"How is this.... happening."

Heels would hit the steel grate ground as huffs and puffs would escape the mage's mouth as he ran. "I'm here for a reason." he would claim to himself, but nothing would pave way for him to go through. It was a false sense of security he felt in this realm, in this "void" of a place that he had been in for the past few hours. The ground, grates of steel, maybe iron, rusted and bloodied, tiled in a square to square way. Endless darkness all around him but a weird light emanates from within the mage. It shows the way around him, not all of but some. There is no end to the place either sadly. The ground keeps repeating. He is tired, there is nothing behind him but he is escaping from something. Something...

He finally comes up with a row of iron bars, rusted and covered in carnage like the ground, He holds them, breathes, puts his forehead on them to rest his shoulders and neck. Something is a miss but he can never pinpoint it like he did before. He tried to squeeze through them, but he can't. Finally, another pair of footsteps come closer and closer from behind him. He swears and turns around. Panthello isn't here. Even if he was, magic wouldn't work on this place. He tried, he tried it several times. "Leave me be?!" he screams. A handful of confusion dropped into his sentence to cover his fear. No other emotion would work. A person emerges from the darkness and enters his field of vision. It's him and he looks equally scared. The image of the beastmasters reflection, but perhaps more than a reflection whispers a name, a name that causes a screeching surge of pain on Aoanakas ears. "No..." he claims and falls to his knees, screaming and covering his ears more. "NOOOO!!!" he weeps. He weeps and weeps for minutes as the image walks closer ever so slowly. What he wants, Aonaka does not know. The other Aonaka kneels down and holds the real ones head to his chest. An embrace. The other Aonaka is cold and wet, covered with something slimy and gross. "Please don't..." the real one manages to whisper. But then again who knows which one is real?"

The fake Aonaka then whispers the same name again. The name that would bring this nightmare to an end but perhaps start another one. "Joseph."

Aonaka trashes away and jolts himself awake on the chair of the Mabuz' secret room. "FUCK. FUCK FUCK FUCK." he swears and starts to scream with a cracking voice. "I don't want to do this again... No..." he begs. But Mabuz' is cold and looks at him straight. "You will. It will make you stronger." The dark grey aura of a doctor hold the boys head and kneels down. He looks at the young mage dead in the eye, Aonaka senses the hostility, but there is a small amount of serenity in there too. Maybe that's what maturity brings to a person. Maybe that's just the way things so when you get older. The doctor gapes his lips and exhales looking away. "Go rest and then come back."

Aonaka gets out of there as quick as he can. He shambled around his clothes and takes his hand to his coat. There he takes out a pink package of cigarettes. Strawberry flavoured. Not really his thing, but the clove ones had started to feel very heavy for him. He lights one as fast as he can and exhaled in pleasure. The poison cloud clears away his worries even if temporary. His heartbeat slows down and he stumbled on the streets of Oak to find a place to eat something. He throws away the cigarette butt after making sure it's not lit to a trashcan. The nature mage would never hurt that which he worships.

He enters a small cafe like place with a few people in it. They are so unaware of what's happening. He sits down and people bring him a menu. He nods and speaks out a small thank you before choosing some crunchy vegetable dough rolls, some seaweed salad and an ice leaf dew desert. He has the money. Even if he didn't, Mabuz already gave him some to get some food. The rolls are tasty and creamy. The salad is a nice salty complimentary and the ice leaf desert feels minty and refreshing. He finishes his meal up with a cold lime tea with mint and clove and light up another cigarette. For a while, life is better. But he has to go back to that place where he came from. What would white Claudia show him this time?

He goes back and straps back into the horrible experience. The injections find its way to his body quickly and he watches the world melt away one more time. He is scared but he has to do it. He doesn't want to imagine the contacts Mabuz has after him. It's fine, the mage will be stronger, he will be better, he will get better. Stronger and he will have the money to leave this place.

He wakes up in a hallway. A hallway that radiates raw, unadulterated fear. There are doors on the side and Aonaka fears them. He knows he has to open them. The stairway with the light on the end beckons. He wants to go there. That has to be the exit, right? But then Mabuz would be mad. Aonaka opened the first door and enters. It's eerily similar to one of those baby watching rooms in hospitals. He cannot enter where the babies are but can see one single crib. The clean crib clashes with the rest of the muddy, rotten, fleshy, industrial, rusty room. The baby is watched by two shadowy figures. Aonaka can barely read the name tag on the crib.

Joseph.

He feels his stomach turning and leaves the room as fast as possible. He enters another room, but it opens not to a room, but a dark forest. He sees a female walking towards him. It's Nastasya. "W-what," he mumbled and feels a strike of fear. "Nastasya why are you--" he wants to ask, but can't finish his words. The female vampire jumps on him and shows her fangs. Aonaka cries out in fear and throws her off somehow, maybe only because it was the white Claudia world.

He opens the third room. It opens to a cold place. There is ice everywhere and a town? He walks towards its gates and is welcome quite well. "H-hello," he says to an old woman there. The woman only smiles. Aonaka feels at home here. This room... isn't bad at all. Before he leaves, however, his hand is held by the old woman in blue clothing. "Nanuq," she says and then the room disappears into an empty one. Aonakas eyes widen as he realises that's the name he read on that brochure in the church. The town of Nanuq...

At that moment, the fear comes back, horrible noise echoes from the other side of the hallway and primal instincts take control of Aonaka. There is something there he has to run away from. He takes off, breathing heavily, doesn't look back but can hear the footsteps. He finally reaches the stairway and throws himself in. When he turns back, he sees a white-haired female and a man with black hair. They look... dead. "...Mum?"

Aonaka wakes up on the corner of the room, drooling. Mabuz wakes him up and rewards him. He looks pleased after listening to the details. Aonaka feels a sense of relief that the job is over. He leaves and gets home with Panthello. "Thanks, buddy," he claims and hugs the mammal.

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