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The ominous darkness lingered in the air. After all these years, it was stagnant and cold. It arose from the shadows for the sole purpose of stealing life. Death was the so-called light of darkness. It was this reason alone that the beautiful creatures - who may even be revered as gods - were pale and sickly with gleaming yellow eyes; the darkness had stolen their humanity. Were all who lingered there turned into demons by the darkness?

The darkness itself seemed to reflect the heart that the demon Nick had acquired. It was so like creatures to be shaped by their habitats. And yet, he seemed to be hard, rigid, and unyielding. Was the environment affected, instead, by his own heart? Was that the reason it had become such a desolate, lonely place where only death and darkness existed? And what of hope, the only light that retained a person’s heart and spirit? Where was it now? The very fuel of light, of life, was so misguided, so lost that it was missing in the depths. But, it existed somewhere, hiding, all alone. And somewhere there was a power that could restore it to everyone there. Wasn’t the demon dwelling in the darkness another entity entirely? He hid there, perhaps by no choice of his own, waiting and praying for his other life. Hope would restore it. All alone, he was merely existing and waiting to be found for as long as he could remember. Finally, the Priestess Pandora had arrived to rescue his heart.

But what exactly was the Priestess Pandora?

Minako opened her eyes wearily. The darkness must have swallowed all the strength in the room, because she found herself on the floor with her head leaned over the demon.

The demon, Nick, rested his head in her lap. Curled in a ball with his tail wrapped around him and his wings folded down, he resembled a child. He slept so peacefully and looked angelic, despite his otherwise supposedly grotesque appearance. Though his face had been so hard and unforgiving, she now saw it with a new perspective. His features were not as rigid as before, and were actually quite soft. His eyelashes rested lightly on his cheeks as his eyes were calmly closed. His eyes had been so intense, but now he seemed to find peace in his rest. His face had been so pale and sickly, but now his cheeks seemed to pink. His lips, which were much fuller than Minako had noticed, actually curved into a slight smile. His tousled hair fell around his face lightly. Did he find peace in knowing he was protected? Even as the stale air loomed around him, she held his heart in her hands. It was safe there, even its glass would not shatter.

Minako smiled at his peaceful face. Could hope be restored to him from its hiding place? Before, he had spoken of his disheartened feelings toward the priestess Pandora and all the others for their faith, because he believed everything to be a lost cause. But now it seems like hope is returning to him because I’m here. Maybe his hope was never really lost. Even if it was hiding, is there still hope in all people?

She closed her eyes. Pandora was the guardian who lit the torch called hope. And, as Nick had said, the names of the demons are resting in my heart. They seem very faint and hidden just beneath the surface, but they’re there in a very small, fragile whisper. They’re calling to me, but it doesn’t seem real...

She put her hand to her heart. That stinging feeling… It’s almost more painful than a cut or stab. It lingered sadly… Like it’s something very close to my own person... Am I like those characters in the movies that die in one realm and are reborn in another one? Have I suffered with these demons before? Or, was I born to suffer with them? It feels strange wanting to break down into tears for a creature I’ve never met. Still… for a demon he seems… very human…

She pulled him closer and pet his head gently. He stirred and his feet fluttered slightly.

What’s the difference between a demon and a human? Is it appearance alone? Or is it something even more vital? Does a demon possess a different kind of heart from humans? And Pandora… Is she a demon herself? It almost seems like she would have to be something sinister to associate herself with creatures that live and breathe darkness. But do they really do that?

Minako lifted her hand lightly and Nick’s eyes opened slowly.

He blinked as though he were in a daze, as if it were the first time he had slept so soundly in a long while. He moved his head so that his weary eyes could look into hers. Those baby blues of his were the ocean of his troubles. Every pain, suffering, longing, and wish rested in that ocean. None of these fell to the depths of the abyss, instead floating on the surface. The emotions that had capsized were happiness and faith, but at least his faith began to rise to the surface once more. How was it that such heavy emotions could float on the surface of his eyes and his heart? His ice cold stare was beginning to melt.

