Samsara

"You're not really Zephyr? Are you?"

The voice was soft, almost a whisper, yet it reverberated through the silent cell like a bell in the dead of night. 

His eyes snapped open, his momentary lapse into fatigue banished as he looked ahead.

A girl… ?

Her small frame petite, yet her stare— twin deep pools of midnight blue spoke otherwise. Those eyes were wide, chilling yet not keen, almost like that of a curious predator. 

Her hair, a cascade of dark blue, tumbled down her back and across her tanned visage like shadows playing amidst its waves. The cloth mask, shrouding her face from nose to chin, veiled any emotional tells, leaving her expression an enigmatic mystery, yet somehow amplifying the chilling intensity of her scrutiny.

It was that same figure that had been waiting in the shadows. She had somehow snuck up on him without raising any of his senses. 

Any man would have been stunned, or at least caught off guard, but not Joseph.

"Pardon miss?" He calmly asked. 

"Hmmm… Miss you say? I've already told you my name… What is my name?" She walked closer to him with a soft whisper. 

"Apologies, it seems that I forgot." Joseph lowered his head.

"I see…" She replied, taking a small pause. 

'She just believes me so easily?' He thought to himself before she spoke yet again. 

"My name is Samsara, remember it well,"

"I will," He raised his head, coolly meeting her gaze. 

"But you're not Zephyr," Her eyes narrowed.

"But I am Zephyr." His reply was natural. 

"So it seems…" Samsara's expression relaxed as she took a moment to herself once more. "Yet you act so differently from the Zephyr I met a few days ago. You are Zephyr, yet at the same time are not Zephyr… I'm sure your master has noticed this too but—"

"Uhhh… Miss Samsara… Are you sure you're alright? Of course I'm Zephyr. If I'm not Zephyr, then who would I be?"

"I don't know," Her reply was monotone. "Upon initial inspection, I was certain you were a sad, pathetic, degenerate, trash piece of utter human waste. But the Zephyr I see ahead of me is not… I'm conflicted…"

'What the hell kind of person was this Zephyr!?' Joseph inwardly thought. 

"Well, it seems like your first assessment of me was false. We didn't know each other for long after all."

"No no." She shook her head. "My assessment was most definitely correct. It's just the person in front of me is the same person yet not the same person at the same time…"

"Miss Samsara… Are you okay? I believe it'd be best if you were to get some sleep. It's late and it might just be that you're tired," Joseph smiled, only leading to Samsara taking yet another step forward.

"I'm not tired," She slowly examined him.

With no authority or power to speak of, Joseph simply stood.

"Answer me this… Not-Zephyr. How come you possess my clan's secret weapon?" Her tone turned sombre.

"Secret weapon?" He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"The power you used against that guard…"

'Does she mean Ki?? There's no way!?' Joseph's heart sank, yet his exterior remained vigilant. 

She continued, "Even your first bawaba was opened. Does this sound familiar to you?"

"Miss Samsara… I—"

"Answer the question Not-Zephyr. Yes, or no?" She cut him off, widening her stare and leaning in closer.

"No… a—AHH—" Suddenly, he felt a sting shock his neck with deep, electric ferocity that rattled his entire body, but before he could raise his voice, Samsara put her hands on his mouth, her expression different than before.

"So finally. You lie Not-Zephyr." She mused, gradually removing her hands from his mouth. 

Joseph's mind raced, trying to piece together the situation. In an instant, he came to multiple possibilities, yet in the end, his intuition landed on one.

'Did she cast a lie-detection spell on me?' He had been lying to her this entire time, so if she did it would have only been for the last question, yet he did not see her do anything, he made sure of that. So how?

"Don't tell me you also forgot about the Slave Mark Not-Zephyr?"

'Slave mark!? Does it not allow me to lie!? But how did I lie so many times before!? From its name, it seems like it also allows my owner to control me… Wait…'

"I apologize… I just really wanted to keep this a secret," He lowered his head once more.

"That I understand," She walked up, placing a finger on his chin. "So tell me… How did you receive this power?" She lifted his face up to meet hers. Their noses mere centimetres apart, she smiled ominously waiting for a response, one that she received quicker than she expected.

"It came to me in a dream…"

"So… it… seems…" For the first time, Samsara seemed genuinely stunned. "What kind of dream?"

"A dream of a lone wolf protecting his sister. When one day, he met an Owl and a Weasel who changed his life,"

"I… see…" Her eyes reflected a blend of emotions - curiosity, perhaps a hint of sympathy, and an unsettling intensity. "An intriguing tale," she mused, "A wolf, an owl, and a weasel… "

"Yes…" Joseph scratched the back of his head. "Quiet an odd dream, but it's all true,"

"I'm relieved," she smiled, "To think my clan's secrets would be passed down to someone like you in a dream… You must be special… for a second there, I thought I had to kill you Not-Zephyr,"

Samsara's words lingered menacingly in the dim, silent cell, the threat in her voice a chilling contrast to her delicate appearance. Joseph's eyes, however, remained steady, not a flicker of fear.

"I'm relieved too, Samsara," Joseph's voice was barely above a whisper, yet held a hint of steely resolve. "It would have been unfortunate to end our newfound acquaintanceship so abruptly."

"Acquaintanceship?" She tilted her head.

"I just thought that since we're both alone, and wielders of the same power, we should work together."

"Fellow Chi user, are you trying to escape this prison?"

"Yes, I am…" He nodded. 

"I was going to ask you something similar. The others, I have no interest in. You also can't lie to me… It puts my mind at ease… for the first time in my life…"

"Huh?"

