"Listen up, Zakriel!"
When he saw that Zakriel did not buy it, Samel, who had received Ricky's signal, became slightly anxious.
"It was not easy for us to come down here. We did not come here just to catch up with you, but …"
"Then don't waste time." Zakriel caressed his stubble nonchalantly and raised a small stone knife in his hand. "Unless you have a razor? This one is a little blunt … "
Zakriel turned his head and looked at Ricky's waist. There was contempt in his eyes.
"Hmm, your sword is not bad?"
Ricky snorted coldly and pressed his hand against his unique saber. He was filled with hostility.
At that moment …
Thales, who had been silent all this while, suddenly said, "Here, a razor.
For you. "
In the next second, as if he was performing a magic trick, the teenager took out a sheathed dagger from his shirt and passed it to Zakriel.
Zakriel was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He instinctively took Thales' dagger.
Ricky and Samel's expressions changed when they saw JC's dagger return to Thales' hand at some point in time.
Samel looked at Thales in disbelief.
"When …?"
Thales laughed faintly.
"During the scuffle just now, Marina pressed me down on the ground. She pressed me down so tightly that she did not feel my hand."
Ricky frowned, then smiled as if he had come to a realization.
"Good lad, you actually managed to steal the dagger. You really made your ancestors proud." Samel looked at the prince with a displeased expression.
"It's a pity that you didn't become a pickpocket."
'Yes.
I think so too. '
Thales sighed softly in his heart.
Zakriel chuckled and shook his head. He looked at the dagger in his hand with great interest. He touched the sheath and turned it over and over again, but he did not draw it out, much less shave it.
He cast a sidelong glance under the firelight and muttered a sentence that did not make any sense.
"A king is not respected by his bloodline?
Is that so? "
Ricky and Samel looked puzzled. Only Thales smiled.
Under the other two's puzzled gazes, the prince took a step forward.
"Who is that?"
Thales smiled faintly.
"Zakriel, who was the person you were talking to just now?"
Ricky and Samel frowned again. They seemed to be very displeased with the prince's interruption.
But others didn't think so.
"Ah, after so many years, someone finally asked."
Zakriel's gaze was fixed on the dagger in his hand for a few seconds. Then, the corners of his lips curled up slightly. "This means that you're not hallucinating. Are you?"
Thales smiled.
"Of course I am not," the prince said faintly.
"But the person you're talking to, is he?"
Samel's expression turned sour as he listened to the conversation he couldn't understand.
But Ricky shook his head at him, stopping him from interrupting.
Zakriel smiled.
"That person …"
His gaze was a little unfocused, as if he was about to return to his previous state of nervousness.
"When I first came here, everything was fine for me," Zakriel said absentmindedly. "I treated it as another solitary training session, but it was a little longer, the light was a little dimmer, the room was a little emptier, and I didn't have Bruley's big mouth to nag me every day. How nice was that?"
He muttered, and the coldness in his words made Samel unable to bear to lower his head.
"Then, after an unknown period of time," Zakriel suddenly laughed without any rhyme or reason.
"He's here, that man."
Samel's expression tensed.
"What? Who's here? "
Zakriel was once again immersed in his own world. "One day, I saw him talking. He was on the other side of the prison cell."
He pointed at a corner beyond the bars, and his expression slowly stiffened.
"He was sitting there, smiling …
"Talking.
Him. "
Zakriel said in a daze.
Ricky and Samel glanced at the place he pointed at. It was a dusty corner that had obviously not been touched for a long time.
But Zakriel's gaze was frozen. His expression was numb, as if he had seen something.
He was like a statue.
When he saw Zakriel's expression, Samel understood what was going on and sighed indignantly.
"Him?
Look carefully, Zakriel. There's nothing there, and you're the same here. There's no one, and there's no light! "
Samel's words were laced with faint accusation. "Zakriel, listen to me. I know you don't want to look back on all the torture you went through in the past, but no matter how terrifying it is … what you see is not real! I've seen Barney Junior and the others. It's all because of this damn prison! And you've been trapped here for eighteen years. There's only darkness and loneliness … "
When he heard Samel's words, Zakriel snapped out of his motionless statue state and sneered.
