Dancing In the Shadows

-Original Fiction-

Chaos (working title)

by Shuuki and Pookie

It was silent and white. It was not something he knew precisely, beyond the absence of the warmth and softness he associated with sleep. There was a sedentary moment of panic as he tried to pry his eyes open without success. He tried again, and his lashes seemed to shatter and crunch as he strained to pull them apart. Blinking sent a rain of crust into his eyes and he dragged a sluggish arm across to scrub at them. Raising his head proved to be an even more daunting challenge. The movement made his vision swim and his stomach roil. He caught glimpses of a white room - a blank box - and not much else. The air was fresh but sterile and an involuntary shiver coursed through him at the chill. He vaguely realized his arms, calves, and feet were bare against the smooth hard surface of the white floor. Panic was buzzing somewhere in the back of his brain, but vertigo was holding it in check, and he made another attempt to raise his head. He issued a small groan as he dropped it back down and eventually decided to change tactics. Panting, he pulled one leg toward his middle, and after a moment, the other. He tucked his knees against the floor, raising his body into a "child's pose". By micrometers he pushed up on his elbows, head lolling between his arms, until, after god knows how long, he was at last sitting on his knees. The room seemed to swirl, resolving itself finally into the pristine white box he had first imagined. The immaculate silence, the utter lack of adornment or utilitarian objects might have intended to inspire peace, but that tickle at the back of his mind threatened to unnerve him. He sat, blinking and picking away the last of the sediment in his eyes as he took in his surroundings. It should only have unnerved him further at the sudden appearance of the tall, coal-haired man crouching at his side. The youth gazed at this bespeckled apparition, his cat-like grin, his black clothes and white coat.

"Please," the boy asked, "can you tell me who I am?"

The man watched the youth struggle to his feet, apparently in no hurry to offer assistance. As the boy finally spoke he tilted his head very slightly, his grin only seeming to grow. "Now now, don't tell me you remember nothing."

The boy shuddered on spindly legs, like a newborn foal learning to stand. His white hospital gown billowed about his scant body as he swayed. Grey-blue eyes blinked under long white lashes, regarding the newcomer. "No..."

"What a pity." He grinned, his amusement appearing to increase and rose from his crouch, glancing down at the youth like one would examine a lab rat. "Well, it doesn't matter really. You're in a… hmm... safe place."

The boy wondered on that. He glanced about the white box, devoid of entrance or exit, then back at his dark companion. "But, who am I?"

"Doesn't matter. But if you want an answer, you are you. If you do not know who that is, then you are who you want to be." The man shrugged dismissively, the question of identity not seeming to bother him in the least.

The boy pondered this "answer" for a moment, fluffy white head bowing in concentration. Presently, thinking seemed to hurt only slightly less than standing. He looked back up at the strange man, probing his dark eyes. "You're not supposed to tell me, are you?" Tears were spilling down the pale little face before he'd even felt their prick.

"Well good to see your mind is slowly waking up." The stranger smirked slightly and folded his arms over his chest. He began stalking a circle around the boy, eyebrow arching upward at the sudden tears. "Now what are those for, hmm?"

The youth touched his face in bewilderment as the wet trails turned rapidly from warm to cool, wriggling a bit as they slid down his neck and under his gown. "I... don't know."

"I wouldn't recommend wasting too much of your body's water." The man came to a stop behind the boy, leaning over his shoulder to speak directly in his ear in a surprisingly soft tone. "Although they say sometimes you really need to let it all out."

The boy shuddered again, though he could not say for sure from the cold. "Why am I here?"

"You were brought here. The ‘why’ doesn't matter anymore." With a few strides the man moved away, positioning himself in front of the boy again.

"Can I leave?"

"Can you leave?" The man smirked and cast his eyes about the room.

The youth made his way to the wall as rapidly as his uncertain legs would allow, and placed a palm against its blank surface. A cacophony of sound assaulted his senses, radiating from what seemed to be every surface, pumping the noise, not into his ears, but directly into his skull. He jerked backward, cradling his head between both hands with a breathy moan, and sank to his knees.

The man raised an eyebrow and watched him curiously, walking over and crouching by the boy again. With an amused tone he whispered, "Tell me, what did you hear?" His guest remained where he was on the floor, fingers wound into his spiky white hair, trembling with what the man surmised to be shock. "How interesting...." The adult waved a hand in front of the boy's eyes. "Boy?" The lad appeared unresponsive, silver tears dropping from unfocused eyes onto the white floor below, a shiver shaking his small frame periodically. "For the love of..." the man sighed, standing abruptly and grabbing the boy by the back of his gown, tugging in an attempt to make him stand.

