11 Spectral

"I'm sorry…" Miko cried. "I…" his head sagged and his grip on Aries had loosened.

"Miko, what is wrong with you?" Aries put the spoon down in annoyance.

The chef laughed softly then loudly before raising his head. The expression on his face had changed. It was the same with the child who had stabbed him in the chest.

Aries wondered how a weak corrupted soul could possess people and manage to pass the gate unnoticed. He was told that it was protected by a barrier that warded off evil spirits. Then why did that corrupted soul enter his house and possess his chef?

"You want to kill me, don't you?" Aries got up on his feet and grabbed Miko by his hand. "Move out of that body and possess mine."

"How about you eat that poisoned soup, and I will leave this body unharmed?" the corrupted soul suggested with an evil smile.

"How can you satisfy yourself in possessing a weak body?" Aries asked back with the same evil smile. "Don't you want to get stronger? You can easily get away with people's suspicions if you possess my body. Everyone here knows that I lost most of my memories. You can be the leader of this house or you can easily find a way to defeat my comrades."

Through the eyes of Miko, the corrupted soul glared suspiciously at Aries and said, "I don't trust you."

"Do you think I do?" Aries snapped back at the corrupted soul. "The only reason for it is because I don't want this hell. Surely you don't want to be floating from one body to another for all eternity. I think it will be a win-win situation for us. Send me to the real hell and you will have a permanent body. Come now before I change my mind and throw you out of my house."

Miko closed his eyes and dropped limply on the ground. A cloud of smoke seeped out of his mouth and soared towards his chest. It seemed that the corrupted souls knew the weakest spot of their victim.

But Aries refused to become a victim.

As soon as the corrupted soul completely entered his body, everything around him had spun, blurred, then darkened.

He was back at the pitch-black abyss and noticed that the translucent container was now two.

One contained an axe and the other confined a black linen mask.

At that moment, Aries confirmed that he was in the deepest part of his core. And the corrupted souls that entered his body had been confined in those containers.

If he can confine them then maybe he can also destroy them.

"Yes. You can…"

Another translucent figure manifested not far from the right side of Aries. Though fainter than a ghost, its face was still recognizable. It looked exactly like him.

Another doppelganger?

"I'm not…"

It answered with a smile as if it had the ability to read his mind.

"We are inside your mind…"

The doppelganger claiming not to be a doppelganger was turning into a dust of light and its voice was getting fainter.

"I wish I had enough time to tell you everything that you want to know. But I can't."

The fading spectral floated closer to him and whispered, "I hid a book in the deepest dungeon of this fortress. Take it and some of your questions will be answered. You have to hurry," the doppelganger scattered into glowing dust and, before vanishing completely, it told him, "Thank you, Aries."

And those last three words pulled him out of the dark abyss, and he woke up in his chamber once again.

"Aries…"

"I'm fine," he quickly said while sitting up from the bed. "Where is Miko?"

"Still in the dining room," the princess answered with a look of concern. "He told me that he will not go to sleep until you regain consciousness."

Aries moved out of the bed but before he could open the door, Pieffer grabbed his hand.

"What happened between you and Miko?" she worriedly asked.

"I will tell you about it later," Aries pulled his hand away from the princess, walked out of the room, and went straight to the kitchen.

^#############^

"Sir Aries!" Miko bolted up from the bench and cried. "Did I serve you that poisoned dish?"

"It was the corrupted soul," Aries answered as he sat down on the bench beside Miko.

"Corrupted soul?! Here in our house? Did…"

Aries raised his hand to stop the chef from freaking out then he said, "It had already been resolved."

"Sir Aries…"

"I'm fine," he stared seriously at the anxious chef. "I just need to eat something delicious. Will you prepare something for me?"

"Sir Aries… you will still… eat my dishes?" Miko started crying again.

"I told you. It was the corrupted soul. I would have been poisoned if you didn't stop me from eating those."

"I… I stopped the corrupted soul from harming you, Sir Aries?" Miko somehow stopped crying and there seemed to be a proud look on his face.

"You did," Aries assured the chef. "I am sure that the corrupted soul is no longer within you. Just cook whatever you want to cook. I know that this time it will be safe."

"Thank you, Sir Aries! I will cook your favorite!!!" Miko bowed low then dashed excitedly towards the kitchen.

Miko served the dishes faster than before. Aries thought that the chef rushed his cooking and expected less delicious dishes, but he was wrong. Every single dish tasted way better than the previous meals.

Miko was truly an exceptional chef.

"Thank you, Miko," Aries said as he decided to accept the chef as a trustworthy person.

He never hired a personal chef because he never wanted to get poisoned. He had never eaten in the same restaurant twice because of the same reason. He never wanted to leave any pattern for his enemies.

But since hell was being good to him, he should grab that chance and enjoy his strange eternal torment.

"Miko," Aries remembered his doppelganger. "This house… does it have a dungeon?"

"Yes, Sir Aries."

"Can you take me there?"

"I will take you there," Sunrei entered the kitchen and sat beside Aries. "After we eat," he glanced at Miko, "Can you also prepare a delicious meal for me?"

"Yes, Crown Prince Sunrei!" Miko had once again entered the kitchen.

"You know the way to the dungeon?" Aries asked while emptying the plates in front of him.

"Of course," Sunrei still looked exhausted. "This is our second home."

"Miko can take me there," Aries finally emptied each plate on the table. "You look tired. You should get more sleep."

"I'm fine," Sunrei said. "If you don't want to watch me eat, just wait for me at that balcony."

"Fine," Aries got to his feet. "Be quick."

^##################^

"He looks the same but feels different," Aries heard someone speaking not far from him. It sounded like the voice of Leon. "What if he didn't lose his memories? What if he is being possessed?"

Aries remembered sitting at the balcony and because of his full and satisfied stomach, he had fallen asleep. He kept his eyes closed and listened to their conversation.

"He is not possessed."

It was Pieffer and there was certainty in her voice.

"I agree with my sister."

Damn you, Sunrei. Instead of waking me up, you called Pieffer and Leon!

"Should we bring him back to his room?"

"I will carry him this time," Leon volunteered, and Aries quickly opened his eyes and looked around the balcony.

"What are you all doing here?" he was glaring at the three people sitting at the balcony railings.

"We will come with you to the dungeon," Pieffer answered.

"I can go there alone. Just tell me where it is," Aries got to his feet.

"Why are you asking about the dungeon? Have you remembered something?" Pieffer hopefully asked.

"I didn't," Aries stared seriously at Pieffer. "Let's make some things clear."

His words made the three people standing in front of him a little tense.

"The Aries in front of you right at this moment is not the Aries that you knew before. I will never be able to remember anything. Just think of it as my brain had been permanently damaged."

Because that is what I am feeling. Corrupted souls? Teleporters? Magic? Supernatural powers? I haven't seen anything like it in my entire life. The devil appeared to be a fan of those weird things.

"If you keep asking about this person's…" Aries sighed then rephrased his question, "If you keep asking about my past, I will immediately leave this place."

"See that? He is different," Leon jumped from the railings and tapped Pieffer lightly on the shoulder. "Good luck to you, Princess."

"Fine," Sunrei said. "Let's go to the dungeon."

For a moment, Pieffer looked a bit disappointed, and it was oddly painful for Aries. If she were truly Pieffer, he would try his best to make her wish she had never followed him to hell. He would send her to where she belonged. He would send her to heaven.

If she were not the Pieffer he knew, he should not make any special connections with her because that would be unfair for his Pieffer.

But if that hell wanted him to help in saving that world, and if succeeding on it means that he would be given a chance to be redeemed, then he will grab it and be with his Pieffer.

^#################^