. Its name was Giudecca, and it was a calaboose for Soul Sealers. Giudecca was a tall, gloomy tower with very little exposure to sunlight. It had five floors where the Sealers were supposed to be imprisoned depending on the severity of their crimes, but as there were few Soul Sealers in the first place, Giudecca was almost empty. There were only three prisoners in the entire skyscraper; traitors they were. Sealers that had betrayed X-ecro, but hadn't been assassinated by Nathaniel's venomous blood for undisclosed reasons.

On the fourth floor of Giudecca, a boy by the name of North stood in front of the back dark wall drawing sticks with a white piece of chalk. "Sixty-three days," he whispered to himself. Suddenly, the gates of his cell were spread open. Not bothering to turn around and face the person, he continued drawing. "Sixty-three days have passed since I was last released. When will the council let me out again?" he asked.

A well-known chuckle received him. "Is this what you've been doing ever since you were locked up in this rathole?" asked Nathaniel. North remained deadpanned, but he turned to face the winged man.

"Nathaniel, huh?"

"You haven't changed a bit, still the same angry-sounding voice, the same charcoal hair, the same eyes as mine. I have to say, even after a year and a half in this dumpster, still as charming as ever, aren't you?" replied Nathaniel, looking for a place to sit. "What, no chairs nor bed? Where do you sleep?"