Passing under rows of LED lights, hurried clanks of footsteps echoes through the metal plated hallway of the Intelligence Agency's underground levels. Huffs of worries escape from a certain scorpion's lips as he walks past many barricaded doors. The eerie silence is only disturbed by his footsteps, as he finally arrives to the door of his destination.

Opening one of the barricaded doors, he enters a rectangular room with the same metallic plates acting as its walls and floor. The room is empty, except for a table and a chair on the left side of the room that has a mic attached to it. On that same side is a viewing glass reinforced with a tint of blue energy outlining it, beside it is a metal door outlined by the same blue leading to the actual inmate cell.

The moment Sion enters, he is greeted with the solemn, worried glance of the fox that called him here, hugging his knees on the corner of the room. Ren keeps his worried stare for a second before he turns his sight towards the viewing-window, where his senior, Niz is spectating the event, seemingly too focused to notice Sion's arrival.

Walking towards Ren, Sion takes a glimpse towards the other side of the glass, widening his eyes when he sees the chief and a certain former friend of his sitting eye to eye in a table in the middle of the cell, the former preparing a sheet of paper. Hastily, Sion walks towards Ren, leaning on the wall by his side, "What the hell happened?"

Ren respond with a sigh, "Well, can't you see for yourself?"

The event that happened three days ago, when Ren was attacked by a giant wasp returns to his mind. Then Sion connects the dots, finding his own answer, "She tried to kill you... Again?"

"Yep... A-And..." Ren mumbles, pausing for a moment before he stopped with an unsure head shake, "I don't wanna talk about it right now..."

Sighing, Sion reaches to his pocket and pulls out a stretch ball, putting it onto Ren's clutch, "Works for me. So give it a try. It'll help a little."

Then Ren shakes his head again, proceeding to bury his face within his arms as his hand squeezes the given gift nonstop.

Sion then goes to Niz, joining beside him in spectating the sight; Azayaka is looking down to the floor, hands clutched onto her tights while the Chief constantly tilts her head as she throws onto her a barrage of questions.

"When were you born?"

"..."

"What's your hobby?"

"..."

"Who do you work for in particular?"

"..."

"Why are you trying to kill Ren Kitsuko?"

"..."

"Why do you act cool when we first met and then turns to this? No offense but you look pathetic."

That last question obviously is the chief trying to provoke a reaction though futile is what best describes it.

"So... How long has this been going for?" Sion asks.

"Twelve questions, ten minutes," Niz answers.

"So, do you watch any anime? If you does then I'll give you a death penalty."

"..."

"That makes it thirteen," Niz adds.

"Okay, why is she giving her these dumbass questions?" Sion complains, "The least she could do is ask proper questions with respect..." He adds, staring softly at Azayaka.

"How the hell would I know? It's the chief," Niz responds, crossing his arms as he sharpen his eyes towards Azayaka, "besides, that bitch tried to kill me, Ren and my girlfriend. Twice."

At that, Sion glances to him with eyes slightly agape.

"Why are you saying that all of the sudden anyways? It's not like you knew her," Niz says before turning to Ren, "He claimed to know her. Now, look at what happened..." Those words comes out in an unsure tone.

"Well..." Sion sighs as his eyes soften towards Azayaka, "You know what they say, not all things are meant to be black and white."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the glass, the chief sits, crossing her legs as she looks at the broken woman with a curious head tilt.

"Miss Butterfly, could it be that you have some sort of multiple personality disorder?" She says, tuning her voice to be more serious, "I'm no expert in psychology and mental health, but it seems like you do."

"Based from the words you spoke before you lost yourself, you seem to be forced to do the things you do... Correct?" Sion and Niz focus to her words, while one of Ren's ear perk at them, "Could a different you had been the one that did all of your works this whole time?"

And after however many questions the chief asked, Azayaka quivers her lips, "I..." She clenches her fists, "I don't know..."

"It's just..."

Trust me.

"Every single time..."

Trust me.

"His voice would..."

Don't you want...

