"Do you know where exactly it is we're going?" Sirzechs muttered as he glanced at the depressing state of the corridor, familiar with every nook and cranny that the wall, ceiling and floor proudly displayed as every room appeared to be identical to the last. Noticing this odd turn of events, placing all of his faith in his human compatriot, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on.

Were they going in a loop? Were they trapped in a room that went on forever?

These thoughts ran rampant in Sirzech's mind as his anxiety rose, his worry for his lonely wife increasing with every step he took. Glancing over his shoulder and frowning at the sorry state of the Devil companion he had dragged along with him, Issei made no effort to respond to Sirzechs inquiries as he himself did not know where exactly it was they were going.

Being in a strange place, a strange universe or dimension that he has never visited, it was nigh impossible for Issei to know where it was they were. However, the only thing he knew was that his malicious counterpart was nearby, somewhere in this stretch of corridor, as the air became thicker, heavier and harder to breath.

"Issei?" Sirzechs called out to Issei in an attempt to grab his wandering attention, the Devil's words slicing through the thoughts that had been gathering in the human's mind. Shaking his head, acknowledging that Sirzechs had asked him a question with a quiet hum, Issei pursed his lips and shook his head.

"I don't. I know you wanna know, but I really don't know where it is we are." Sirzechs lips formed the shape of a circle as he muttered a quiet 'ok' in response. Despite the fact that his question was answered with what he didn't want to hear the most, Sirzechs couldn't help but feel at ease, even if it was just a little when his anxiety was paired with how worried he was.

Where was his wife? Is she safe? Is she even alive in this time and place?

Even though Issei had explicitly said that Grayfia would be in the same place but in a different time, Sirzechs couldn't help but feel as if she was in a different dimension entirely. The concept was difficult to wrap his head around, after all, as he was unable to understand the fact that Grayfia may have been transported one, one hundred or one thousand years into the past or future.

But, with a sigh escaping his lips, he forced himself to recognise the grim severity of the situation, the small part of the problem he could understand.

If his wife had been transported into the future by more than a few hours, there was absolutely no chance he was going to see her ever again.

A putrid smell invaded my nostrils as the door creaked open, its hinges rusty with age. The metal door was heavy but my body had adjusted to moving such a weight. With a grunt and a large amount of force, the thick slab of metal smashed against the wall on the inside of the corridor, the bricks creaking and cracking under the pressure. I stepped into the room with the utmost caution I could gather and quickly glanced around, body tense and ready to move as I expected a diverse range of blades to shoot from the walls and ceiling.

But nothing happened. There was nary a sound nor a change in the air, inferring that there were no traps to be had in this corridor. However, I as invited myself deeper into the corridor, I realised that this was no corridor; it was a fairly short room that had the same width of the corridor.

The interior was very different as well. Instead of the cracked and dirty walls I had become used to seeing, everything about this room was a sparkling white that inflated my admiration as a maid; the floor was a smooth, pale concrete that had absolutely no stains, the walls were a pale cream brick where no chips or cracks could be seen for miles and the ceiling was a traditional white plaster that invoked many conflicting feelings in my heart.

In summary, it was a stark contrast to the previous corridors I had painstakingly traversed.

Now glancing around the room in wonder, I knew I had to be careful; this room was different for a reason and the enemy may as well be nearby. However, I had no way to go but forward, so I made no effort to hide my presence.

If the enemy was anywhere near as smart or powerful as I think he is, he'd already know that I'm here in this room.

But that Issei was nowhere to be seen. In fact, approaching the edge of the room, I couldn't help but think that this wasn't even his home. The reason for this was the door at the end of the room; it was wide open as if I was being ushered into the next room.

I couldn't help myself.

I was tempted by the opening, tempted by the vulnerability of this new, strange room that I've never been in before. Even if the corridors had the same conditions as this room, something about it was…different in some kind of way.

I felt as if the air would be easier to breathe and that natural light would seep into the room so I was compelled to hurry over to the open door.

But I didn't forget my caution. Even though I was being driven by a strange desire to enter this room, I made sure to tense my body in preparation to react to whatever trap may be hidden in there. This room wouldn't be so free, after all. It must be trapped, especially when I considered the fact that every door before it had been shut tight.

Despite knowing this, I couldn't help myself.

I stepped into the room, throwing my caution to the wind, and gently smiled as a light feeling entered my body. I took a deep breath, my eyes closing as I savoured this feeling. I ignored the fact that my state of mind changed too quickly and that I was losing my sense of self and-!

Click.

Pierce.

Gasp.

All of a sudden, there was a hole in my chest. A giant, gaping hole that had demolished all of the bones and organs in the immediate area.

I fell to the ground as I was unable to move anything below my collar bone.

"D-dammit…" I moaned in pain as something flung me out of the trap and into the cleanliness of the previous room, the parts of my body I could feel burning as each nerve suffered a fate worse than death.

'Ah, death,' is something I would say if I wasn't busy holding back a scream, my teeth grinding against each other as I desperately resisted the fate I should resign myself to. But, bouncing off the floor and twisting through the air, all of the strength left my body.

I realised that I was going to die.

My blood spray onto the wall and onto the floor and I realised that I was going to die in this damned place.

"S-sorry…Sirzechs…" Was the last thing I muttered before I closed my eyes, my body smacking against the ground with a wet squelch.

"There's another open door…" I muttered to myself as I stepped into the room, following behind Issei. The human glanced at me from over his shoulder and nod once, showing that he had acknowledged my comment.

