“¿Por qué es esencial dormir en ese mecanismo en el sótano?” Kyle asks, he sounded muffled but not too difficult to understand due to him wearing the only filtered gas mask. I suppose it is natural curiosity since normal civilians sleep differently from Serfs, albeit very complicated to explain.

I continue to scrub the grime of the bathroom floor on my hands and knees, “Es una encapsulación de agua mineral para mantener mi cuerpo en perfectas condiciones,” I dipped the tile brush into the black waters of the leaky bucket to rinse some of the dirt of the bristles. While yes it is a mineral bath, a lot more happens during my sleep cycle, but it is best to keep it brief.

“¿Y duele?” he seems to cringe at the question. “Tenías muchos tubos saliendo de la boca y la nariz y… de… abajo…” Very common practice, feeding and excretion tubes.

“Los tubos están diseñados para reemplazar nutrientes y antibióticos que mi cuerpo haya perdido durante el día.” The water is too dirty, I pour it down the drain and then fill it up once more with clean water from the broken sink. I turn to Kyle while I wait. Now that I think about it, if the child himself had no idea how the stasis chamber worked, who volunteered to help? “¿Acaso no me ayudastes a montar mi cuerpo?”

Kyle was white as a ghost when I asked. “N-no, empesastes a convulsionar en el piso… En verdad que no sabemos quien fue…”

A stranger helped them hook me up to my stasis chamber, how dangerous. “...¿A qué te refieres? ¿Un extraño entró al refugio?” I can hear the bucket almost full, I turn off the pipe and mix bleach solution.

“Por lo que tenemos entendido si, pero te conocía a ti.” Someone who knew me?

“Quien?” I ask. “¿Era algún hidalgo?”

“No vi su rostro. Tenía armadura rara… No parecía nada a tu uniforme.” How peculiar, it could be a different ranked knight.

“Y, ¿qué fue lo que dijo?”

“En verdad que no entendí mucho… Lo único que reconocí fue papá. Él cantaba mucho y muy bonito.”

My eyebrows furrowed, perhaps it was the fumes of the chlorine affecting my migraine but I couldn’t at all fathom who this individual was. I am not a father, nor did I father any child. I was simply created to serve my master and Prism. I am at a loss. It had to be a trained technician, but to address me as papa or father is rather far fetched.

But Kyle did state he did not recognize the language, perhaps in his urgency to try and understand some phonetics, he may have misunderstood. I can’t really deduct anything at all from what he said, but I should be able to ask other witnesses. “Por lo que entiendo tu no estabas solo, quién estaba contigo que te pueda corroborar lo que dices.”

Kyle nodded, “Arnold y Gerald estaban conmigo y ellos entendieron lo mismo.”

“Y los adultos?” I ask. There had to be some other person around at the time.

“Eso era lo raro también…” Kyle looked to the floor with his hand in his pocket. “Cuando fuimos a decirle que te iban a llevar al sótano encontraron a la mamá de Gerald y a Francine durmiendo en el piso de la cocina.”

“Francine o la mamá de Gerald sabe de esto?”

“No saben de nada. Las levanté temprano. Solo Gerald, Arnold, yo y ahora tu conoces de esto.”

…

I scrub the basin. This is a bizarre series of events. Someone the children do not know about helped me get on my pod, singing while this all occurred. Francine, and to my knowledge, everyone in the shelter but the children fell asleep.

While that all occurred someone who has extensive knowledge to operate my stasis.chamber with my identification number to help me get on my next sleeping cycle.

…

Someone addressing me as “father”.

…

This character may have something to do with this lock down. Whoever this is, might have been a threat but acted as an ally. What could they gain from helping me inside the stasis.chamber? To my understanding I was incapacitated, they had all the opportunity in the world to strike, but instead they assisted me.

It eludes me and it makes me uneasy.

…

Regardless, I have a task.

I look at the shower head covered in soap scum. “Si eres amable, pásame la llave inglesa.”

I heard him shuffling through the tool box and held out my hand ready to receive the tool. Making sure he gave me the correct tool, I then unscrew the bolt to release the head…

“Corre,” I tell Kyle. Once I hear his foot fall further down the hall I drop the shower head and step away.

Roaches scatter all over the bathroom, most of them collected in the half filled tub.

I shake my hands and kick the wall to shake the ones on me. I leave, close the door and cover the bottom of the door with a rag so they won’t filter out the hall.

