Seconds ticked. The claws didn’t reach me.

Above us, the wraiths crashed onto the barrier, each one convulsing with a crackling sound as they hit the faint bluish surface. Then, like electrified insects, they dropped to the ground smoking, their emaciated bodies twisted in tricky angles. Some of them who managed to escape the wrath of Vincent’s barriers were taken care of by Millie’s spear.

Even with her petite stature, she had managed to snatch and stab many of them. Her speed wasn’t comparable to Mei’s but there was something about the way she moved; dangerous, precise, powerful.

The swarm slowly thinned, the dark moving cloud of lost souls becoming no more than specks of black on the perfectly lit night sky. Some of them darted back into the woods, some back to Centralia’s direction, some still lingering, watching for our next move. The least clever kept hurling themselves to us. To our luck, the barrier seemed to draw them in to its crackling surface, zapping the creatures in the process. By the time they realized that we were virtually untouchable, there were already more corpses than I could possibly count, scattered about the now unkempt lawn.

Now that we had miraculously got rid of the wraiths, the only problem left was Vincent’s barriers. Why I couldn’t pass through it freely was still a mystery to me. Perhaps, it was the Bind. At this point, like Millie, I was no better than an outsider.

“I... I thought we’re going to be toast.” I sucked in a few quavering breaths, staring at the mansion through the barrier. “Now, if we could just get in there.”

Wasting no time, Millie faced me, her spear’s blade aimed at my neck. Leisurely, she took a step closer and with both hands, lifted the weapon over her head.

“M-millie?” I stammered. “What’re you—“

Deep down, I knew this was going to happen. She had turned against me so quickly just when she had noticed a sign of weakness. Maybe she was waiting all along for this moment, when it would be a lot easier for her to dispatch me.

I began to back away, instantly reminded of the barrier behind me as my back pressed against it. The see-through wall pulsed pale blue from where I touched it, revealing a long crack stretching a good three feet up. The massive wraith attack must’ve weakened the enchantment keeping the barriers intact.

Tensing my legs, I prepared to run before she could cut my head off. My legs didn’t cooperate. They were still numb from the after-effects of the Bind’s punishment.

With a grim look in her eyes, she swung her arms forward. I heard a distinct thwack as the spearhead struck the barrier, spot on the point where the crack started two inches shy of my neck.

A series of snapping sounds followed, minute fissures branching from the main crack. Bit by bit, the barrier broke like a shattered mirror. The broken pieces glowed bright blue, finally dissolving into glittering dust before it could even crash to the ground.

So that was the plan—to use the wraiths to weaken the force-field. It was just like what Vincent and I did back in the Halo to unleash the amassed souls from the abyss. The attempt was successful but it left a crack on the blade of my scythe.

“We cannot waste time,” she reminded me when she saw me gawk like a moron over the spectacle.

“Right,” I nodded, running past her to the dark wooden double doors.

For a moment, I held the bronze handles, exhaling sharply before turning them. The metallic clicks as the doors swung inward made my heartbeats erratic, lurid as if my heart wanted to skip out of my chest.

I did it. I finally did it, Vince.

My hopes sank when I laid eyes upon the once grand drawing room. As if lost, I staggered inside the house, my eyes unable to focus with all the signs of abandonment lingering in all the corners. The furniture was toppled, the grandfather chair where Vladimir used to read his old books half-charred in the fireplace. What remained of the crystal chandelier was now all over the stained crimson carpet.

It looked like the whole place was overturned. Only the portraits survived the search, still with their lifeless eyes watchful as the frames hung unevenly on the walls.

“The Spirit Doors,” Millie said, interrupting my chain of thought as she closed the doors behind me. “We should head to the Doors.”

For the first time, I thought I saw a trace of distress on her impassive face. Our six minutes was almost up. Soon they—Pilgrim Reaper’s minions—would find me. And at our current state, we wouldn’t stand a chance if they did.

