In the local prison, where the walls breathed the dampness of the night and the iron played its cold tune, silence reigned over all the cells... except one.
A special cell—not for criminals,but for monsters.
Ronny lay stretched on the floor, his arms folded under his head as if he had surrendered to isolation, while a few steps away, Rat slept on the gray tiles, curled up on himself like a shadow that didn't want to be seen.
The night outside the walls was stormy,and the wind crept through cracks in the ceiling, emitting a long whistle—"Feeeeesh… feeeesh…"—like the whistle of a mysterious creature searching for a victim.
Rat opened his eyes suddenly.That whistle wasn't normal.There was something alive about it, changing direction, as if coming from the air itself.
He sat up,his ears twitching lightly, then began walking towards the bars, his nose sniffing the wind.
"What is this…?" he muttered in a faint voice, the sound of his light footsteps mixing with the hum of the iron.Then,unconsciously, he slipped out of his cell between the bars.
He hesitated for a moment,but curiosity won.He began running through the dark prison corridors,chasing that twisting whistle which disappeared at times and returned closer at others.
"Feeeeesh… feeeesh…"
It came from above,from the walls, from nowhere.
Until he stopped abruptly.
A single hair on his fur quivered—a sense of danger.
He turned slowly.
There, at the end of the corridor, was Alexander.He wasn't approaching,just sitting on the floor, his back to the wall, his gaze faint as if piercing through time.
He said calmly, his voice flowing like cold water:
"Hello,rat. Do you remember anything… before you were born? Or just that feeling of emptiness… and nihilism like other creatures?"
Rat froze in place.
"You…Alexander? The Alexander known for never bringing back any key, the lowest ranked in the Organization… What are you doing here? Looking for trouble?"
Alexander answered, slowly raising his gaze towards him:
"You didn't answer my question.Do you remember before you were born?"
Rat hesitated.
"Even though I'm different from other living creatures…I don't remember anything."
Alexander smiled, that smile carrying nothing but mystery.
"Exactly.That is what you will feel for about two days now."
And suddenly, Rat's body began to evaporate.
Yes,literally—dissipating into the air like vapor escaping an unbearable reality.
"Fshshsh…"
Strange cries escaped his mouth,neither human nor animal, a mix between a hiss and the squeak of rats.
In his cell, Ronny jerked his eyes open violently.
"Haaah!"
He sat up drenched in sweat,his heart pounding madly.
He looked beside him…and saw Rat there.
Asleep.As if nothing had happened.
"Was it a dream?" he muttered, but his eyes remained fixed on him—on the shadow that no longer seemed entirely alive.
Two days passed.
And in the World of Doors, where laws are not written but whispered, the wild Knight Emmanuel was trying to finish the matter.
Dust filled the horizon,and swords gleamed under a faint celestial glow.
Ronnywas there too, unconscious after being felled by Emmanuel.
The latter raised his sword high, aiming it at Ronny, the echo of metal reverberating in the limitless space—"Chaaaang!"
And before he could deliver the final blow,he felt something.
Something strange.
A cold air enveloped the place, and a faint squeak emerged from nothingness.
Emmanuel looked around him—the spot where the rat had been… was empty.
Then, from behind him, a faint voice whispered like a sword being slowly drawn:
"You've changed,Emmanuel…"
He turned immediately and found Alexander before him.
His face expressionless,his eyes gleaming like a night mirror.
Emmanuel took a step back.
"You…I've seen you before. Yes, you were right below me in the Organization's rankings 200 years ago. We shared the same failure… but how? How have you remained alive all this time? Are you immortal like me?"
Alexander didn't answer. He just approached.
Step by step,the air grew heavier.
"Dos… dos…"
Each step seemed to shake the ground.
He said in a quiet voice:
"We are not alike in any way.Perhaps you are immortal… but me? I have no beginning… nor end. I am not measured by history nor the present."
"Hah… cryptic words as usual." muttered Emmanuel, raising his sword before him.
ButAlexander continued, as if the voice came not from his mouth but from within the air itself:
"I may be the lowest ranked…but that means nothing. Ranking is subject to the logic of abilities, whereas I reject logic itself.
You sought absolute power…and it destroyed you.
As for me…absolute power fears to even try its chance with me."
Emmanuel stood astonished.
"It fears you?Nonsense!"
Alexander smiled and pointed his finger towards the knight's forehead.
"Don't worry.I will return you to what you were… Emmanuel."
The latter retreated, screaming:
"No!I don't want to be weak again!"
Alexander drew closer, until only their breaths separated them.
He said with extreme calm:
"You were never weak,Emmanuel."
And when he touched his forehead —
"Wooshsh…!"
A vortex of light exploded,as if nothingness itself was being reshaped.
Everything changed.The colors, the wind, the feeling of existence.
The memory returned, the binding power vanished.
Emmanuelreturned as he was.
AndRonny slowly opened his eyes, breathing like one returned from a long death.
And he saw beside himRat—the real Rat.He disappeared into nothingness and returned from it without realizing it, like the rest of the human race.
Ronny stood and looked towards Alexander.
"Who…in hell's name are you?"
The other said calmly, raising his chin:
"I am Alexander."
Ronny's eyes fixed on him.
"Alexand…Ah, I've seen that name! You're the Organization's tail! I've always wondered about you. As much as I've wondered about the strongest, the King of Keys.
Tell me,are you that weak, or do you just drop the keys on your way back?"
Alexander smiled, his eyes half-closed:
"Believe what you see,my friend."
Ronny laughed loudly, then remembered. Edgar. He quickly got up.
He ran towardsEdgar, who lay on the ground, unresponsive.
"Edgar!Wake up!"
But Edgar was delirious in his sleep:
"My son…my son… I'm sorry…"
Ronny sighed and lifted him onto his shoulder.
"Let's get out of this hell."
He removed his bracelet, and Edgar's bracelet too, and they vanished, returning to their real world.
As for Emmanuel,he hesitated, moving his bracelet despite not remembering, but he felt something in that place, and Alexander was watching him until Emmanuel decided and removed the bracelet. And now he would become mortal like other humans and live in that world he hated, his strength nothing but his stubbornness and persistence.
The cold air touched his face, and he saw life for the first time in two centuries.
He smiled a small smile.
By human standards…he would now be considered a failure.
But in his heart,he was finally free.
As for Alexander, he put his hands in his pockets and did not leave. Instead, he turned and headed towards the Palace of Dreams / the Fake one.