Darkness, silence, covering a girl perception of her bloody room. Not because she's blind, it because there nothing illuminates the girl room. Although she can't see anything, she's still can smell blood gushing from her wounds. Strangely she can retain her consciousness even in her bad situation.

"Why me, why us?" helpless whisper come from her mouth.

A man with a mask and white coat appears in her mind, he has something like a syringe in his hand, ready to inject red liquid inside her body. There no emotion in his eyes, as if he's looking at a frog ready to dissect.

She leans her back to the wall, contemplating about what will happen next.

*knock* * knock*

Two distinct knocking sound comes from the stone wall behind her. She who still thinking, taken aback because of the sudden noise. However, it doesn't last long, she approaches the wall and knocks it twice.

*knock* *knock*

After a few moments silence, someone talks from the other side, "You must be the new replacement today," she hears a sharp boy voice.

"Who are you?"

"Me? I'm kinda your senior here. We probably won't ever meet though," even though he has a sharp cold voice, he is more talkative than she thought.

"You just said replacement. What happened to the previous who stay in this room?"

"Die, as usual. It is probably the fate for all of us."

She can hear his depressed voice from behind the wall. However, she understands when remembering that boy have longer experience here than her. Even she feel helpless right now after getting tortured by those people.

"Why they do this?" she says with a helpless tone.

"Is that important?" a voice come behind her.

"I guess not."

After that, they are fell into silence -- thinking about what despair waiting ahead.

"Name -- tell me your name." the boy breaks their silence.

"Do you know it's rude to ask someone name before telling your own name?"

"Ah, sorry about that, my name is --"

"Just kidding, who cares about manners in this place," she chuckles when the boy takes her words seriously.

"My name is Yan -- Yandair Issrill," she continues to talk.

…

*Chirp* *chirp*

Birds singing force Yan to open her eyes, fresh flowers smell flowing into her nose, she lay in her back while feeling grasses waving around her.

“Ah, I remember. I just lose again from him,” she talks to the sky.

She sits down and then looking at the glade where she spars with Vys this morning, their battle earlier flashed in her mind, as if mocking her lost. She feels disheartened by her weakness, but soon, she tosses that thought aside and walks to her home.

“Big sister, you already wake up,” Rin’s familiar voice come from the house.

“Yes,” she answers shortly. After she goes inside the house, she taken aback when finding out the house is tidy, it already cleaned by Rin.

“Woah, why you didn’t wait for me when want to clean the house.”

“Didn’t big sis still exhausted, I didn’t want to disturb your nap.”

When hears Rin’s words she realizes that Rin knew that she lose many times in earlier spar. It’s better if Rin doesn’t this attentive.

She let out a silent sigh and says, “Rin, I want to eat outside, do you want to come with me.”

“Yes of course~.”

After preparing their clothes, they immediately go outside and strolling towards the marketplace. There no one disturbs them in their way, no thug, no wild beast — just a tranquil stroll towards an eatery.

Many shopkeepers call them, not because they want to sell things but to give them something to bring to their home, even patrol guards greet them cordially when they bump into them.

“People here really friendly right sis,” Rin says while eating something like dango.

“It’s true, but most of it thanks to Vys as this island doctor you know,” Yan says while eating a bread from shopkeeper gift.

“Um, I already know that big brother is the best.”

“Yes, he is the best,” she says, and then a moments later she continues, “Don’t tell him that I said that Rin.”

“Oka~y”

After strolling for a while, they finally arrive in their favorite food stall. The place is yet full but uncle owner already run around with sleeve pulled upwards, he’s busy cooking for his customer — it seems there a glutton one today.

He eats with impressive speed and many plates stacked around him. Sometimes a girl with a wheelchair beside him wipes his mouth when there the meal is yet ready. From afar they look like a cute couple.

However, when Yan's stomach still growling, she doesn't have the energy to think about other people.

“Uncle, meat soup for two portions,” Yan shout.

“Got it, wait a minute,” the uncle reply with a shout too.

They sit in chairs near the window, look at the scenery while waiting for their meal to come. After a few minutes later, their soup finally arrive.

“These are your order Yan, Rin,” the uncle says.

“Thank you, uncle.”

They immediately take their spoon and eat it, as usual uncle’s dishes taste heavenly. In just a few minutes, they clean their own bowl with bliss expression.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Unnamed stall owner:

It's an endue

Beautiful and strange

Howl your melancholy dispute

And tell me

Which dread you more

The echo — or the answer