"You are to ignore that Not-Zephyr, I just agree to this alliance," She whispered, her face a tableau of indifference. 

"I'm glad… But first… Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Depends."

"It's just simple stuff. I didn't want to reveal this in front of everyone, but it seems like I've lost some of my memory ever since I had that dream,"

"More confirmation that you're not Zephyr. I'm now 110% certain,"

"No no! It's just that the overwhelming power of chi I received all at once may have messed up my memories," 

"Sure… But how could that possibly be true?"

_______________________________________________________________

"You have my utmost gratitude Miss Samsara. But, could you keep this all a secret? It would be of great convenience to both of us…" Joseph lowered his head and bowed.

It had been long since they first met, and Joseph had finished asking most of what he wanted. It was only simple questions that he assessed would not ring any alarm bells, such as the recent past which he was more likely to have forgotten. His grasp on the world and his current situation had only very slightly improved, yet the more he asked, the more questions arose. No matter what, he needed to know more. But how?

Samsara stepped back, her gaze lingering on him a moment longer before slowly retracting. "We shall see, Not-Zephyr. You think I don't see how you benefit more from this than I do? For now, your secret is safe with me. But remember, one misstep, and my silence may shatter, and so may your life."

"I understand,"

"But, seeing as we have mutual goals, and we're the only ones free to use our powers even under the hold of the anklet." She took a moment to herself, narrowing her gaze. "I look forward to this. We shall meet like this once a week, somewhere more private preferably. If there is any emergency or need to communicate with me for any valid reason, you know how to do so."

"Of course," Joseph agreed, "after all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, at least for the time being."

With a final, scrutinizing glance, Samsara turned away, "Sleep well, Not-Zephyr,"

"You as well," He waved, however, he would not go to sleep then and there— not after what he had just learned.

Once he ensured Samsara went to sleep, he woke up, leaning his back on the wall and thought to himself:

'I have three eyes…'

He waited several seconds, but nothing happened, before he whispered the very same in a low voice: 

"I have three eyes," 

Instantly, as he spoke, a faint light flickered from the back of his neck, followed by a sharp jolt of what felt like electricity that coursed and ravaged his body, leaving a searing ache in its wake.

Yet, he showed no reaction as he inwardly mused, 'Interesting,' 

"I love Rayah," He whispered once again, yet no jolt came despite it being a clear lie. 

"I have no clue how Ki works, or how I was able to access it…" Once again, no jolt. Joseph could not help but outwardly beam— finally, it was as if he had unlocked a secret key to the puzzle of freedom

'Hm hm hm… I know you're in there…'

___________________________________________________________________

Up nearly the entire night talking to himself, as soon as Joseph put his head on the floor, morning had already come crashing with the sound of a ringing bell.

It felt almost as though he was teleported in time. 

He rubbed his blurry eyes and looked all around. The cell once shrouded in utter darkness was now fully visible in a sombre glow of what he knew was somehow natural light. Dust particles drifted lazily through the gentle beams, momentarily lending a serene glow that overshadowed the horrors of the otherwise dreary cell.

Joseph took a slight moment to admire this unexpected scene, but all such moments were always fleeting. 

"WAKE UP MAGGOTS!!" A voice exploded from all directions. "The warden seems to be in a good mood today, so you will only need to do half the work! Be grateful! To the mines you all go!"

The sound was like that of an old speaker, yet the possibility of it being magic was much more likely.

As soon as it stopped, he found all his cellmates lined up towards the cell's exit, so Joseph swiftly did the same.

Standing at the back of the line made his short stature more apparent—he was by far the shortest. Standing on his toes, he barely caught a glimpse of one of the guards opening the door to let them leave.

Stepping out of the cell and into the vast expanse ahead, his eyes were immediately magnetized overhead toward a harsh light.

A large chunk of the structure's ceiling was oddly absent, revealing the expansive, sparkling dark blue sky above. 

Airships and balloons, mechanical in nature, of various shapes, sizes, and designs floated gracefully, casting their shadowy silhouettes across the ground.

His gaze slowly panned down, examining the full picture. He was in what he could only describe as a hollow cylinder. Its exterior linings and support were constructed of an intricate network of dark metal, gradually replaced by purple rock the more he looked down until his gaze eventually met a giant hole.

Vast and ever expansive with flickers of blue light, taking nearly 70% of the prison's space, It sat squarely in the center, surrounded by rows and rows of cells that spiralled both above, yet mostly below him as far as his eye could see, creating a visually mesmerizing, yet oppressive, labyrinth of confinement.

As he and his cellmates were escorted, his eyes kept panning past the bars, from the light above, and the gaping abyss below.

The stark contrast between the boundless, vibrant sky and the oppressive, despairing depths of the prison was jarring. It was a cruel reminder of the freedom that was so tantalizingly close, yet impossibly distant, as though taunting him.

He smirked and shook his head, looking around at all the unfamiliar infrastructure. Robots of sharp design bearing the insignia of a manticore held pickaxes and dug through walls with a steamy, mechanical crunch, and many minecarts whizzed through the spiralling halls with astonishing speed.

He had his suspicions, but what he saw now along with the airships confirmed them. He was no doubt in a magical, yet somehow technologically advanced world. 

Eventually, he and his cellmates, along with some others boarded a large cage-like elevator. The ride was long, longer than he expected, yet it was a testament to how deep this hole went.

Finally stepping out, Joseph could not hide his wonder. This must have been the 'mines' that announcement spoke of...