"..."
A man was squatting opposite a much younger fellow, having a smile on his face—the kind one makes when they are pleasantly surprised.
The man was dressed strangely. He had a face cap on, enough so it covered most of his golden hair, and a good portion of his upper face. His eyes were hidden thanks to the dark shadows cast by his cap, but the wide grin he had on was more than enough to give him an expression.
He also had baggy clothes, making it so that one could hardly determine his features. It almost felt like his body was lost in the pale-colored outfit; though based on how dark the environment was, it wasn't very easy to decipher their exact colors.
"You're so strange…" He said in a smooth tone, talking to the young lad who sat on the ground, about a few meters from him.
Standing very firmly between them were metal bars; the type used to lock in prisoners or slaves. Judging by the ambiance of the room that the younger fellow occupied, the former seemed to be more likely.
This was the prison ward: a place that existed underground in the great fortress that stood at the precipice of the Sarvos Nation's capital. As one would expect, it was dark, dreary, dirty, and grimy—the whole package.
Despite there being several rooms, all having bars in front of them, only this boy's room was occupied.
"In my eyes, you're the strange one. Dressed so weirdly and all…" The boy responded rather dismissively, though he kept eying the other man's attire with a tinge of envy. Compared to the sparse clothing he had on—a mere singlet and dirty baggy trousers—the man's outfit seemed a lot more prestigious.
At the very least, they looked quite comfortable.
"Haha… well, I get that a lot." As the strangely dressed man dismissed the boy's words with a chuckle, he narrowed his eyes and fixated it on the lad. "So, you want to tell me why you're here instead of working with the others? Don't tell me you're slacking off…"
The boy shrugged in response, further pressing his back against the rough walls of his room.
"I finished early, so I'm taking a break."
"Really, now? Shouldn't you look a lot more exhausted? Refilling Ne'sh isn't a very easy job for Vessels like yourself."
Upon hearing those words, the boy's eyes flinched a little. He tried to hide it, but his expression easily betrayed him. "Y-you know what I am… what they're doing here…?"
"Yup!"
"Are you one of them?"
"Nope!"
"....?!"
The boy seemed very confused at this point. He wanted to ask what the man was doing in such a top-secret place if he was not a part of the people who locked him up, but he didn't know how to frame the question.
This boy, looking not more than seventeen years of age—with dirty black hair and dull brown eyes—was indeed a prisoner who had to work and pay his dues before being released back into the public.
He already knew that when they captured him for the attempted theft on that rich man's house, and when they took him to his initial prison ward. However, what he didn't know—the secrets that not even the public was aware of—was the fate that would befall him after his 'Assessment.'
"How long?" The man asked with a smile. "How long have you been here, refilling Ne'sh for them?"
The boy didn't answer.
"I mean, you can choose not to say anything. I'm just curious is all…"
He said nothing still.
"I'm guessing it's not been very long. Say a few months or so, tops. You don't look very sickly, and you still have an abundant amount of—"
"Three years. I've been here for three years now."
Upon hearing this, the man's grin stretched wider. His pleasant surprise seemed to grow the longer he spoke to the boy and the more he learned.
"How interesting. You really are strange. Most Arcane Vessels wouldn't last that long in such conditions that you work under."
"So I hear. A lot of my colleagues have died already."
"A shame…" The man said this, but there was hardly any empathy in his voice. He seemed more interested in the boy than any other stranger that the lad knew in the past.
"I only have a few months left before I'm let out, though. My sentence is almost complete, after all…"
For a moment, there was silence.
"Do you really think they'll let you go?"
"..." The boy said nothing.
He stared straight into the eyes of the man, though shadows from his cap covered them from being seen. After staring blankly for a few seconds, he sighed and shook his head.
"No."
"Do you know why?"
"Arcane Vessels are rare, aren't they? And I'm a much rarer case since I don't get tired after refilling Ne'sh, despite my quota being thrice the number of my colleagues. I even get less breaks, yet I hear the Armaments I refill end up performing better." He answered.
When considering all of these factors, it was obvious that the boy was way too valuable for the nation to pass up.
"Letting me go would be a waste on their part." His voice echoed coldly. "I can understand why they would never let me be free—not until they wring the last drop of Ne'sh from my body and I finally perish."
The gloomy fate that awaited him, and the grim reality of the life he led weighed heavily on the ambiance of the room, as well as his heart.
Perhaps it was because of this very reason that he did not feel any apprehension talking to this man. They were strangers who only met moments ago, yet here he was speaking so casually to him; spilling out his thoughts, something he had never done to his colleagues before.
"What's your name, kid?" The man asked, once again in his cool, collected tone.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking another person for their name?"
"My name? It's Shen. Yours?"
"Shen? Isn't that—?"
"... Yours?"
The boy sighed, shaking off his initial thoughts. There was no way this man could ever be the one he had in his mind. What would one of the Supreme Lords—The Supreme Lord of Tyranny—be looking for in such a dreary place?
"My name is Theo." He answered. "But, in here, that name doesn't matter… I guess."
"Theo, huh? Nice name…" The man stood upright, adjusting his face cap as his baggy clothes flapped a little.
"I guess this is goodbye, eh?"
Theo's voice was distant, almost as if he didn't care. Though, a tinge of bitterness clung to it. Despite looking away from the stranger, his eyes still found their way to his standing gait.
"It depends."
Theo's brows rose as something sparkled in his eyes.
"On what?"
The man's lips parted open and words came out.
"On your answer to my final question."
Upon hearing this, Theo turned his whole face and stared at the man. One of his hands was already in his pocket, while the other was on the tip of his cap, adjusting it even further.
"You previously mentioned that you understood why your captors would keep you here in perpetuity. But, I'd like to ask… do you accept it?"
"What?"
"Do you accept being their prisoner? An Arcane Vessel forced to replenish Armaments for the rest of his existence… do you accept that kind of life?"
To understand something and to accept it were two different things. Theo instantly realized that as the man posed that question to him.
A strange feeling within told him that his next response would spawn something new—something that would change his life forever.
"No. No, I don't accept it."
As Shen heard this, his grin stretched to its utmost limit and he gave Theo his biggest smile yet.
"Good. Very good, Theo!"
The atmosphere within the room suddenly began to change, and what seemed to be a spring of light began to shine from where he stood.
"We will meet again, Theo. And when that time comes, I hope you can amaze me like this once more."
Those echoes rang in Theo's ears, and he made a tired sigh while closing his eyes.
"Sure, man." His lips formed a small smile as dimness returned to the dreary prison ward and he found himself all alone once again.
"Just get me out of here first..."