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The stone walls in the vast and empty rooms surrounded them. Some of the candles still flickered on the walls, but many had fallen to the ground, exhaling only wisps of smoke. At one edge of the room stood their sole companion, a statue of a once mighty demonic ghost encased in stone. He was the picture of a gallant soldier: decorated in armor, wings flaring from his back, and claws tightly clenching a sword. The ruby glow had subsided from his eyes, making him seem calm and docile, hardly an enemy at all. Minako held Nick closely to her chest. His erratic breathing slowly calmed while his hands stopped shaking as he wrapped his arms around her. They were each others’ safe haven as their anxious hearts beat loudly.

“Why?” His voice shook when he finally spoke.

Minako gripped her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer.

“Why do we have to die?!”

“I won’t let you die, Nick.” She leaned her head on his.

The others walked carefully toward the soldier’s statue. Brian held his staff tightly as he put his hand to the soldier’s face and bowed his head.

Is death the true path for all demons? Weren’t they brought to earth as saviors? Yet they continued to be killed by humans that did not understand their true worth or true purpose. If God treasured them so highly as saviors, why did he refuse to protect them? And worse yet, why would he cage and imprison them in this castle? The souls of the departed demons begging for freedom comprised the miasma of death that surrounded this place. Why imprison them and deny them death for this long? Why force them to battle for the box if they were all meant to die? What was the true role of the priestesses in ushering in their deaths?

“Brian?” Kevin placed his hand on his shoulder and furrowed his brow.

“Why does his heart still linger?”

Howie frowned as he fiddled with the hilt of his sword. “Perhaps the castle is meant to hold his body…”

Brian pulled a sutra from his tunic, “Then I’ll free his spirit.” Brian bowed and held his laced fingers to the bridge of his nose, still clutching his staff. Then he separated then and lowered the talisman toward the statue as he shut his eyes. His fingers blazed as the paper ignited and burned. Brian dropped the paper quickly and stepped back from the statue. A pile of ashes formed on the ground beneath him.

“Brian!” Kevin pulled his hand toward him.

Brian chuckled and shook his hand and he pulled it from Kevin’s grasp, “No, it’s alright. I only got singed…” He frowned and grasped his staff tightly, “But our host isn’t playing any games! It wants to keep them. No, it wants to keep all of us!”

Kevin crossed his arms. “Why?”

Brian shook his head, “I don’t know… In fact, I’m beginning to wonder what our purpose really is. We were all taught to believe that all demons descended from those kings sitting above the entrance to his desecrated castle who were brought to earth for peace. Yet humans will kill our comrades and call it blood for the sake of blood whether or not we actually spilled any. And then the demons who failed to claim the box are robbed from death and forced to live as ghosts and stone abominations. Are all demons here denied death?” Brian clenched his fist, “Then what will become of us? If we fail, are we merely chained statues as well? And if we don’t, what happens then?!”

“Priestess…” AJ’s shaking voice wafted between them.

They turned to face AJ who stood motionless and stared at Minako and Nick dripping with blood as they held each other tightly, as though they were each other’s lifelines. If they came too close to death, they would pull each other back from the edges of hell.

“AJ?” Howie grasped his shoulder.

“She’s not like I imagined at all…” he shut his eyes and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck as he shook his head, “Why would she let herself bleed when she has us to use as a shield…”

“True…” Kevin chuckled, “It seems Pandoras usually looks down their noses at the demons…”

AJ laughed nervously, “I’ve never heard stories of them laughing or crying… Only sitting like regal princesses, being carried by their minions and barking orders…”

“The emerald priestess certainly plays her part well then.” Howie frowned.

“Howie?” Kevin rubbed his chin.

“While Brian and Nick are most experienced with her actions, our brief meeting paints her similarly to the others. Merely speaking without acting.”

AJ clenched his fist, “We got a defective Priestess!”

“Perhaps…” Howie smiled, “But perhaps that fact is good fortune for all of us.”

“Then what will happen to us, Howie?” Brian crossed his arms

“It is unclear. Perhaps it is our destiny to never know that answer.”

“Howie?” Kevin touched his shoulder.

“We all came here in search of something precious, what has been sealed in the box and hidden from us since the moment of our births. Perhaps to unseal something that Holy, a sacrifice is necessary. Yet, Pandora cannot die, she must obtain her wishes. That leaves the demons at her side…”

“But she wouldn’t kill us… Would she?” AJ’s face paled.

