A Week Later…
The doorbell rang, waking Lee Seng up from his deep slumber. He wiped the eye boogers out of his shut eyes as he pulled the blanket off him. He grabbed his phone, noticing it was only 6am. Lee Seng wondered who was here so early. After extensive testing and being punished for literally destroying Akio's foot, Lee Seng was locked up in his 'prison tower.'
Lee Seng pulled the bedroom door open and moved down the hall. The screen buzzed again as Lee Seng hit the communication button.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Liz asked.
"Yeah, my sister wouldn't lie to me." Manny pulled the slip of paper out and read it.
"What're you doing here?" Lee Seng asked. Manny and Liz looked at the camera and a smile grew on their faces.
"See? I told you." Manny chuckled. Liz rolled her eyes as she pushed his face away from her and the camera. Lee Seng rubbed his eyes and checked again. Liz and Manny were standing in front of his room.
"How did you guys get up here?" Lee Seng asked. "Security should've been tight."
"I told them I was on business." Manny replied. "The others couldn't come because it wouldn't be believable."
"So, you brought Liz?" Lee Seng yawned.
"Did we wake you up?" Liz asked.
"It's six am… What do you want?"
"Open the door and let's talk." Manny told him.
"I'm naked." Lee Seng told them. "Just… Give me a sec."
Lee Seng pulled some clothes on and moved to open the door. Manny and Liz warmly greeted Lee Seng with smiles and hugs.
"Sorry for intruding so early. It was the only time we could do it." Liz apologized. They slipped their shoes off and headed into the living room. Manny gasped as he looked around.
"You get a nice view of the city…" Manny whispered.
"Yeah, but it's a prison." Lee Seng closed the door and locked it. He followed Liz in and motioned for her to take a seat. "Make yourselves comfortable. You want coffee or tea? I need to wake up."
"In that case, here." Liz pulled a coffee cup out of her bag and handed it to Lee Seng. "Manny thought you'd be grumpy, so we got you coffee."
"Thanks." Lee Seng took the coffee and slurped some of it into his system. He sat in the armchair off to the side as Liz and Manny sat on the couch. "What're you guys doing here?"
"Just seein' how you're doing." Manny smiled. Lee Seng rolled his eyes as Liz slapped him. "I'm just kidding. God, you hit so hard!" He turned to look at Liz as he rubbed his arm.
"It's going to be a long day." Liz groaned. She looked over at Lee Seng and gave him the 'I can't believe I have to deal with him' look. Liz pulled the rest of the drinks out of her bag and set them on the coffee table. She took a sip of her drink before turning her attention onto Lee Seng. "We've been hearing a lot and Manny wanted to see you. We're just wondering how you're doing, but we also wanted to ask where, uh…"
"The other one is." Manny finished.
"The other one?" Lee Seng's brain reeled for a moment before he snapped his fingers. "Oh, Keng."
"Should you say his name aloud like that?" Liz asked, scanning the room for any cameras. Lee Seng shook his head.
"There's no cameras here. I've already searched this place up and down." Lee Seng told them. He took a sip and looked down for a moment before looking up at Manny and Liz. "Keng can't be here right now. I thought Ritsuka and Olivia relayed this to you after you stormed off that day."
"You were being moody!" Manny pointed at Lee Seng. "Was I supposed to be patient and wait for you to say nothing?"
"Hey, I thought you said you'd be civil." Liz looked at Manny. Manny looked at Liz and then went back to Lee Seng.
"He brought it up. I didn't bring it up." Manny replied. "And I am being civil about this. This is how I normally am."
"Can't argue with that." Lee Seng sipped his coffee. "It's weirder if he's quiet."
"See?!?"
Liz rolled her eyes and turned her attention back onto Lee Seng.
"Keng's not here right now then? Where is he?" Liz asked.
"In here." Lee Seng tapped his chest. "I think you two should know this best since he entered your Souls."
"What… Happened to him?"
Lee Seng sighed and folded his arms into each other. "We got punished by gods." It was as simple as that, yet Lee Seng couldn't help but feel a bit bitter about it. He had made so much progress only to be given a task that he couldn't handle without his powers. Lee Seng's brows furrowed a bit, catching the attention of Manny.
"What? There's more to it than that?" Manny asked, completely ignoring the 'gods' part.
"The gods? Here?" Liz asked. Lee Seng shook his head.
"Where Keng is from… Daros. Did Ritsuka tell you guys anything?" Lee Seng asked. The two shook their heads as Lee Seng took another sip of coffee. "Basically, I got Keng cause I was being chased by bullies."
"You got…" Manny began to say as Lee Seng nodded.
"Yup. Met a guy in a Fox Mask and was offered power in return for something else. I didn't know it then but it was Keng. The shortened version of all of this, the God King sought me out and I took it." Lee Seng summarized. "Of course there's more to it, but that's the reason why Keng exists."
"And you guys got punished how?" Liz asked.
"Keng used a forbidden spell from the Saviors. He wasn't supposed to use it, but I was under… the strange influence of a Curse of sorts." Lee Seng replied. "I don't really understand the Curse between Spirit and Vessel, but Fox Spirits aren't supposed to leave each other."
"Wait, every Fox Spirit is two people?"
"No. They're two in one. Either the Spirit or the Vessel's personality comes through usually. Sometimes its a mix, but they're an entirely different person. It's like accepting you're both you and someone else at the same time."
"So… Keng's gone?" Manny asked.
"Yeah." Lee Seng nodded. He glanced down at his feet. "I've been trying to talk to him, but he doesn't respond. It's… not like how it was before we could both be in the same place." It grew quiet as Manny and Liz took the information in. Lee Seng's mind wandered back to the same place it had gone to over the last couple of months: his Soul world.
Lee Seng constantly waited for Keng to show up. A white fox scampering over to him and greeting him. The Soul world had remnants of the Demon Fox Curse attached to it. Red fading lines that coursed through the dark filter colored world. He was still recovering from the curse.
'I need to learn more about this stuff…' Lee Seng thought. A faded knock on the door caught his attention. He turned towards the Oasis and noticed Manny and Liz were looking at him. Lee Seng jumped into the Oasis and appeared back in his body.
"Who's that?" Lee Seng asked, looking at the door. A smile grew on Manny's face. Lee Seng shook his head at Manny. "It couldn't be. You said they wouldn't allow all of you up here."
"Well, lucky for you, we don't exactly… listen." Manny chuckled. Another set of knocks came to the door and Lee Seng stood up and wandered over to the door. He peeked through the peek hole and just as he expected, Olivia, Evan and Ritsuka were standing in front of the door.
"Who's the fourth person?" Lee Seng whispered. He could barely see this person from the peep hole.
"Fourth person?" Liz whispered. "There should only be three." Lee Seng unlocked and opened the door and looked past his friends, smiling and beaming in excitement. The sun-kissed blonde looked up. His hair falling into his face as he wasn't in his bodyguard outfit. He wore something more befitting for Spring.
"Hallo!" Evan was the first to greet him. Lee Seng turned his attention onto them as Evan patted his shoulder. "Can we come in?"
"Preferably before the other guards catch on." Calis added.
"Come in." Lee Seng stepped off to the side and allowed his friends in. One by one the group came in, leaving Calis and Lee Seng looking at each other. "Does anyone else know about this?"
"No." Calis shook his head. "They saw me walking up and asked for my help. I couldn't say no." Lee Seng nodded and motioned for Calis to step in. Lee Seng locked the door behind them and checked through the peep hole one last time. There was nobody in sight.
'It's probably too early, but these guys are around 24/7…' Lee Seng turned away from the peep hole and listened to the warm noises of friends in the lonely space.
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