Do they tell him that his eyes look sad and cold?

His weary eyes still blinked, as though they stared into nothingness even as he looked at her.

“I’m sorry…” Her voice dropped in her concern. “Did I wake you?”

His voice wavered. “No…” He turned his head away from her slowly. “I’ve been thinking….”

“Yes?”

“Pandora… why… were you crying for me?”

“Why?”

“Was it pity?”

Minako turned her head from him, quickly shutting her eyes.

“It’s… okay if that’s the reason…”

She turned back to him and opened her eyes slowly, then rested her hand back on his head. “It was more like… I couldn’t imagine being so utterly alone… And it broke my heart…”

“Isn’t that pity…?”

“It’s more like… empathy.”

“Is that a special kind of pity?”

“No… It’s like a mutual understanding.” Minako smiled as she patted his head. She giggled as his tail whipped back and forth. “Just like a puppy.”

As Nick watched her laugh, the smile disappeared from his face. Though he frowned, the anger and hardness did not return, but he blinked his eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

Minako covered her mouth with her hand and pulled her other hand from his head.

Nick glanced away. “Was I… here all night…?”

“I don’t remember falling asleep, but I guess you must have been…”

He closed his eyes again. “Oh…”

She lowered her hand into her lap, then ran her fingers through his hair. “Do… Do those chains hurt your wrists?”

Nick opened his eyes and raised one hand slowly to look at the cuff. The metal clinked against the ground as he moved his hand. “They’ve… always been there…”

“They’re not too tight?”

“They fit fine…”

“But wouldn’t you be more comfortable without them?”

“I’ve always worn them… I don’t think it would be any different…”

“How long is always?”

“It’s… been a long time…”

Minako pulled one hand up to her face again. “Do… Do you…”

He stared up at her with his glassy eyes again as he blinked.

“Do you hate me?”

“Why?”

“I left you here all alone. I was…”

“You let me lay in your lap… Just like a child… and not a monster...” He curled his knees into his chest. “I wasn’t all alone here…”

“No… All these years…”

He closed his eyes. “I heard… a long time ago a Priestess appeared in Rubiihoppou. She was condescending and hurtful to the demons she claimed to protect. Their hearts shattered because of her cruel treatment…”

Minako lowered her hand. “You… think I’m like her…”

“It's been a long time… But here you are, staying with me...”

“Do you resent me?”

“I don’t understand that word…”

“It’s being bitterly angry, like a hurting hate.”

He frowned. “I already said I didn’t hate you…”

“It’s a little different than that...”

He fiddled with one of the chains on the ground. “I don’t like emotions… They’re too complicated.”

She laughed. “I don’t think anyone really likes them.”

“It’s difficult…” He looked up at her with those pained, child-like eyes.

More than anything, I want to reach out and grab him and hold him close. I’m not sure which is stronger, my urge to hug him because of his sadness or my urge to cry at the overwhelming sadness of this place. Her lip trembled.

He inhaled quickly, then pressed his lips together. “Ummm… Do you miss it?”

Minako shook her head and focused on his face. “It?”

“That dream you woke up from…”

She glanced away. “I…” A few tears began forming in the corners of her eyes as she lowered her head.

Nick cocked his head. “Do you pity it?”

She raised her hand to the corner of her eye to wipe away her tears. “Pity… no…”

“But you’re crying…”

“Do you only ever see them crying when they pity you?”

Nick clenched his hand lightly, gripping the dirt at the bottom of the cage as he glanced away from her. “They always called me a ‘sad creature’ or a monster and pulled back from me… Then they looked back with tears in their eyes…” He released the tension in his hand. “Am I so pathetic that I must be pitied constantly?”

Minako put her hand to his head. “You’re not pathetic. You’ve been trying to be strong for so long. Being sad doesn’t make you pathetic or a monster...”

