Slimo lunged at Enki hearing the words escape his mouth. Lidia managed to grab hold of him before he could attack the shop keeper. More giggles escaped from under Enki’s hood as Lidia struggled to keep Slimo still.

"Relax. I am not going to turn you in. I simply wanted to tease you, that’s all."

"Who the hell are you? How do you know who I am?"

"Know you are? How could I not know who you are?! You’re the most wanted man in Paria!"

Slimo’s face dimmed further as the mysterious figure continued talking.

"I thought it was quite odd when one of my charms contacted me of your presence. I thought I must have broken one of them! However, I can assure you I am no enemy. On the contrary, I want to help you!"

Slimo relaxed slightly in Lidia’s arms.

"Help me? How can you help me? I don’t need your help!"

Enki chuckled again.

"Can you stop laughing you creepy bastard?!"

Enki cleared their throat before continuing.

"I want to help you because you need my help too. Do any of you have any idea where we are right now?"

A small silence fell over the group. Lidia slowly let go of Slimo, but still stood between him and the enchanter for precaution.

"Yah. We’re in Chrono kingdom. That’s what the guard told us."

"Wow. Maybe I won’t be able to help people who are so gullible. I can’t believe I sold you a charm!"

"Will you shut up and tell us already? Where are we?"

"Hm... Perhaps it isn’t where we are and more like what we are in. I don’t really have the full truth for you, but have any of you tried to leave this place before?"

Sarah and Sqaubee looked at each other.

"We were only allowed a little way past the walls but not much further."

"I see, but you were never able to leave beyond that though, correct?"

"I guess not. We’ve never tried."

Enki slowly took off their hood as they spoke.

"Well, I tried."

As the hood laid over their shoulders, everyone around them gasped. What was revealed under the hood was a mangled, human face. A quarter of his head was missing, his neck looked crooked and rough, his hair was splintered across his head like grass, and one of his ears was completely missing.

"This is what happened to me."

Lidia looked at the man in horror.

"What the hell did those guards do to you? How are you alive with most of your head missing?"

"You see, that is the weird thing. The guards didn’t do anything to me. This is what started happening to my body the further I walked from this place. It was as if I had a curse placed on me to never allow myself past a certain boundary outside the kingdom. To be honest, if I wasn’t wearing so many charms, I would have died instantly the moment I crossed the threshold. All the charms did was buy me enough time to return." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Slimo felt sick to his stomach looking at the deformed man. A terrible sense of guilt washed over him for trying to attack him.

"So, we’re trapped here?"

"Exactly right! However, I wouldn’t say this is the worst place to get trapped. After all, it seems time works slightly different inside these walls."

"Time? How do you know that time is being manipulated inside the kingdom?"

"I’m an enchanter. I recognize the hue glowing off the stone walls. It is a time enchantment of some sort."

"What? You aren’t making any sense. Are you saying we are in a place outside of time?"

"That’s exactly what I’m saying! In fact, I’ve probably been in here for hundreds of years without knowing it!"

Suddenly, Squabee seemed to panic.

"Wait a moment. Does time keep moving outside of where we are?"

"Actually, this place seems to be frozen in a moment. So, once you leave, it will be as if you are simply stepping back into that same moment that you left when you entered this place... I think."

"Wait, so if we both entered at different times, what would happen if we both leave at the same time?"

"I would be transported back to the time I first stepped in, and you would be moved back to the time you stepped in. That could mean our first moments are hundreds of years apart and we wouldn’t know. Isn’t it wild how time works sometimes?"

"Something still doesn’t add up. Time can’t be frozen here if we appeared to arrive much later than you did."

"Precisely. That is why it is most likely separate from time, its own space where time moves on its own. However, the outside world from us is still technically frozen. That makes me wonder what would happen if we were to break the enchantment. Presumably, I should be sent back to the moment I stepped inside this place. However, maybe it isn’t that simple, and I am getting everything wrong. There’s really only one way to find out."

Slimo rubbed his forehead.

"Why the hell would Paria Empire create such a place?! This seems more like a-"

Slimo stopped himself. Dread slowly grasped his heart as he came to a sudden realization. Enki nodded slowly seeing Slimo’s face.

"That’s right. As far as I am aware, this is Paria Empire’s prototype for a new prison system they are developing."

Slimo started pacing back and forth.

"What the hell? We just escaped a prison and now we’re back in one? What the hell is with this place."

"That’s exactly why you need me to help you guys. To be honest, I was only planning on using your smaller blonde friend over there to help me escape because of her ability. However, when I was notified of the famous criminal living here as well, I couldn’t help myself!"

Slimo grabbed the man by his robes and stared into his yellow eyes. Malice burned behind his pupils.

"If you want to make it out of this place alive, I suggest you stop bringing up my past."

Enki looked over at Lidia who seemed a little worried at the situation unfolding.

"You haven’t told them, have you?"

Slimo hesitated and dropped Enki.

"I’ve told them enough."

"And they still follow you anyway? You all must have a death wish! I can almost guarantee you the only reason any you have made it so far is thanks to that Squabee chick over there.

Squabee crossed her arms and started tapping her foot.

"Yah, some luck this was. We’re trapped in a time bubble!!"

Lidia cautiously approached Slimo and put a hand on his shoulder. She stared into his azure eyes and held his face.

"What aren’t you telling us?"

Slimo took a deep breath before answering.

"Let’s just say, punching a skull mask freak wasn’t my only crime."