Swallowing the sick that inched up my throat, I showed her the way to the left wing of the mansion. As we did, we passed by Rosario’s room. The door was half open and like the rest of the house, Rosario’s belongings sprawled about the floor. Her plain narrow bed was thrown onto its side, propped precariously on the off-white wall.

I couldn’t help but slow my steps and enter, my palm brushing lightly on the surface of the dusty wooden closet, the glass-strewn vanity, the bedside table. Then, from in between the worn out mattress and the wooden frame of the bed, I saw the corner of a folded piece of paper. I pulled it, coughing as dust stirred all over my face.

“We must go now,” Millie called, her voice low but with the slightest suggestion of urgency.

Carefully, I patted the dust over the parchment. There was something scrawled in front of it, just where the edges of the folds met.

To the one who mended me when I was broken.

Tentatively, Millie placed a petite hand over my shoulder. “We should be on our—“

A loud smash from outside the house startled us. It looked like we had visitors. I tilted my head to listen to the continuous banging on the door. Someone barked incomprehensible orders. Several more voices. Boots beating against the marble floor of the main hallway. They had arrived. The remaining wraiths surrounding the mansion and the convoluted corridors would delay them for a while but it wouldn’t be long.

Quickly, I shoved the letter in my pocket, looking left and right before taking the unlit path to the hall of Spirit Doors. Risking a glance back, I saw shadows flickering at the end of the hallway where we had come from. With one frantic shake of my head, I racked my brain for directions; trying to remember that night we used the Door leading to the Halo.

Quite a lot of Doors of all sorts and sizes lined the maze-like hallways, making it difficult to concentrate. I swerved to the right, pausing in front of the battered plank Door leading to Fountain Springs—the one Vincent and I used to get to Carter’s before. Nodding to myself, I moved forward, vigilant of the low footfalls that resounded off the walls.

It wasn’t long before I saw the nearly circular turn heading another long straight passageway. The Spirit Doors in these parts were uniform—dark cherry wood with incomprehensible inscriptions lining the edges. A Roman numeral eleven marked the first one, then ten, counting down to one. It ended in what seemed to be a dead end—a matching pair of wrought bronze candleholders bolstered on either side of the polished stone walls.

I reached for the one on the left. “Hold down the other one,” I told Millie, my voice leaking of panic.

As she held the other candleholder, I heard a male voice from not too far, papery and rasping. I started hyperventilating as my mind pushed into view the face that owned that voice. It couldn’t be. I was sure he was dead after I slit his throat when we were trying to escape from the Halo. Once again, those spiteful bloodshot eyes haunted me.

“Saul,” I muttered under my breath.

The fear must’ve shown on my face because Millie was forced to look over her shoulder before we pulled down the levers at the same time. Metal clinked, a faint hum following the sound of concrete shifting against each other. The wall slowly slid aside with a grinding noise.

“I found them!” A man in a long white robe called out to his companions from the other end of the hallway. On the back of the man’s uniform, The First’s—Cairo’s—emblem glistened, embroidered with golden thread.

There was a rush of voices and footsteps heading toward us. Instinctively, Millie jerked the candleholder off the wall. It came of easily with a distinct metallic twang.  Before the male familiar could turn to face us, the broken candleholder whizzed past the tip of my nose, hitting the him in between his eyes. The crooked piece of bronze was still stuck in his forehead as he fell onto his knees and dropped face first to the ground.

“The Helcium,” she barked. “Put it on! Quickly!”

Hurriedly, I fished for the necklace from my bag’s pocket and wore it, making sure that the pendant was hidden under my shirt. Next thing I knew, Millie had jumped into the Spirit Door, taking me with her. But before the Door could slide shut, I caught a glimpse of him—his long hair sallow against the pallid gaunt face. The pair of haunting red eyes glowered at me from under his short pale lashes. Saul was in a half-snarl as he tried to catch us before the wall had closed with a thud.