"Comes."

Her...

"Again."

To...

"And again..."

Smile...

"And again..."

Again?

"..."

"SHUT..."

Her.

"THE..."

Smile.

"FUCK..."

Again?

"UP!"

Azayaka presses her head, before slamming it to the table repeatedly as the Chief stays still, observing her with her head tilted. Then, after a few repeated slams, she stops, her locks now covering her face.

Sion and Niz both widen their eyes, while Ren joins beside them, putting his hand onto the glass as he stares softly at her. He tries to push his hand through the glass, trying to reach her, but he pulls it away as he furrow his brow.

The dark fae raises herself up, revealing her emotionless, hollow eyes, "Everything went wrong... Yet, I'm powerless to do anything."

No... No... No-

I beg you-

Please... I have a family-

Those voices from bygone men and women ends with a swift whistle of a blade. A splatter and a thump would follow, before silence take over.

As those past voices keep echoing within her head, Azayaka keeps her head low as her lips mumble, "Tell me," With her eyes shaking, she looks towards the blackened glass, as if she could peer through it, "Would dying be better for me?"

Ren feels his heart shudder as he faintly shakes his head, "Aza..." Her name escapes his lips. Niz and Sion both glances to him in pity, the former curling his lips, beguiled with guilt as he comes to a little bit of understanding.

At her little fiasco, the Chief curls a finger under her chin, "Well, aren't you a pitiful one," She leans to her chair as she put her shoes onto the table, "But sadly, the truth is..." She pauses, crossing her arms, "We can't trust any of your words, you know? So, put any of your emotional manipulation plans aside."

"It won't work as long as I'm here."

"You sure love to suspect others huh?" Azayaka sighs as she leans back on her chair, "It's whatever... I don't care anymore..."

At that, the Chief's eyeholes seemingly narrows, "Hmm, I'm sure you don't."

The door leading to the hallway then opens, letting in another presence into the viewing room, "Sorry we're late! Didn't know there's a job at such hour!" The vessel of a certain parasitic demon, Anastasia says as she stumbles into the room.

The trio of men glances to see her enter the inmate cell hastily. Then she walks towards the chief's side, putting her hands behind her waist.

"Wait..." Ren furrows his brow, "Is she gonna-"

From her right eyesocket, a goop of black and flowing, ink-like liquid slithers out with an eerie whistle. The wriggling, ever changing black mass stays connected to her eye socket via a thin thread made out of the same liquid as it stays afloat in the air above the Chief. The Pishacha, Samuel has woken up, but not in the form he usually takes.

Azayaka stands up, knocking over her flimsy chair. She keeps her eyes locked onto the swirling darkness as she slowly backs her distance away.

Meanwhile, with gritted teeth, Ren charges his electricity into his fist before moving it to slam the viewing glass.

"!!!" A thud rings, accompanied by sparks of electricity spreading across the glass, causing the two other bystanders to flinch back.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Niz yells, glaring at him.

Ren tighten his lips together. When those sparks dissipate, he narrows his eyes when he sees not even a scratch on the window.

"Tch!" He goes towards the cell's door, prompting Sion to quickly scurries towards him.

"Ren, wait, calm down-"

"!!!" Ren kicks the door, only for it to merely flinch. Glaring at it, he moves to kick it again, then again and again, only to receive the same results, "Open this goddamned door right now!"

A few kicks later, the door still stays unmoving. Ren then glances to his side to see Sion looking at him, shaking his head as he purse his lips.

"Look, she's going to be fine. Samuel won't hurt her," Sion says, approaching Ren, moving to grab his shoulders.

"Fine!? Do you even know what Samuel is!? He's going to kill her if he possesses her!" Ren pushes him away before trying to once again budge the door open.

At that, Sion only sighs before approaching him yet again, "Ren, I've been here longer than you," He grabs Ren's wrist, "And trust me. Samuel has been doing this from way before I got here."

"But... He'll..."

"He won't hurt her," Sion looks at Ren's worried blues with three pairs of determined cyans, "I promise."

