Chapter 5: White

Everything was the same. The mirrored hallways became incredibly dull to the eyes. The darkness that clung to the ceiling was endless. The foul odor that lingered in the air; the stench of dry blood and decay became awfully repetitive. Whether it was the first step or the hundredth step, nothing changed.

The uncomfortable silence was the only thing running through the old man’s mind. Vogh looked behind him as he walked. With a soft expression, he asked, “Do you hate me?”

The boy didn’t reply. The scarce number of torches placed throughout the hallway were not adequate enough to show the expression on his face.

What the hell do people usually say at a time like this? Vogh contemplated how to approach the boy. No matter what, he didn’t want them to be on bad terms. As his only gateway out of here he knew it was in his best interest to be on amicable terms.

“Are you still upset?” Vogh asked.

“Of course I am still upset! But not at you. This incredibly dull body doesn’t respond fast enough. My stupidity can only save myself. Everything points out the bad part of me. I’m not a good fighter. I can’t read people well enough. Everything… really shows how little I know. It’s frustrating.” Morr replied while flailing his arms in the air.

“Then let this be the lowest of the low,” Vogh cheered. “From here on out no one can bring you down, not even yourself. Only look up, look far, and climb high.”

“Look far and climb high? I’ll shout those words the next time an enemy point their swords at me,” Morr said.

Vogh sighed. “I never knew it can be so difficult to—“

“—cheer me up?” Morr interjected. “I will be the happiest person alive once we get out of here. I’ll travel the world and show them how beautiful this world truly is. Until then, I don’t need to be happy.”

“Once we’re out of here… right.” Vogh stopped, turned around, and asked, “Despite the short time you’ve been together, you were really close to them, huh?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Morr denied. He walked passed the old man and said, “I could never be a part of their world. The best I could do was watch them.”

After a few steps ahead of Vogh, Morr turned around with a brimming red face. The only one here who knew how to navigate this place was Vogh. He waited patiently without saying anything, hoping that Vogh would notice his cue.

Vogh laughed and continued forward. “What was that line? Do people these days really say that?”

Like a teapot filled with boiling water, Morr’s ears blew steam from left and right.

They walked through many staircases, but none of them had the feeling of progression. Despite the staircase leading up, the scene didn’t change. Whether they went up or down the elevation felt static. More and more steps were taken, but no matter what, he couldn’t shrug off the feeling that they were getting nowhere. It was as if someone was watching them, pressing the reset button every single time they exited a staircase.

Maybe there’s something I’m not seeing? Morr squinted his eyes, hoping to find some sort of hint.

Vogh glanced back and said, “This is not that kind of place you think it is.”

“Then, what is this place?” Morr asked.

With his wrinkled, saggy-skin index-finger, Vogh raised it high and pointed towards the ceiling. Darkness floated a few meters above them, making it impenetrable to see pass it. The torches in the hallway were barely enough to light the way. Raising one of the torches high into the air didn’t change anything.

“There are times when you rely on your eyes to see things, to discern things, to appreciate things. This isn’t one of those times. Above us lies magic that distorts your perception of this place.” Vogh pointed at the darkness within the crevices of the light from the fickle torches. “From all the darkness that surrounds us, just where do you think the source lies?”

Morr grabbed a nearby torch and lit up patches of darkness wherever he could reach. Of all the places that he lit up, the only thing he saw was the stone wall, as expected. He tried kicking the wall and smelling it, but it was just a plain old wall. Nothing stood out about it; there was no strange odor or magical path hidden behind it.

“If I were to guess, it would be from the ceiling, right?” Morr inquired.

“Who knows?” Vogh shrugged. “I’m not well versed in magic to begin with. But if you can’t depend on your mind, then you have to depend on your body.”

“You’re talking about chakra, right?” Morr asked. “If magic is the weapon of our mind, then chakra is the weapon of our body.”

The old man nodded. “I’ve memorized all the paths now. But before that I had to depend on chakra to know which way is right. Anyway, we’ll get your body treated before the next round.”

