Chapter 2:

The Hidden Demon

Minako jolted her head. Had she dozed off in this terrible place? If so, why wasn’t she back with Renee? If it was only a nightmare here, then sleeping should let her go back there… back to the beautiful dream world… So what if it was a despicable lie? It was bright and happy. The warm sun rested on her cheeks and the window of the sky was open to her. And… she had Renee. Not like this place. It was cold like Siberia with no light before her eyes. Was the winter blizzard too blinding? Or maybe she had found refuge in a cave where only the insects skittered across the floor among the remains of the long deceased, frozen time capsules in this barren winter wonderland. But worst of all, she was alone. She missed the warmth and comfort of being with someone, anyone… She shivered once more and hugged her knees. Was this the meaning of being lonely? Renee… She buried her head in her knees. Please… Come find me, Renee…

A clicking noise resounded in her ears; Minako’s heart did a back flip in her chest. Someone was coming. Her eyes shook momentarily as she tried desperately to stand. Her legs trembled violently as she gripped the wall tightly with her hand. She finally managed to stand and backed toward the wall on her unstable feet until she was absorbed in its shadow. Closer, and closer; the clicking grew louder. Who existed in this world outside of this ominous cage? She tried to cover her breath in the shadow as well, but it would not allow her to hide. Her heart pounded like the crashing waves of the ocean. Even if she could hide her breath, the footsteps would surely hear her heart crying from the darkness. Doom approached, it was silent like death. Minako clenched her eyes shut tightly, hoping to further shield herself from the ominous footsteps. But… It was also such a thrill, like opening a present on Christmas morning or seeing a new episode of your favorite show; she just had to know… Just who did these footsteps belong to? Who else could exist within this world? And… especially outside of their suffocating cage? Who was strong enough to overcome the impending darkness? But still… even her excitement and wonder could not prepare her for the figure standing in front of the metal prison gate.

“Well…” he smiled slightly, crossing his arms across his chest. The chains attached to the cuffs decorating his wrists danced lightly against his torso. “It seems to me that we have some new company…”

Minako’s eyes grew wide as she cupped her hand to her mouth, desperately trying not to cry, scream, or vomit. It was terrible… No, horrifying… He was a tall man. His solemn, yet happy, face seemed tired, worn, and alone. Before the rest of his facial features came into view, his crystalline blue eyes pierced through the darkness. Whatever light managed to exist in this place reflected off his fair hair. But did all of this make him a man? A few inconsistencies with that theory existed. If he was indeed an average man, why did horns sit nestled among his fair hair? And why did his hands and feet end in claws? His whip-like tail seemed to wag in delight and the limply resting large, flesh colored wings on his back were impossible to ignore. Was he even human? She had seen them in books before, creatures of the underworld. Demons who were half-man, half-beast, and decorated in chains, beckoning the world’s misguided souls to the depths of their fiery abyss. They were composite creatures, born from the sinful souls of the misguided man. And yet, to live in this blackened abyss, was he more sinful than any mere man? Still, his demonic characteristics were more than composite, they were almost mystical, resembling the legendary dragon. But those composite demons—minions of the fiery abyss—did not possess wings at all; wings belonged to the angels of Heaven. The strongest of all the demons, after all, was the devil called Lucifer, an angel that had fallen from Heaven for his sinful heart. And then, to further pull himself from God, he pierced his own wrists with chains to destroy his wings; he became a composite monster, the torso of a man and the hind legs and horns of a goat. Wings and chains… Minako backed away from him slowly. This terrible satanic minion probably had his way with girls like her… before he ate them for breakfast. His clawed hands fingered the lock on the door; the chains rang against the bars. His claws were like keys; the lock opened with ease. He stepped into the cage that contained the girls. Minako was not sure how many rested in this cage, but she remembered the infinite pairs of gleaming, yellow eyes that always observed her through the darkness. All of them now hid in the shadows and she was left alone. The girls had made her Saint George and chosen her to fight the dragon. Minako continued to step away from the door as the metronome within her heart kept setting its tempo even faster. The creature now stood within the prison, towering over all of its inhabitants as the giant monster who would reign above their city.

“You just got here, didn’t you?” he asked Minako, reaching his clawed hand toward her wrist.

Minako pulled her arm quickly, but his claws were lightning quick and he latched onto her arm before she could rescue it. Minako pulled at her arm endlessly, but it was a worthless attempt, the creature would not loosen the vice of his grip.

Minako’s eyes shook and her hands trembled as she stood face to face with him, wrapping her free fingers around her wrist. “Where is this place? Why do you keep these girls imprisoned here? Are the morsels in your world so unappetizing that you would imprison women from another world for your pleasure?”

