Addai caressed Mine's cheek. Slowly feeling its texture and softness, lifting his chin. Somehow, Mine’s eyes were... different?

“Hehehe Hehehe…” Mine chuckled.

His laugh was more acidic than the usual.

Worse, he laughed without looking at Addai but at any other place behind him, perhaps the drawers or shelves.

Laughter gas? Effect of Satan's Will?

Addai had never seen a fit of laughter break out in such a way.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Addai asked, shaking Mine's shoulders.

“Hehehe hehe aaaahahahaha!” but Mine only laughed.

Mine wasn't in his right mind. He only laughed maniacally, and where was the Satan's Will flower?!

That Mine then reached for Addai’s jugular, with a sharp dagger in hands and viciousness crossing his eyes and face, which wasn’t much like Mine’s anymore.

But the blade didn’t thrust inside Addai’s skin.

“Oh… why are you using his skin?” Addai said, emotionless. “How dare you use his skin?”

He glared at the being who, even though it laughed, started laughing from fear, nervousness. An eerie aura surrounded the man who, with two steps forward, started laughing as well, a mysterious and foreign viciousness.

Addai grinned, oh, he grinned.

“ADDAI!!” a feminine voice shouted from behind. “HE’S AN IMPOSTOR!! BACK AWAY!!” she threw a round-shaped plant on the impostor, who groaned and started screeching, still using Mine’s voice.

“Lydia!” Addai gasped.

The woman yanked him away from the impostor, dodging a few cardboard boxes on the floor. She panted, she was pale and the faint freckles on her face became even more apparent.

“I finally found one of the originals,” Lydia cleaned the sweat from her forehead. "There's something wrong in this building. I tripped on a box and ended up in a room with two impostors... if it wasn't for Mine's protection charm, I could have died!” she stressed.

“Where’s the real Mine then?” Addai stressed as well.

"I don't know," Lydia replied uncertainly, tapping a few boxes. "Maybe one of them leads to him… or death," she cold sweated.

Her hands were shaking, and it was a miracle she could say anything intelligible. Meanwhile, the impostor was still agonizing on the ground, no longer using Mine's voice or appearance.

But neither of them knew what that creature really was.

“We need to get out of here,” Addai started searching the boxes.

“I…” Lydia’s voice faltered. “Shiit… I’m scared…” she stammered, still searching for a suitable box, but all of them looked the same.

“…” Addai looked at her and touched her hand. "It's ok," he said calmly, but his peaceful voice quickly faded with a loud groan from the creature that resembled a certain insect...

… that made him shiver.

"What is this sound-"

"DIG ON THOSE BOXES!!!!" he turned desperate as he caught a glimpse of the being's looks.

Lydia leaned against one of the boxes on the shelves, and an avalanche of cardboard boxes began to fall towards the impostor, who was trying to protect himself from the strange – and bizarre – incident. Immediately, she pushed Addai, and they both fell into an open box - big enough to fit inside. The box's flaps closed and were sealed with a spell.

Silence.

Darkness.

Cardboard smell.

“Hey, buddy,” Lydia called. “Move your butt and roll the box with me,” she wriggled.

“I’m trying,” he grumbled.

The cardboard box rolled once, twice, three times, until they managed to get hold of the flaps – well, one of them managed to catch the flaps, as they seemed to be playing a fierce game of Twister, and neither of them seemed to be winning.

“Buddy, I know you like this... perfume, but damn,” she sneezed. “I think a good floral would suit you better.”

"…" Addai blushed, and thankfully it was dark. “Buy me one then, you grumbler,” he couldn’t resist and complained.

“I will,” she chuckled. “BUT OPEN THIS BOX-”

Lydia just voiced an “a” and the flaps opened because, by the irony of fate, it was her hand that was trying to open the flaps and pierce the spell. They both fell to the cold floor, even though they were sure the box was on the floor.

None of that made any sense.

Addai tried to get up and hit his head on what was... the ceiling? Lydia did the same, and what happened was different - since she couldn't take any more steps.

“Yo Lydia, are you sure your plants are licit?” Addai grumbled, and she grumbled back before fuming.