Upon entering what felt like the hundredth hallway, Vogh halted their advancement and pointed towards a strange being patrolling the hallway. White and black robe, ears pierced with metal rods, blindfolded by a black cloth, and its mouth was sewn shut – Morr immediately recognized the abomination. The robe had a picture of a man’s silhouette, pierced by a stake, receiving God’s light – the symbol of the Church of Salvation.

Cold sweat shivered his spine as he audibly gulped. Slowly and surely, his body receded into a squat position, curling into a ball. The boy pressured his mouth to grit his teeth, but they wouldn’t stop chattering.

“Listen up,” Vogh advised, “do not attack them under any condition. Look pass it and walk tall. We should be fine.”

They both then proceeded forward, but it was as clear as day that Morr was lagging behind.

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Watching the abomination repeatedly shuffle in-and-out of the darkness and into the light of the torches only made his fear grew worse. Seeing those long, horrific nails reminded him of that excruciating pain. The worse of all was the dense aura of fear surrounding it. That fear incited the boy’s heart.

Quivering and shaking in place, Morr found himself repulsive. He clicked his tongue and drove his nails into his palm, but even that was not enough to rid him of this inexplicable feeling. With just one glance of it, Morr reverted back to the days where he would sit and wait in his cell for something… anything to take him away. That pathetic feeling of acceptance crawled its way into his mind.

This damn body! This damn mind! So pathetic! So damn sad! He urged and urged his body to stand tall, but the cowardice inside his heart wouldn’t let go. The chakra within his body burst through his veins in retaliation. That warm feeling began near his diaphragm, quickly traveling throughout his body.

Trauma… or something like it? Vogh turned around and examined the boy crouching in fear.

Unexpectedly, the boy took out the bag filled with purple beans.

Confused by his action, Vogh asked, “What are—“

Stretching his mouth wide opened, as big as they can get, Morr yelled, “You don’t want to listen to me?! Fine! I’ll teach you a lesson!” All the remaining beans were dumped into his mouth, sitting there for the big bang. He clamped his mouth, chewing and savoring every last moment. Green juices from the purple beans seeped out of his mouth. Sourness, bitterness, tanginess -- all at its worst – flowed into all the taste buds on his tongue. That bombastic flavor had so much intensity and kick to it that it jolted his body like a lightning bolt. He licked his lips, making sure to capture the remaining drops. The only thing remaining in his minds were ways to quickly kill himself before the flavor did.

“…The hell!” Vogh exclaimed with his jaws dropped low. “What the hell!”

“Finally listening to me now, aren’t you, you shit body?” Morr flicked his arms and legs, assuring himself that he has some sense of dominance over it.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Vogh exclaimed again. He stared at Morr with big old eyes that couldn’t believe what it just saw. Throughout the years that he lived, drink and ate, tasting everything he was offered, that one purple bean is enough to make him rethink his life choices. All it took was one bean – yet, here is a boy who just ate a bag full of it. Watching the juices overflow and the boy licking his lips made the old man’s face instinctively shrink and turned sour, as if he was the one who ate it.

The rich, soothing sensation of chakra eased his mind. Deep down, despite all that, there was still a thorn that couldn’t be removed. The boy’s eyes met the abomination, who continued to patrol the hallway regardless of the commotion.

I see… One step forward, zero step back.

That thorn clawed at his heart, begging him to turn away, to run away.

Believe in me. Another step forward, zero step backwards.

That thorn wouldn’t budge. It ran and ran, trying to lock up all of the boy’s muscles.

Just sit there and relax. I’ll show them what we can do. All of the chakra cruising throughout his body gathered into his fist. Long strides were taken to lessen the gap.

Vogh watched the boy’s uninjured hand lit up.

It was luminous and warm, almost to a fault. The intensity of the light grew and grew, rising higher and higher with no limit. For only a few seconds, the entire hallway was lit up. All the cracks in the wall, the carcasses lying in their cells, the dry blood that stained these walls – for a short while, they all appeared in an instant.

The abomination faced the boy and pointed its nails at him.

Right when the boy threw his fist, all of the light in the hallway suddenly wisped away.

A total blackout.

