Prologue...

The castle became a labyrinth, damp, cold, dark, full of endless corridors. In the boundless maze, a little girl tried to hide from mysterious creatures. Starved and pale, tired and weak. It tried to hide from phantoms, dark figures, looking like it was woven from darkness itself.

They broke through the stone wall behind which the girl hid. She was covered only by a short dress made of burlap, but it was torn and dirty.

There were six phantoms and the child was surrounded, one of them started sniffing him, causing his nostrils to flare. The girl pressed the key to her chest on a string tied around her neck. "Scrawny thing," hissed a ghost darker than the night that reigned behind the walls of that huge castle.

The corners of her mouth had a curve of constant fear, the same as a convict or a sick person who has given up hope. Her hands were crippled from frostbite and she was constantly clenching them into fists.

"We'll have fun, even if it won't be fun for you anymore." The other one hissed and laughed sinisterly, touching her long white hair and the girl screamed in fear.

"We're just playing with you." Said another of them sneakily. The phantom parted, the girl ran down the alley they made for her and ran, ran and ran but the darkness creatures chased after her.

The key on her neck was swinging. She was trying to find an exit from the endless corridors of the huge castle, she saw that there was a snowstorm outside the windows. She didn't care if she froze, she just wanted to disappear from the desolate labyrinth. Well, she was being chased like a helpless sheep among wolves, which she was.

She fell as she ran down the steep stairs and wept silently, she could no longer run away from certain death, this fortress was their refuge and she was the prey. One of the phantoms grabbed her by the neck and pushed her, she fell to the ground under the stairs and a trickle of blood ran down her forehead. The phantom's almost non-existent eyes turned red as he saw the blood running down the side of her delicate face.

She screamed loudly again as the shadow lifted her off the ground.

The others appeared, "So, do we want to torture her some more?" He asked in a voice that sounded like breaking bones. "So, what are we going to do to her?" He looked at the others.

"We'll start cutting you slowly first." The girl was pulled back by the phantom's dark hands and pinned against the cold wall with her scream. They were breathing in her ear.

"Then we'll start drinking your blood," said another one next to her ear. And licked it.The girl's ear began to bleed as the ghost then slashed it with a sharp claw and kept pulling it down.

The nails were as sharp as dagger blades and the girl moaned in pain as he ran down her neck. Everyone was enjoying her pain and preparing for the suffering to come.

"Now you're ours, our dinner, your soul must be delicious." Another one of them pressed her fingernail on her shoulder until his claw went through the skin and clawed its way up the girl's shoulder again. "Oooh, look, she's crying, how hopeless."

"We haven't started yet, little girl." He bit into her forearm with his sharp teeth. "We're not even started yet." He laughed mischievously in a cracking voice.

A loud bang echoed through the castle, not the opening but the shattering of a metal door. It caught the attention of both the phatoms and the girl. Then there was a loud crack, all the windows shattered. One of the phantom became black dust on the ground, then another and another, disintegrating with a screech.

It didn't even take a few seconds and the girl was held by strong hands that carefully placed her on the ground.

Before long, there were only piles of black dust around them, blown by the draft from the broken windows.

The girl was sitting against the wall, crying silently with her eyes closed, pressing the golden key to her chest all the time. Her feet were bare, red and skinny. She had weep holes under her collarbones. The whole appearance of the girl, his demeanor and the sound of his quiet voice meant only one thing. Fear.

"Hello," said a man's voice, "they won't hurt you anymore, they're gone." He continued to speak in a soothing tone that if he intensified, even the darkness would bow to him.

The girl cautiously opened her eyes. A tall man in black armor stood in front of him, holding a copy in one hand and some kind of mask in the other. His long black hair covered his golden eyes. But what surprised the girl the most was that he had wings. Big, massive, black wings, like an angel.

"What's your name?" He kept talking, the girl's white eyes stopped crying and met his golden ones. The man blinked in surprise, "I'm Khaos." He crouched down, placing the long copy he was holding in his hand on the floor where it disappeared. "They're not here anymore, they won't hurt you, I won't hurt you." The girl's body was covered in scars, from her neck to the tips of her toes. Blood slowly flowed from her ear and hand.

"I-I don't," the girl whispered and closed her eyelids tightly again, shedding a few tears.

"Don't you have a name?" He asked and the girl nodded, he extended his black gloved hand to her. "Show me your injuries." He spoke in a calm voice, but the girl just shook her head in disapproval. Her savior took a deep breath. "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you again."

He came closer, just a little bit to catch him with his wings. His wing feathers weren't as rough as she imagined. They were soft, like clouds.

"Come with me, you'll be safe." She didn't even wish for anything else, being safe was all she wanted. Her white eyes searched for the two pieces of gold again, "I will protect you. But you have to come with me so I can fulfill that promise."

She looked at the man for a long time. She hesitantly nodded and grabbed the hand he was still holding in front of her. She grabbed the glove on the man's hand and slowly walked towards him, a smile flickering on his dark face. She came to him and he slowly hugged her, "hold me."

The girl grabbed his shoulder. He stood up slowly, holding the little girl with one hand, in the other he was already holding the copy that had disappeared not long ago.

He walked with the girl through long corridors with broken windows until at the end he went out through the knocked out double doors. The world around the castle was drowning in darkness and thick snow. But the angel looked at the sky.

He spread his huge wings, waved them just a few times and they flew high above the clouds. It didn't snow there, the storm didn't wet it, like before. There was peace there. The girl watched the moon shining and reflecting off her bright white eyes.

Did that mean she was free?