The creature’s eyes were blood red as he tightened his grip on her arm. It was as if he intended to squeeze her blood from her arm like it was wine to accompany his supper. He turned his head and threw her arm back toward her in disgust. Minako clenched it with her free hand and took one more step back.

“Do you… Do you really see me as that kind of monster…?” He let out a low growl. “I’m trapped here too, you know…” He looked upward and wrapped himself in his arms, an embrace to comfort his lonely heart, “There was such light and warmth in the world, wrapped tightly in God’s embrace, a star in his endless sky. I shined so brightly, and it was heaven. But...” His eyes narrowed as his expression grew cold and his fist clenched. In lust of his own blood, he bore his fangs, “But it was a lie! Shunned by God’s love, turned away from the warmth and light and the endless stretch of Heaven… To be a monster, to inhabit the darkness, all alone… Was this my fate all along? To be embraced so warmly, so lovingly, to be brought so far up, that I would fall even farther, even faster?” He snarled, “I hear all of you! Endlessly, you speak of hope for something you remember. Sealed in a box by God? How pathetic! You love evil, then no wonder you’re all here! Pandora, your savior, will she really come to rescue you? Why would she come down here to this stark, black hell to rescue the Devil’s consorts? You’re all pathetic!” He began to laugh, low at first, but it grew louder and more maniacal.

Minako’s heart leaped into her throat. She swallowed, hard, to return it to its rightful home. It still was not enough. She felt his pain; to feel so loved, to be so full… To lose it all in one moment and be left with nothing. She cursed herself; how selfish she was for sobbing for her separation from Renee. He may have been a demon, but he lost all his warmth and love, and all his memories of why he was shunned in such a way. They all had… Everyone here, they had some sort of memory, very distant and clouded in the white hell blizzard surrounding them, and as they were interned deeper in the blizzard, their memories of the golden dream world slipped further away from them. But unlike this demon, they clung to a far off light. Whether it existed here or not, they knew it existed somewhere and that it would save them. Pandora, the woman who held high the torch lit with hope.

“Ummm…” Minako reached toward the demon, but her hand fell short as he stepped back toward the bars of the cage.

His claws brushed against the metal bars of the prison, a quiet ringing resounded in their ears. He lowered his head, “It’s not… It’s not that you’re pathetic… But… But after all these years, your hope never wavered, your faith stood so strong…” His claws gripped the bars as he turned back to them, to Minako, “I wish… I wish I were still like you, so full of hope and belief in the light of Pandora…”

Minako lowered her head, “Don’t wish to be like me… I’m the newest one here, remember?” Minako crossed her arms and wrapped her hands around her elbows. “I still can’t handle being away from Renee or my own world…”

“You really did just arrive?”

Minako nodded her head, “Do you normally come to visit this cage?”

“Strange…” he murmured, “I don’t…”

Minako rose her head lightly, “Strange?”

He turned his head slowly, his expression changing to that of an almost helpless loneliness, “Stolen from the loving arms of God, cold and lonely in the darkness, I was promised the beautiful priestess Pandora, as were demons from the other kingdoms. Four priestesses would emerge in the midst of this tragedy, one for Rubiihoppou, one for Emeradatouhou, one for Topazuseihou, and one for Safaiananpou. She would bring with her the location of the box, hidden deep within her heart. And she would find the other four demons in her location, except in Topazuseihou, where they traded one of the demons for a more powerful priestess.” His grip loosened, as he was too weak to grab hold of the safety of the bars; it had been far too long for his strength to keep its pride, “I waited every day for her, so she could place me back into the welcoming arms of God. She never came…”

Minako clasped her hands to her heart, “It’s okay to feel alone… Being lonely is hard for everyone… No one likes being alone…” She reached her hand toward him.

He turned and gave her a weak smirk, “I’m not that frail to feel lonely.”

“But… You’re all alone…”

“Being alone and being lonely are different,” he turned from her, “People who are lonely don’t have the strength to stand.”

Minako lowered her gaze, lightly examining the room. People who did not have the strength to stand… All the inhabitants of this room were like that… aside from her and the demon who stood before her, gripping the metallic bars of the cage. Was it possible to be lonely and still have faith and hope? Or was that a façade also? She clenched her fist, “Then give them the strength to stand! Aren’t they all here so one of them can be Pandora? Choose one!”

He shook his head, “None who ever appeared within this prison fit her qualifications…”

“All of them have hope for the future. Isn’t Pandora the one who carries the torch of hope?”

His shoulders seemed to sink as he tightened his grip on the bars, “The women called Pandora are more than mere mortals… Carrying a torch of hope for everyone is more difficult than carrying it for yourself alone…”

“Is it the name, then?”

“No…” he lowered his gaze, “That would be too simple. A name is merely an identification for something…”

“So choose one and name her Pandora… That’s how it works, right?”