We didn’t fall like I used to whenever I crossed a Door in the past. It was as if we had just entered another hallway. But this time, the way was pitch black. Even with my immortal eyes, I could not see anything. Everything was dead silent except for the rustling of cloth as Millie shuffled in front of me.

“We should wait here for now,” she said, her voice eerily calm.

“But they’ll find us if we stay here,” I complained, about to pace when I realized that it might not be the best idea since I couldn’t see what was in front of me.

There was a short pause before she could reply. “I had broken one of the levers that open this Door so as to render them unable to follow us through. They cannot find us here. This area is Point Zero.”

“In English?”

I heard her breathe in. “It means that this place is a midpoint between the world of the Living and all other realms. However, this Point Zero area specifically leads to the Halo. The concept of time and space does not apply here. We may stay here for years while on earth, it will be as if time has not passed at all. This place has no form or color. That is why we could not see a thing.”

“So…” I trailed into a pensive silence. “It’s just like… Oblivion.”

Another pause. Millie’s voice was barely a whisper when she said, “Yes... In a way.”

“Tell me, Millie. We’re stuck here, aren’t we?”

“Master Hector is trying to undo the Grandmaster’s protective enchantments from our center of operations. Once he has deciphered the correct pattern of spells, it will be possible for us to cross.”

English translation—stuck. Weakly, I sagged onto the floor. I knew it. How could I have accepted Hector’s help without the assurance that we would reach the Halo? Pilgrim Reaper controlled the entry and exit in his realm. No one could get in if he wouldn’t will the Gate to permit entrance. Even if Vincent seemed a million miles away, still, it was the farthest progress I had made.

The next few minutes, hours—I lost track—was spent in silence. All the while, I didn’t hear Millie so much as move. I kept waiting and waiting until she received the codes she needed. After a while, I gave up and curled on the floor—if it really was a floor and not just a product of my imagination. At this rate, all that was left to do was think and mull over things until nothing made sense anymore. Until I lost my mind. Would we ever get out of here?

“Millie?” I finally called, just to make sure that she was still there. Her sudden movement told me that she was awake. “How… how’re you able to see me when I’m wearing the Helcium? Immortals shouldn’t even know I exist.”

“I…”—she began, taking her time as if to sort out her thoughts—“…am neither immortal, nor human. I am an… artificial entity—created, not born. The Helcium was created millions of years ago, long before humans ever existed. Thus, its powers do not apply to me. This body was made in the likeness of humans so it could host a soul, nevertheless, I can never be considered one.” There was an unmistakable wistfulness in her voice.

It was getting clearer to me now. “So Apple was—“

“Just like me. Yes.” She cut me off, sounding too uncomfortable to continue the discussion as if she hadn’t talked to anyone about this before. But then, she went on. “We are all alike—Apple, Millie and all the other seventeen thousand, seven hundred and twelve defective units before me. Every one of us is cloned uniquely by my Master Hector. We were engineered to have different hair, different eye color, different abilities. But…”

“But what?”

“But still,” she replied absently, her voice sounding more and more human by the second. “All of us seem to end up with this face… with this same face. All seventeen thousand seven hundred and thirteen of us.”

All I could say was a very smart, “Oh.”

I could totally relate to that. Everything that had happened to me the past year was partly because of my face—this face that also once belonged to other people. Even with Adrianna gone, I couldn’t shake off the thought that maybe Vincent was just seeing her in me. That he wanted me as her replacement. That maybe, just maybe, if I didn’t have this face, he would’ve just let me die that night when I drowned.

Both of us fell into a discomfiting silence, left to ponder for ourselves. Like Millie, I didn’t ask to be born with this face, this body. This soul. And if I had the chance to choose…

Suddenly, it sounded as if Millie was already getting to her feet.

“The Gate can now be opened,” she said, her voice back to its usual vacant tone. “But it is only for the next thirty minutes. By now, the sentries who have found us must’ve informed the Grandmaster that you are coming. Keep the Helcium with you at all times. Otherwise, be ready to fight.”