He glanced back at her as his shoulders tensed, but he said nothing.

“What’s the difference between humans and demons? I’ve been wondering...”

“Humans hate demons…”

“But… Humans hate other humans too… That’s why there are wars, right?”

“I don’t like them… They’re too cold…”

“The priestesses?”

“They’re a bit different… More like us…”

“Us?”

“Demons… They’re more like demons…”

“Why?”

“They’re also bound by chains… Different from ours, but… They’re still bound…”

“Chains?”

Nick curled himself into an even tighter ball. “Chains are for binding people, so they have to follow orders.”

“Orders?”

“People who are free do what they like can leave and move and run from the things they don’t like.” He sighed. “They aren’t trapped.”

“Trapped how?”

“Here… Trapped here in the darkness…”

“Does it… hurt?”

“No. Not me… But… it’s really, very lonely…”

“But you said that…” She lowered her head. Maybe it's better to not bring that up.

“I can’t… I can’t tell them it terrifies me… Then they’ll die…”

“I don’t understand…”

“They… die... here…”

She pressed her lips together. “And if they’ll die, why are you telling me?”

“You’re a lot stronger than them… That’s what Pandora is…”

“Pandora is what?”

“She’s a concentration of strength.” He closed his eyes again.

She ran her hand through his hair. “Nick…”

He opened his eyes slowly as tears fell out of them.

She put her hand to his cheek lightly, trying to catch his tears.

He clenched his fist weakly at his chest. “Hearing that name…”

Minako lowered her head. “I’m sorry… It’s ‘Nickolas,’ isn’t it?”

He closed his eyes and swallowed. “No, it’s fine… It’s painful to hear, but… It makes me happy…”

“Nick…” She put her hand on his head, then ran her fingers through his hair.

He swallowed againas he gripped a fold in her skirt. “I’ve been waiting… I’ve always been waiting…”

All alone… in the darkness… It sounded like a sad fairy tale.

He laughed quietly. “I must sound extremely pitiable right now…”

“No... Nick… what is your greatest wish?”

“I… want it back… What else could I want besides the box?”

She smiled. “If you got that, then what would you want?”

He opened his eyes slowly “I would want… to leave this place and see the world...” He frowned as his eyebrows pinched together. “But… I can’t go anywhere…”

“Those chains are broken… They can’t bind you to one place, can they?”

“They mark me as unfit… and unwanted…” He closed his eyes again. “There are invisible binds, bindings stronger than any visible ones could be….”

“Do you want to be free?”

“I…. don’t understand…”

“You want to leave this place, right?”

He opened his eyes, revealing the glassy look in them again. “Yes…”

“I’ll help you do that.”

He sat up briskly, his eyes wide as life returned to them. “How?! How can you do that?!”

She pointed to his chains and smiled. “I’ll help you remove your chains. Then you won’t be bound to this place or anyone but yourself anymore.”

“Remove them?”

She lowered her head. “It means leaving behind everything you know, though… It might be hard to move without them if they’ve been there so long though.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Can you do that?”

“I don’t like the idea of anyone being bound to something they don’t want…” She turned back with a smile. “So it’s worth a try, right?”

Nick nodded and held his arm out. The chain clinked against the ground.

Minako pulled a bobby pin from her ribbon, the hanging strands fell loosely from their own weight.

“Hold still, alright?”

Nick gave her a sharp nod.

She thrust the bobby pin into the locking mechanism and gripped the cuff at his wrist tightly. It seemed to be different from most other locks, in that the intricate pattern of the grooves refused to snap under pressure. Minako lowered her head and shut her eyes. Why? Why is this so difficult? She tightened the grip of her other hand on the cuff. Break… Please break…

There were a few clinking sounds.

Minako opened her eyes slowly. All four of the metal cuffs and their chains had shattered and lay on the ground around Nick.

He gaped at the shards of metal.

