Others began popping up as well, the next was Dan whose picture frame was empty, another whom had no regret.
Then Cera, whom flung the frame away, she looked at it and smiled — there was nothing on it.
"Paul, you came out early, you look a lot better now than you did earlier." Caesar said as he walked towards Paul and Rud.
"Caesar, I'm Saul not Paul" Paul said.
"What do you mean by that." Caesar looked at his arm band; "He's not lying." His eyes widened.
And then Saul's arm raised up slightly pointing at something, Rud and Caesar took a look and it was a body permeating through the ground.
The person began coughing up water, [cough cough] "That place was terrible." He looked at the picture frame in his hand.
He held it up and took a good look at it, with a saddened look on his face — in it were two boys that looked identical with one cutting the other's hair.
"I lived your life, now it's time to live mine." He stroked the picture of the one cutting the hair.
As he turned around from the doors he was embraced by someone, it was Saul his twin brother, the one whom was talking with Caesar.
Paul pushed him away. "Are you another illusion!" He screamed. "I've accepted the fact that you're gone!
Leave me alone please,...please…" Paul held his own head tightly with both hands.
Saul's surprise was smeared all over his face as he looked at his brother.
Caesar and Rud walked up to them. "We were afraid something happened to Saul with the way you were acting in the white space.
Thank the stars that he is alright." Rud said.
Paul turned to look at him, speechless, then he turned to look at Saul.
"You're dead, dead for sure! Is this some ploy by everyone here?!" Paul said as he smashed the water.
They were startled, confused even - rightfully so since they had no context on the situation prior to this.
"Oh come on Paul, it's been at most twenty minutes since you left, this joke was hardly set up well." said Saul with a giggle.
"...any moment now…" Saul thought as he waited for his brother to begin the laughter.
Moments passed, others were still popping up from the ground with the next ones being Laura and Hera, but yet no feedback from Paul.
He looked at his brother's face and he could tell, this was not normal — something had changed.
He placed his hand on his brother's shoulder "Paul?"
Paul looked up at him with determined eyes. "You're dead, I must still be in the illusion…yes that's it, how else can it be explained."
At that same moment Rud was swayed by a fleeting thought "twenty minutes? It felt like days in there"
"Don't you remember? There's no way you would, you had already entered by that time.
The door bounced me out stopping me from entering.
And then it shut closed and became like that." Saul referred to the thirteenth door that was now sealed behind chains; indifferentiable from the other twelve.
Paul held his face, with memories of the event he had witnessed playing like a film, his brother's words faded in his mind.
How could two people have totally different experiences, he couldn't even reason properly - no he couldn't believe.
How could he, after the finally accepting his loss after what felt like years to him, and once again Paul leaned on denial.
"Stop talking you illusion you can't get me!" Paul yelled.
"Paul!
Snap out of it!" Saul grabbed his brother's arms.
"Is everyone in on this?
You, you, you, you as well?" He pointed to the people in the room with his fingers shaking just as much as his eyes.
His yells had caught the attention of everyone in the room.
"What's the problem boy." Gustev asked.
Paul looked at him then averted his eyes, a refusal to indulging in his intervention.
"I don't think I'm going to be getting an answer from him…anyone else care to give an answer." Gustev questioned.
"Sir!
My brother is just feeling a bit under the weather." Paul responded with a straight face.
"Boy…don't lie to me, I know what under the weather looks like, and it's definitely not that.
Let us know what happened." Others joined into the situation trying to uncover what went wrong as Gustev was speaking.
"(Alright Paul, just watch and see that I'm saying the truth.)" Saul whispered into his brother's ears.
[Cough! Cough] Zefroth was coughing as she surfaced from the ground, now only Fiona and Leo remained.
Saul looked at his brother who was unresponsive, then he turned his attention towards Gustev.
"He said he doesn't remember what happened after he stepped into the door, he doesn't believe me when I tell him." Paul answered.
"Hmmm...the door got binded by chains subsequently.
It would be understandable if he couldn't see it since he was behind the doors.
But these occurrences should be more familiar to you all than to me, nevertheless that should be all cleared up shouldn't it." Gustev looked at Paul.
Paul looked at him but gave no reply, Gustev's words were washed halfway through, they faded in his ears as he looked at everyone leave.
Even Caesar whom went to assist Zefroth, and Rud whom was gathering info to report yet, only Saul remained and a slight ringing sound as his - Paul's - world went silent.
Saul was saying words but Paul was lost, too far gone wallowing in confusion and pain, admist that he only did one thing; he grabbed his brother's arm.
He held it tightly threatening not to let go as he knelt on the white ground, he coughed a bit of water but it was overshadowed by the amount of tears he cried.
Saul gently closed in to his brother and they shared an embrace with Saul feeling the pain his brother felt, he didn't ask much since his words didn't reach his brother.
But he could tell; Paul had being through a lot.