I stood up and stretched my legs. “Got it.”

She reached for something in her pockets. A piercing line of red light travelled to and fro the whole area. I winced, blinking rapidly to make my eyes adjust to the brightness. The light was coming from the small foldable contraption in Millie’s hands—a Gate Hacker. The tiny lights on the crisscrossed steel base that kept the device erect blinked green and made a soft beeping sound.

Almost immediately, the darkness parted in front of us as if black tapestries were being pulled aside, the walls changing like a magnificent back draft. The ground was turned into a gilded cobblestone path. The mosaic tiles glimmered under my feet, yellows and reds that depicted an old tragic story. Behind us, a tall arched portico—the Gate—made of stone stood, its battered columns strangled by creeping vines with delicate purple blossoms.

From the archway, stretched a long tortuous trail bordered by thousands of ancient willows. The branches were now stripped of their autumn leaves, the fiery red blooms resiliently clinging on for dear life. As the mild breeze swept the woods, thousands of petals let go and danced with the wind, unhurriedly flitting down. It was as if they were cheering for us, throwing a shower of red confetti over our heads.

Even for the second time, the Halo had overwhelmed me. Unlike my reaction, Millie wasn’t at all impressed by the beauty that welcomed us. She kept her spear ready in her hand, her eyes scanning the whole place until she was satisfied that we were alone.

“Looks like luck’s on our side,” I told her with a relieved grin. I thought we would have a huge welcoming committee. Feeling  relieved, I removed the Helcium from my neck and pocketed it.

One of her brows twitched. “Unbelievable. This is too easy. By now, the Grandmaster should have sent the guards.”

She was right. It could be a trap. Still, it was a little more soothing to think that we wouldn’t have to face any enemy. It was then that we heard a muffled explosion coming from the direction of the castle. Behind the thick foliage, we could scarcely make out the tip of the four spires crowning Death’s fortress. Smoke billowed like giant mushroom heads, marring the flawless midnight blue skies.

There was a subdued rustling sound from the thicket to our right. Millie gave me a look then fixed her eyes on the movement behind the rosebushes as if to say get ready. But before I could even breathe in, a strong muscular arm slipped behind my waist and pulled me through the thicket. Another hand covered my mouth, stifling my cries.

I thrashed about as I was being dragged backward into the woods, twigs and branches scraping my flailing arms. To my alarm, the arms that held me were so strong, so unyielding.

“Say the password,” said a seemingly carefree voice so familiar it made me freeze.

Gently, the hand on my mouth lifted as with the arm that restrained me. I held my breath as I turned around to face him. The usual playful grin pulled one side of his lips as our eyes locked. I was more petrified than surprised to see his kind brown eyes, the cuts on his palms as he caught my hands.

On pure impulse, I reached out to him, pushing back the chin-length dark hair that fell on the left side of his face. It was him alright.

“Amyr?” I muttered, my voice shaking.

His sniffed, tilting his head so that his hair fell over the almost unnoticeable scar across his left eye. “Not the answer I was looking for, but good enough,” he nonchalantly replied.

With my fingers trembling uncontrollably, I clutched his hands tightly. A lump slowly made its way to my throat. I was often told how loud and uncontrollable my mouth was. But at that very moment, I couldn’t seem to say anything. When he tried to move, I could only make my grip tighter.

Out of the blue, he chuckled blithely as if we weren’t in the middle of Death’s territory. “I’m guessing you missed me?”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi there! Hisashiburi da ne? Sorry for updating so late. I know I've kept you all hanging. If writing could be a career for me, I'd write every second of the day--no kidding. But since I'm poor (LOL) and have to work two jobs and double shifts, I just make do with the time I have :) Still, I love writing more than anything, so I won't stop. Please bear with me ok? see ya soon!                            LOVE, ~shim