Brian clenched his staff tightly.

“Don’t… Don’t kill… my friends…”

He smiled, “She’s referred to us as ‘friends’ on many occasions, though I do not understand the meaning of it, it seems stronger than comrades or companions. The emerald priestess also seems to be a dear friend and up until this moment, she has refused to fight her.”

“‘Friends’, huh?” AJ smiled weakly. Joseph has been my companion for so many years. Even though we were from different countries, we formed a common bond. Is that what the Priestess means by being friends? Except it’s stronger?

Steps away from their conversation, Minako and Nick continued to hold each other closely. Tears fell from Nick’s eyes as he slowly reached his hand to dry them. Minako wiped them from his cheeks then wrapped her fingers around his hand.

“Minako…” He stared up into her eyes, his breathing quick and irregular.

“Nick… It’s okay to cry, I’m here.” She gave him a weak smile and chuckled, “I’ve never gotten to tell you that before, it’s always the other way around… You’re always so strong...”

He gripped her hand as he buried his face in her chest and lowered his voice to a whisper. “My heart’s beating like crazy… I’m so scared…”

“I’ll protect you, you don’t have to be afraid of dying.” She laced her fingers through his.

“Is death supposed to be frightening? It’s not really death I’m afraid of… It’s… not living...” Nick choked back his tears, but they still spilled down his cheeks. “More than anything I want to live… Without my memories there was only darkness, but… you gave me only light.”

“Nick…” She held him tightly and repeatedly brushed her fingers up the back of his head.

“Life was meaningless before… I was reckless… Living or dying didn’t matter to me when I felt worthless… But you gave me a reason to live and without that reason…” Nick gripped her waist with his arm tightly. “Don’t fight anymore…”

“But, I’ll--”

“Don’t fight anymore. Every time I see you hurt, it fills me with rage and worry…” He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. His own eyes were glassy, but hard with determination. “I know that you’re willing to die to protect me, but I’d die every time over losing you.”

“Nick…” Minako held his neck tightly, “I won’t die, don’t die either.”

“I won’t. Stay with me…”

“I will always stay with you.”

Nick sat up weakly and pulled her toward his chest, then held her cheek as he pressed a hard kiss to her lips.

Minako shut her eyes tightly and gripped her fingers into his hair as she continued to kiss him deeply. Even if he is a demon… Even if he has horns, wings, and a tail… Even if his gentle touch is from his claws… I love him more than anything! More than anything else, our time together is my most precious memory. And more than that, it’s Nick’s whole world outside the darkness! We have to share these precious memories forever! No matter what happens!

“This must be for the door!”

Minako and Nick pulled apart, sharing a warm glance before turning toward AJ. His hand gripped the handle of a lever.

“Does anyone else see another door?”

The other three demons continued to tap and examine various places in the room as Nick gripped Minako tightly. He pulled them both up, though they both clutched each other as their legs shifted for balance. Nick scanned the tomb-like room, but his eyes fixed on the closed arch. Only one way in and out. If we could open it, that path would lead back to the entrance. Did this tomb have any hidden exits for the deceased retainers to escape after entombing?

The other three demons shook their heads and started walking back toward AJ and the lever.

“Can’t see anything, so pull it! We’ll be right there!” Nick put his hand on Minako’s back gently.

AJ pulled the lever down forcefully. No passageway opened and no hidden entrance appeared. They all looked around the room aimlessly, scanning for any small motion they missed. Minako gripped Nick’s shoulders.

“Nothing…” Nick frowned, “Do you see anything?”

The ground beneath the two of them began shaking.

Brian gripped his staff tightly and began running toward the two of them. “Move! Come stand with us!”

Minako shut her eyes tightly, “Another earthquake?”

Nick held her tightly, “I’ll protect you forever!”

The floor slid from underneath Minako and Nick as they took the plunge into the abyss.

“Minako! Nick!” Brian began sprinting.

There was a flash of light colored claws as Nick gripped the ground just past the edge of the opening.

Brian thrust his staff out toward Nick’s hand as he neared them. “Grab on!”

“Can’t… It’s too high…”

“Then flap your wings and get some height!”

Brian heard a faint laugh, “Can’t…”

He gazed into the abyss as he closed the distance between them. Nick’s wings lay limply against his back as he clutched Minako tightly. When the rocks had emitted the ruby glow, then exploded and knocked Nick backward… Were his wings injured? Brian leaned down and reached his hand toward Nick’s. “Hurry, grab on…”

Nick’s claws began sliding across the ground, leaving deep gashes in the stone.

