"Hurry up! We need to-"

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Three shots silenced the chaos in that gallery, and eyes returned to Mephistopheles, who was lying on the cold, damp stone floor. From the bullet holes, a purplish liquid oozed out, causing Mephistopheles' body to shrivel like a plum.

At the source of the shots, someone was panting and breathing heavily. That person wiped his forehead and put away the silver weapon in the silver-embellished leather sheath.

The person took two shaky steps forward and slumped on the floor. "That shit… was a fake-"

"Huh? Mephistopheles-" Addai attempted to speak, but Mine zipped his mouth with his fingers.

"How can I be sure you're not fake as well?" Mine sterned, taking one step forward. "Or are you another fake that resembles Mr. Mephistopheles?"

Indeed, there were two Mephistopheles there!

One "Mephistopheles" was already withered, while the other was injured. Still, it was enough for him to continue acting. The new Mephistopheles tried to get up, but his legs still felt like they were made of lead.

On his left leg, an almost linear cut ran from his waist to his thigh but was wrapped in what had once been the sleeves of his dress shirt. His face had scratches and splashes of crimson color, and his hair was a little messy and caked by the liquid dripping from some wound on his head. Despite his condition, he still had some strength left to speak.

"I'm glad you're doubting my integrity," the new Mephistopheles chuckled weakly. "It means you're not so blinded by Agarath's illusions."

Mine frowned and stood in front of Addai. "You didn't answer my question."

"Okay, okay. I'm no threat," the new Mephistopheles showed his bare hands. "Remember my earring?"

"... What's with that?" Mine frowned a little more.

"There's a piece of my beloved's feather and a piece of my scales inside the dark orb," as Mephistopheles explained, he showed which thing was placed. "It reacts to our energies. If the orb is black, it's telling you I am the real me. If the orb turns gray, I am far from the item, or it's not me. Explore it if you want. I don't mind because my beloved trusts you," he offered the item, raising it as his arm trembled.

"Your beloved… trusts me...?" Mine approached and picked up the item with such care.

Indeed, that earring was intriguing. The texture of the two feathers stuck to the dark orb was soft, but they didn't have the downy part of all the feathers. The lighter-colored pendants made tinkling noises when they touched each other and were as light as feathers. The larger, dark orb was smooth with internal textures, its finish was refined, and the other smaller white orbs decorated the entire body of the earring.

Mine slid his finger over the feathers, and an image formed in his head: an angel with long hair and as white as those feathers stared back at him. On their calm face, a smile was plastered. On their body, flowers adorned their clothing. They were white flowers with pink tips and golden drops on some petals. 

Just as Mine seemed to have approached the angel, he saw six wings behind him, and his hair swayed in the wind that blew both of them. The angel took the hands that weren't his and said something, but Mine couldn't read his lips. Still, Mine felt at ease, and his heartbeat had irregular rhythms.

Mine knew that body wasn't his, and he was probably revisiting Mephistopheles's memories... but he could feel the angel's tender gaze and touches on his skin.

"Mine? Are you okay?" Mine heard Addai's voice taint the vision and numb the image.

Mine blinked, and he was back in that damp, dark, cold gallery. Confused, he blinked more, coming back from that vision.

"I'm fine," Mine answered, shaking his head. It's a… Soul-Bond. He pondered while looking at the earring.

Soul-Bond artifacts were almost a myth, but very few believed they could exist and be forged.

A risky method to tie two beings and even risker when it happens to humans, which every reincarnation would be bound to their fated counterpart. It was a method used for deities, but a demon and an angel used that, bounding their opposite fates and energies into one object and unlimited lifetime. 

Some could say the Soul-Bond artifacts were sick, while others could say it was proof of true endless love. But the wise ones could tell it was a method of protest against fate as they took the pencils and wrote their own chapters on each other's Book of Life.

"Alright, I'll test it," Mine looked at Addai, who nodded.

Mine brought the item closer to Addai, and the orb turned light gray. He brought the earring closer to the withered shell on the ground, and the orb remained light gray. 

But when Mine brought Mephistopheles's earring closer, the orb turned dark again. Not only that, but Mephistopheles's eyes fluttered at the earring, and a faint, soothing glow emanated from the feathers.

"See? I'm not lying," Mephistopheles said, trying to sit more comfortably, but his hurt leg made it impossible.

"..." Mine handed the item to its owner, who took it carefully and lovingly. "With this, I choose to trust you once again."

"You saw the one behind the feather, didn't you?" Mephistopheles chuckled while he put the earring back. "Tell me, isn't he beautiful?" a smile formed on his lips, putting a light expression on his tired and painful face.

"..." Mine pondered a bit and chuckled. "Yes... He is."

"Who?" Addai asked, confused and completely out of that conversation.

"..."

"..."

"... What?" Addai looked at them, still confused.

"I'll tell you later," Mine chuckled and touched his own forehead, right on the diamond shape.

The diamond mark gradually disappeared, as did the other more complex marks spread across Mine's body. All that was left was the marks on his hands, ankles, and feet. What were once strands of vibrant, changing colors returned to the usual ashy green with that improvised cut. Instantly, his skin returned to its usual color and stopped shining like before. His eyes, once thin and elongated, became round and full of life again behind the pink irises. They looked at Addai, who was not that subtle in staring at him as he transformed back into a human.

"I could get used to this," Addai chuckled, his dimples and fangs showing.

"… >;( " Mine blushed and frowned.

Mephistopheles made that same side-eyed face and avoided looking at them. Get yourselves a room. This isn't a place to act like that…

After witnessing a few more exchanges of flattering remarks between Mine and Addai, Mephistopheles decided to not pay attention to those two; instead, he chose to explore the oddly shaped bodies near him. It was a wise idea. They still had some spare time before moving to the other chamber… or finding another way back to the mansion.

Something's off here. Mephistopheles pondered. Wait… my body is… slightly healed? How…?

Mephistopheles felt a chill wind blow his messy hair and looked around. Among the odd breeze, he felt a familiar smell from what he could call "home" (Hell).

As the duo's chattering echoed in the damp gallery, the demon approached a specific body that oozed that smell and examined its conditions – which weren't bad and seemed fresh. Mephistopheles turned the body and found a liquid under it. The shapes and weight were well-defined… but something was still off. Not only that, but somehow all the corpses' shapes turned odd and irregular.

The hair on Mephistopheles's neck stood, and he suddenly grabbed the sheets from the nearest body, yanking it. The instant his eyes fell upon the body, he clicked his tongue and frowned. Something was unmistakably wrong.

"Hey, listen here, you two," Mephistopheles called, and Mine and Addai turned to him. "Agarath is toying with us. All the bodies are fake!"

Mine felt his heart drop and his mind turn hazy as his eyes laid on the body that resembled Talia's. Its shape had changed.

"Then… What are they made of?" Addai asked, approaching a corpse.

"They're made of miasma," Mephistopheles absorbed two corpses. "This is refreshing, damn…" he exhaled, and the wounds on his body gradually healed.

Mine felt his heart tighen. "Miasma…?"

Talia's body had become a shapeless mass, vaguely resembling a human body made of condensed miasma. Mine looked confused - a knot forming in his stomach - while Addai felt his entire body reacting to the energy like earlier.

 "Mr. Mephistopheles…" Mine muttered and swallowed. "Where... where are we…?" He covered the fake Talia's corpse.

Mephistopheles seemed to have become a little conflicted. He looked at the ground and shook his head in defeat. "Remember the Wishing Well? He warped us there- well, here."