"I've been trapped here for eighteen years, and what about you?"
Zakriel fixed his gaze on Samel. His eyes shone with a cold glare. "You've been trapped in your own heart for eighteen years, haven't you?"
The Knight of Judgment shook his head in disdain.
"In this regard, there's no difference between us, Vice Flag Bearer Samel."
Samel was stunned.
Thales sighed in the slightly stiff atmosphere.
"So, this is … Zakriel.
You said that you saw 'him' here and talking? "
The prince stared at Zakriel with a complicated gaze. "Who is this' him 'you speak of?"
Zakriel lowered his head.
"And who are you, young man?"
The prisoner of the Royal Guards narrowed his eyes. "I don't think you came here voluntarily to tour the Prison of Bones with these people, did you?"
Samel frowned. He wanted to go forward and pull Thales away, but Ricky stopped him.
Thales shook his head. He did not answer.
"You saw him talking, but you couldn't see his' words'," the prince said with a sigh.
"I think you saw 'him' first, and then you heard 'him' speak?"
Zakriel stared at him for a long time. He seemed to be deep in thought.
But his answer was still bold and imaginative.
"That's not important, is it?" The former star of the Royal Guards' gaze was unfocused, as if he was immersed in his memories.
"Sometimes, I saw him, and his voice traveled to me.
"Sometimes, I would hear his words first before he appeared in front of me."
It's all the same.
There's no difference. "
After he said this, Zakriel's expression froze again.
The four people in the hall fell silent for a moment while they listened to this exceptionally strange conversation.
'This is meaningless.
He's already gone mad. '
Samel shook his head and gave Ricky a look.
But the leader of the Disaster Swords ignored him. On the contrary, he listened to the conversation with great interest.
"Is that so? It's all the same." Thales forced himself to smile.
"So, 'he' is … talking to you?"
Zakriel's face became a little sad.
"Yes, as usual, he talks, smiles, and even gives me orders." Zakriel seemed to be absent-minded. He stared at the corner he had just pointed at.
"But I know, I know that sometimes, he's real. At that time, I'm very happy."
In the next moment, the muscles on Zakriel's face tensed up. He gritted his teeth, as if he had seen something evil.
"But I also know that sometimes, he's someone else in disguise, just to lure out the weakness and darkness in the depths of my heart, and then destroy me."
Thales' eyebrows twitched.
"Something else?"
When Samel saw this, he sighed and whispered into Ricky's ear.
"Another meaningless, crazy talk."
But Ricky was obviously not bothered. "As long as he can speak."
Zakriel ignored the whispers of the other two. He focused on his conversation with Thales.
"Yes, those things that want to harm you."
The long-faced, middle-aged man stared at the empty space. His words were filled with emotion. "You know, he's not bad, but those things are very cunning. At first, it was very difficult for me to tell the difference between them."
As Zakriel spoke, he seemed to be lost in thought.
He seemed to be talking to himself.
"They would tell me about the past. The training when I was young, the selection when I grew up, the duty in Renaissance Palace, the diplomatic mission to Northland, the expedition to the desert, the expedition to Blade Edge Hill in the south. Of course, there were people. Father, mother, brother, sister, His Majesty, His Highness, the old captain, Barney Senior, the Old Smoker, Glover, and of course, her. Then …"
When he said this, Zakriel shuddered slightly.
Thales watched him attentively, encouraging him to continue.
"Those things are especially despicable. They like to whisper in my ears when I sleep." Zakriel seemed to have returned to his previous state. He gritted his teeth, and his expression was ferocious.
"Then, they would show me something else.
They tried to destroy me. "
He stared at the dagger in his hand. His gaze was deep and cold.
"What was it?" Thales asked softly, as if he was guiding a child to learn.
"What did they show you, Zakriel?"
Zakriel raised his head swiftly and gritted his teeth like a wild beast.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared straight ahead, as if his mortal enemy was there.