“I won’t let you!” He thrust his hand toward Nick just as his hand jerked from the stone. He held on to Nick tightly. “You can’t die!” Brian struggled against the weight pulling on his hand. “I may be a priest, revered even as a demon, but… I always respected you more…” Brian struggled to keep his grip on Nick’s hand as his feet slid forward. He stepped back forcefully and pulled. “So don’t die!”

Nick’s hand began to slip from Brian’s grip.

Brian tightened his grip, “Don’t let go! Hang on!” Brian fell to his knees and began sliding toward the abyss even as he tried pulling them back.

“Priest! I’ll push the lever back! I’ll push it back!” AJ thrust the lever upright.

Howie and Kevin began running toward the hole.

“Don’t…” Brian’s voice was strained as he continued pulling, “Don’t do that!”

The floor began to rattle back across the opening. As they spoke, it was closing and tearing Minako and Nick from Brian’s grasp.

Brian’s hands began to shake. No matter how hard I pull, I’m losing my grip. This is the only choice. Brian stopped pulling on Nick’s hand and focused his remaining strength into gripping Nick’s hand as tightly as he could. The rest of his body went limp and began sliding toward the abyss. With the last fraction of his strength, he gripped his staff tightly and turned to the other three demons, “Bye.”

“WAIT!!!!” AJ screamed. He released his hold on the lever and started running toward them as well.

Brian’s body tumbled into the abyss moments before the floor shut with a crack of the stones against each other.

AJ dropped to his knees and his hands shook violently. “No…” We were all supposed to get the box. “No…” Brian protected us from the rocks with his barriers without hesitation. Nick’s strength and determination were unfathomable. Our priestess loved all of them, and even me, with her whole heart. “No!” He covered his face with his hands.

Kevin pulled AJ from the ground, “Get a grip on yourself!”

“But they fell and probably died!” AJ choked back tears.

Kevin’s hands shook as they gripped AJ’s shoulders. Tears fell from his eyes as well. “Don’t you think I know that?!”

AJ reached back toward the lever weakly, even as Kevin gripped his shoulders tightly. “If we put it back… We can go with them…”

“The abyss remains closed!” Howie’s voice shook slightly, but retained its regal command.

“But the Priestess… We have to always stay with her…” AJ choked on his tears, “We’re friends! I don’t know what that means but I know it’s good she called us her friends! Minako!”

“In life and death, Pandora and the demons call to each other.” Howie put his hand to his heart, “Pandora… No… Minako would never die. Her spirit is far too strong. We will continue on for her sake.”

“But Nick was with her… She wouldn’t care if Nick was with her!”

Kevin gripped AJ’s shoulders, then let go. “No… Howie is right. The minute Pandora died our hearts would shatter. It is faint, but I’m sure she is calling to us now.”

Howie put his hand to the wall, “Then we three must continue forward. If they are alive, we will be allowed to meet again.” He tapped the wall, “This feels hollow.” He pulled his sword from its scabbard, “Stand back, we do not want to injure you both.”

AJ continued to cry and clenched his fists as he moved to stand behind Kevin.

Howie’s sword emitted a faint sapphire glow that brushed against the wall and created an explosion. On the other side of the shattered ruble lay a new dark and stagnant path lit by a few brief candles. It was an endless road of dim stone.

“We have to go with them…” AJ choked, “We can’t leave them… It’s safe where they are… Nothing can hurt them…” He tried to run toward the lever, but Kevin pulled him back.

Kevin glared at AJ, then punched his cheek, sending a shudder down AJ’s spine as he gripped his cheek. Kevin blinked, almost willing his tears to stop. When he opened them, his gaze was boiling. “We all want to go with them! But we can’t! We may no longer have Brian’s wards to protect us and what lies ahead may be far worse than what we’ve encountered, but we can’t give up! While Brian’s barrier protected us, Minako was willing to sacrifice herself to protect us! For her sake, we have to keep moving forward!”

“For Minako we will battle the ruthless darkness.” Howie stared down the ominous path, “There is no other choice. As Nick said, we three can worry or go forward.”