Vogh extended his aura to perceive the boy. The last thing he heard before the blackout was the sound of a thunderous explosion. All that concentrated energy, followed by that compelling sound, was enough to convince the old man that the boy delivered a strong blow. Yet, he couldn’t rest until he knew the boy was still alive. The creased on his forehead finally relaxed when his senses picked up subtle movements from afar. He could sense life, but only one.

“Can you hear me?” Vogh shouted, his voice echoing in the hallway.

“Of course I can.” A familiar voice echoed back. “But… why is it so dark?”

Vogh breathed a sigh of relief. “Stay there. I’ll come and get you. If there’s a sentinel here, that means we should be close.”

After picking the boy up, Vogh guided them deeper into the hallway. By keeping his voice active, he was able to lead Morr who was following from behind. Morr constantly answered back, giving the old man assurance that he’s still close behind.

And then, finally…

“This should be… it!” Vogh pushed hard on a wall, pressing his entire body against it and using his legs for additional force.

The wall gave way, like a door being pushed upon.

As the door gradually opened, the light from the other side of the room penetrated the darkness. A fierce wave of light invaded their eyes, mercilessly attacking their pupil. Morr’s pupil constricted to adjust to the new surroundings, but Vogh seemed unaffected by it.

“Damn it, just when I was getting used to the dark too.” Morr shielded his eyes with his forearm.

The rectangular room they stumbled upon was big enough to house one-hundred people, comfortably too. If the time he spent in his cell was called a room of darkness, then the place he’s in would be a room of light. It was incredibly bright. The walls surrounding them were white. Light radiated off of the walls and the ceiling. The floor -- other than the dirt that they tracked in – was white and spotless. Besides that, the room was also plain; no decorations or embellishing objects could be seen hanging or sitting anywhere.

Two doors can be found in this room: the nearby double-door, stationed at the center of the left wall, had a red-cross symbol just above the doorway; and a second door was stationed on the furthest wall from them.

“Looks like we’re the first ones,” Vogh said.

Morr looked around and, surely enough, it was completely empty.

“Over here.” Vogh waved his arm as he walked towards the double-door in the room.

Stepping through the double-door revealed a smaller room. White curtains sectioned off half of the room, dividing it into quadrants with its own bed and medical equipment. Medical gauzes, scalpels, syringes and other medical tools laid on a metal tray, sterilized and ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

A man sat on a stool, in front of cabinets that ran around a corner of the room. A white coat completely covered him from top to bottom. He wore a pair of black boots and had a white cloth wrapped around his face, only freeing his eyes and his short, brown hair.

“Dr. Mav,” Vogh greeted, “My candidate need his hands fixed.”

“Move,” Dr. Mav ordered. “Show me.”

Morr walked forward with his hands hanging in front of him. The right hand was wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth, and the left hand was badly bruised.

“Pontiff,” Dr. Mav called, “Get out here.”

Morr expected an assistant but, instead, a similar-of-age boy stepped out from behind the curtains. His long black-sleeve shirt and white pants resembled many of the other prisoners he saw – rough, torn, and dirtied. His emotionless face – as if his entire soul was devoid of all kinds of feeling – was partly covered by his darkish red hair.

Pontiff looked at the boy and then at Dr. Mav.

“Comfort the boy.” Dr. Mav grabbed the metal tray of medical tools and walked passed the white curtains.

Pontiff looked at Morr with a deadpan face. “Everything will be OK,” he said, without an ounce of sincerity.

“Very convincing.” Morr threw a thumbs-up, but his face says otherwise.

“Trust.” Pontiff pulled out a scalpel from his pockets. It was incredibly sharp and well-maintained.

“Trust you or the knife? Yeah… that looks really sharp.” Morr unenthusiastically said.

“Trust.” Pontiff pointed the scalpel at himself.

“Clean your hands,” Dr. Mav ordered.

Dr. Mav walked out from the curtains and sat on his stool.

Pontiff turned around and stepped pass the white curtains.

“Don’t be worried about being killed here. Even if we’re bribed with all the money in the world, we’re not allow to interfere. Have some faith in us.” Dr. Mav reassured.

“You can leave,” Dr. Mav directed Vogh. “He’ll be asleep during surgery. We’ll transport him when the next round starts.”

Vogh nodded and turned to Morr. “Good luck, and remember: stay alive.”