Ren then glances to Niz who's been eyeing on them from behind, "What he said."

"Okay, then..." Ren lowers his head before he eyes the two, "I'll trust you both..."

On the other side of the glass, Azayaka stays wary of the impending cloud of ink. While the chief and the girl beside her only stares with emptiness.

"Ah, don't worry about him," The Chief says, pointing up to the wriggling mess, "He'll be gentle."

Azayaka raises an eyebrow while furrowing simultaneously, "Heh..." Her hands instinctively move to her thigh, only to find her blades gone, "S-Seriously..?" Azayaka stays mortified, watching the goop's every move, "Y-You're gonna let this thing inside me?"

The chief tilts her head, amused by her words, "Well, he's not a... Thing but..." Samuel ripples as he slowly creeps towards Azayaka, "Yes."

The floating ink then swirls towards her, grabbing her neck and circling around her body.

"Ah! Get the hell away- mmph!"

"Ah! Ukh!"

"Umph!"

"Mmph..."

"Hmm..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

-----

Floating, free of weight, free of thoughts. She remembers waking up lying in a sea of glowing purple dahlias. She cherished that dream as it was the last thing she perceived as... Beautiful. Before the real world greets her with beguiling cruelty.

Instead of soft flowers, her young, little self wakes up with her arms chained to a bed. Instead of the dancing butterflies, metallic tools lie on the counters beside her, bloody and sharp. The cold, both from the metal and from the air is the first sensation that welcomes her awakening.

"I did it..." A familiar voice, spoken by a man above her. He is overshadowed by the spotlight right above, appearing to her as only a silhouette with a glowing pair of purple eyes that are staring at a notebook.

"Dad..dy...?" She whispers, her voice raspy and weak.

The man quickly glances to her, his eyes filling with the utmost joy, so much so it looks much psychotic, "Aza!?" He grabs both of her shoulders, closing in his face, revealing to her the father she had always loved, smiling a smile so incredibly wide, "Aza... Aza!" His body begins to rigidly trembles as his eyes become glassy.

With shaky breaths, he releases her chains and pulls her into a hug, "You're here... You're here!"

The girl could only stays rigid, unmoving as he holds her tight.

"Heh... Heheheh... AHAHAHAH!" Her father suddenly laughs, though they're accompanied by his widened eyes and shrinked pupils, "I did it... I did it... I did it... I did it..." He repeats like a broken clock.

Azayaka's innocence keeps her away from retaliating. Thus she only follows along, hugging her father back.

"Azayaka... My dear daughter," He whispers with his shaky voice, "Mom will be here soon... Okay?"

"Until then... I'll make you perfect..."

"Trust me."

"My dearest daughter..."

His eyes drops a single tear onto her shoulder as she keeps her hug, unaware of the creeping ink-like liquids surrounding her, slowly sinking the room before engulfing everything in it into blackness.

Just then, she opens her eyes to see herself lying on the floor within a dark hallway, lit by arrays of candelabras stuck onto the wall.

"Azayaka... Dear... Come here..."

The looming voice of her father echoes throughout the hallway. As per her memory plays, huffing and panting, she starts to run with bloodied wrists and ankles. When she reaches one dead end, she turns to one corridor to the other, running in circles in a branch of seemingly endless and maze-like hallways. The soft screech of her barefoot steps sliding with the marble floor together with her soft pants echoing within the tight hallways are her only company. Till eventually, she bumps back into her father.

"Ah, there you are," He says, grinning to her with a syringe filled with glowing green liquids in his hand.

Snaping her eyes, Azayaka turns around and run, only for her father to grip her wrist and pulls her back to him.

"Akh!" She grunts, his pull causing her a glimpse; he is still wearing that sadistic smirk of his as he pushes the needle of his syringe out.

"No! Daddy, no! Please!" She begs, feebly punching his hands before he pulls her in closer.

"Now, now... Don't be scared. It won't hurt. It'll be just like a pinch..." He keeps his smile as he kneels down to match her height.

