Jace crept down the spiral staircase on light, careful feet, Satch following suit. The stairwell was hugged tight between walls adorned with more of the animated paintings like the ones in the room where his memory started. They could hear voices, but nothing distinct. Jace fought his impatience at the ridiculous length of stairs. While it was true that he could have been missing some juicy bits of information, it wouldn’t help to rush down and get discovered, cutting off the flow of information entirely. He bit the bottom of his lip while he continued one careful step at a time, yet speeding up only slightly. He could at least push the limits of their pace a tiny bit. A tiny bit became a tiny bit more. With fingers steadying himself on the handrail he was approaching a faster than normal walking pace. Satch tried to whisper at him and Jace spun around with a finger over his lips to be quiet. Only then did he notice the distance between them, with Satch’s head peeking over the stairs above him. Jace let him catch up while he peeked over the rail to see a room opening up a few more flights beneath. They were getting close. Close enough that they were startled by a sudden bang followed by sounds of clinking silverware. “Enough!” a voice boomed. The chatter that filled the room underneath ceased entirely. Jace didn’t dare take another step, instead, he poured all his focus into his ears. “I am a man of my word. I told you all that if you pass my test you will be granted a past and a future, so I will honor that.” The man’s voice carried well, but someone else spoke after much too softly to discern. They needed to get further down the steps. Who was he talking to? It sounded like he was addressing a group. Based on the chatter earlier there definitely seemed to be a lot more people down here than just the two. Were the others like him and Satch down there? If so, did they even need to conceal themselves? Jace started moving again, even faster than before. Surprisingly, Satch had no protest to this and kept pace. They kept as quiet as they could, but traded a little noise for faster progress. Better safe than sorry? Nah, he’d rather risk than regret. The walls of the stairwell opened at one side to a long room beneath. Once Jace could see a sliver of the scene beyond, he stopped, Satch bumping into him. Only their eyes peered over the rail, focusing on the broad dining table that sat children dressed in the same plain grey jumpsuits as them. One of the men in burgundy uniform stood at the table's end, hands pressed on its surface. All eyes were on him. The others were down there! Jace turned to run down the stairs but Satch grabbed his shirt, holding him back. Jace tried to protest but the man spoke again. “I’ll begin with your pasts,” he said, pausing for attention, “you all were born to families of no to low lineage. Some of you were destined to work the mines, some the fields and others the streets. The only thing promised to you at birth was suffering. However,” the man began to pace around the table, tapping his fingers on the back of the children’s chairs. “Each of you was too talented to live so absentmindedly. You all sought adventure, life beyond the constraints of your lesser birth. This curiosity led you all to find each other, and together, to do the unthinkable.” He stopped at the other end of the table, Jace and Satch now able to see his chest covered in badges of glittering gold. “You all managed to breach the gates of the outer realms, effectively leaving the kingdom. An action punishable by death.” He let the statement weigh over the room, making sure it effectively sunk into everyone present. Jace felt Satch’s grip tighten on his shirt. It certainly sunk into him. “But mercy found you. And that mercy was my army. Instead of having you executed on the spot, you were brought here to have your memories cleaned of the dirt you all soiled them with. With that went all the memories of the lives you tried to flee. You all sit here now freed from the sins of your actions and birth, having proven that…” the man trailed off as his attention focused on the other man in uniform, leaning a chair back on two legs with an empty one beside him. “C’mon General, don’t leave us hanging like that. Having proven what?” said the man leaning in his seat. The man covered in medals scanned over the table, a sudden fury igniting in him. “Where are the others?” he said. “What others?” “Cornelius,” the General seethed, “tell me why I count eight seated here.” “Oh them,” the man named Cornelius waved a hand nonchalantly, “two of the ten didn’t make it through my trials which proved them incompetent. So I didn’t see a reason to mention them. I’ve had them executed accordingly.” What? Jace’s heart raged against his chest. He was talking about him and Satch. But they hadn’t been executed, they made it out! They were here too! Incompetent!? Jace pulled his shirt free from Satch’s grip, marching down the steps. “Jace, what are you doing?” Satch whispered in panic, “don’t go down there!” *** This was not good. Dillo had done his best to conceal the empty seats, but he knew the General would notice the missing two eventually, truthfully, he was surprised he hadn’t noticed sooner. He wished he had come up with a more convincing cover up but this was as good as he had. There was a chance that Jace and Satch really were already dead, after all. Might as well go with it. Better to lose two and save eight. “Prove it,” said Voldenic with thunderous command. This was exactly the response he expected but was also afraid of. “Of course, sir. I’ll recover the bodies soon as we’re finished here.” He would hate to have to kill them once he found them… choosing the lesser evil never really made it feel any better. “We are finished here.” The General replied, voice low and cold as steel. Each boy at the table was pulled up and out of their seat by their collar. Chairs and plates crashed over the floor as they kicked about, like a layering of percussion over a terrible symphony of choked cries and gasps. That, he did not expect. Stay calm, Dillo told himself, stay calm. “Come now, General, there’s no need for this. You’re a man of your word, right? You were just getting to the part about their futures.” “Are you a man of your word, Cornelius? Because I’m not convinced.” The boys were jerked higher, flailing about in a desperate effort to cling to life. “Okay, I’ll prove it now. No need to do anything rash.” The General simply stared at Dillo, boring holes into him with demanding eyes. “I’ll fetch them right away. Just let the boys down,” Dillo pleaded, walking backwards towards the stairwell, “I’ll be back in a moment.” “This isn’t a negotiation. I came here to finish what you failed to, but I still decided to trust your judgment. Now I find that trust challenged. If you don’t regain it quickly, then I will return to my original plan, and afterward, deal with you accordingly.” Dillo looked at the faces of the children turning purple. “Yes, sir.” Dillo spun to run for the stairwell but stopped two steps in, facing a sight that all but entirely stopped his heart. A boy with silver-white hair and piercing green eyes jumped from the stairs' final step, hands at his hips and chin raised high, Halo gleaming over him. Shock bested Dillo, and he froze in a critical moment. Maybe if he would have leaped forward and slain the boy without hesitation, the others could have survived. But he didn’t. His merciless resolve wasn’t what it used to be. He was glad that it wasn’t but… “Hey!” Jace said, “who are you calling incompetent?” Dillo turned back and locked eyes with General Voldenic as he did it. The man’s Halo pulsed and the chokers around the children’s necks squeezed with the force of a titan’s grip. A sickening crunch filled the room before the boys' bodies went limp over their first and final supper.