Levi Akugata, at home in his family’s Keep, opened the door to his parents’ quarters. He had been sent to grab his father’s cloak and take it to him. The familiar smell of scented candles greeted him, and the sight of colourful fabrics filled the room. What grabbed his attention, however, was the unusual sight of a bookshelf out of place. It had been swung open like a door. Levi closed in to investigate and found a secret cove behind it. There was a ladder that descended down into the darkness. Curiosity overcame caution and Levi climbed down the ladder.

Down and down he went, occasionally hearing sounds through the walls of the people working in the keep. Eventually he reached the bottom, although he couldn’t tell how far he’d gone. He couldn’t hear any sounds from the Keep above, but he could hear a voice. He was in another tunnel, and the echoes of a voice, as well as a faint glow, was coming from the far end. He walked for a long time before he found that he recognised the voice, and the source of the glow came into sight.

He was looking at a large stone wall with glowing runes upon it. Sitting in front of the wall was his younger brother, only five years of age, talking to the wall.

“Oiy, little brother!” Levi called out, but his brother ignored him. Levi walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder. “What are you doing here?” he asked. His brother turned to him.

“Levi” he said happily. “I’m talking to the demon.”

Fear hit Levi, making his hair stand on end all over his body. “Demon? What demon?”

Levi envied the lack of fear that came with youth. He had explained without any hint of being afraid. “There’s a demon on the other side of this door, and he says if we can bring all the parts of his soul here, we can free him!”

“Door?” Levi looked at the wall. There were no signs of it being a door… And he could hear no voice. Perhaps his little brother had gone mad. Perhaps all five-year-olds were mad. He hoped so. “We’re going.” he said, picking up his brother despite his protests. “And don’t come here again. It’s dangerous.” He made his way back down the corridor, looking back at the glowing runes once and shivering.