"No... No, daddy! I don't want to! I don't want to-"

"!!!"

A slap to her cheek silences her begs.

"Shut up!" His sinister smile turns to a rageful grit.

As he furrows his brow, he tightens his grip to her, "I'm doing this... For you! For your mother! For this family!"

The girl flinches back at his sudden rage.

Yet, at her softened, terrified stare, he only widens his glare, "Tch... Why can't you just UNDERSTAND!? All the things I went through trying to get this family back to normal... Was that not enough for you!?"

"No..." She sniffles, "Daddy..." She begins to sob in between her words, "I just want to see mommy..." She rubs her eyes, "I just want to go home..."

At her words. Her delicate cries, her supple stare. He soften his as he starts to tremble, "Heh... Heheh... Ahahah... What am I even saying..." His eyes widen as he stares at the floor, "You're just a child..." He turns to her, his gaze softening again, "You're my daughter..."

"I'm sorry... Aza... I'm so sorry..." He tries to reach to her, but stops and pulls his hand back as he's about to touch her.

Azayaka quiver her lips as she looks at him with unsureness. Slowly, she succumbs to her old affection. Her feet moves themselves towards him, launching herself into a tight hug.

"My daughter... My precious daughter..." Her father wails as he moves to hug her back.

"After everything I did... To you..." Behind her back, his lips slowly curves up, "do you still..." He forms a maniacal smile.

"Trust me?"

Her eyes glimmer with a spark of hope. As she was about to hug him tighter, something clenches her shoulders, pulling her away into the darkness of the hallway.

The pull slams her back onto something. Opening her eyes, she discovers herself tied onto a rusty metal chair, her wrists and ankles stuck onto its armrests and onto its legs, leaving her only being able to feebly pant and wiggle

She looks around, seeing a dirty, dark room only lit by a single lightbulb in its center. Nothing else is visible aside from the darkness surrounding her. But then, her eyes widen when they look beside her. Tied to a chair just like her is a certain black-winged boy, blindfolded and shaking his teeth. His wings are tied onto each other as they stretch upward, thus the boy could only whimper in pain as he struggles to let himself free.

"Yuu..?" She whispers, her breath hitching in unsureness.

He glances around with his wings rustling and shaking as he tries to find her voice, "Aza..." His lips quiver as he sobs, "I'm scared..." His shaggy black hair sways as he continues to glance around.

"Now, now... Don't be scared, children," The wicked voice of her father greets the two. Azayaka glances behind to see him approaching with his bat wings wide and scorpion tail flailing. He goes to stand in between the two youngsters, eyeing both of them with a smirk. He then brushes and ruffles their black hair before he whispers to their ears, "We're only here to do a test..."

Without any other word, he pulls Yuu's blindfold away before he moves forward towards the darkness of the room. As his leather shoes echoes away, Yuu and Azayaka looks at each other with unsure eyes.

Then from the darkness, the sound of metal screeching echoes closer. Stepping into the light, her father drags with him a pair of chairs. He stops once he arrives at the center of the room, where he keeps the chairs facing away from the children.

"Now, kids," The manticore's smirk rises sharper, "Who do you think are seated here?" He grips the chair as he waits for his answer.

Azayaka and Yuu both look at each other with fear and unsureness in their eyes. With lips quivering, they slowly turns back towards the man who's now rotating the chairs to face his children.

Strapped onto the left chair, opposite to Yuu is an elderly woman with scruffy greyed hair in a tattered gold dress. Her skin is as flimsy as a loose water balloon. Her ears are pierced with various gems and jewelry. Around her shaking neck is a necklace which dangles a rusty silver key. Her marbled heels clatter the floor continuously as she softly stares at Yuu with shaking lips.

On the right chair, opposite to Azayaka is a young man in a bloody white shirt along with a dirty pair of formal pants. One of the man's eye is stiffened by a bruise while the other glares at the manticore, then towards Azayaka. Furrowing his brow, his muffled mouth let out grunts and mumbles as he tries to break free from his shackles.