Minako raised her hand to her head. “They just… broke…”

Nick raised his hand to his face and examined his bare wrist. He turned it weakly. It was gone. After all these years, they had finally broken. He turned to his second wrist, they had all broken. I’ve spent all these years trapped in a cage, always changing but never really changing at all... I’ve always been bound by something I could never see, even after the day the chains finally broke from the wall. Even after that day, the cuffs still bound me in an existence of chains. No matter how hard I tried to go forward, they always pulled me back and held me prisoner. He clenched his fist. It feels as though an enormous weight has been lifted... Is this what being free feels like?

Minako smiled. “I guess I could keep my promise after all.”

Nick grabbed her wrist.

She blinked. What?

Nick pulled her in toward his chest and wrapped his arms around her body tightly.

“Nick?” She felt her pulse race as she inhaled sharply.

“Thank you.” Tears began to stream down his cheeks. “Thank you…”

Minako rested her head against his shoulder as tears formed in her eyes. “Of course… it’s fine…”

Nick closed his eyes. “Being forced to stay in this desolate, lonely place… It’s frightening. It’s… really very frightening…”

“Don’t worry… You’re free now… You can go anywhere...” The tears began to stream down her cheeks. “It’s the least I could do… So you didn’t hate me…”

“Hate you?”

“After all this time…”

“How can I hate you when my heart is filling up with warmth?” He leaned his head on hers as his calm breath whispered by her ear.

Minako felt her chest grow hotter as her heart thudded inside it. He can’t see me... Thank goodness...

“No one has ever shown me such kindness… I was so very alone…” He opened his eyes. “But, it’s strange to me… I’ve never felt so at peace…” He loosened his embrace and pulled back, examining her face as he gripped her shoulders.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she lowered her head, but glanced up at him with her eyes.

He bowed his head as his cheeks flushed, then pulled his trembling hands from her shoulders before quickly turning his back to her.

Minako reached her hand toward him, but he pulled away as he stood up rapidly - albeit clumsily - and clamored through the metal gate.

Her hand fell in her lap as she listened to his footsteps pounding the stone floor. It wasn’t enough. Even though I broke his chains and pulled him free from this den of misery, it's still not enough. Her heart sank. He said he didn’t hate me, but then he ran away so quickly… He must have lied. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, but not like before. That was the first time a man has held me that way… He’s a man, right? Does it really matter if he's a demon or a human? I can’t focus on that… Especially if he hates me...

She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. Even though I’m supposed to be Pandora, I haven’t really helped him at all… Chained or unchained, he’s still missing what was sealed inside the box. And, unfortunately, breaking those chains didn’t immediately give it back to him. Will he still hate me as long as it’s missing? Maybe that's the only way to solve everything… Maybe I can get him to forgive me if I agree to go with him and get that box.

She lowered her head. “Renee… Why do I even care if he hates me or not? If I could just go home to you... I wouldn’t have to think about it anymore… I could just forget…” She buried her head against her knees. “It would be nice if I could just forget…”

The darkness swelled around the room, once more concealing all those around her. The gleaming yellow eyes were the light in her fog of misery. In a way, it was almost that much sadder than it had been before.

How could a mere box be more important than being imprisoned in a cage? How could it be more important than a person’s freedom? Things like that seemed more important than a mere box. Did being Pandora mean something more than just bringing together the demons? Was the box actually the key to fulfilling their wishes?

And Pandora’s duty… To light the torch called hope… How exactly do you go about lighting something unseen like that? It has to be a different kind of torch from a normal one, you can’t just start a fire and light it up. Did the torch of hope have something to do with the box? Were they really the same thing? Or were they more different from each other than I can imagine? Does it have something to do with the quality of the human heart? Maybe the way to light the torch is through kindness. And if it’s kindness, then maybe Nick won’t hate me anymore.

“Renee… do you think that’s the way I can get out of this world and go home?” She raised her head a little. “Yes, I think that’s why I’m still here…. Because he's still holding on to this idea of me...”