Behind Bars

"Is this another one of your clever plans, Master?" The Spider-eyed Wolf asks with his low scratchy voice. He sits on his haunches, head nearly touching the carved ceiling, his many eyes staring down at the man in the throne beside it, "You do not truly believe that they will kill the Massor... do you?"

Ludan spares a glance for the wolf, "You know me best, Sali. What do you think?" he says, words flat and emotionless.

The Wolf, Sali releases a guttural sound from its ghostly throat, something close to a hum, "Well, of course, you know that they cannot do it, but..." the summoned beast pauses, "...I am far too daft to understand your ways, Master. I do not know why you even allowed them to leave this room."

Ludan rubs his chin, gold bracelets pinging together with the movement, "Perhaps you will understand in another thousand years," he says slowly, sighing, "A man, they call him Cage returned with Kyro and Ingen after their last visit to Kalar, and has been under the care of Kyro's sister, Yoru, ever since. Yoru told the city guard that Kyro and Ingen found the man unconscious in the branches, a chance meeting. Yet he has visited the Collector Village every morning to spar with the two men. Tell me, do you not find this strange?"

"But of course, Master," The Spider-eyed Wolf responds, its long snout scrunching with a toothy grin, "Why not bring this Cage person in for questioning?"

"That is where things get interesting, Sali. I had Detor keep an eye on Cage, Kyro, and Ingen for a while. Recently, Detor, under my command, interrogated every single Collector, and he came back with something interesting. One of them overheard Cage and the other two speaking about that Massor, and how Cage had survived a touch from the creature," Ludan says, peering up with the closest thing to a smile he can muster, "Imagine my surprise when Kyro tells me that he can kill the Massor. I let him go, modifying his tracker a bit, knowing that this Cage man would come along."

"So Cage is not here at the moment? He is on Kalar?" Sali asks.

"Exactly right, Sali," Ludan responds.

"Well..." Sali pauses, long tongue lapping at his nose, "...What happens next?"

Ludan's laugh echos through the large room, the flames of the brazier wincing in the middle of the room, "I would not dare spoil the surprise for you," he says, looking up at the carving spanning the black ceiling, "It will be exciting, I have no doubt about that. The most exciting time in at least a century."

Sali nods his beastly head, translucent teeth bare with that same smile, "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Master. That is rare," he says.

"Rare, Indeed. I have been unable to leave this tower for far too long. Perhaps that will change," Ludan says, smiling. He looks up at Sali, waving a dismissive hand through the air, "Return to the gate, Sali. I have things to do."

"Of course," The Spider-eyed Wolf bows his head low, and feels Ludan's hand pat his snout. The hand is removed, and Sali's many beady eyes look at the Epoch, his translucent body disintegrating like dust blowing in the wind, "I wish you luck with your plans, Master."

Ludan nods, watching as Sali disappears from the room, along with his feigned smile. He stares up at that mural, Ludan himself standing in that field waving goodbye to two men aboard a departing vessel. The memory is clearer than that of the day before, and the feeling of overwhelming pride still wells up within Ludan every time he studies the old mural.

However, the feeling is always soon replaced with a heavy blanket of melancholy. Even with the great power, long life, and bounds of knowledge that were given to him in return, Ludan often wonders if his sacrifice to Tiren was worth it. He has come to many conclusions in the hundreds of years since then, all of them accompanied by a regret that grips his heart tight.

"My son..." Ludan whispers almost inaudibly, staring up at the massive carving, the flames below casting flickering shadows upon it, "...Have you truly returned to the Anima Realm? Or have you merely forgotten your father?" Ludan rips his eyes from the ceiling, rubbing his temples, "I do not know which is worse."

Ludan feels his eyes get hot, yet he does not cry, "I lost the ability to do that long ago, among other things," he mutters to himself. The Epoch sighs, dropping his hand to reveal cold, emotionless silver eyes. He needs a distraction, and fortunately, he has one.

Ludan rises from his throne, his legs taking him past the large brazier and toward the black iron door on the other side of the room. The doors screech open, and he passes through them, leaving the memory of Betor behind.

---

Yoru groans, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her usually neat and straight silver hair is now in a horribly disheveled state and only gets worse each time she wakes. She lies on her stomach, a pile of straw atop a slab of old wood beneath her. She groggily rises to a sitting position on the sorry excuse for a bed, frowning down at the straw as the fog of sub-par sleep slowly leaves her.

Yoru had seen a similar type of bed when inside Kyro and Ingen's hut. They had to sleep on something like this every night? This place has no windows for the sun to shine through—not that it would shine in this underground dungeon—so Yoru can't tell how long she slept.

Yoru looks around, studying her cell with narrow eyes. Three grimy stone walls stand behind and on either side of her, the front wall a collection of horizontal and vertical metal bars. A door stands in the middle, made of the same bars as the rest of the wall. Yoru peers through them, vision still a bit fuzzy with sleep.

She rubs her eyes some more, then blinks a few times, her vision finally clearing up. A cell identical to her own stands facing Yoru, nearly pitch black save for the light from the green flames of the lanterns hanging outside the cells.. In the shadows, she sees a figure lying on the straw bed beneath the window.

Suddenly, Yoru hears light whistling. She sighs, shaking her head. She knows who the figure is, a tall man with brown skin white hair and fancy white clothes. A Trezeran who was brought down here the day after Yoru. He does not seem bothered by his imprisonment in the slightest, and his habit of whistling randomly is enough evidence of that.