“We give her the title Pandora because she is already the one who should receive such a title… Calling another such a name would only anger the true Pandora…”

“And she is supposed to beautiful, surely any woman here is as beautiful as she should be…”

“Does beauty make a person into what they truly are?”

Minako lowered her head. People are what they are because of who they are… Outside factors may give them some advantages… But… People grow using what they are already made of… She lowered her head.

“Her heart… emanates warmth…” his voice shook lightly.

Minako rose her head. Someone who holds the torch called hope… She must be strong enough to light it on her own.

He turned to her; his eyes filled with tears. His heart seemed afraid to move forward and stay back. He lowered his head slightly as he looked at her face; so pretty, yet already showing the suffering of this desolate hell of darkness. He clenched his eyes shut quickly, to keep himself from crying at her pitiable face.

Minako reached her arms toward him and held him closely within her embrace. “It’s okay… I know you’ll be alright.”

His knees began to drop from under him as he crumpled in her arms. So fragile and weak, a china glass doll with the physique of a demon.

A knife had lodged its way into Minako’s heart. This man was a demon… Right? And if that was indeed true, why did she feel such heartbreak toward him? Why was her heart crumbling as his tough exterior shattered on the floor? Minako tightened her grip on his frame, afraid his glass heart would shatter on the floor as well. She could do that, at least… She could keep him from shattering. “How selfish of me…” Her eyes began to fill with tears, “I was miserable here, ripped away from Renee, all alone… I thought I was suffering. But… You’ve waited down here all these years, praying for a priestess who will not come. Is she just too wrapped up in the dream we have all awakened from? I’m not sure, but… But it seems unfair for her to leave you down here when you need her more than you will admit.”

He looked up at her with his weak eyes, even as his head began to fall back toward the ground, “She doesn’t exist…” his voice shook, “She doesn’t... exist… anywhere in the world…!”

“No!” Minako tightened her grip, “You’ve been alone all these years… Waiting down here in the depths of darkness for someone who’s supposed to save you… If you knew she didn’t exist, why would you wait? Her heart is sleeping, silently, waiting for the moment she needs to be here… I know it! I know she’s come, so… So don’t think she doesn’t care about you… and everyone…” The tears began falling lightly down her face.

A slight smile seemed to cross his face, “So… much… faith… If only… I could… be so strong… But… but I… don’t know… what to do… anymore…”

Minako held him closer in her embrace as the tears continued to fall from her eyes, “You’re not so weak… I would have given up long ago. No… even now I feel like my heart is breaking… But, even if it’s hidden, your faith has never faltered… That is such enormous strength…”

He tried turning his head from her, but his weakness overcame him. This girl... is that kind of person. It’s too much… such a person… I feel sorry for her. Kind people are clung to, they’re sought out, and taken advantage of… By people… and creatures… like me… That is why… That is why I avoided the women here… and left them alone… I don’t want them to be involved… I can do it on my own… Yes, I’ll keep running on my own… He lowered his head and attempted to raise his hand to his face… Tears… I don’t have to be understood… I don’t care if people hate me… Or, if I’m alone… He ran his arm lightly across his face. I promised myself I would never cry, but…I’m sorry…

He thrust his arms around her body, knocking her backwards to the ground with the weight of his chains. He buried his face in her chest.

I’m sorry… I’m going to cling to you. I’m so powerless on my own… I’m so weak… He shut his eyes as a few lone tears streamed down his face, “I… I don’t know… what… to do anymore… I… just… don’t know… I can’t… do anything… on my own… By myself…”

Minako followed his gesture and wrapped him tightly within her arms… “I know there’s a difference between being alone and being lonely… But… Being by yourself is scary… Being alone… is a very frightening way to live…”

His head fell downward from the strain. I can’t… I can’t stand up… on my own… with my own power… His eyes began to close in fatigue, as his grip around her body weakened. “How warm… your embrace is… So much… like a current… flowing through me…” He took in a low breath, “My name…”

“What?” Minako compensated for his weakening grip by tightening her own as much as she was able to.

“Pandora… the priestess… she knows… knows my name… Not… on the surface… But… but… her heart… will react to it…”

Minako ran her hand across his cheek, trying to calm his restlessness.

His mouth uttered the last word he could manage before his weak body gave out, “Nickolas…”

A knife stabbed Minako’s heart as it jumped forcibly. Somewhere, so long ago, she remembered that name deep in her heart…. Nickolas… No… Nick. It rang through her ears like the last whisper of a long forgotten history, trying to be rediscovered. The priestess Pandora knew the name of demon… Pandora… The woman who held high the torch bearing the light of hope… She was a selfish girl who was unable to awaken from the beautiful dream in which she lived… Her true name was Minako.

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