The small body was surprisingly immovable, but the fluffy white head eventually looked up, fixed on the wall ahead. The dark man crouched back into the stance of a casual observer. Piercing pale eyes turned on him, still wet with lingering tears. An urgent question shot from trembling lips, "What are the dimensions of this room?"

"Hmm?" Dark eyes glanced around casually before returning to the boy with a shrug. "So many questions. About 36 meters square; about 216 meters cubed. So 6 by 6 by 6." The man smirked as he added, "A nice little box." The boy's eyes wandered off of his companion as if he'd suddenly lost interest in the answer to his question. He rose to his feet, swaying a bit as he approached the wall once again. "Stubborn or just curious?" the man wondered. He tilted his head and simply watched.

The boy stopped gingerly, his delicate nose mere centimeters from the strange white surface. The man could just make out the boy's low muttering, "AB:AC=AC:CB..." and a curious expression appeared on his face as he listened quietly, fingers drumming absently on his leg. With a slow turn of his head the boy regarded the length of the wall as if just realizing it was there. He spread his arms outward, hovering just above the wall's surface, careful to never make contact. "AB..."

"AC."

The boy shivered as if woken from a trance, and looked over his shoulder for the source of the disturbance. The man returned the look with a smirk and a wave. With a shake of his head the boy returned to the wall and tried to regain his train of thought... what had he been saying? His white eyes tracked the breadth of the surface from end to end, to the ceiling and back. His arms were growing weary.

"Too small a cage, boy?" The stranger resisted the urge to snicker as he watched.

The lad closed his eyes and forced down the torrent of panic gnawing at the back of his head, the man's voice like cat's claws at the base of his skull. "AB," he whispered, "is to AC...." The final syllable puffed against the surface before him and the wall trembled. Warmth spread over his face as the wall began to emit a pale warm light.

The man blinked, standing finally and switching his focus to the wall. "Now what do we have here?" He extended a hand towards it, letting his fingers stop just short of touching.

A large section of the wall, well beyond the scope of the boy's outstretched arms, radiated a quivering yellow. "As AC..." The yellow hue swelled a shade warmer. "...is to..." Gleaming teeth grabbed hold of his bottom lip, as the man resisted the urge to finish the sentence. He rolled his shoulders, bones cracking slightly. Smaller chapped lips parted around the final letters of the equation and the final 2 meters of wall flared and filled a rosy shade. "…CB." The boy's forehead connected with the wall in a relieved sigh, his fingertips resting on its glowing surface, which abruptly resolved itself into the same white surface, ionic columns springing up at points C and B.

An eyebrow quirked in the older face and he took a step back to regard the columns. "Aren't you short one?"

The boy's murmur was quiet, "I am to the larger in exactly the same proportion as the larger is to the smaller."

"Great. No memory but he speaks in riddles." Snickering slightly the man shook his head, his gaze considering the columns more than the boy.

The comment seemed to rouse the boy from his position on the wall and he strode to the columns on more steady feet than the man could remember. He cast a glance over his shoulder as he stood between them. "I'll be leaving now."

"See, that wasn't part of the plan,” the man countered, and took a step forward, moving close to the boy.

The youth seemed unaffected by the man's statement, resuming his path toward the wall. "I have to find Phi."

HisThe playful gaze hardened as the man caught the boy’s shoulder in a firm grip. "What is Phi?"

The boy turned his strange eyes on him. "Don't you know?"

"You did not answer me."

The boy's eyes softened in puzzlement and compassion. "But you know his equation..."

"Are you sure about that?" The coal-haired head tilted as the man bit his lip, seeming on the verge of laughing. "You cannot go."

The boy grew only more puzzled. "Why are you hindering my leave?"

"This is a cage, little one. No one leaves." The answer held an odd tone, both serious and amused. The stranger moved closer, tightening his grip on the boy’s shoulder.

"A cage?...Why have I been imprisoned?" The question seemed genuinely curious rather than alarmed.

The man released his shoulder with a dismissive wave. "A cage cannot be empty." He folded his arms, bowing his head in thought. After a moment he shrugged. "This would not be a cage without you in it. Leaving breaks the purpose."

The boy considered this. "But it is not my purpose. If the cage needs an occupant, you could stay." He smiled good-naturedly at his jailor and proceeded to the space between the columns.