He was only the first to join her in this dark and gloomy dungeon though. Several other foreigners were escorted into the cells surrounding Yoru's, one after the other. Some she recognized as those that had earned citizenship in Yellen, but most were only visitors.

Yoru wondered why so many foreigners would all be arrested at the same time, but when asked, the Trezeran—Grish is his name—told her that it was because of the catastrophic damage caused in the city nearly two weeks before. He seemed happy when speaking of the topic—as if it was a fond memory for him.

Yoru stands with a sigh, dusting off her dirty black dress, the same one she was wearing when Perlo came and took her from the Archive. She smells herself—a terrible idea—and reels back with her face twisted in disgust. She smells like the wagons that haul sewage from Yellen.

She still felt a small spike of annoyance when remembering Valia's smirk on that day. But alas, it doesn't matter anymore, Kyro, Cage, and Ingen should return soon. Then, Yoru will be gone. Perhaps she will return one day, but that day will not be anytime soon.

Yoru bends down and picks up a bowl of stew that had been shoved through a small opening at the bottom of the bars. She tips the bowl and slurps, wincing as she swallows the disgusting and thick liquid. It's cold, always cold. However, Yoru has grown used to it after a week of being here.

Yoru slurps more of the stew, looking up and down the hall that stretches between hers and Grish's cells. Several more identical cells line either side of the hall, some with the doors hanging open. There are still quite a few foreigners in some of the cells, but a lot of them have been released after being taken to a room at the end of the hall. Probably an interrogation room, Yoru thinks.

She takes another slurp, the sound rather loud over the thick silence. She will be executed if Cage and the others do not hurry. Yoru knew that even before Perlo told her. Speaking of the slimy man, she hasn't seen him since that day she was arrested. Only Detor-

"How is my pal Cage doing?" Grish's cheerful voice sounds from his cell. There's some shuffling, then the man appears from the shadows, leaning on the bars with those stark white eyes trained on Yoru, "Well, I suppose I should ask; how was he doing before you came here?" The Trezeran chuckles.

Yoru stares suspiciously at the man, frowning, "Pal? You know Cage?" she asks, slurping.

"I do," Grish beams, white teeth shining as if the sun shines directly upon them, "He's rather paranoid, though I'm not sure that's the right word. Oh, but he can fight! Those powers of his are something else! A mystery, a very interesting one, if I must say so!" He practically screams over the silence.

Yoru's eyes narrow at the white-haired man, and he smiles back, "You... fought him?" She asks quietly, hoping that the Trezeran will follow her lead and lower his tone. She isn't worried about the foreigners around them finding out about Cage and his powers, but who knows who else could be listening? She and Grish may be on the opposite end as them, but this is where the Epochs live!

Grish nods, "One of the more interesting fights I've had in a long time. There was some damage, but eh," he shrugs casually, "Things happen."

"You're the one that did all of that damage!? And Cage was involved too!?" Yoru says, trying to keep herself from screaming out of surprise, "Do you know how many lost their lives because of you two!? Things happen, huh!?"

"Oh, Cage's powers aren't strong enough to do all of that," Grish says, swiping a hand through the air, "That was me."

"You just admit that?" Yoru asks, "All of these people are locked in here because you haven't confessed!"

"What do you expect me to do, woman? They haven't interrogated me yet," Grish says. Yoru opens her mouth to speak, but the Trezeran puts a finger over his curled lips to interrupt her, "Someone has a visitor."

Yoru furrows her brows in confusion, staring at Grish. Silence, then footsteps. She glances down the hall and sees Detor approaching, then back at the Trezeran. He shrugs with an innocent grin on his lips, turning and disappearing back into the shadows.

Detor stops in front of Yoru's cell, then turns to look at her, that perpetually angry expression on his face, "Come with me, Yoru," he says, voice flat.

Yoru nods, anxiety biting at her as the door to the cell clicks and opens. She steps through, and Detor leads her down the dark and damp hall, "Where are we going?" She asks, trying to sound confident. Yoru glances at the other prisoners as she passes them. Some watch her with bulging, terrified eyes, and others sit silently with distant looks in their eyes.

Detor ignores her question, turning at the end of the hall and leading Yoru to the first iron door on the left. He opens the door, glancing back at her as he holds it open, "Go in," he says.

Yoru glances at Detor, brows furrowed, left hand clutching at her dress. She's nervous. That's rare. The former Head Scribe takes a deep breath, her eyes hardening. Yoru has trained herself to keep her composure no matter what, and she'll be damned if that will change after a week of imprisonment.

"Thank you, Detor," Yoru says as she steps through the door, back straight, chin up. The door closes behind her.

Smooth stone walls greet her, brightly lit by a large lantern with a green flame hung from the ceiling. It's a rather empty room, save for the long metal table in the center with two metal chairs on either side.

A man sits in the one on the other side of the table. Long black hair, silver eyes, sharp jaw, and thin lips curled into the biggest facade of a smile Yoru has ever seen. He wears expensive-looking jewelry, but simple clothes. The man is short too, a bit taller than Cage, but dwarfed by modern Rajin men.

Yet somehow, even with the simple clothing and short stature, his lax posture and cold stare whisper things to Yoru. This man is in control, and he knows it.

"Yoru," The man gazes up at Yoru with dead eyes, gesturing to the other chair, "Sit."