(Rozen) opened his eyes in the middle of an abandoned square filled with porcelain statues: formidable men, enchanting women, splendid horses, and swans frozen mid dance. It felt as though a banquet had taken place here and ended an eternity ago, except…
Moonlight poured over those white figures, and the sky's breathtaking blue denied the presence of the heavy clouds that had become a habit in Snow Nexus. Something was wrong. No stars lived in that sky. The moon was a full disc, perfectly round, and its radiance carried a faint bluish sheen.
Strangeness and unfamiliarity settled into him. His mind accepted that the moon existed, yet no memory rose of ever having seen a moon before.
Footsteps approached. The old man's voice followed.
(The Old Man) arriving: "How long will you keep dying in fragments?"
(Rozen) looked at him, understood, then released a heavy breath. He sat on the ground and withdrew into himself.
(The Old Man) continuing: "The air is cold and the place is desolate. Come, let us go to the lodging."
(Rozen) refused to look at him and offered no reply. The old man lowered his head, walked closer, and sat beside him. Both of them sat by a fountain carved with fierce artistry, yet it had not worked since that banquet died.
(The Old Man): "Do you feel fear?"
(Rozen) turning his face away: "I feel confusion…"
Something touched the old man's heart.
(The Old Man): "That is natural. That is why I took to you and not to the others."
(Rozen) staring at him: "Are you trying to harass me, you damned old man?"
The old man laughed. A tired smile slipped onto Rozen's mouth.
(The Old Man): "Get used to this place. Do not fight it, there is no use. It is a nightmare that ends only by living inside it."
(Rozen) nodding: "Living inside it is not difficult. I only want answers to a few questions."
The old man looked at him with tension, closed his eyes, and sighed.
(The Old Man): "Ask. I will try to answer what I am allowed to say."
(Rozen) smiling with exhaustion: "All my questions circle what you are not allowed to say. Rest. I will not cause your death again."
(The Old Man) gripping his shoulder: "I insist. Even one answer or two is better for you than complete confusion."
(Rozen) exhaling: "That girl who speaks out of nothing, why do you call her the Lady?"
The old man's face tightened. Rozen smiled, then turned away, convinced the question would be useless.
(The Old Man) answering anyway: "The Lady has no name. She is the one who rules over us, so we call her the Lady."
(Rozen) immediately: "And what does that Lady want? Why does she keep torturing me and torturing the others? It does not end at that, we are killed for a purpose we do not know."
A muffled hum rose, the girl's presence sliding into the air. The old man froze and could not answer.
(Rozen) scanning the square: "Does no one ask questions except me?"
(The Girl): "A question after a question. That is a mark of stupidity, boy."
(Rozen): "Your words do not hurt me. If you are the Lady everyone calls by that title, then I challenge you to answer my questions."
(The Girl) laughing: "And what forces me to obey you? Oh, I remember, you are a majestic stallion. As a young lady, I should beware of angering you."
(Rozen) shaking his head: "Why do you keep branding me with that name? It has nothing to do with the nonsense you mutter."
(The Old Man) catching Rozen's hand and whispering: "Do not continue this, my son."
(The Girl) instantly: "Your stupidity is contagious, Rozen. Even the old man has started whispering so I will not hear him."
(The Old Man) lowering his gaze: "My Lady, forgive my foolishness. I tried to soften things, nothing mo…"
(The Girl) irritated: "Silence, silence. Let me speak with Rozen. He is my favorite."
Rozen's shoulders sagged beneath the sheer wrongness of it.
(Rozen): "Why am I here? What is this world? I do not feel I belong to it."
The air calmed for a few seconds, until the quiet stretched into a full minute of unsettling silence.
(The Girl): "Believe me. You belong to Snow Nexus more than anyone."
(Rozen) shouting: "Answer my questions. You can kill me easily, so why do you evade answers like these?"
Another minute passed.
(The Girl): "This has become boring. Perhaps I rushed to interfere. Both of you will die after your conversation either way, so continue with whatever you want."
(Rozen) looked furious, then forced the anger down.
(Rozen) to the old man: "I told you this would happen, so answer my questions. Why are you, and I, and the two children the only humans in this city? Why are the gardens a land for ghosts, and the caves a bed for ghouls? Why does no one have a name except me? What is the foundation of purification through torment? When did all of this begin? And please, what is the secret of the two guards with wild rabbit helmets?"
The old man watched him with anxious dread, then spoke.
(The Old Man): "I do not know why we are the only humans here. The gardens are the resting place and dwelling of the ghosts, they cannot sleep anywhere else. That fog that dropped you when you entered the Garden of Zaher was a swarm of ghosts that cast you out when you trespassed on their region. The ghouls live in the caves because they feed on all animals and humans, but they cannot eat them anywhere else, or they will be cast out at once. I do not know why no one has a name but you. Purification is a necessary process for the righteousness of your staying in this city. I do not know when all of this began. I know nothing about the rabbit guards."
(Rozen): "We will die soon. So you lose nothing. You might not even remember this conversation, and if you do not return, you will rest from this torment. So tell me. Who is the Lady, and have you ever seen her before?"
Only then…
(The Old Man) weeping: "I have not seen her. I do not want to see her. I do not know who she is. I do not want to know her identity."
His head exploded with a thunderous crack.
(Rozen) froze in horror. Blood scattered across the statues, especially a statue of a man holding a whip, as though he had been carved to lash the world.
(Rozen) looking around: "My turn has come."
(The Girl): "Rozen, you are exceedingly stupid. You cannot endure a brief span without forcing me to crush you, and that is why you are my favorite."
(Rozen) screaming: "Shut up, and kill me."
(The Girl): "Shut up? Rozen, we both know you ache to hear my voice. You are in love with me, obsessed to death with me. If I fall silent, you will kill yourself, because I am the axis of your existence."
(Rozen): "Death is sweeter to my heart than speaking with you, you foul, deranged creature."
The girl fell silent and did not answer.
Rozen's head exploded.
Most of his blood splashed across a statue of a thickly muscled man holding a hammer, raising it with gallantry and pride.
His body collapsed beside the old man.
Then, for the first time in a long while, snow began to fall over the streets of the cursed Snow Nexus.