"Now... Maybe one of you recognized a familiar face, correct?" The manticore glances at Yuu, who is now fixated towards the weak, elderly lady.

Keeping his amused grin, he walks to the lady's side, grabbing her shoulders as he put his face right next to hers while he puts on a mocking smirk for Yuu, "Remember her?"

"She's the owner of your old home," The manticore rises up, the little archangel still has his eyes locked onto the lady which causes the manticore to raise his eyebrows in delight, "Judging from your expression, you must've remembered," He then approaches Yuu, whispering to his ear, "You've made quite the memories there after all. Mind blowing... Blistful... Memories... Right?"

Despite the manticore's temptation, Yuu doesn't react, he still observes the lady with eyes wide awake.

"Well then..." He releases the archangel's wings, "would you like to settle the score?" He then releases his arm cuffs, "It's not like she has much time left anyways..."

Yuu's face stays frozen as his pupils start to tremble.

"Ah... Is that my little angel over there..?" Suddenly, the lady says with a gentle voice, "Ah... Oh how I missed my little, pretty, and handsome boy..." She continues. Yuu starts to furrow his brow as he glares.

"I missed you so much..." She tries to move her hands, though obviously she's too frail to do anything, "Do you miss me too..?" Her motherly tone starts to turn sultry, "you miss our playtime too... Right?"

"How you would scream..."

"How you make me feels so good..."

"Don't you want to go back to the old days?"

"..." His intensifying breath is his only response. Those words rings through his mind, causing him to grip onto his seat's arm rest, "Tch..." Yuu narrows his eyes as he clenches his teeth together. Instinctively, his wings slowly widen as their feather starts to sharpen.

"Haah... My little angel... Why don't you come to me?" The lady says, her greyed empty eyes glimmering with her flashbacks, "we can be..."

"Family agai-"

A sharp feather jabs her soft forehead, silencing her as she falls limp to her front.

"Well done..." The manticore gives him some soft, brief claps. While the girl beside him could only shakily breath as she stares with widened eyes at the lady's limp, liveless body.

"Y-Yuu..?" She stutters as she calls for her friend, yet he only answers with nothing but silence as his wings dial down, lessening in size and power while his eyes close shut.

Little does she know, her father is already behind her, setting his head beside hers.

"It's your turn now, daughter."

On her lap is a thin dagger with a long blade similar in shape to a boxcutter's razor.

Glancing back and forth between the lady, the little archangel, then towards the little dark fae, the bruised man sitting opposite to her glares and huffs his breath as he flails about in panic, letting out muffled words full of malice and anger.

"Huh..?" She glances at the knife, then towards her father, "No... I don't want to..."

"But you must..." He goes closer onto her ears, "That man... Is terrible."

Without any other words, he approaches the man before ripping off the tape muffling his mouth.

"Y-YOU..." The man immediately growls, "YOU FUCKING SICK MONSTERS!" Suddenly, his cuffs unlock, prompting him to immediately send a fist flying towards the manticore's face.

Miraculously, his punch lands, causing the manticore to slip and fall chin-first to the floor.

"!!!" A loud crack echoes throughout the room, silence following soon after.

"D-Dad..?" Azayaka trembles as the man sets his eyes towards her father.

"Heh... You monstrosity got what you deserved huh?" He then begins kicking the unmoving manticore's stomach repeatedly, "You like that..? Huh? YOU LIKE THAT!?"

"No..." Azayaka mumbles with shivering lips, "Stop..." Yet her whispers doesn't reach the man as he continues on, beating the pulp out of her father.

She then grits her teeth, before with clenched fist she yells, "STOP IT!"

This time, her voice got the man's attention. The moment he turns towards her, Azayaka pulls her head back as her eyes begin to tremble.

"Stop it? You want me to... Stop? Oh right... You're his daughter, huh?" With a wide grin, he approaches her, "He'll pay for what he's done..." He grabs the chair that he was strapped on, dragging it as he approaches, "let's see if that monster likes his daughter deformed too..."