"Sometimes, I can see rotten skin with maggots and flies on it when I open my eyes …"
Zakriel's words were filled with a chilling aura, and his body trembled along with it. "They're so rotten that they can't be recognized, but they're still moving. But I know that they're the Royal Guards. It's their faces that appear from the darkness and suddenly appear in front of your eyes …"
Samel looked at him with a pained expression and shook his head softly.
"He's really crazy."
Ricky ignored him.
"Sometimes, there are countless heads stuck on the tips of spears. They fill every corner of the cell, leaving me with no place to hide. Even when I sleep, I can only stand with my back against the wall."
Thales listened quietly. His gaze was compassionate.
"Those heads have been dead for a long time, but they can still speak. They like to suddenly open their eyes and speak when I squeeze past them to get food. Some of them even try to bite me." Zakriel clenched the dagger in his hand tightly. He covered his shoulder with his left hand, as if the monster he spoke of had bitten him there.
"I have to say that the head that looks like Prince Banker is quite similar. His words made me unable to sleep for a few days."
Zakriel squeaked with the ghost of a smile on his face.
He widened his eyes and stared at Thales in a rather frightening manner.
"One day, when I woke up, I saw hanging corpses all over the ceiling. All of them had their eyes rolled back and their tongues hanging out, but they seemed to be looking down at me …" Zakriel pointed at the top of his head. His breathing became increasingly rapid.
"They swayed back and forth above my head, twitching slowly. Sometimes, the feet and robes of the dead would brush against my hair. This would last for about … the time it takes for three meals."
He said faintly.
Samel could not help but speak.
"But you don't even have light here!"
The flag bearer looked at the former strongest elite of the Royal Guards mournfully. "Wake up, Zakriel. There's nothing in the prison. It's just an illusion created by your own imagination! We're here to save you! "
Zakriel sneered and looked at Thales again.
"Sometimes, they simply don't let me see anything at all. They only let me hear the sounds in the darkness," he said coldly.
Thales forced a smile.
Thales forced a smile. "Voice?"
Zakriel nodded. His face became blank.
"Babies' tears.
"It's like the cries of a baby in the boundless darkness, again and again and again, again and again."
Sometimes, it's close to your ear, and you can hear it clearly even if you block your ear. Sometimes, it's so faint that you can't hear it, and you can only hear it when you concentrate and calm down. Sometimes, it's mournful and tragic, sometimes it's filled with malice, and sometimes, it turns into a strange baby's laughter. "
Zakriel sat down against the wall and curled up. His expression was absent-minded.
Thales swayed a little. He tried his best to maintain his emotions.
"It must have been very hard."
He said laboriously, "To live … in a different world."
Zakriel's expression became a little indifferent and numb.
"A different world …"
"At first, yes. I could only tell myself over and over again that this was a test. Eventually, I got used to it … "
He raised his head and said in a daze, "You know, the good thing about this is, whether it's him or those things … At least when they appear, I can hear his voice."
"Whether it's true or not, that's his voice before he died, his laughter, his words, and his orders."
Zakriel pressed the hilt of the dagger against his forehead.
"Let me console myself in this eternal purgatory."
Thales was a little sad. He took a deep breath and asked,
"Who?"
"Whose voice is that?"
This question attracted the attention of the other two.
Zakriel was dazed for a moment.
"Of course it's him." The former Watchman of the Royal Guards showed a sad but gratified smile.
"The former Crown Prince."
Samel swayed slightly.
Thales was also slightly stunned.
"The one I saw, the one who spoke to me, the one who smiled at me, the one who tested me, the one who tortured me, the one who visited me all the time, was him before he died."
Zakriel hugged himself even tighter and said in a trembling voice,
"The eldest son of the king, Midier Jadestar."
The hall sank into a long silence.
Only Zakriel's faint sobs could be heard.
Thales' expression was gloomy. He closed his eyes gently.
'To live in a different world.'
He repeated this in his heart helplessly.
But when he closed his eyes, Thales felt as if he was thrown into a stormy sea in his thoughts.
He rose and fell with the waves.
Then, he ran into a memory fragment that he had not seen for a long time, and it brought him back to a world that he had not cared about for a long time.
