On the leftover demonic page, information appeared in blackened words.

 

Cage: This ability will allow you to trap an enemy inside the box, allowing the wielder to enter it and partake in a more private fight. If the box is destroyed from either the outside or the inside, both are released. Can only be used once every ten hours. Duration till there are no more enemies alive.

 

And then the eye of the demon moved toward the text along with its index finger, tapping the text lightly, and changing the middle part.

 

If the box is destroyed from the outside, both will be released. The interior will now be protected by the box’s unique property: void.

 

As soon as Alice finished reading the scroll, it disappeared, causing her to panic.

‘Pandora! Pandora! Pandora!’ she yelled hoping to reach me, closing me by the second time she called me.

‘Alice! I’m here!’

My voice shattered part of her hysteria.

‘I didn’t know if I picked right, there was this other option too, and, and...’

‘It’s okay, dear Alice. You chose what you believed was best. That’s enough.’

She hugged my boxed self, and I felt the gentle drops falling on the ceiling. The sensation was just like back then when the rainy days showered my house with the sorrow of the grey clouds. But these tears were a tad different. They felt kind.

‘This evil entity made us choose from the beginning.’

I heard her mumbling a little sound in accordance.

‘To kill or be killed, the choices will only get worse from here onward,’ I didn’t have a justification for my words, one could call it a woman’s sixth sense. 

‘Pandora...’

‘Yes?’

‘I’m... surrounded,’ with the screen out of her sight, she fell on her knees, trembling.

‘What do you mean?’

‘There’s no way out. Those monsters are approaching from everywhere.’

Despite her tone shivering, I managed to get the gist of it.

‘How did they find you?’

‘I think...’ she recollected everything that happened. ‘When I got to choose, a ray of light fell on us.’

‘Run somewhere! Anywhere!’ I shouted in despair. There was no part of me that could allow my partner to die. Not now, not never!

‘I’m hiding but it’ll be a matter of time till they find me,’ she looked behind at the river, swaying her head. ‘I can’t swim away either.’

Hastily, I opened both interfaces, checking every piece of information, especially the newly gained ones. 

 

Name: Pandora

Category: Item | Grade: Inferior

Growth: 1/7 | Exp: 50/1000

Durability: 50/100.

Curses: 4/5 Senses Sealed.

Properties: Void.

Innate Ability: Boxed, Cage.

Contracted Ability: Telepathy.

 

It seemed I gained experience as a value. Unlike Alice’s one, this seemed to have a max value. Did that mean something would happen if it became full? Or was I simply able to store this currency for my partner to use when necessary?

‘Pandora I’m afraid.’

‘Everything will be okay,’ I lied in an attempt to calm her down while I gathered information. There was a chance that there was no way out of this mess. However, I didn’t want to believe in that possibility.

I wanted to save her.

Alice got hold of her dagger, gripping it tightly. Mentally, she prepared herself for the worst possible scenario: a dog’s death.

I then took a look at the new property I gained.

 

Void: Comparable to the Abyss. One of the peculiarities of the universe. It’s capable of absorbing attacks.

 

“That’s interesting...” I voiced out lowly, surprised to learn a bit more about myself.

Without a second to waste, I checked the new ability thoroughly.

 

Cage: If the box is destroyed from the outside, both will be released. The interior will now be protected by the box’s unique property: void. Can only be used once every ten hours. Duration till there are no more enemies alive.

 

‘I have a plan,’ I took a deep breath, not that I could respire, but the action helped me focus.

‘Yes?’ 

Once more hope rose within the child’s despaired self. She was not very vampire-like, as the old tales and stories of our planet Earth described. Alice sounded too emotional and cute to become some merciless, psychopathic, bloodthirsty predator.

Or so I thought.

‘Once the first enemy walks in, stab it with all your strength before it can react, and then use my new power on it.’

‘Alright!’

I could tell by her tone how convicted this child was. But the beating of her heart was fast, keeping me mindful that she was nervous and fearful.

My eyes stole a glimpse of one of the walls.

 

Area quest:

Slay 80/1000 monsters. 

Rewards shall be bestowed based on the individual’s contribution.

 

Truly, if all of them were coming here, it would become a dogfight.

‘I believe in you, Alice.’

Unknowingly to me, those words made her smile.

‘I got this!’ she told herself, having killed three strong opponents. Yet, her heart was deprived of ego. It was impossible for her to beat such monsters without attacking them by surprise.

Only by gaining an advantage over them that she had managed to triumph.

Fortunately, through my guidance and some self-awareness, this child wasn’t naive to that extent.

At some point, I found myself taking care of her like an older sister, or even as a mother.

One way or another, I started to understand why my mother treated me the way she did. The reason why she cooked and cleaned for me and why she pampered and loved me in the way she could.

Motherly love was unnaturally precious. I had not given it its proper value.

And I started to regret it.

‘Pandora! I can hear their steps.’

‘Alice! Get ready!’

‘Here comes the first one.’