The laughter that followed was that of a madman, a cruel glint surfacing in the man’s eyes. "Now that is not my purpose." His hand reached for the boy, grabbing his shoulder again in an attempt to keep him in place.

The boy caught a glimpse of that expression and froze as if seeing cruelty for the first time.

"No leaving."

The body held in that grip had become very still, broken only by the movement of the boy's head. He glanced from the open doorway to his captor, then down to the man's large, slender hand. The weakest point is the joint of the thumb. The thought occurred to him as if telegraphed to his brain.

He raised an eyebrow at the look, following it a moment before smirking dangerously. "How much do you want to leave, boy?"

Instinct seemed to fuel a fight-or-flight reflex and the captive answered by wrenching himself from the man's grip and bolting for the door.

"Run little bird... run... make the chase fun..." With a lick of his lips and a gleam in his eye, the man sprung forward, his motion fluid as he gave chase. He had finally caught himself a new prey, and the idea it would slip away from him so easily did not please him. White walls were made to keep things in, to make it easier to examine them, to watch them, to study them. No... this one would not leave. He wanted to know. Something about the boy intrigued him enough to give chase. Laughter bubbled out of him, "I will catch you… you will stay. But you can bring friends if you want."

The malice dripping off the tenor voice infused the boy with an adrenaline rush of speed, lungs aching already as he stumbled through dark halls. The sing-song voice followed on his heals, "Run run... run for your life... never look back...or you will loose track..." Jagged thoughts cut through the whispered taunts floating from behind as he rushed blindly through twisting halls. "Pentagonas? Is this Pentagonas?" An intake of breath. "Is he of the underworld?" A spike of light. "The subduer of boths gods and men?"

A laugh. "Poor, poor Birdie. Don't run that way...” A frown crossed the man’s face and he suddenly called loudly, "Careful! Wall ahead." His pace only hastened as he watched the fleeing form, whistling sharply as he wondered how the boy the would react. His blood was racing now and all he could think of was catching his prey.

The boy connected with the dead end without warning, unforgiving darkness and pain washing over him as he landed hard on the floor. Trails of light sparked across his vision as he tried to scrabble back to his feet. Making it only to his knees he groped toward the wall, palming the cold smooth surface.

"Tsk tsk... I warned you. No one listens..." Long legs pulled up into a walk, casually making their way to the boy. The pursuer frowned slightly, leaning towards the youth. "What are you looking for exactly?"

The boy slammed against the unmoving surface a few times with his fists, a desperate cry with each pound, finally screaming, "1.61803399!" He landed hard this time on his elbows as the wall vanished.

"Now that's not fair..." the man growled, annoyance creeping up in him as the wall vanished. Not wanting to give the boy a chance to run again he all but pounced on him, looking more like a hunter than ever.

The boy scrambled to his feet and into the white space ahead... only to slow in the center of the room. He stopped there, a shocked and desperate expression settling over his features; the room was a mirror image of the one he'd woken to not so long ago.

The man suddenly had him by the scruff of his neck, grasping it tightly as he spoke, his annoyance melting away instantly as he looked at the room. "You plan on exploring everything here?" The neck was boneless in the man's hand, the spiky white head hung between slumped shoulders. "Now what, Birdie?" he purred, the sound more twisted than endearing in nature.

Somewhere under the tangle of hair came a soft sniffle, "Phi..."

"Why is that so important, hmm?" The man trailed his thumb against the back of his neck very slowly.

"I need..." Another sniffle. "I need him..."

"For?" He released the boy and moved in front of him, assuming his habitual crouch and looking up at the young face.

The pale cheeks were flushed from exertion. Large stormy eyes turned upwards to his captor’s, as if begging for quarter. "For harmony..."

"Well, you have me right now." Thin lips curved in a cruel smile above expressionless eyes.

"For?" the boy countered without malice.

"Disharmony."

***

(Edits needed)

He was attuned to the rhythm of his own internal clock. It was not something he new precisely, but rather, a mournful sense of loss. The ability was somehow swallowed up in this place, and so, time had lost its meaning. He sat, knees drawn up to his chest, silent with this sensation, not quite in the center of his white cage.

He snickered, watching the boy curiously, his hand reaching out towards him but pausing briefly, barely a breath away from touching him. An odd smirk was dancing on his lips as he seemed to debate pushing the boy further.