“Hey! David!” Master Sin’Clair called to me.

“Yes, Master?”

“What the devil are you doing?” He seemed agitated. And very sweaty.

“I was instructed to clean the bathroom, and so I decided to tackle the fumigation—“

“Are you stupid!? How are you going to use the bathroom if it’s currently out of order!?”

“Master, it would only take 45 minutes for the roaches to die. In that process, the bathroom is also bleached floor to ceiling. If the urgency is too great, I suggest using a disposable cup or to go outside—“

“What!? Are you brainless!? We can’t go outside!! Your stupid military put us under lockdown!!” Like daughter, like father… “Get rid of the bleach and wait till we finish our daily use of the goddamned lou!”

“... I have no issues Master, however, to my understanding you have a phobia of roaches. I can certainly rinse the bleach and fumes so you can comfortably use the toilet, but I cannot control any aftermath that occurs.”

For a moment he stops to think. Master grumbles and goes back into the kitchen, I hear a symphony of pots and pans and then he walks back down the hall with a paper bag and some toilet paper.

I take my boots and head towards the basement. I haven’t heard any signals of duty yet but I must be ready for anything.

From my trunk, I find my assigned weapon and assemble it. Four cylinders, 10ft of iron chains, and a diamond sickle forming a scythe.

…

…

…

“A-ah..!”

Kyle.

“N-no! Eso es mio!”

Backyard.

“Suelta me!”

Kyle is floating 3 feet above the ground, arms extended as a pearl gravitates towards a figure armor clad in illegal tones, they are holding their hand towards Kyle and taking the pearl.

I run towards them, ready to swing.

They are aware, they just smile as they flip backwards into the air before flying away.

I swing the scythe upwards and press a button to extend my reach to propel me up on the roof of the next building. If not for their ghastly red armor I would have lost them. They were gliding not too far away facing towards me. There is a grin tugging ear to ear.

They are taunting me.

I throw my scythe at them--

?

What?

I cannot move….?

My feet are no longer on the ground anymore, I felt lite but pinned in the thin veil of gravity. How are they doing this?

They giggled.

…so— wish... I— sta—.. Kio..

…!

My head…!

“You look very sick…” they said. Their tone… It is so similar to Kyle's chirp yet this one feels far more... different?

They are so close, I must take action.. they must be apprehended for trespassing..!

I swing.

They float away too quickly to get caught in the blade. They just smile.

“You would really raise a weapon against me…?” His tone is soft and almost hesitant.

“I will retaliate with violence if any in my circle is threatened. You are violating the law by wearing the color red, you are the enemy.”

They cock their head, “I am aware you rather blue colors, but red is not as bad as one thinks,” they chuckle. “To think you sang to me everyday…”

“I do not sing, it is a violation of Prism Law.”

“How silly…!” they laugh. I really do not understand why they are laughing. But… the laugh… “The last song you ever sang for me was the last time I saw you… Do you remember how it went?”

“I already told you, I do not sing.”

“But you sing! So beautifully, too!”

“I do not…”

He laughed again...

...Why?

“Beyond the glass, through the void, I hear the faint song of gleaming.”

…? He is singing…

“Autonomous, in the stagnant as my soul breaks to prisms.”

T-that’s… why is he singing…? I feel like I know this...

“Quiet settles in the nowhere that once used to be me.”

My head is hurting… “Stop it…”

They smile, remove their helmet. “I dream of stars, and seek the Sun, We're slaves in this truth-omitted cage.” Wild long red curls bloomed from a messy bud. Natural red hair, it is unheard of… he is the Red Devil Prism was after... His skin almost glistened like a diamond under a direct light, very similar to scales. His complexion is so pale his green eyes stood out.

He just seems to smile, his shoulders drop, too, “you really don’t remember anything do you…?” the Red Devil grabbed my shoulder, “I was too late…?” he must have asked himself that question, because it didn’t feel as if it were to me. “You.. won’t tell anyone about this, right?” he asked and getured to the pearl in his hand.

He did not give me time to even think, the Red Devil floated elegantly, giving himself a headstart for more than 2 miles. The further away he was, I slowly descended from whatever gravitation pull I had.

I was never going to catch up to him, I never could. He was almost as unreachable as…

…

“The Sun…”

…

My head hurts...