As the man comes closer, Azayaka's trembles and looks around in panic. Her head then turns to her left, Yuu is looking down to the floor, his wings lessened to only a pair of small patches of feathers, "Yuu... Yuu!" She calls to him with panicked eyes, only to receive his silence.

To a sudden clank, she turns her head forward. The man is already in front of her, holding the chair by its headrest. With a raspy giggle, the man looks down at Azayaka, his lips forming a wide grin as he brush away the hair on the side of her face, revealing to him her elven-like ear.

"Heh..." He moves his hands back onto his chair, "This is the time you realize..." Lifting it, he widens his grin, "Inhuman monsters like you... DON'T. DESERVE. TO LIVE!"

Her eyes could only stay agape as the man swings the chair towards her, aiming for her skull. For a moment, time moves slowly. She looks towards her father who's still lying on the floor, then she looks to her friend, weak and silent. They both stays unconscious as the chair threaten to crashes her skull.

Yet, within that moment of silence, something else comes to her mind.

"Aza..."

To a sudden familiar female voice, a shudder spread across her body as one of the chair's leg touches her forehead. Yet, it passes right through her as her body scatters into a small swarm of purple butterflies.

"!!!" A metallic clank echoes across the room alongside confused huffs and grunts.

"Wha!? What the-" Something sharp and cold intrudes his throat, bringing with it hissing roar of pain, "akh- ukh..." His voice is muffled by the overflows of blood. As he holds his throat, he falls onto the floor, seeing the little girl standing in front of him, staring coldly at him. Drips of blood falls from the blade she holds as she watches the man with empty eyes.

Thus with a last choke and with his eyes agape, the man lies limp on the floor.

"Congratulations, daughter..." From behind her, her father emerges from the dark as his other self decays into butterflies, "You passed the test," He coaxes as he grabs her shoulder.

Yet with that, her eyes blink twice, "Huh..?" Her cold eyes turn shaky as they look at her kill, "W-Wha..?" With lips quivering in shock, she realizes she's been holding something in her right hand, as such she raises it only to softly gasp at the sight of a bloody thin knife.

"N-No..." The knife drops from her hand, causing a clank, "I-I... I didn't meant too..." Slowly, she begins to take her steps back, but it causes her to bump to her father.

"No, daughter," He reassures with a soft caress to her cheek, "You did the right thing."

Her muffled hics and huffs are her only answer as the winged man closes in to her ear, "You're innocent."

"Trust me."

As she widen her eyes, waves of sharp ringing noises enter her ears. Just within a blink, the darkness surrounding them engulfed the scene, leaving only her drifting alone in the dark.

She opens her eyes again, realizing her body has grown into the current grasp of her senses. Now a young woman, she discovers herself falling into an endless pit of darkness. Dark liquids the like of the creature possessing her swirls and wiggles around her as if she's falling deeper within its throat. Like a feather, she falls slowly, caressed by the gentle air as the darkness swirls around her unclothed body, weaving her into a cocoon made out of blackness. As disturbing as the sight may be, it is strangely... Warm, gentle and comforting, like being wrapped by a blanked of soft wool. Thus slowly, she closes her eyes, awaiting the moment for her eternal rest, just like this.

Just the peace within a world of quietness in an empty void. Perhaps, this is what liminal horror is for most, but for her... It is something she has dreamed of for the longest time.

Who would miss her anyways? Everyone she has ever loved and cared for... Everyone she made connections with... All were met with deep wounds because of her.

Isn't it better for her to just... Disappear?

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Poor you," Suddenly, a gentle and wispy deep voice echoes throughout the darkness, causing her to feebly open her eyes.

"The world forced too much of its test onto you."

"..."

"It's a shame."

"..."

"But now, it's not the time for you yet."

"..."

"Don't give up, Azayaka."

"..."

"You might not think so but..."

"..."

"You deserve to be loved. As much as you love someone else."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

If only...

-----