“OF COURSE THEY ARE!” she fumed. “My beloveds aren’t hallucinogens, if that's what you're thinking!”

“It’s not what I’m seeing,” he pointed to the door on the other side of the rift they were.

The room seemed like a void.

No windows, or walls and barely had a floor – if it could be classified as that.

Addai and Lydia were isolated on a floating cardboard block, and the door was on something that looked like solid ground.

“----------!” Lydia started cursing, kicking a piece of cardboard box, finally being able to move more than a step (due to a spell she said mid curses).

“Lydia, isn’t it Satan's Will doing? Like… I vaguely remember the flower traps you in a maze if it's trying to protect its owner,” Addai pondered, and Lydia looked at him utterly annoyed.

“Of course it is! It did the same thing to me TWICE,” she grumbled and took her wand. “Now move, pretty boy,” she aimed the wand on the door and said something that sounded more like another cursing.

A large and long vine path formed, and Lydia grabbed Addai’s hand, taking him with her through the path. Addai avoided looking down and up, so he wouldn't be dizzy from the void background.

"We need to find a Seraph's Tear,” Lydia said, while searching for something in a mana screen she made. “Only it can soothe the Satan's Will effects, and… we need to find what made the flower alert," she said while dragging Addai to wherever she wanted to after closing the mana screen.

"Sure, boss," he nodded, and she finally chuckled.

They reached the door.

The room they saw was a little too damp, and Lydia at once closed it. Addai looked at her in visible confusion and tried to open the door that was closed by Lydia once again.

"It's a trap, but if you want to feel special, go inside and show off your powers and, ah! Waste your mana,” she crossed her arms, and Addai took a step back. "Good boy," and now was Addai's turn to look at her visibly annoyed, but she put a finger on his mouth so he wouldn’t talk.

Lydia crouched down and let a vine still shutting Addai's lips. She tugged violently at whatever was in the gap between the door and the cardboard floor.

It was a smiling and happy little plant. It emitted great peace and vitality by how it smiled and laughed happily... until Lydia impetuously plucked all the petals off it while it was in terrible agony.

Addai watched her in terror, his lips shut by the vines.

"Shut it, you plague!" she hissed, and the plant screamed even more. "Yell at me, and I’ll yell at you. WHERE’S MY PRECIOUS SERAPH’S TEAR?” she started violently shaking the plant while all Addai could do was widen his eyes in horror.

"I HID IN THE ROOM FIVE! YOU OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR FIVE TIMES!!!” the flower yelled, and Lydia tossed the bud into the void.

Addai was left speechless.

Even when Lydia released the vines from his lips, he stayed in shock and speechless.

“Some buds need… violence,” she grinned. “Interesting, huh?” she chuckled while closing and opening the door the five times needed.

“… very,” he nodded.

“Aha! Now it’s our room!” she beamed and quickly entered the room, yanking Addai inside.

At first, it seemed to be a large glass greenhouse with decorations and different plants of different sizes, even though the glass effect was an illusion made by spells to attend to each plant's needs. It was a beautiful and peaceful place, quite contrasting with the place they came from.

More than quickly, Lydia went looking for the plant in the middle of her little jungle where vines were tangled, and Addai frowned when they got too close. The smell of wet earth, foliage, and pollen was very good, but they couldn't rest yet, as the real Mine was still missing.

“Here! Come closer!” Lydia called, all beaming.

“Hurry up… I’m getting nervous about Mine,” Addai said, shoulders tensed, and his voice was quite anxious.

"I know you're worried about him, but he's not fragile," Lydia smiled. "Mine is one of the best when it comes to combat. He can even beat your ass," she winked.

“I know that, but…” he weakly said.

"Aw... Such a good boy…" she patted his head, and he, once again, looked at her utterly annoyed. "Shh, pay attention,” she closed his lips before he could complain, just like she did earlier.

Lydia placed the plant on the ground, and with her wand in her hands, she made a kind of magic fairy dust float in the air – like Tinker Bell's. The dust that danced around the flower looked like a beautiful dancer or a silk fabric fluttering in the air, doing pirouettes and more pirouettes until the sun (the shining dust) began to illuminate the entire fiber of the fabric.

