"Bro?" A familiar voice calls out for him. A voice ever so familiar but at the same time distant called out for his name.
A voice that was buried in time, but a voice that he will never forget.
It was his sister. The only family he had left after losing his parents in a crash when he was just a tiny boy.
Solomon opens his eyes, trying to take a look at the sister whose face he could barely remember anymore.
Her hair was the same color as his: Jet black. Her eyes glistened with a bright amber tint. She had fair and smooth skin. But thanks to the black tar all over her skin and the overall dim lighting, she seemed a lot darker than normal.
"Michaela…" A rush of emotions filled his mind, as all he could think of after a traumatizing experience was the simple fact that he could finally rest.
As his emotions started to weigh on him, he didn't waste a second and immediately hugged her with all of his might, all while ensuring he wouldn't hurt her.
"Uhh… what the…" Taken aback by the situation, Michaela didn't move his arms but instead turned her head to try and look at Solomon's face.
"We're okay now… We're all good," Solomon whispers under his breath.
Michaela, who didn't know what was happening, decided to hug her brother back, albeit awkwardly with a confused expression.
"Let's meet mom and dad… " He whispers under his breath. However, he struggled to say the complete words, making his words come off as mumblings instead.
"Are you okay?" Michaela asks him awkwardly. She hasn't seen his brother this vulnerable except one time, so she didn't really know what to do.
A minute passed, and Solomon finally calmed down. She pushed Michaela away slowly, trying to remember what she looked like.
In doing so, her sister, who was covered in black tar and grease, stared back at him with a worried expression. Her white shirt and gray pants were smeared with tar, while both of her arms were fully covered in it.
'Wait… Tar? 'Calming down from his stupor, Solomon brushed off some tar that was on Michaela's face.
Why was there tar in the afterlife?
Was it hell?
No…
He didn't know why, but just the sense of being in this place felt nostalgic, almost as if he had been there before.
Looking around, it wasn't too far of a suspicion. He was inside a chamber made out of black tinted stone. Tar filled every nook and cranny, particularly bundled on the corners of the room, piling up to almost one-fourth towards the ceiling. The decently sized room, about the same size as an average bedroom, was dimly lit by a single torch, carried by an ominous black sconce. A sconce that was made out of a dark metal-like substance oozing off a miniscule and barely noticeable amount of black smoke contradicting the white flames of the torch.
Noticing the surroundings, the calm and nostalgic emotions of Solomon had now completely changed.
Was he still alive?
With this thought, he put up his defenses, even scanning for any signs of irregularities from his sister. The strongest illusionist of the labyrinth did work for James after all. He wasn't taking any chances.
But still… the same nostalgic feeling had been tugging at his brain ever since earlier.
What was it…?
Asking himself the same question over and over again, he falls into his own ocean of memories, reliving everything he could remember. His heart aches as he sees all of those he held dear fall right from his hands. The flame of vengeance ignites deep within him every single time he sees those who wronged him, and a bittersweet smile forms on his face every time he relives a cherished memory.
In doing this, he realized just how regretful he truly was. However, that was not his purpose.
"Ah…" A few seconds passed, and it was only then that he remembered.
Shocked and dazed by his suspicions, he had no other choice but to confirm if his theory was right. Picking himself up, he turns his head backwards.
"Fuck…" He couldn't help but curse. Yet somehow, an awkward grin starts to form on his face.
Long and thin bars of the same materials as the sconce on the wall make up one of the walls inside the room, going from the floor to the ceiling. Just outside was the exact same room, separated by a hallway that extends beyond his vision. From these alone, it was obvious that they were inside a prison.
A prison that Solomon was all too familiar with.
He was right indeed. He was still inside the Labyrinth. But it was the Labyrinth from almost half a century ago. Particularly the Tutorial Floor.
'Floor 0: Millennium Prison,' A place where everyone had been. The same place that could not be found once exited.
'Have I perhaps… gone back in time? '
"Bro? Is everything all right?" His sister looks at him with a worried expression.