"Yes, that is an open door, Sirzechs. It's not like I didn't see it the moment it entered my view." I scrunched my face up in distaste as his overly sarcastic and offhand remark were unneeded. But I understood his annoyance.

Exploring the endless corridors, not enjoying ourselves, finding every door in the damned place open…his paranoia levels were rising at the same rate mine were. It was understandable, especially when I thought about our messed up circumstances, so I didn't respond lest I also be an asshole.

So an uncomfortable silence fell upon us as we slowly made our way over to this open door, Issei's hands stuffed into his pockets. I felt as if I needed to say something but my words would have been unnecessary; they probably would have served to piss Issei off instead of calming him so I knowingly kept quiet, my lips pursed as I endured the awkward feeling I felt in my heart.

But I didn't care about my feelings right now. I only cared about my wife and her safety. However, for all I knew, she could be dead, her body lifeless and unmoving. Her blood could be everywhere, her body mangled and twisted and littered with wounds, and she would cease to her exist, her limp body a reminder of the woman I had once loved.

I shook my head as those thoughts did nothing but increase my anxiety.

"Sirzechs, hold up. Something doesn't feel right." I tilted my head as my human guide and I stopped in our tracks, our journey temporarily ending just short of this open door.

"What's wrong?" I simply asked as Issei pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"It's just…never mind."

As Issei began to move again, his arms by his side, I took a moment to gather my scattered thoughts; what did he mean when he said something didn't feel right, where's my wife, where are we, is this next corridor safe, is my wife alive?

I released a heavy sigh as I continued to follow Issei, this journey witling away the hard edges of my mind.

"Sirzechs…stop again. Don't move. Something's definitely wrong."

"Huh?" I didn't stop moving as per the wishes of the human and watched as he visibly began to panic, his eyes wide and full of alarm as I bounced over to his side. "There's nothing wrong with this place. Nothing's happened yet."

"Yet!" Issei snapped, now glaring at me as I stood at his side with a frown. I, not knowing what was going on with Issei's strange behaviour, did not understand what was going on. So I foolishly opened my mouth.

"Seriously, though. If this place was trapped, we would have been attacked quite a while ago."

"Are you stupid now, Sirzechs? Did you hit your head or something when we arrived here? You've been acting somewhat different and I expected that would happen due to the situation but you just say and do stupid things now."

"I'm sorry. It's hard to deal with reality when you don't know if your wife is stuck in the past or the future while probably being dead."

This conversation was unpleasant. It was sudden, out of place and the truth, but it was unpleasant.

"That doesn't mean you can act like a clueless high schooler in a senseless piece of fiction!"

"A clueless high schooler in a senseless piece of fiction?"

"Yes. You know those stories where high schoolers say and do stupid things in a horror or fantasy setting?"

"Kind of…?"

"That's what you're being right now. So stop it before we're both killed."

I frowned as Issei turned around and stormed off, both us feeling the tension and how we're acting out of character.

While Issei's usually laidback and easy-going, not caring about anything and everything, he's now paranoid and unusually snappy.

While I'm usually childish and fooling around instead of being serious, I'm apparently being a clueless high schooler in a senseless piece of fiction, whatever that means.

But that doesn't excuse our actions. I should have listened to Issei and he shouldn't even been that angry at me. Well, Issei has every right to be angry at me as my foolishness could have cost us our lives, but I really should have listened to him…

All of a sudden, I felt a gaze pierce my back. Glancing over my shoulder, trying to find this unknown being, I used magic to increase my range of perception. I couldn't see or feel anything, though, so I faced forward and began walking again, attributing that strange feeling to my paranoia – hey, where did Issei go!?

I was alone.

Every time I was left alone, I tried to sleep. I tried to fall unconscious to forget my pain and regain my strength but I couldn't. Images – no, entire flashbacks – ran through my mind to remind me of what I have endured, to remind me of the nightmare I am living in, to remind me of the dwindling hope I was wanting to forget.

I wanted to stop thinking. I wanted to stop moving. I wanted to die. I wanted to cease to exist.

I knew no one was going to save me. Issei couldn't find me, Azazel couldn't find me, no one could find me. I was trapped, fated to suffer pain for many more days until I give up and allow that man to finally end my suffering.

Maybe, the next time I see him, I should beg for death and give him the satisfaction he desperately craves.

Ah, but I want to sleep. I want to relax my body and let my mind rest and death won't allow me to do that. If I die, I can't get the rest I want.

So for now, I will try to sleep. Even though I knew it was futile, even though I knew it was a waste of my time, I will try to put my mind to rest in an attempt to heal the mental scars that man forced upon me.

For now, everything will be dark until I am next awoken…

The sound of something heavy smacking against the floor made my eyes snap open, a figure groaning as they lay on the floor in a cloud of unsettled dust. "Oww…what the fuck is that horrible experience?" The said as they swung themselves into a sitting position, a hand rubbing the back of their head as the dust quickly died down.

Unknown to me, tears began to stream down my cheeks as I suddenly realised who that person was.

"Issei?"

Yo. Me here. Sorry about the delay. I had a week of exams at school and decided that I'd take a break to 'study' for the two exams I was destined to pass. Three (almost four?) weeks later and the end of the school year and I finally decided that I'd finish this chapter. Sorry about my laziness? Anyway, editing this chapter, I once again feel as if some of the expressions/transitions between paragraphs are little awkward. Please tell me if that's the case.

Thank you for reading World's End.