It stimulated the same unfamiliar feeling that he had not felt for a long time.
That voice.
It was still that voice.
It was a pleasant, gentle, soothing voice that always made him laugh heartily.
"Qiren, are you afraid of ghosts?"
"…"
'This despicable man, asking even though he already knows the answer.
He's probably going to laugh at me again.
"Yes, I remember that you're most afraid of ghosts. You can't even watch horror movies."
'As expected.'
He sighed softly and scratched his head.
"But you've never seen a ghost, right? Because in many people's worlds, it doesn't exist. Of course, you can't see it. "
The female voice on the other end of the phone paused for a moment. She sounded a little depressed.
"But why don't you imagine that there is a kind of person who sees … ghosts exist in the world they see.
"Exist."
He frowned.
'What?
"So, when they sleep at night, they might see a hideous face on the pillow, or stuck to the ceiling … Or, when they open their eyes in the morning, they might see a bloody head standing at the window, and a pale dead person squatting in the corner … When they walk, they might see a faceless little girl dressed in red, and when they eat, they might see a bloody eyeball. At any time, they would feel …"
The female voice was a little low, trembling, and intermittent, as if she was trying her best to suppress some emotions.
"Hey, hey, don't scare me, my lady … You know that I'm most afraid of these things …
"So … so …"
The voice trembled.
He felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
"So … for this kind of person, ghosts are real. At least in their own world, they are real … Really, they can see … But they can't tell whether they're real or not … In their eyes, they really see ghosts …"
The female voice seemed to be unable to control her emotions anymore. Countless negative emotions gushed out like a broken dam, along with her frail and fragile voice.
[They don't want to either. They're also very afraid … but they're not watching a horror movie. They're … they're actually living in a horror movie … they can't struggle out of it … they're really powerless. They're really seeing the most realistic, living, ferocious-looking … wuu … ghosts in their lives all the time …]
He was puzzled, confused, and uneasy.
Other than that, he was also a little anxious.
'What's wrong with her?'
"Eh, is the signal bad? Wait, you … why are you crying … did you, did you see something? Hey, don't cry, it's okay. No matter what strange things happen, I'm here. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid … "
"Qiren, I'm begging you, don't be afraid, don't be afraid of me, I'm not … I-I'm not … I'm begging you, I'm just … I'm just … sob sob, I'm just living in a different world from you …"
The gentle voice was filled with panic and fear. Her sobbing voice trembled.
This made him extremely flustered.
What did she mean … by a different world from him?
He did not know.
He could only try his best to comfort her.
"Come, take a deep breath with me. Don't be afraid, there's nothing to be afraid of, right? If anything really happens, at most, we'll look for a Taoist, a witch, or a superpower expert … Feel better, right? Come, tell me … what's wrong? Why did you suddenly say … say … "
A faint sobbing sound came from the other end of the phone, but it was calmer than before.
"Qiren, today, the doctor … the doctor told me the diagnosis."
The female voice was much more dejected.
There was even a hint of despair in her voice.
He wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in his heart. He could only say three words.
"How is it?"
The female voice laughed.
"Have you heard of schizophrenia?"
schizophrenia.
A sudden wave of fear seized his brain.
"Schizein, and phren … The Greek roots for schizein and phren are 'disjointed' and 'split', as well as' mind 'and' thought '.
"The doctor said that this is the disjointed and separation between perception and thought. So, some people translate this as' mental disorder '."
The voice sobbed softly, as if she was forcing herself to laugh. She wanted to laugh, but could not.
It made his heart feel as if it was covered in a haze, and he felt incredibly sad.
He could only remain silent.
"But here, we have a more common translation."
He gulped.
"What is it called?"
The female voice snorted and spoke weakly and weakly.
"Schizophrenia."
At that moment, Thales opened his eyes abruptly and broke free from the boundless sea of memories. He returned to the dark and silent Black Prison underground, drenched in cold sweat.
He panted heavily and looked at Zakriel, who was rooted in the prison like a wooden statue.
He felt an emptiness in his chest.
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