The spiky white head rested on folded arms, equally white eyes staring vacantly through the solid form of the man crouching before him. The boy was aware of his presence, but without direction to deal with him, was for the moment unconcerned with his motion.

"Tsk tsk, Birdie." The man pressed a finger to his nose curiously, more for a reaction than for a real purpose.

"Discordia..." The thought flitted through his mind as he sensed the pressure on his nose. He shuddered involuntarily. He closed his eyes, trying to stay the flutter of panic that beat in his chest, drawing his knees more tightly to him. He couldn't find it, his center...

He smirked, moving his finger to the boy's forehead, seeming to fully enjoy watching the reactions. "Chaos is more fun you know." He pressed hard on his head, trying to push him backwards.

Frustrated tears welled up in the boy's large eyes as he pressed tighter into himself and back against the long fingers. "The center point of this room..." he ground out.

He pouted, the expression looking utterly ridiculous on his face, yet somehow very cruel. "No fun." He shoved the boy hard.

The boy was again, oddly immovable, as though the words themselves had rooted him to the floor. His clear voice rose as he continued, "…is three meters from the center point of each six meter length."

He growled at that, debating whether or not to strike out. Without warning he suddenly stood, shoving the boy hard as he did. Glancing up a moment he started laughing, spreading his arms out to encompass the room. "Look! I am your center now."

The sound of the boy's mass striking the floor made little noise in the sterile space. He gazed up, the dark man seeming to stretch infinitely taller than the height of the room, and he struggled not to close his eyes. With a violent tremble he lost the struggle and threw an arm over his face. "Who are you?!" he cried. “The Essence? The Builder? You cannot be the Foundation!"

He raised an eyebrow, looking down as his arms folded over his chest, his head tilting slightly to the side. "Who do you want me to be?" He smirked dangerously, a small gleam in his eyes.

Even from behind his flimsy shield, the boy shuddered at the loaded question, the innate danger of answering. "I..."

He simply waited, his gaze piercing into the boy as he showed no intention of letting this go.

The answer, like the coo of his moniker, was soft. "I'm so alone..."

"Well that depends what you define as ‘alone’. It's a bit insulting you know to say you are alone with me just standing here." He laughed again.

"I don't know... who you are..." The boy rolled to his side with a listless groan. His voice seemed to drift. "Where... where is the center?"

"Skewed." He seemed amused.

A low chant spilled slowly from the boy’s lips, "3 by 3 by 3 by 3..." He closed his eyes.

"Birdie, Birdie... take your wings and fly... your center is way up high." He raised his hand, motioning to a point 3 meters above the ground and smirked.

“1 and 1 and 1…” Something the stormy color of water flickered around the boy’s reclined form. "Who am I?" The boy's voice was distant and puzzled.

"You are you; I am me. We are each other and who we want to be."

"I am... me..." The phrase rolled hesitantly back to the man above. The frothing shades swirled and eddied around the boy, connecting and forming a familiar shape. "I am... me..." The second repetition was spoken with more conviction, and the current resolved itself into a perfect circle the shade of the ocean.

"Oh bloody hell... What now?..." He groaned and looked at the circle cautiously.

"I am..." The boy's eyes opened. "…Monad."

"I still prefer, ‘Birdie’."

The boy stretched his limbs with a loud sigh and pulled them back into a relaxed fetal position, the circle pulsing once more before solidifying into a static outline on the floor.

"So… Monad." The name tumbled awkwardly from his lips and he shook his head, deciding that the boy would remain forever ‘Birdie’. "What is that?" He pointed to the shape, his fingers soon drumming on his arm.

The youth turned contented eyes on his captor and sighed, "The First".

"Do I want to know what the second is?"

He returned his fluffy head to its position on the floor and smiled. Opening his body slightly, he drew in a breath and spread lax fingers toward the edge of his circle. A beat, is if from a great heart, shook the room and a second circle emerged. It rolled outward from the first, halting after only a few centimeters so that the two shapes overlapped. The boy then uttered a single word: "Dyad." The air seemed to shiver in response to the name, and a youth appeared before the boy, fingers entwined with his.

"Dyad?" The child’s smile was starting to annoy him, and his tone grew colder. As the second youth appeared he growled, not moving from his position, the only indication of his growing anger the darkening of his eyes.

The pair turned in unison to the man, though only the former shuddered.

"My twin," spoke Dyad.

"And my opposite," finished Monad.

He growled, looking from one to the other. "I caught one. Not two. One of you leaves."

