As the boy entered the tower grounds, he realized its bricks were mirrors. Only they were selective ones. They reflected the sky and the light of the moon, but not the buildings around them or the shadowy people among them. They showed the dirt and even a little grass where there was cobbled street and in place of the tallest buildings, there were only distant hilltops. Those same buildings grew larger and larger as they came closer to the central tower, yet at its base was a large, stone garden. A park of sorts with empty ponds and gentle streams and scenic bridges. It was a serene space, despite being cast in perpetual shade.

This place too had the shadowy movements of unknown beings, but these were subtly different from the shadows of before. They seemed muted next to the shadows of before. Gentler but also more stable. Even the guide now had a more pronounced form. Its shadow no longer so faded, and seemingly even larger than it first appeared.

When he passed through the gate, another sense returned to him. The hall smelled of strawberries. His guide had a smoky smell, like ash. The rug smelled strongly of old books, thick with a familiar and satisfying infusion of dust.

“Looks like we’re here”

The boy walked into a massive circular room, with tables and sofas arranged around its center. The gate through which the boy entered stood near the center of this room. From the side it looked like only a frame, but through the portal it was clear that it led back out into the garden. Along the room’s outer walls where what seemed to be hundreds of doorways, each different from the next. One was ornate, carved wood. Another was tin. A third sliding glass and a fourth an iron gate. So on and so forth, yet despite the variety none revealed what lay behind them.

Aside from the furniture and the doorways, the room was also peculiarly loud. It appeared empty aside for the boy and his guide, but seemed to bustle with the fervour of a party, albeit one muted by distance.

“Just pick any door you’d like. They all lead to the same place in the end. Once you get there, you’ll get your answers.”

The boy surveyed the room once again.

[Any door?]

“It is the right of all lost souls. Just remember, you can’t turn back.”

The boy nodded understanding. This choice seemed much like his previous one; a chance to choose his path, but without knowing what he chose there was little meaning in the choice. Except that the crossroad still felt meaningful. This one did not, despite having more information to guide him. He eventually settled on a plain, wooden door like one you would find in any house. Its nob was polished brass and it was painted a dark shade of purple. He reached out and turned the handle.

DING

GROUND FLOOR

It was an elevator?

The door opened into a surprisingly large box with a cheap carpet and metallic walls. It was the first place with an obvious light source he had seen; a fluorescent lamp attached to a fixture in the ceiling, accompanied by the dull green glow of a control panel mounted to the wall beside the door. It smelled strongly of dust and more faintly of ammonia. Mind-numbing music played gently in the background.

When he stepped inside, the door closed behind him. A button clicked on at the very top of the panel and lit up red against the panel’s green.

DING

RECEPTION, NEXT STOP

The door opened to a dark room. It was impossible to tell how big it was; the floor was hidden beneath a blue mist while both walls and ceiling were hidden by shadow. At the center of the room stood a large, circular desk, like the sort you might find at the main entrance to a convention hall or museum. Sitting behind it was a sight unlike any the boy had seen.

It was a person.

Only not a person. They weren’t a shadow and they were almost certainly not human.

The creature wore a gray skirt and coat covering a low cut ruby red blouse. The chest it covered had a distinctly masculine shape, with wide shoulders and no breasts. Below the chest were wide hips, above was a decidedly androgynous face. The creature wore their blond hair in a tight knot held together with two pencils and gave the impression of a secretary.

Then there were the other things.

This secretary had long, pointy ears that stuck out from the sides of their head, with pure black eyes hiding behind horn-rimmed glasses. Their mouth and nose more closely resembled a muzzle than a humans and their skin was deathly pale. The creature seemed to glow faintly in the shadows, radiating a dim light.

“How may I help you?” The Secretary looked directly at the boy as she asked the question. Her voice sounded gravelly and rich with the enunciation of someone practiced in speaking at break-neck speeds. “Actually never mind. That was rhetorical question, but I’m pretty sure you’re worried about answering it.”

[Where is this?]

“What’s that? I can’t hear you. That spirit nonsense might be good enough for the guide but here you’ll have to speak up.”

[What do-]

“I said speak!” The creature didn’t yell so much as their voice came from every spot in the room at once. The command hung in the air and the dominoes started to fall.

Speak? Why haven’t I been speaking? That’s right, I can talk! But what else have I forgotten?

“ugh.”

Suddenly dizzy, the boy leaned against a wall.

“Now that’s more like it, and what a way to start things off, too.”

For the first time, the boy looked at himself. Or part of himself anyway. He saw his hand, what should have been his hand, an indistinct blur that was nearly as vague as the shadows outside. It was more like tv static than a shade but it hid what was beneath just as well. He got bad reception?

With more scrutiny, the arm gained some clarity. The shape became sharper and the size more clear, but its finer details were still obscured by the spiritual static that covered his body. For that matter, the rest of him was obviously more distorted that his arm. The boy felt another wave of nausea coming on. He tried to choke it back and focused on the Secracreature instead.

“Secretary Creature? I wish I had thought of that. But I digress: welcome, lost soul, to Makai! Now that you are here, you are mine to do with as I please.”

Confusion. “What? What does Makai even mean? Is that where this is?”

“Sigh. I see we’ll have to do this the long way. Despite appearances.” The secracreature gestured dramatically towards her desk and a spot light came on shining down on it from above. “I am not here to answer your questions...Having said that, my job will be a lot easier if we nip this in the butt right away.”

“So,I’ll repeat, welcome to Makai; Hell; the underworld; the demon realm; The land of change and destination point for all lost souls such as yourself. Now, shall we continue? That one was also rhetorical. We will.”

“I’m not done though! I’m pretty sure you can’t do anything without me starting it, so answer my questions first. And about Makai, does that mean I’m…dead?” Saying it felt melancholic, but didn’t hold the stress or dread he might have expected. It was less a real question and more a statement of uncertain acceptance.

“First of all, not necessarily. All lost souls come to Makai. Death is but one way to become lost. Truthfully even I don’t know how exactly you came to be here, only that you have arrived and that in doing so you’re here to stay.”

The secracreature grinned a Cheshire grin and pointed her left index and middle fingers at the boy. “As for what I can do to you, don’t flatter yourself, girl.”

With a sharp snap, the lost girl’s perception of herself changed. What, did it? She could have sworn she was a boy, but that didn’t feel right. Wasn’t she always a girl? Her nausea returned and her head ached with renewed vigor.

“Rule one: Lost souls are malleable. You respond to even small stimuli to become what you will. It’s why the guide exists. To protect you and see you safely to the one will sculpt you into what you will become.”

“…Who are you?” Even her voice, previously a vague and non-registered sound, was now high pitched and girly.

If possible, the Secracreature smiled even wider. “Why, I’m Daimyo Dai-Sensei, ruler of Daimachu and retainer to this Makai’s Satan. It is my task and pleasure to sculpted your soul into the form it is meant to take and into a form which I desire.”