The three men entered the next path through the gap Howie’s sword had created. Like before, it was a road of endless stagnant darkness without twists or turns, without doors, without any indication of an end. What lay ahead was a mystery, but forward was the only path. Would another demon arise? Would they find the location of the box? Their friends had been set on an equally ominous path that reeked of only darkness. Both paths brimmed with the worry of their ultimate purpose. Would they struggle endlessly inside their glass cage? Always moving forward without hope of escape. To live was to be thrown into the endless ocean. With no land or means of escape in sight, struggling would be pointless. Yet, to struggle was merely natural instinct. To struggle meant that something was being tried, no matter what pointless conclusion was reached. But struggling only endured for so long. Eventually weak from all its struggles, the body would give out to eternal darkness. That was the place of death, an end to the eternal struggle. To struggle meant to live.

At that moment, the figure with the ruby eyes held them tightly in its hand, its second chess game. He pitted them against each other on the black and white board for their future. To the demons, the priestesses were their queens. Nick seemed to be the obvious choice for a king, a demon their priestess swore to protect. Yet he viewed himself as a white knight, devoted to his bright lady. The emerald demons were less clear, perhaps Justin filled that role. Though again, he likely saw himself as a black knight. As an actual monarch, Howie could have also filled the king role for the sapphire demons, but perhaps Howie was a bishop with Brian. Kevin fluctuated between bishop and knight. AJ could be either as well. But in the end, speculating on their roles in a chess game was meaningless, because in its hands they were merely pawns pitted against each other in a ruthless game of killing for a mere box. The object itself had little importance, but it was what it stood for that mattered to them, what it held inside its shadowy form. It was a coveted grail, something they had all sought since the moment of their births.

It was said all demons had fallen victim to its curse, that they had all had something precious extracted from them. But what was most precious to demons that needed to be extracted? Was Nick correct in claiming it held his memories? Was Howie’s sealed item the peace he sought for his country? Was it Kevin’s desire for respect between demons and humans? Or perhaps Brian’s desire for freedom from the cage? Or was it AJ’s wish for happiness among companions? And then there were the other demons. Justin clearly desired power, but the motivations of the others were murky. What did the other Emeradotouhou demons desire? What had the Rubiihoppou demons desired? And the Topazuseihou demons? Were the contents of the box subjective? Or did they follow the heart of the Priestess? If Minako claimed the box, would they all receive what they desired most?

Minako was a mystery, clearly different from all the others. They had only cared for themselves, looking down upon their demons. The priestesses came from a different world, so there must have been some reason each particular girl was chosen for the duty. Was it that they had the largest hidden desires to awaken from what the maidens called a beautiful dream? Or was it because they were the ones with latent powers? Minako had, after all, released herself from an encasing of rock by emitting a sapphire glow. And yet, the girls had all regretted their acceptance as the priestess. The demons were grotesque, violent, and reeked of death. Even still, Minako always smiled, pulled them close, and laughed and cried with them. Though the individual demons carried their own traits, they were more alike than different, especially once they were examined as an entity. Their powers were similar: spiritual attacks, physical attacks, or elemental attacks. They each wielded their weapons, whether associated with their powers or professions. They each had their goals and fervent desires. They all lusted after the box in the depths of their hearts. Yet despite the similarities, the priestesses had sneered at them and called them creatures. Minako had asked once how they were different from men, aside from physical appearance. Yet, in the end, she dropped the reference to their appearance altogether and referred to them by their qualities and as her friends.

The priestesses were chosen for individual strengths, yet as a whole, they were also more alike than different. Even still, Minako seemed different. She had, after all, reversed Nick’s change into that demonic form simply by holding him close and telling him that she loved him. Was that the source of Minako’s strength? Was hers the power of kindness? Until the very last moment, she had pleaded with Renee for time to repair their friendship. It was only in the end that she had decided it was a meaningless path. During their travels, Minako’s strength was growing beyond the imaginable. She had always been the one Nick pushed aside so that he could stand and protect her and he had always been the one to pull her close and dry her tears. Yet, here in this cage, she was the one who dripped in blood and ran forward with the determination to fight. She had pulled Nick close and told him not to worry about his memories or fear death. It was Nick, after all, whose voice shook as he reiterated how much he wanted to live. Secretly, they all shared his wish. Deep within their desires, they all wanted to live. In a world filled with death and destruction, they all wanted peace. Even if life was about struggling, they all wanted to end their battles without an end to struggling, but an end of suffering. They all wanted to live.

Ahead on the path, another archway loomed and led to another dimly lit room. Howie held his sword closely, but turned to the others. “Shall we three go forward?”

They nodded.

“Yes,” he smiled, “We three are sapphire demons so we must always continue forward with our heads held high.”