As in a mirror image, the pair returned their gaze to one another. Monad spoke sadly, "He is the Truth, but... only an illusion."

Dyad smiled fiercely at his brother. "And you are a fool."

"I know..." Monad's eyes filled with familiar tears as he bowed his head in acknowledgement, prompting an acute change in Dyad. The twin raised a soothing hand to Monad's cheek.

"Oooo... I know which one I don't like!" He leaned over Dyad and poked the back of his neck.

Dyad turned a ferocious gaze on the man. "WE are Dyad," he explained as if to a very dim child. "And you will need us if you are to see an amusing trick." A wicked smirk crooked the delicate line of his mouth.

"No tricks." He grabbed the boy's neck, holding tightly.

The boy showed no interest in freeing himself from the man's grasp, regarding him with calculated coolness.

"So what happens if I squeeze?" He steadily increased the pressure around the boy's neck, seeming amused in how he would react.

Monad thrust himself at the man's feet, clinging to the stiff fabric of his pant leg. "Please!" he cried. "The Triad has a special beauty and fairness beyond all numbers..."

Dyad continued in a more reasonable tone, gaze steady on his aggressor, "…primarily because it is the very first to make actual the potentialities of the Monad." The last few words became breathy under the crush of the man's fingers.

He frowned and shrugged. "Doesn't make sense, so doesn't matter." He tossed the boy aside like a rag doll, a small smirk on his lips. "But I'm willing to give one chance to explain."

Dyad landed in a light crouch, rubbing his throat and glaring at the dark man. "You're more of an idiot than I had imagined," he rasped. "Listen, you. You captured us. You are interested in us, yes?”

"Actually, I'm interested in him." He shrugged. "But again, explain, and do be quick."

"Are you obtuse?" The boy’s irritation was slipping into incredulousness. "I told you we are the same - two sides of the same coin. What we can produce is far greater than you could know."

"Do I look like I care?"

"If you are interested in him, what he can do, then sit the fuck down, shut up, and watch."

He raised an eyebrow, purring softly as he walked over to Dyad. "You are only annoying me, boy."

A small voice piped up from the center of the circle. "You want to... watch me?"

"You, yes. You and him, no. One cage, one prey."

Dyad squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I AM him, for Jupiter's sake..."

"No, no. I am me, you are you, and he is him. Two people are not one. They might be one, but physically they are two. Halves are still entities."

"You ARE watching him. Your intolerance of me is an intolerance of him. My destruction is his destruction. I am OF him. The Monad produces the Dyad and wishes always to return to Monad."

"Again, do I look like I care?" He crossed his arms stubbornly, an angry scowl on his face.

Dyad's eyes narrowed. "What DO you care about? What is it you want?"

"I shall not bore you with the long laundry list." He waved his hand dismissively. He held Dyad's gaze, licking his lips with a smirk. "I want my little Birdie. I care for what amuses me."

Dyad folded his arms and flicked his gaze once over the lanky man. “I don’t get you. You tell ‘Birdie’,” he pronounced the nickname with distain, “he can have friends, but you reject my presence. I offer you an amusing trick and you reject it as well.”

“I understand,” piped a small voice.

"Ahh... you heard that part didn't you?" He considered Dyad a long moment, tapping his fingers to his chin. "I did say he could bring friends. But you are complicating the line. Halves and entities." He looked amused, a small smirk dancing on his lips as he thought about it for a moment. "But why should I listen to you? You are trying to insight rules."

The lack of acknowledgement from either his brother or the dark stranger seemed to distress the original twin. He chewed on his lip and plucked at one bare foot before trying again. "I...uh...I think I understand."

He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the boy. "What now, Birdie?" He turned around and walked back to the boy, totally disregarding Dyad. His gaze was studying him closely, as though trying to see what made him tick. He was starting to see there was a purpose to the two twins, but right now, he would not let them have their way. His show, his cage, his prey. "Birdie Birdie, tell me a story. Why should I listen to stubborn idiot back there?"

"The probability that you will listen to either of us is less than 5%..." Intelligent, lost eyes looked up into his captor's. "I believe I know... who you are."

"Ohhh do tell. I'm dying to know." His tone was slightly mocking but also quite curious at what the boy would say.

"We were mislead," the comment seemed to be directed to his equally shocked sibling, though his white eyes remained on the man. "You are... Jupiter's prisoner..."