With her question, Solomon jumps out from his stupor.
"Michaela…" He whispers under his breath. Just like earlier, his eyes shone with the same glint of regret and sadness. However, this time around a small yet raging flame of hope started to burn inside him.
'You're Alive… ' He thought.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that? You're seriously creeping me out now." Michaela, who felt awkward by the serious situation, grabbed the ends of her hair.
Noticing how alive and realistic everything was, Solomon lets out an excited smile.
He was back...
Back before everything had gone downhill.
"Nothing, I just can't help but be sad since you look like a homeless woman. " He says cheekily, hoping to excuse himself from his actions earlier.
Noticing the normal reply she would've given to his brother, Michaela sighed a little before slapping her brother's side.
Oddly, however, his brother doesn't react at all, shocking her a little. She did put some power in her slap after all.
"We've been here for a while now… Are we going to be staying here forever?" Michaela holds her stomach, complaining from hunger.
"It's best if you stay quiet. They don't take kindly to complaints." From the cell directly across, an old man, whose body was also smeared with tar, suddenly spoke to them.
"They?" Michaela asked him.
"You'll see them soon. And don't push your luck. I only talked to you because of the show you two pulled off earlier," He replied, showing pity for how the two siblings were acting earlier.
'How pitiful…,' The old man thought to himself. With how they were moving earlier, he knew they wouldn't be alive by the next day. It was best not to interact with them any longer.
With his reply, Michaela clicks her tongue, disappointed from their interaction.
However, it didn't take long for his words to hold weight. From the long hallway extending from what seems to be one horizon to another, chimes from what seems to be a small cowbell echoed.
"Do you hear that?" Michaela whispers.
Clang… Clang… As the chimes echoed what seemed to be an exaggeratingly long hallway, Solomon's sarcastic expression had now completely vanished. His eyebrows were at their lowest as a deep glare started to form in his eyes.
Cowbells…
That's… Khorvak.
As the chimes grew louder, heavy footsteps soon became audible, followed by deep and heavy breathing.
"Ha…" A gravelly voice soon entered their ears as a huge humanoid creature more than two meters tall appeared, walking along the hallway. He had a massive build, hidden by a black trench coat that went all the way to his shin. A pair of cowbells was tied directly to his waist, where a set of keys was visibly connected to. Perhaps it was some sort of alarm in case someone tries to steal them. His skin was deathly gray, and his eyes were a deep white void of any pupils. Horns grew from his bald head. And teeth as sharp as his horn peeked through the sides of his mouth. On his hand was a lamp, lit by the same white flame on the torch inside their rooms. On his back were black draconic wings and a pointy tail, with the ends resembling that of the sharp end of a heart.
As he walks in front of their prison room, Michaela can't help but shudder from the heavy atmosphere Khorvak brought with him.
"A Demon… " She whispers under her breath. Her eyes widen in fear as a frown forms on her mouth. Demons were just a myth back on Earth, but they symbolize evil and wickedness. Seeing one up close, Michaela couldn't help but freeze in fear.
"Did we actually die?" She says with some struggle, her eyes not leaving Khorvak.
Then, as if he actually had gone crazy, Solomon suddenly whispers, "No… we're alive and thriving."
Contrary to Michaela, Solomon, who was right beside her, had a wide grin on his face. His eyes were also locked straight on Khorvak, but they didn't contain any fear. It was filled with anger but at the same time excitement. Excitement about everything he could do, now that he finally found himself back in the place filled with the creatures he couldn't take revenge on, simply because they lived inside the tutorial floor.
'Death found its way back to you, Warden. 'He says internally.
Although he only whispered, Michaela, who had heightened senses from Khorvak's pressure, heard his brother say that outrageous line, and she couldn't help but wonder what was really going on.
Solomon, who was too excited, couldn't see Michaela's current expression. All he had in his mind was vengeance.
This was no illusion.
This was a regression.
A chance where he could save those who he holds dear.
A chance to kill everyone who ruined him.