In the next moment they were teleported into a dark hallway. The smell of blood and rusted metal masked their surroundings. Two rows of prison cells stretched through the long corridor. The cells themselves were as big as a apartment, with one ragged bed, a food tray for dogs, a small toilet seat in the corner and finally dimly lit lantern.
J's stomach clenched and his heart raced in fear. He looked at Noctis his eyes widened. Only to see a cold smile forming on Nocti's face. As strands of his hair turned white and his eyes glimmered.
Noctis spread his hands, his voice cold as it echoed through out the corridor. "Welcome to the Cellar — the place of agony and regret. Home to every big-time criminal. A prison of punishments, isolation, and torment."
Noctis gestured for J to follow. Uncertain of his surroundings, J obeyed. His steps were slow, weighed down by an uneasy tension.
Most of the cells were empty, offering a brief moment of relief to his heart. But as they went deeper, the air thickened with decay. The smell of blood, sweat, and rusted iron filled J's lungs, making his stomach clench again. From the corner of his eyee, he caught the sight of a prisoner—his body battered, barely clinging to life. He nearly vomited. J shook his head and looked ahead, seeing many more prisoners—both male and female—trapped in separate cells. Unlike the battered man, they didn't have any serious injuries, only a few bruises.
Noctis stopped in front of the battered man's cell and crouched down, his voice colder devoide of empathy.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, dear rapist?" Noctis said mockingly.
The prisoner barely lifted his head. His body trembled, his breath weak.
"After I had broke your fingers and inflicted hundred leashes, how did you survive? Nonetheless, are ready for your execution?" Noctis continued
J's vision sways as his mind spirals. His knees collapsed on the cold stone floor.
The rapist's voice cracks, desperate yet defiant. "Y-you monster! Let me out of here already!"
Noctis chuckles, a wicked sound that sent shivers down J's spine.
"Monster? The only monster here is you."
His cold smile didn't fade as he leans closer.
"Even now, that girl can't recover from the trauma you inflicted on her." Noctis continued, "After all my warnings… after all my rules… you still did it. And now, even in chains you dare raise your voice without asking for forgiveness? That is truly sickening." Noctis's voice filled with disgust.
Noctis rises from the floor, his ever-present smile unwavering. He glanced at J barely keeping himself together.
"Oh, J… don't tell me you are done already. After all from this point onwards it would your duty to punish them." Noctis spoke with a wide grin.
J stuttered, his body trembling. "W-what is this place…?"
Noctis's gaze sharpens, his voice cold and unyielding. "This place? It is the Cellar. The domain where criminals receive their punishment."
"Punishment?" J's voice snaps. "There's no way in hell this counts as punishment—it's pure torture!"
Noctis chuckled, his smile widening.
"Oh? So, you oppose me, do you? If that's the case… tell me, J — what punishment would you give someone like him?"
J stood, speaking with conviction.
"Life imprisonment. Or exile."
Noctis laughed in amusement, patting J's back as he walked deeper into the hall.
"You're brighter than I thought… or perhaps more wicked."
J tilted his head.
"What do you mean… 'wicked'?"
Noctis's voice turned sharp, cold.
"You know there's no food beyond Aurora Vale. If he's exiled, he'll enter the Misty Forest—a place where beasts will toy with him before devouring him. That's not justice… that's cruelty."
J lowered his gaze.
"But still… isn't life imprisonment more just than this?"
Noctis motioned for him to follow. "Maybe it's just… for the criminal. But what about the victim? He'll live. Eat. Do hard labor, sure—but what about her? She lives with trauma every single day. What punishment compares to that?"
He pointed at the rapist. his voice dropped.
"Tell me, J — what would you have done… if the victim was Nita? Your… beloved?"
J froze. His pupils shrank. A vision flashed before him — Nita, broken and crying. His hands trembled. Rage simmered inside him.
Noctis tapped his shoulder. "Stop. You'll break yourself."
He continued, his voice lower, darker.
"The problem with idealists like you… is that you never imagine the victim being someone you love. You never try to feel their pain. Instead, you jump to empathize with the criminals."
"It's sickening. Truly sickening."
Noctis stood in front of the other cells, spreading his fingers and facing his palm downward as various torturous tools, rusted swords, and buckets of hot and cold water fell to the ground a portal humming beneath his hand.
Noctis's tone was cold as he stared at the criminals, their bodies flinching and eyes widening as they tried to hide in the corner.
"J, please take a seat and enjoy the show!" he said with a grin before continuing. "Don't worry… I'll inflict as much pain as they gave to the slaves. Here, we deal in equal punishment."
J stumbled onto the floor with a light thud, his heart clenched breath ragged and his vision beginning to blur. As he spoke in a stuttering voice. "W-what is this?! This can't… be justice no it can't! You are just sadistic and all of your laws are made just fuel that."
Noctis's smile remained, he toasted a few pictures at J, "Check them out and than tell me what punishment should I give them instead while being just to both the victim and the criminals?"
Noctis flipped through the picture but on third one his stomach clenched and he vomited.
"Huh?! Can't handle the truth? These are the people they enslaved unknown to me. Used to fulfill their desire and fetishes while some were tricked and used to make money in the dark areas." Noctis leaned closer "Now, tell me what should I do to them?"
Not a word uttered from J's mouth as he realized this isn't his world this isn't earth. It's a place of utter chaos worst than Earth.
"No, answer I see. Then I'll continue with the punishment." Noctis said as he picked up a rusted sword slowly turning towards one of the cells.