He frowned at that, his gaze growing colder. "What did you just say?" He suddenly did not like the turn of the conversation, looking from one boy to the other, anger rising in him rapidly. "What did you just say?!"

The boy's head bowed, though if in defeat or in concentration, was not apparent.

"That's nonsense!" screamed Dyad. "If this be Pentagonas, it is our privilege!"

He snarled and walked over to Dyad, grabbing him and lifting him up, his eyes glowing with anger. "Explain. Now. And do choose your words... wisely."

The fluffy head rose sharply. "It may still be! Please, Dyad! Trust me!"

"You!? Why should I ever place faith in you?"

"NO ONE IGNORES ME!" he snarled, tossing Dyad back towards the wall.

Monad lit to his brother's side in a blink, placing himself between the two, arms outstretched. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he struggled for the words, “I implore you... I implore you, Chaos."

He paused at the name, his eyebrow rising in a challenge. "You surprise me, Birdie. But I still don't know why I should listen to you." He cracked his knuckles, his gaze moving past him to Dyad. "Make me listen, or let me be. No one controls Chaos."

A dry chuckle found its way through Dyad's pinched lungs as he struggled to sit up, gasping for air. "Power in names. As I always told you, brother..."

"Shut up."

Dyad's chuckled died in his throat and his brows lifted.

"I can help with that. Just need to crush his windpipe. He'll be quiet." He turned his gaze to Monad.

The fear Chaos had surely hoped for finally flickered in Dyad's eyes. He smirked coldly, the look only seeming to feed his rage. "Will you beg? Or accept? Ahhh... possibilities. Please... make it fun."

Monad began again, with great difficulty, "Understand, Chaos. He is the Truth... but an illusion."

"Twin..." Dyad interrupted, nearly choking on the words, "You know... you know we cannot birth without the other..."

"There are other paths to take, Dyad!" tears squeezed from between his crushed lids.

"Oh enough you two. You're starting to really piss me off." He shoved Monad aside roughly and tried to grab Dyad's throat, wanting to at the very least crush the air out of him and make him pass out. "Tell me, Birdie. If I kill him, do you die too? Or are you really individuals?"

The boy opened his mouth, bit his lip in an effort to stay the trembling, and opened it again. "I will die... unless I subtract... and go back to Monad. But, I must subtract; Chaos changes us irreparably."

"Yes or no?" The math was starting to really grind on his nerves but the possibility his toy would die was a problem.

"Yes!"

"You so need to make this up to me," he muttered angrily, opening his hand and storming away, his words muttered and jumbled but obviously none of them boding well for anyone.

Dyad hit the floor, wheezing and holding his throat, Monad instantly at his side, soothing hands at his back.

He started pacing about, his pattern irregular and contorted, occasionally glancing over to the pair, his gaze cold and menacing.

After a moment, he pulled his twin to shaky feet, guiding him back to the center of the room and easing him to one side of the dot tattooed on the floor. Dyad did not go down without struggle, strength returning with the color to his face. "Twin," he grabbed on to Monad's arms, whispering desperately, "What about Phi?"

He looked up at that word, his pace slowly changing as he started walking around them in a circle.

The boy stared back into his stormy reflection and spoke sternly, "Have sense and be still. There are other paths." He thrust the other boy's head to his chest and curled again into a fetal position. Dyad's wide eyes closed and he nestled reflexively into the shape. Chaos could just make out the somber sound of Monad’s voice, “2 minus 1 equals 1.” The circles that encased them surged a brilliant blue and rolled toward the center, merging back into the original ring Monad had conjured. Dyad was gone.

He blinked and came to a complete stop, watching the scene with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "And what did you choose, Birdie?"

The answer was long in coming, so much so that Chaos wondered if the boy had passed out. Eventually the small voice spoke up, "The Unknown... I was never taught another method to create the Pentad. But... it is reasonable to assume there are other roads."

"I see." He walked over to the boy, looking at him pensively before reaching for his forehead with a finger. "Think you can do it? Make that... Pentad or whatnot?"

Wrinkles formed around the man's finger as the boy furrowed his brow. "I don't know..." He suddenly turned brighter eyes on his captor. "Would you like to see it?"

He thought about it seriously for a moment and tilted his head, a rather curious expression on his face. He did not quite answer but at the same time, he did not object, simply interested in watching Monad.

The light in his eyes faltered after a few moments as the man withheld response. The circle around him faded into the floor.

He smirked coldly. "Do you want to show me?"

TBC…