This powder reacted with the flower's petals and began to show a path with this powder, drawing a straight line from the flower towards the... wall?

“Is this really right?” Addai asked.

“The Seraph’s Tear never mistakes!” Lydia beamed, confident. "Let's go!" she grabbed his hand, and Addai started panicking.

“Are you nuts?! You’ll slam your face on the wall!! Do it alone!” he tried to break free from the grab, but oh Lydia had some strength.

"Close your eyes! It's just like Platform Nine three-quarters from Harry Potter!" Lydia loudly laughed, and Addai tripped but regained his balance as she ran with a single petal in her hands.

And… they made it!

The room was a mess, though. A few golden spills on the mobile and boxes, cardboard scattered around the floor, and red drops of something liquid stained the walls… but there was no one else than a single being in that room.

The creature glowed.

Their eye colors were a mix of gold and pink. Their skin looked like porcelain, and a veil covered their shoulders and dark clothing that didn't quite look like clothing.

Lydia covered Addai's mouth and slowly guided him to the side, staying out of sight of the creature - who stared at something buried in the ground. That something then began to laugh, and Addai covered Lydia's mouth, which was still covering his mouth. They looked at each other and continued to tiptoe, avoiding being seen by that creature that looked friendly from afar.

They didn't need any more problems.

That was enough of a sign for them to pretend it was nothing but a mere illusion of their heads (well, an illusion that could hurt, but still).

Then, Lydia reached the next door at the back of the room – far away from the creature – and opened it slowly, without making any noise... until it creaked, and the creature fixed its gaze on the duo, who ran – in silent panic – to get through the door and close it before whatever the shiny thing the creature threw hit them.

“W-what was that?” Addai muttered, still holding the door shut.

“I ALMOST PEED MY PANTS,” Lydia gasped, recovering from the brief heart attack. “The flower says Mine is in that room, but what the hell was that?!”

“… Shall we go back?” Addai asked.

"… if you shield me, I'll go even to Hell," Lydia chuckled nervously.

“… I will,” and a dark mist involved both.

"Then," Lydia grabbed the doorknob, "let's in again."

Peeking through the crack in the door, the two tried to see if the creature was still there and found the room empty and, apparently, safe enough.

One step.

Silence.

One more step.

Silence.

The room was still that mess, but someone else opened the other door, and they quickly looked at it.

“Shoot! What a mess!” Mine’s voice filled their ears.

"MINE!!" Lydia shouted, and poor Mine almost slipped on the dirty floor.

As soon as they found Mine, Seraph's Tear petal glowed brightly and blinded the three, but even though Addai was blind, he managed to reach Mine and protect Lydia with his own body.

Slowly, the metallic smell of whatever it was on the floor ceased as well as the entire strange and dark environment. The lighting returned to normal, and the smell of cardboard boxes and humidity from the rain outside returned.

Addai relaxed his arms and uncovered the two he was shielded from the blinding light.

“Mine!” Lydia beamed and hugged him tightly. “OH! We were so worried! Thank God you're fine," she started examining him, but found nothing more than scratches.

“I’m fine…” Mine chuckled, “Some weird things happened back then… I wonder who the 'Fruit Ninja guy' was…” he pondered, still holding the flower in his hands.

"Fruit who?" Addai blinked at him in visible confusion.

The Seraph’s Tear petal flew upwards along a single petal from Mine’s Satan’s Will flower. Their waltz was beautiful, their colors contrasted but also matched, as well as a faint sweet and acidic scent that filled the room, easing them and cleaning whatever leftover energy.

A small, chubby something fell on the floor.

It rolled, rolled, and rolled until reaching a box.

The three of them looked at the thing with their eyes wide opened, Lydia and Mine behind Addai who held a piece of cardboard box in his hands.

The thing rose, but then fell again, giggling joyfully.

“I’m going nuts,” Lydia voiced, and the thing’s eyes glowed in the dim space it was. “It’s… is it…?” she slowly took two steps further.

“What, Lydia?” Mine voiced, worried.

“It’s a very rare occurring with those two flowers… it summoned an entity!” she pointed to a summoning circle on the wall.

“Ohuu...” the being cooed, looking at them.

IT COOS? the three of them thought the same.